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Special Educational Needs & Disabilities
SEND Management Staff
Mr D. Rowe, Assistant Vice Principal Inclusion
Mrs Z Balding, Inclusion Lead
Miss Charlotte Bathurst, SEN Lead KS1 and EYFS
Mr Matt Willis, SEN Lead KS2 and whole school inclusion lead
If you wish to contact the SEND department email senco@skps.org.uk or call 01892 553060.
Skinners’ Kent Primary School is dedicated to being an inclusive school with the aim of ensuring that all children achieve their potential. Some children have special educational needs and the school is committed in providing appropriate support for all children to ensure that they make good progress.
Skinners’ Kent Primary School is committed to:
- Catering for every pupil’s learning needs
- Providing a fully inclusive community of which every pupil is an important part
- Celebrating diversity and differences
- Building our pupils’ self-esteem and recognising their achievements at every level
- Working closely together with parents of pupils with SEN/D
- Identifying SEN/D early and putting appropriate support in place
- Training our staff so that they can help children learn in the way that suits them best.
Definition of SEN/D
A child has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.
A child of compulsory school age has a learning difficulty if he or she:
(a) Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
(b) Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions, (SEN Code of Practice 2014, with amendments 2015).
There are four broad areas giving an overview of the range of needs that we plan for. The broad areas of need fall under:
- Communication and Interaction
- Cognition and Learning
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
- Sensory and/or Physical Needs
What do I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?
If you have any concerns about your child, first of all talk to your child's class teacher. We value information from our parents about their child, as this helps us to plan to meet the needs of your child better. Alternatively, you can contact the SEND Management Team, by contacting the school office.
Support for pupils
Skinners’ Kent Primary School offers a range of support for pupils based on their individual learning needs:
Universal level – personalised quality first teaching in every lesson
Support given at the universal level is a whole school response to pupil needs and takes place in all lessons. This may be the use of particular strategies that are available to everyone in the class such as word mats and differentiated lessons.
Targeted level – additional support
Targeted support is for individuals or small groups for a short term, usually around six weeks. However, the support may be ongoing dependent on the needs of the learner. These interventions can include small group or 1-1 English or maths support, social communication skills and specialist motor development activities. They may also involve teaching pupils how to use specific equipment within the classroom independently such as word processors, task management boards or visual cues. Some pupils who take part in these interventions may have special educational needs, whilst others may take part because they need to ‘catch up’ or need some extra support in a specific area of learning.
Personalised level – specific needs
These interventions are provided for individual learners with more specific and unique needs. These may include additional support from external services such as Speech and Language Therapy Service, Specialist Teaching Service or Child and Young Person Mental Health Service.
Interventions are usually run by Teaching Assistants who receive specific training, other professionals may also be involved.
Planning and reviewing
Pupils who need extra support in one or more areas of learning are tracked through the use of Class Provision Plans. Pupils with more complex needs will have a Personal Provision Plan. These are both tracked through the use of SMART targets and evaluated termly at pupil progress meetings, where the class teacher and inclusion team decide whether a pupil needs to continue with their intervention. Interventions may be continued if they are having a positive effect or discontinued if the pupil has made sufficient progress for their needs to be met at a universal level. Interventions will also be discontinued if they are unsuccessful and alternative support put in place.
Child centred approach
The SEND Code of Practice (September 2015) aims to put pupils and parents at the heart of provision. Pupils who have been identified as having SEND will meet with a member of the inclusion team three times a year to review their social and learning needs and plan for their next steps. Parents will also be invited to review current interventions that their child is receiving and discuss any additional support their child may need.
