Special Educational Needs Team
Led by Mrs Lynne Howard: Inclusion Manager and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCo)
My main role is co-ordinating provision for children who require additional support throughout the school, ensuring that intervention programmes are personalised and delivered by trained members of staff to match the needs of individual children. I also lead ILP review meetings three times a year, at which parents and children are invited to discuss children's progress towards their targets and decide upon new targets to work on.
I will spend time working with and assessing children to gain more understanding about the particular areas of learning that they are finding more challenging, so that I can work with the child, the class teacher and the child’s parents to decide upon the most appropriate level of support.
I refer children to external agencies (with parental consent), if we feel that we need a better understanding of how to support a particular child’s needs.
I also work closely with families that may need additional support due to family relationships, bereavement, housing issues, behavioural issues, to name but a few. I am closely supported by other members of my team including…
Special Needs Teacher: Mrs Smith
Mrs Smith works Mondays to Wednesdays, working with children on a 1:1 or small group basis. She delivers interventions tailored to children’s individual needs, focussing on their termly ILP targets, in the key areas such as phonics, reading, writing and number facts. She liaises closely with class teachers to keep them informed about what the children are learning with her, so they are encouraged to transfer their skills back into the classroom.
Mrs Smith also give inputs on learning styles, resilience, growth mindset and specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia to support children in developing strategies that work for them.
Learning Mentor: Mrs Bennett
Our learning mentor, Mrs Bennett works on Thursdays and Fridays. Children can be referred to the learning mentor either by their class teacher, the head teacher or by myself. The reason for their referral can be anything from low self-esteem, confidence issues, anxiety, family breakdowns, or any other problem that may be preventing the child from accessing their learning and achieving their full potential. The learning mentor will work with a child that is referred to her on a 1:1 or small group basis striving to achieve targets that her and the child will have set together. Parental consent will have been gained before any child begins work with the learning mentor. Mrs Bennett also provides lunchtime support for children who may need some additional ‘nurture’ time, or for children who may be having social integration difficulties.
Play Therapist: Jane Divall
Our play therapist works one day a week with children on a 1:1 basis. She works closely with the child’s parents to ensure that the therapy is supported at home and that parents are kept informed of any themes that may arise through the therapy sessions. The play therapist will work with children who may have a slightly higher level of need than those that see the learning mentor. This may include bereavement, behaviour/anger issues, deeper emotional/social difficulties. Parental consent will have been gained before any child begins work with the Play Therapist.
As a team we strive to support children holistically, ensuring that their social/emotional needs are met, as this will impact on their academic performance.
Purple Mash - https://www.purplemash.com/sch/holy-rh17
USEFUL LINKS
Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 – 25 years
Parents and Carers Guide to the new SEND Code of Practice
click here for parent and carer guide
West Sussex Local Offer
National Association for Special Educational Needs
Council for Disabled Children
http://www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk
Autism
Dyslexia
https://www.patoss-dyslexia.org/
Dyspraxia
www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk
West Sussex Parent and Carer forum
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2
If you have any useful links that you think may help to support other parents/carers please let us know.