SEND - Special Educational Needs and Disability

Special Educational Needs Coordinator - Miss Fraser

We all worry about our children sometimes and if we are thinking they have Special Educational Needs it can be difficult to know where to go for help. I am always happy to talk to you so just come up to the office and we can agree a time to chat but there is a lot of information out there which can help. There are lots of links on this page to get you started

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Where To Get Help

When you are thinking about what is best for your child, here are just a few places to start

Harrow Council have lots of things for children with Special Educational Needs. Every council has to have what is called a “local offer”. It is now smartphone friendly and can be used on any device. It tells us about everything they provide.

There is an interactive map for the SEN-D (Special Educational Needs and Disability) local offer where you just click whatever box sounds interesting and you go to that service. Click here for more information

If you want to chat to someone there are two options

1. “Special Needs Community” available for parents. Currently, an organisation of parents of children with SEND have won the contract to run this. It is called HP4DC (Harrow Parents for Disabled Children). The name puts off a lot of parents but please don’t be put off - they are a very positive helpful organisation. Have a look at their websiteI think their jargon buster link is helpful They also have a really useful interactive PDF called “What can I ask for 2018”
2. The second organisation is Harrow Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (Harrow SENDIAS). They provide free impartial support, information and advice to parents and carers of children and young people aged up to 25 who have a special educational need or disability (SEND). They also support the children and young people themselves with matters relating to education, health and social care. SENDIAS are brilliant at supporting families when schools start talking about things such as an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP). They work closely with other professionals to ensure that families’ voices are heard. SENDIAS is based in Harrow Weald and their phone no is 020 8428 6487 Opening Hours 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday, during school term time

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What Is Special Educational Needs and What Difference Does it Make if my Child Has Needs?

The 2014 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Reforms tell us some important starting points

This means that just because your child needs a bit of support, or might be behind their peers, they might not require any provision more than other children. Children might go on the register, have the different and additional support, then come off the register having made good progress.

In terms of disability, the 2010 Disability Act requires Schools to prevent discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity and to foster good relations.
Schools also must make reasonable adjustments for disabled children, to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage.

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Kenmore Park Junior School's commitment to SEND

Kenmore Park Junior School is a fully inclusive school which ensures that all pupils achieve their potential personally, socially, emotionally and academically in all areas of the curriculum (regardless of their gender, ethnicity, social background, religion, sexual identity, physical ability or educational needs).

If you would like to see Miss Fraeser about your child an appointment can be made through our school office on 0208 204 6294 or on send@kpjs.harrow.sch.uk. Please also see the Pastoral Link on the Website to access the Pastoral Manager.

Provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN)

At Kenmore Park Junior School we:

• identify children with SEN and ensure provision is made in accordance with the SEN and Disability Codes of Practice (2014);
• have an Inclusion Manager who is a fully trained and accredited SENCo;
• invest in whole-school and targeted training for staff ensure inclusive, high-quality teaching and support practice is embedded throughout the school and that all teachers understand that they are ‘Teachers of SEN’
• have a group of dedicated, full-time Support Staff, Teachers and Teaching Assistants, providing a range of interventions for children
• provide information on school arrangements for SEN to parents and governors;Have a group of dedicated, full-time Support Staff, Teachers and Teaching Assistants, providing a range of interventions for children
• consider pre-emptive(appropriate in advance)arrangements for pupils present and future with a disability;
• publish the school SEN policy and a description of the arrangements and specialist provisions made for children with SEN – including the accessibility plan.

A child or young person has special educational needs (SEN) if he or she has learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for him or her to learn than most other children and young people of about the same age. The government split these needs into four broad ‘areas of need’:

1. Communication and Interaction
2. Cognition and Learning
3. Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
4. Sensory and Physical Needs

Please see the link to our SEND information Report ratified by Governors 2016 for more information.

A copy of our SEN policy, together with further information of our provision for children with special educational needs or disability is available on the Policies page.

Identifying the Special Educational Needs of pupils

Kenmore Park Junior School works hard to ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to overcome barriers to learning. We assess the progress of pupils by comparing the children’s rates of progress against their starting points and will review all available information – from previous settings, other professionals and parents of the child.

Class teachers, with the support of the SLT (Senior Leadership Team) and the Inclusion Manager, will conduct regular assessments of progress for all pupils. Through monitoring and evaluation of these assessments, children requiring further support will be identified through, for example, progress which:

• is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
• fails to match or better the child’s previous rates of progress
• fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
• widens the attainment gap (SEN COP, 2014, p95)
• progress in areas wider than merely academic attainment will also be considered e.g. development of social skills
• each child’s age and individual circumstances will also be taken into consideration

Teaching children in KPJS with SEN

The school follows the SEN Code of Practice, 2014, in using an “assess, plan, do, review” process. In short, the system works as follows:

• Assess:children’s learning will be assessed to provide a baseline score and to identify barriers to learning.
• Plan:action points will be constructed focusing on outcomes
• Do:the actions will be completed
• Review:the process will be reviewed against outcomes and future actions will be decided

We aim to ensure that children with SEN at Kenmore Park Junior School make good progress and achieve in line with other schools nationally. We ensure effective communication with parents and carers, in order to work collaboratively and secure the best possible outcomes for all our children. Children’s views are also critical in ensuring the right provision to meet children’s needs.

All staff are committed to providing the best teaching for all children, including children with SEN. In order to achieve this, differentiation for individual pupils with SEN is expected when required. The learning environment may also be adapted to scaffold learning for example, through the provision of coloured overlays to aid some children’s reading.

The school will ensure that whenever possible, children with SEN or disabilities are enabled to engage in activities available for children who do not have SEN. This will be in line with the Equality Act 2010: advice for schools DfE Feb 2013.

Evaluating effectiveness

The attainment of all children is tracked in the school to ensure that progress is maintained. Whole class teaching reflects the needs of all the children in the class. If a child is not making progress, they may be provided with extra support, have an intervention adapted or they may be identified for another intervention. Many children have interventions for many reasons. Interventions are very carefully chosen using “What Works for Children” as recommended by our Educational Psychology Team. We ensure interventions are effective and meeting the needs of the children: We usually use some measurement before and after an intervention to ensure its effectiveness.

When support within school has not been successful, or the school feels we do not have the relevant expertise to support a child, we may seek to involve further specialist support such as the Educational Psychology Service, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, etc. This will always be done with the permission of parents.

We have good relationships with outside agencies (including Educational Psychology Service), who assess children and advise parents and schools.

Support for improving emotional and social development

The ethos of the school supports the emotional & social development of learners. We use a variety of strategies including

• regular PHSE lessons and assemblies:
• lunchtime and extra-curricular clubs
• access to targeted interventions such as Circle of Friends,
• access to play-based therapy;
• access to a counsellor
• a worry box system
• Open-door drop in policy for children to talk to the Pastoral Manager.

The school monitors the behaviour of children and logs any issues on a computerised database. Any incidents of bullying will be followed up by a member of staff to ensure that children in the school feel safe and supported.

Supporting children moving between phases of education

The school will support children with class-to-class and change-of-key-stage transition by providing opportunities for children to meet their new teachers and to experience the new environment. We will consider children likely to require extra support and provide them with help. We have excellent relations with the Infant school and the local High Schools and set up programmes every year to ensure children with SEND transition well between key stages.

Arrangements for the admission of disabled pupils

The school will comply with the Equality Act 2010 when admitting children with disabilities. We will seek, whenever possible, to provide support and make adaptations to the environment to enable children to attend.

Involving and consulting parents of children with SEN

The school is committed to working with parents to provide the best possible care and education for the child. To this end, the school will:

• Consult with parents when initial concerns are raised, identifying possible barriers to learning and review dates when next steps are identified
• Ensure that parents know which interventions the children are receiving and advise ways in which they can be supported at home
• Focus on the expected outcomes of interventions. Prior to receiving interventions, a baseline score will be taken and this will be used to assess the children’s progress. This information will be shared with parents during termly meetings, or sooner if there are concerns regarding the rates of progress when compared to similar-attaining peers
• We will also explain the interventions to children and listen to their views.

Involving further support for families

At times, families may require further support for a variety of reasons. The school is committed to working with families in order to help meet their needs through the involvement of supportive agencies such as health bodies, charities and social care. The school will discuss with families as and when required to see if such support could help them via, for example, securing support from Children’s Service’s Early Support Team – who can provide support and advice to families.

The school is always welcoming of parents requesting support. Our Pastoral Manager, Miss Mason or our Inclusion Manager, Miss Fraser would always happy to discuss any concerns you have. Please arrange a meeting time via the school office or phone 0208 204 6294.

All appropriate guidance will be followed for children in Local Authority Care and the school will ensure that children in such circumstances are given the opportunity to succeed. All support will be considered on a case-to-case basis to ensure individual needs are met.

Miss Fraser

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