Special Educational Needs

Mrs Kathryn Dunn.jpg

Kathryn Dunn

Mrs Jane Rogers.jpg

Jane Rogers

Christina.jpg

Christina Macrae

Led By: Kathryn Dunn (SENDCO)  - [email protected]

Supported By: Jane Rogers

Link Governor: Christina Macrae 

 

Rights Respecting School Article 23 - Children with a disability

A child with a disability has the right to live a full and decent life with dignity and, as far as possible, independence and to play an active partin the community. Governments must do all they can to support disabled children and their families.

Support For Children

At Martenscroft Nursery School we believe excellent teaching gives children the life chances they deserve. We work hard to provide a caring, stimulating and inclusive environment to ensure that every child reaches their full potential. We recognise that you know your child best and you may feel that they need additional help or support for some or all of their time at Our School.

Not all children will need extra support but the progress of all children at Martenscroft is monitored closely to ensure support is provided where necessary. Support can be given for a variety of reasons. 

Support For Parents

We know that sometimes it can feel lonely when you have a child with additional needs or when you are concerned about their development. We want parents and carers to feel supported and listened to and to have the opportunities to meet other parents and carers who may have had similar experiences through our parent and carer forums. If you would be interested in attending these forums, please speak to our Children's Centres team. 

Teaching & Learning

Children learn and develop in different ways. Teachers know and understand this and use different teaching styles to plan work at different levels in order to meet the needs of all children. This is called “Quality First Teaching.” All children at Martenscroft receive “Quality First Teaching” from their key worker. Our aim is to provide the highest quality learning environment for your child and for them to achieve their full potential. 

At Martenscroft the progress and attainment of all pupils is reviewed on a termly basis by the School Leadership Team. These termly pupil progress meetings help identify children who may need additional support. Pupils with SEND are assessed more frequently.  

Parents and Carers are informed about their child’s academic progress and targets through the twice yearly Parent’s Consultation Evenings and the annual end of year school report. In addition, Parents and Carers of children who have SEND are given extended parents evenings and at least one other meeting where they can review their child’s provision.

Additional Support

If a child continues to have difficulty after intervention or has a high level of difficulty when they join Our School, they may be considered to have special educational needs/disability (SEND) and are placed on the SEND register. This decision is made in partnership with Parents and Carers.

At Martenscroft Nursery School we provide support for pupils across the 4 areas of need as laid out in the SEN Code of Practice 2014:

  • Communication and interaction
  • Cognition and Learning
  • Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
  • Sensory and or physical needs

Children with SEND have learning difficulties and/or physical disabilities which make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age. They will need extra support or different help eg. modified tasks, personalised resources and timetables.

Our School and other agencies can help most children overcome their difficulties quickly and easily. A few children will need extra help for some or all of their time in School.
This means they may have difficulty with:

  • Some or all of the work in School
  • Reading, writing and mathematics
  • Understanding and processing information
  • Expressing themselves
  • Understanding others
  • Organising themselves
  • Sensory perception or physical mobility
  • Managing their behaviour or emotions
  • Making friends or relating to adults

At Martenscroft Nursery School teaching and learning opportunities are adapted and continually evaluated (with support of external agencies when required) to ensure the needs of all our learners are met. Parents and Carers should not feel unduly anxious about such additional support as it allows children to receive the specific help they need to make the next steps in their learning journey. To ensure that staff are aware of children’s needs, children on the additional needs register will have a  personalised plan, which is written in conjunction with their class teacher and their parents. The plan is designed so that staff are equipped with up-to-date information to support the child’s needs. This means that appropriate strategies are used to ensure that teaching has the maximum impact and the children feel valued and their needs are understood. These plans are updated on a termly basis.

SEND Stages & Terminology

The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice gives guidance to schools in meeting the needs of pupils. It sets out how help should be given in a step-by-step approach.
Our School SEN Policy reflects the new SEND Code of Practice. Parents and Carers will be consulted at all stages of our graduated approach and the key worker will inform you of the additional work they, or other adults in School, do with your child.

The process is as follows:

Universal
(Quality First Teaching)
All children in School receive quality first teaching which is also known as Wave 1.
Universal is the effective inclusion of all pupils in high-quality every day personalised teaching. Practitioners use a lively, interactive range of teaching styles.

Targeted
If a child has needs which are related to more specific areas of their education then they may be considered for a Targeted intervention. This will be led by a practitioner and is usually done in focus groups. Targeted interventions will be planned and reviewed by the key worker half-termly to ascertain the effectiveness of the provision and to inform future planning.

Specialist
If a child continues to have difficulty after a Targeted intervention or has a high level of difficulty when they arrive at School, they may require support from an outside agency such as an Educational Psychologist or a Speech and Language Therapist. After an assessment is undertaken by the EP or Speech Therapist, a programme of support is sent to the School from the involved agency and is shared with the Parents and Carers. School may seek professional advice from a range of agencies including:

  • Speech and language therapists
  • Visual/hearing impairment teachers
  • Health professionals
  • Educational psychologists

Specialist interventions are a deeper intervention, offering more personalised solutions.

They may be on a one to one basis or delivered in a small group.

EDUCATION, HEALTH AND CARE PLAN – EHC AGREEMENT

If your child’s needs are complex or severe we may suggest that we make an application for an EHC Agreement to the Local Authority. This document will describe your child’s SEND and the special help they should receive. Education, Health and Care Plans usually involve the Local Authority providing extra resources to help your child. These could include money, staff time, special equipment or attendance at a school with specialist resourced support. This additional provision will be reviewed annually or sooner if required and would include Parent, teacher, SENCo and pupil.

Martenscroft Staff

Here at Martenscroft Nursery School we have an experienced team of staff who work together and may be involved in supporting your child in school. These include:

  • Your key worker who will always make sure that learning is differentiated appropriately and that tasks set are accessible for your child. Your child’s key worker is available at the start and end of each day or a meeting can be scheduled either directly or via the school office. Please talk to your child’s key worker if you have any concerns regarding your child in school.
  • Our School SENDCo (Kathryn Dunn) is responsible for working with practitioners and parents to support all children who are ideintified as having special educational needs. 
  • A Designated School Governor  (Christina Macrae) who works with the SENCo in leading SEND across the school..
  • Our Children's Centres Team who support families in accessing additonal support. 

Sometimes School may commission Specialist Support to work with identified children with a particular focus eg. Speech and Language therapists or Occupational therapists. We also regularly liaise with Specialist schools and use their outreach services to support our children and our staff.

To ensure we have a whole School approach and our staff have the skills and knowledge to support children with SEND, there is a programme of training. Staff regularly attend specialist training courses. 

OUTREACH SUPPORT AND THE MANCHESTER EARLY HELP ASSESSMENT (EHA)

As part of our support for all children here at Martenscroft, we have regular opportunities to consult support services and health agencies through a multi-agency approach which sometimes includes completing an Outreach refereal or the Early Help Assessment Framework (EHA) to support the family as well as the identified child. School and the family will meet and discuss and plan together the best use of advice and support from other agencies, with a view to achieving the best outcome for the child and family. The high levels of pastoral care for all are complemented by excellent provision to support pupils who have particular needs, ensuring that everyone is included in the life of the school, academically and socially.

Professionals who might attend a TAC meeting include:

  • The School Nurse who works closely with us and can advise and assess any medical needs. If a care plan is required this would be done in conjunction with the Parent and School nurse and would be reviewed annually.
  • A Speech and Language therapist who works with children in School and can offer advice as to whether your child would benefit from this support or assessment.
  • An Educational Psychologist may give advice or complete an assessment for a child.
  • Outreach support from specialist schools.

If you would like advice from professionals outside school you may find the following numbers and websites useful:

  • Manchester Local Offer  

    Email: [email protected]

    0161 234 1946

    Twitter: Manchester Local Offer @MCRLocalOffer

    www.manchester.gov.uk/sendlocaloffer

  • Family Fund - Grants for disabled children  link. 

  • SENDIASS - https://www.iasmanchester.org/ 

  • Manchester Families Service Directory – www.manchester.fsd.org.uk
  • Autistic Society Greater Manchester – 0161 866 8483
  • The British Dyslexia Association – 0845 251 9002
  • The Dyspraxia Foundation – 01462 455016
  • Headway: The Brain Injury Association – 0808 800 2244
  • Lancasterian Sensory Support Service – 0161 445 0123
  • Living with ADHD – www.livingwithadhd.co.uk
  • Manchester Autism Resource Centre – 0161 945 0040
  • Manchester Asian Parents Carers Project – 0161 227 8708
  • Manchester Mencap – 0161 728 8109
  • Manchester Speech and Language Therapy Service – 0161 248 1208
  • National Autistic Society, Greater Manchester – 0161 998 4667
  • National Blind Children’s Society – 0800 781 1444
  • National Deaf Children’s Society – 0808 800 8880
  • National Down’s Syndrome Society – 0333 1212 300
  • Rodney House Pre-school Outreach Team – 0161 230 6854
  • SEND Local Offer Hub Drop In Sessions – 0161 998 7280
  • The Sensory Team at Manchester City Council – 0161 219 2658
  • Sleep Manchester (sleep problems) – 0161 448 8895
  • Statutory Assessment Service – 0161 245 7439

Admission and Transition

No child can be refused admission to school on the basis of Special educational Needs. The school works hard to design and support carefully managed transition procedures for children at times of transition. This involves direct liaison with other settings to share appropriate reports. Parents and carers are involved at every stage of the process.

Complaints

If there are any complaints relating to the provision for children with SEND these will be dealt with in the first instance by the child’s key person. If unresolved they will be dealt with by the SENDCo, Assistant SENDCo or Learning Support Officer. In the case of continuing unresolved complaint the issue should be referred to the Headteacher and if necessary to the Governing Body following the school’s complaints procedure.

Please contact our SENDCo Kathryn Dunn or Jane Rogers (Head of Childcare) for further advice.

The Governor with responsibility for SEND is Christina Macrae