We will make sure that your child is happy and safe at school. If we think that your child needs extra support, we will always talk to you about this. Our SENCO, Ms Furnivall, will explain everything to you to make sure you understand what is happening and ensure all necessary school staff are aware of your child’s needs and worries. You will also be be regularly invited into school to discuss outcomes and give your views,

The school will provide good teaching for your child and extra support where needed, accurately assessing and differentiating the curriculum. A range of resources will be available to support learning for children operating at different levels, including for those children who have significant social/communicative needs.

We make sure children with additional needs and their families can take part fully in school life.

To achieve this high level of effective teaching and learning with your child, we will action our partnership approach. We will work in partnership with you to identify the needs of your child, and from this we will put in place a support plan (including family support if needed). Throughout this, we will ensure that you are involved in all decisions. On occasion, we may need to ask your permission to involve other qualified professionals to support your child; we will try to involve your child in decisions about their own learning as much as possible.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Support Beeches Infant School: All children in our school have support in lessons through quality teaching. This means that activities in lessons are planned according to the level your child is working at. It can mean changes to the environment, teaching style as well as levels of adult support. Reception classes have two members of staff: the class teacher and a teaching assistant. In Keystage 1 each class has a class teacher and a supporting adult to assist in the teaching of Core subject learning e.g., Reading, writing and mathematics. Additional targeted support is available for identified children to address specific difficulties in any of the following areas:

Cognition and learning: Children may find learning, thinking and understanding harder than most other pupils. They may take longer to learn important skills and find it difficult to remember things such as words for reading, understanding how to use letter sounds to spell words and need more time to think about their answers.

Social, emotional and mental health needs: Children may find it difficult to manage their emotions and behaviour. They may find it difficult to follow rules, sit still and listen, follow instructions, understand how others are feeling and find it hard to take responsibility for the things they do in a way that does not cause harm to themselves or others.

Sensory and/or physical needs: Children may have additional needs that may make it difficult for them to manage their everyday life without support. They may have hearing or visual difficulties, physical difficulties or other medical needs. They may find it difficult hearing what others are saying or in reading words in books or work sheets without the print size being adjusted .They may need a walking aid or wheelchair or need changes and support to use pencils, scissors, knives and forks. Some children will need support from an adult to take medication.

Communication and Interaction: Children may find it difficult to interact with people and the world around them. They may find it hard to talk to adults and other children in a group , to talk about a given topic and need support say how they are feeling or thinking. They may have difficulties dealing with changes in routine, with noises, smells or other things around them, and understanding what other people mean when they are talking.

In school we use a variety of different ways to assess whether your child has Special Educational Needs and requires additional support including:

– Observations

– School based assessments

– Information from parents and carers and your child

– Specialised assessment carried out by support services

– Discussions with adults who work with your child

Once a child has been identified as having a Special Educational Need a graduated approach is taken. A support plan will be put in place which will be reviewed and changes made as necessary including asking other professionals to advise and support your child. If concerns continue an Education Health Care Plan can requested from the Local Authority which would outline your child’s needs in detail and the support they should receive.

– Teachers may change what they are teaching and how they teach to help your child learn more with the rest of the class.

– Extra support can be given in a small group working with an adult to help your child with things they are finding difficult.

– Extra support by an adult working with your child on their own for a short time during the day to support the learning of basic skills

– Give extra support using programmes to help develop communication and interaction skills

– Use things in the classroom to help your child understand what is happening e.g. pictures and symbols for timetables and school  routines.

– We might adapt the school environment to help your child.

– We might provide specialist equipment to help your child.

– Extra support may be given to your child by an adult to help them talk about things that upset them.

– Extra support in a small group may be given to help children to develop their social skills.

– Time in our Nurture Room may be offered to Children who find it difficult to manage their emotions and behaviour. The nurturing environment supports their emotional development.

For all children identified as needing additional support in school, individual targets will be set and you will receive a copy of the support plan. This will be reviewed at least once a term. You will be invited to a review meeting with the Inclusion manager and class teacher so that you can discuss how your child is progressing. 

Your child will have the opportunity to comment on their targets by taking part in a child centered review.

The school will use the school tracking system to track your child’s progress as well as observations and discussions with the adults who support your child. Teachers regularly review all pupils progress with Year group leaders and the Senior Leadership Team.

Individual transition plans can be put in place for children, such as:

– Additional visits

– Transition books with pictures

– Staff from Beeches Infant School attend review meetings at Nursery and Junior schools to ensure information is shared and children supported.

– All Staff have team teach training

– We have a team of teaching assistants that are trained Nurture Room staff. Our Nurture Room supports children who may find it difficult to manage their emotions and behaviour.

– We have a trained learning mentor

– All staff have had Autism Education Trust Training at tier 1. 1 teaching assistant has AET tier 2 training.

– All staff have asthma and epi pen and epilepsy training

– Teaching assistants and lunch time supervisors have first aid training

– We have teaching assistants who are trained to support children with language development. They work on advice from speech and language therapists to support identified children. Staff are trained to use Elkan, Language land and WELCOMM

– We have teaching assistants who are trained to support motor skill development. They work on advice from outside agencies where appropriate.

– We have a Parent Support worker who works to support families

• All children including those with Special Educational Needs or a disability have access to the wide range of extra curricular activities and trips that are available. Adjustments will be made if needed to ensure your child can take part.
• Children with Special Educational Needs or a disability are members of our school Council.