SENCo: Alison Nicholson
Please contact the school office to make an appointment with Mrs Nicholson
Central Primary believes that all pupils should be respected and valued as shown in our own school values.
Some children require support that is additional or different from that made for their peers. It may take the form of additional support in school or require involvement of specialist staff or support services.
Our school has a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) who is responsible for the management of provision and/ or support for identified pupils with SEND. She will also coach and support teachers and other staff to enable them to provide appropriate assessment and focused provision for children in their class with SEND.
All teachers are teachers of SEND pupils and as such provide quality first teaching which takes account of the particular individual needs of pupils with SEND within the classroom.
Types of special educational need or disability we support
The national SEND Code of Practice 2015 states that there are four main areas of need:
Communication and Interaction
Attention / Interaction skills: May have difficulties ignoring distractions. Need reminders to keep attention. May need regular prompts to stay on task. May need individualised motivation in order to complete tasks. Difficulty attending in whole class. Interaction will not always be appropriate. May have peer relationship difficulties. May not be able to initiate or maintain a conversation.
Understanding / Receptive Language: May need visual support to understand or process spoken language. May need augmented communication systems Frequent misunderstandings. Repetition of language and some basic language needs to be used to aid their understanding.
Speech / Expressive Language: May use simplified language and limited vocabulary. Ideas / conversations may be difficult to follow, with the need to request frequent clarification. Some immaturities in the speech sound system. Grammar / phonological awareness still fairly poor and therefore their literacy can be affected.
Cognition and Learning
Children may have difficulties with the skills needed for effective learning such as use of:
• Language, memory and reasoning skills
• Sequencing and organisational skills
• An understanding of number
• Problem-solving and concept development skills
• Independent learning skills
• Exercising choice
• Decision making
• Information processing
Children may have a specific learning disability such as dyslexia,dyscalculia,dyspraxia or dysgraphia.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health
Children may have difficulties with social and emotional development which may lead to or stem from:
• Social isolation
• Behaviour difficulties
• Attention difficulties (ADHD)
• Anxiety and depression
• Attachment disorders
• Low self esteem
• Issues with self-image
• Autism and social communication
Sensory and/ or Physical
These pupils may have a medical or genetic condition that could lead to difficulties with:
• Specific medical conditions
• Gross / fine motor skills
• Visual / hearing impairment
• Accessing the curriculum without adaptation
• Physically accessing the building(s) or equipment.
• Over sensitivity to noise / smells / light / touch / taste.
• Toileting / self-care.
Please read the SEN Information Report below for more details
Central Primary School will endeavour to support every child regardless of their level of need.
All pupils follow the National Curriculum at a level and a pace that is appropriate to their abilities. At times and when it is felt appropriate, modifications to the curriculum may be implemented.
To successfully match pupil ability to the curriculum it is important to:
We understand that children learn and develop in different ways. Teachers and support staff recognise this and use different teaching styles, resources and plan different levels of work in the classroom to cater for the various ways children learn. However, some children may need extra help.
As a school we provide quality first teaching if a class teacher identifies a need they will find ways to support a child within the classroom setting. This may involve:
With the permission of parents we may seek additional advice from outside specialists such as health professionals, specialist teachers or educational psychologists who would:
Our school staff will set targets for SEND children which will be shared with parents, either during Parents’ Evening or a review meeting. If a child has Special Educational Needs our SENCO will:
A Support Plan details what the school, the class teacher and the SENCO plan to do to help individual children learn. A Support Plan will be written for any child with SEND. It will include:
These plans are shared with parents / carers.
If a child’s needs are very complex and/or severe we may ask the Local Authority to carry out an Education, Health and Care Assessment (EHCP). This is a very detailed assessment of each child’s needs. Parents or carers, the school and a range of professionals will all be asked to provide written reports. At the end of the assessment phase the Local Authority will consider these reports to help decide whether or not to issue an Education, Health and Care Plan for the child. Parents/carers also have the right to ask the Local Authority to carry out this assessment although it is usually best if this can be done with the support of the school.
Education, Health and Care Assessment is only appropriate for a small number of children. Mrs Nicholson, our school SENCO, will be able to advise you about this.