Bramcote CofE Primary School

We are an inclusive Church of England primary school who caters for a wide range of children’s needs and we are also accessible for pupils and visitors with a range of needs.

We currently have a number of children who have been diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, alongside children with Asperger’s.

We are a Dyslexia Friendly accredited school and cater for children who have been screened or assessed as having dyslexia.

We pride ourselves on our nurturing environment and cater for some children who have experienced personal trauma, personal, social and emotional difficulties.

Through a carefully differentiated curriculum we also cater for children who through assessments are struggling to attain and make progress in line with the majority of the rest.

If you think that your child has special educational needs, you should mention this on the school application form. You should also make an appointment to meet with the SENCO. We will be able to advise you as to how we can best meet the needs of your child.

We also track and monitor children’s progress closely, if children show that they are falling well below age-related expectations they are flagged up as needing support. This could be done at different levels either through teacher support, specific group support and involvement in intervention or seeking to consult with other professionals.

We also identify that some children from time to time may experience social and emotional difficulties and this can in turn hinder their academic progress, if this is the case we will do our best to support your child through pastoral support or in extreme cases will seek outside agency support.

We evaluate the effectiveness of our special educational needs provision by regularly reviewing progress of the children against their set targets. This is done through pupil progress meetings with both our teachers and teaching assistants, these are carried out on a half termly basis.

We measure pupil progress against national age related expectations and where children are not working at this level against PIVATs a small step approach to assessment.

All of this data is then fed into our individual and whole school tracking system.

We use an electronic tracking system which allows us to track all pupils progress. We update this termly and use this information in our termly pupil progress meetings. These meetings are invaluable in recognising the achievements and progress of all pupils within the class against national expectations and also individual pupil targets. At these discussions suggestions for any pupil who are struggling are made in order to ensure good progress.

At Bramcote C of E Primary School we operate an open door policy which means that you can see your child’s class teacher at any time before or after school to discuss their progress and we will suggest any ways in which you can support your child. All our staff are happy to be available if you require a longer discussion.

Class Teachers plan lessons according to the specific needs of all groups of children in their class, and will ensure that learning tasks are adjusted in order to enable your child to access their learning as independently as possible.

Specially trained support staff can implement the teachers modified/adapted planning to support the needs of your child where necessary.

Specific resources and strategies will be used to support your child individually and in groups.

Planning and teaching will be adapted on a daily basis if needed to meet your child’s learning needs and increase your child’s access to what is on offer.

Pupils with SEN will be given access to the same curriculum however depending on needs this may need to be modified to enable it to meet their needs. Quality first teaching is the main source of education for any child within our school and where it is appropriate class teachers may deploy support staff (Teaching Assistants) to work with children either on a 1:1 or small group basis.

Every effort will be made to educate pupils with SEN alongside their peers in a mainstream classroom setting. Where this is not possible, the SENCO will consult with the child’s parents for other flexible arrangements to be made, e.g. working in our TA (Teaching Assistant) room or outside of the classroom.

Decisions are initially made at the request of the class teacher, regular monitoring and teacher assessment enables them to identify where a child is struggling with their learning and that the need for extra support, intervention may be needed.

A discussion with the SENCO will occur and arrangements will be made either to assess further or to action specific intervention to support them.

At each stage a conversation with parents will be made to ensure that they are updated and informed.

We will never exclude pupils from taking part in activities which take place outside of the classroom. We will ensure that an adequate risk assessment is made for every activity and where appropriate extra support or provision will be implemented.

We will always consult with parents as to the risk of an any activity taken out of the classroom.

We want to ensure that all children in our care are given the right support to enable them to thrive. We operate a nurturing environment and through our whole school ethos ‘Life in all its Fullness’ believe that children will grow and develop as individuals and achieve to the best of their ability.

Support is therefore given to all children who at some time or another may be struggling either academically, socially or emotionally. We have Teaching Assistants who are very skilled at working with children to support their emotional well-being.

The School Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) is Mrs Hannah Atkinson

Contact Number 0115 9258548

office@bramcote.notts.sch.uk

Each year the school develops a training plan which identifies training needs for all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children including those with SEND. This may include whole school training on SEND issues or to support identified groups of learners in school, such as ASC and dyslexia.

Individual teachers and support staff attend training courses run by outside agencies for example the Local Authority that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class. Over the past year some of the teaching assistants have attended training on Dyscalculia, Numicon, Clicker, working with pupils with ASC, MAPA, using iPads with children with SEN, and Inference training.

We plan to continue to develop and enhance the whole staffs understanding of the new SEND code of practice through the implementation of a new SEND policy. There is also the opportunity for staff training through the local Authority.

The school continues to build strong working relationships and links with external support services in order to fully support our SEN pupils and aid school inclusion.

Sharing knowledge and information with our support services is key to the effective and successful SEN provision within our school. Any one of the support services may raise concerns about a pupil. This will then be brought to the attention of the SENCo, who will then inform the child’s parents.

The following services will be involved as and when is necessary:

Education Psychology Service, Behaviour Support Service, Social Services, Speech and Language Service Language and Learning Support Service Specialist Outreach Services.

Local Authority staff visit school to provide advice concerning the suitability of the building and curriculum for pupils with Special Educational Needs. This may result in the provision of specialist equipment or adaptations to the school building.

We have disabled toileting facilities, with shower and a room suitable for a changing table.

We have an accessible building with classrooms on one level with ramps providing access to indoor and outdoor facilities.

You will be formally invited to attend termly review meeting with the SENCo, teaching assistant and where applicable class teachers and any professionals who may be working with your child. At this review meeting we will discuss your child’s progress against their set targets, take on board your views and make suggestions about further interventions and support that may be needed.

In addition to these there will be two consultation evenings with the class teacher and an annual report issued at the end of the summer term to summarise the progress that has been made throughout the year.

Pupil’s views are very important, all children who are considered to need extra support, specific intervention and or involvement with other professionals will be asked to complete a pupil questionnaire. This will enable us to assess how they feel about their learning and pin point any areas that they are finding difficult. In consultation with the pupil we will also complete a pupil profile which helps to identify the best ways they learn and also areas to improve.

In the first instance talk with the SENCo /Headteacher about your concerns, if the situation cannot be rectified then consult with the schools complaint procedure this is available on the school web-site or from the school office.

The governing body at the school recognises the importance of involving other professional bodies in enabling us as a school to meet the needs of all children. They therefore give permission for relevant bodies to contact and come into school.

The link governor for the school is Mrs Susanna Wagner who meets with the SENCO to monitor the SEN provision in school. She will then report back to the full governing body.

The Headteacher also keeps the governors up to date on the number of children on the SEND register and also the involvement of outside agencies through the Headteacher report.

The school is advised by the Local Authority of other services which can be sign posted to support children’s specific needs. The school may refer children to different professional bodies and sometimes may signpost parents to services that may offer them support.

Join the school/setting?

For children entering the school in Reception we operate a transition programme. This involves several elements which we have developed over the years to enable a smooth transition into school. We have an initial child and parent event, followed by a parents meeting, individual appointments with the class teacher – at which parents can request an additional meeting with the SENCO if this is necessary. Then we have three sessions increasing in time concluding with lunch then an afternoon session in class.

As we are a through single class primary school catering for children from rising five to eleven, children become very familiar with the school and class teachers. Where children have been recognised as having additional needs we support children into the next class by developing a passport to the next class. This enables the children to work through their hopes and fears for the next class.

There are links with other Primary and Secondary schools in the family. The SENCOS of all these schools meet termly as a group enabling family initiatives and approaches to be explored.

Additional transition visits may be arranged with the SENCO of the secondary school if required for Year six children with SEN. Year Six children who are transferring to secondary school also complete an additional passport book to help to ease their transition.

N/A

Further information is available from the school office either via telephone 0115 9258548

Or email office@bramcote.notts.sch.uk

Via our School website