Our SENCO is Tara Lawrence

Our SEN Governor is Kate Read

Q. How does your education setting know if children/young people need extra help and what do I do if I think my child has special educational needs?

At Wootey Junior School children are identified as having SEND through a variety of ways including the following:-

• Liaison with Infant school/previous school

• Child performing significantly below age expected levels

• Concerns raised by Parent

• Concerns raised by teacher for example behaviour or self-esteem is affecting performance

• Liaison with external agencies i.e. Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists.

• Health diagnosis through paediatrician

If you think that your child has SEND please talk to us. Firstly contact your child’s class teacher or SENCo or Head Teacher. We pride ourselves on building positive relationships with parents. We are open and honest with parents and hope that they are able to do the same with us.

Q. How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child’s/young person’s learning?

•We offer an open door policy where you are welcome any time to make an appointment to meet with either the class teacher or SENCo and discuss how your child is getting on.

•We can offer advice and practical ways that you can help your child at home.

•We believe that your child's education should be a partnership between parents and teachers, therefore we aim to keep communication channels open and communicate regularly, especially if your child has complex needs.

•We operate a home / school link book which your child will bring home regularly so that comments from parents and teacher can be shared and responded to when needed.

•If your child is on the SEND register they will have an Individual learning plan (ILP) which will outline their current areas of need, target areas to focus on and the provision they are receiving for this. This is discussed on a termly basis with parents. Provision is carefully reviewed and monitored in conjunction with the SENCO. If your child has additional interventions, these are monitored through SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time scaled) targets with the expectation that the child will achieve the target by the time it is reviewed.

•If your child has complex SEND they may be part of an IPA (Inclusion Partnership Agreement) or have an Educational Health Care Plan, which means that a formal meeting will take place to discuss your child's progress and a report will be written.

Q How will the education setting staff support my child/young person?

Our SENCo oversees all support and progress of any child requiring additional support across the school. The class teacher will oversee, plan and work with each child with SEND in their class to ensure that progress in every area is made. There may be a Learning Support Assistant (LSA) working with your child either individually or as part of a group; if this is seen as necessary by the class teacher. The regularity of these sessions will be explained to parents when the support starts.

The class teacher will meet with parents at least on a termly basis (this could be as part of Parent Consultations) to discuss your child’s needs, support and progress. For further information the SENCo is available to discuss support in more detail.

All work is varied in challenge so that all children are able to access according to their specific needs. This could be through the use of additional resourcing or level of support given at different stages, however on occasions activities can be individually differentiated. The benefit of this type of differentiation is that all children can access a lesson and learn at their level and work towards being independent.

Q. How is the decision made about what type of and how much support my child /young person will receive?

The class teacher alongside the SENCo will discuss the child’s needs and what support would be appropriate.  Different children will require different levels of support in order to bridge the gap to achieve age expected levels. This will be through on-going discussions with parents and by reviewing children’s progress and ensuring that their targets are being met.  It is essential that a child is making progress academically towards age related expectations and the gap is narrowing for children working below this. .

Q. How will my child be included in activities outside the school classroom including school trips?

All children are included in all parts of the school curriculum and we aim for all children to be included on school trips. We will provide the necessary support to ensure that this is successful. A risk assessment is carried out prior to any off site activity to ensure everyone's health & safety will not be compromised. We will consider what reasonable adjustments might need to be made to enable children with SEND to participate fully and safely. This will require consultation with parents and pupils and advice from relevant Health Care professionals to ensure that pupils can participate safely.

Q. What support will there be for my child’s/young person’s overall wellbeing?

We are an inclusive school; we welcome and celebrate diversity. All staff believe that children having high self-esteem is crucial to a child’s well-being. We have a caring, understanding team looking after our children.

The class teacher has overall responsibility for the pastoral, medical and social care of every child in their class, therefore this would be the parents’ first point of contact. If further support is required the class teacher liaises with the SENCo for further advice and support. This may involve working alongside outside agencies such as Health and Social Services, and/or the Behaviour Support Team.

The school also has an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) who works under the direction of the Mental Health Leader, with vulnerable children and parents during the school day.

The school has a policy regarding the administration and managing of medicines on the school site.

Parents need to contact the class teacher if medication is recommended by Health Professionals to be taken during the school day. On a day to day basis the Admin Staff generally oversee the administration of any medicines. As a staff we have regular training and updates of conditions and medication affecting individual children so that all staff are able to manage medical situations.

As a school we have a very positive approach to all types of behaviour with a clear reward system that is followed by all staff and pupils. If a child has behavioural difficulties an Individual Behaviour Management Plan (IBMP) is written alongside the child and parents to identify the specific issues, put relevant support in place and set targets. As a result of the support we give, our rate of exclusions are very low.

After any behaviour incident we expect the child to reflect on their behaviour with an adult. This helps to identify why the incident happened and what the child needs to do differently next time to change and improve their behaviour.  

Attendance of every child is monitored on a daily basis by the Admin Office. Lateness and absence are recorded and reported to the Head Teacher. Support is given through an incentive scheme where good attendance is actively encouraged throughout the school. We have had many successes where families were struggling with lateness but are now able to get their children into school on time.

We have clear behaviour values centred on the three golden rules of ‘Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Respectful’.  We celebrate each child being able to express their views on all aspects of school life. This is usually carried out through the School Council which has an open forum for any issues or viewpoints to be raised.

Children who have (ILP) have the opportunity to discuss their progress and support with their class teacher. There is an annual pupil questionnaire where we actively seek the viewpoints of children especially concerning being able to speak to an adult if they have a worry.  If your child has an IPA (Inclusion Partnership Agreement) or EHCP (Educational Health Care Plan) their views will be sought before any review meetings.

Q. What training is provided for staff supporting children and young people with SEND?

Our SENCo is appropriately qualified and is receiving regular professional development for the role. As a school we work closely with any external agencies that we feel are relevant to individual children’s needs within our school including: - Behaviour Intervention; Health including – GPs, School Nurse, Paediatricians, Speech & Language Therapists; Occupational Therapists; Social Services including - Locality Teams, Social Workers and Educational Psychologists.

We have a member of staff trained as an ELSA who receives regular support from the Educational Psychologist. Another member of staff has had training in delivering Speech & Language programmes from Speech & Language Therapists. A number of teachers and LSAs are Team Teach trained to support children with behavioural difficulties. All of our LSAs have had training in delivering reading and spelling / phonics programmes.

Q. How accessible is your education setting (indoors and outdoors)?

The school site is wheelchair accessible with a disabled toilet large enough to accommodate changing. The school is on two levels but ramps and specified fire exits are available in the main administration block. Children lessons are conducted in a teaching block with stairs. There are designated parking spaces for disabled users.

Q. How are parent carers/young people currently involved in your education setting? How can I get involved and who can I contact for further information?

We believe that your child’s education should be a partnership between parents and teachers, therefore we aim to keep communication channels open and communicate regularly, especially if your child has complex needs.

We operate a home / school link book which your child will bring home regularly so that comments from parents and teacher can be shared and responded to when needed.  The following organisations can provide support for parents with SEND children.

• Support4SEND (formerly Parent Partnership Service) –http://www3.hants.gov.uk/support4send  
• Independent Parental Special Education Advice - www.ipsea.org.uk/

Q. What steps should I take if I have a concern about the school’s SEND provision?

The first point of contact for all parents would be your child’s class teacher to share your concerns. You could also arrange to meet Mrs Lawrence (SENCo). The school website provides our SEND policy.

The following organisations can provide support for parents with SEND children:

• Support4SEND (formerly Parent Partnership Service) - http://www3.hants.gov.uk/support4send
• Independent Parental Special Education Advice - www.ipsea.org.uk/

Parents can always contact the school admin office to arrange to meet the Head teacher Mr Tim O’Brien or Deputy Head teacher Mrs Katherine Manston, who would willingly discuss how the school could meet your child’s needs.

Q What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school?

As a school we work closely with any external agencies that we feel are relevant to individual children’s needs within our school including: - Behaviour Intervention; Health including – GPs, School Nurse, Clinical Psychologist, Paediatricians, Speech & Language Therapists; Occupational Therapists; Social Services including - Locality Teams, Social Workers and Educational Psychologists.

Q. How will the school prepare and support my child/young person to join the school, transfer to a new school, or transition to the next stage of life?

We encourage all new children to visit the school prior to starting when they will meet their buddy and be shown around the school. For children with SEND we would encourage further visits to assist with the acclimatisation of the new surroundings. We would also visit them in their current school. We write social stories with children if transition is potentially going to be difficult.  

When children are preparing to leave us for a new school, typically to go to Secondary education, we arrange additional visits. At our ‘feeder’ secondary schools, Amery Hill School and Eggars School, they run a programme specifically tailored to aid transition for the more vulnerable pupils. We liaise closely with Staff when receiving and transferring children to different schools ensuring all relevant paperwork is passed on and all needs are discussed and understood.