Inclusive education means supporting all pupils to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of school life alongside their peers. Our curriculum includes, not only the formal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum/National Curriculum, but also a range of additional opportunities to enrich the experiences of all pupils, to develop their personal and social skills, which are essential for lifelong learning.
How We Support Pupils With SEN
Cockfield Primary School prides itself in being inclusive because we endeavour to support every child to reach their full potential. All pupils follow the National Curriculum at a level and a pace that is accessible but challenging. At times and when it is felt appropriate, modifications to the curriculum are implemented. When this is done, a plan for progression is implemented for individual children to ensure that the continue to make progress in line with their needs.
Some pupils start their journey with us with needs which have already been identified (for example by working with a Health Visitor or previous setting). For other children we begin the journey of identifying unmet needs by working alongside parents/carers and other professions.
The progress (academic and social) of all children in the school is regularly reviewed. This enables staff members to identify quickly if they feel that we are not meeting an individual child’s needs. Where a concern is raised, the class teacher records a ‘Short Note’ to identify what their concerns are, record any relevant information and to keep a closer eye on the progress of that pupil. Parents/carers are informed about any concerns at this time. If, after a review, the child is still making slow progress in that area, the teacher, SENCo and parents/carers will decide whether the child needs to be placed on the school’s SEN Register. Children on the SEN Register have their own support plans written and reviewed termly. These plans set out the extra support which is being put into place to support the child over come their barriers to learning.
To support the children and families in our setting we work with a wide range of external agencies. Professional from these agencies support teachers and teaching assistants in understanding the needs of individual children planning to support these. These external agencies include :
- Educational Psychologists
- Speech and Language Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
- SEN Specialists from the local authority
- CAMHS
- Outreach Support staff
There are many different strategies which we use to support the progress of SEN pupils at Cockfield. These include:
- delivery of a broad and balanced curriculum which enables all children to find their ‘element‘ – an area of learning in which they are particularly successful! This helps pupils to gain confidence and build their self-esteem.
- ensuring that teaching staff are aware of, and sensitive to, the needs of all pupils which enables them to plan learning which is most appropriate to their needs.
- consistent structuring of the segments of lessons, to remove cognitive load and provide familiarity for pupils.
- regular use of visuals to support understanding and processing.
- use of key staff to develop positive working relationships with vulnerable pupils.
- use of planned intervention (including pre-teaching and same day intervention) to address specific areas of need.
- use of formative and summative assessment to inform the tracking of pupil progress.
- working in partnership with parents/carers, pupils and relevant external agencies in order to provide for children’s special educational needs and disabilities.
- early identification of needs to ensure that support is provided as soon as possible.
- regular review of the SEN policy and advice in order to achieve best practice.