Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
We value all God's children and all have a right to quality education whatever their needs and disabilities. Our inclusive ethos is recognised by all who know the school and we work hard to ensure all children who need additional support to thrive are given the very best of what we can offer. Our SENCo is Mrs Sarah Palmer who is usually available on Thursday mornings for support and advice. You can find out more about how you can support your child's learning by clicking on the Learning tab above. Please contact the school if you have any questions about our provision.
SENCo: Sarah Palmer - spalmer@pembridge.hereford.sch.uk
SEN Governor: Nancy Bancroft - nbancroft@pembridge.hereford.sch.uk
Designated Safeguarding Lead: Robert Hollis - rhollis@pembridge.hereford.sch.uk
SENDIAS (advice and support for parents and carers): 01432 260955 - sendias@herefordshire.gov.uk
What are Special Educational Needs and Disabilities?
There are four areas stated in the SEND Code of Practice 2014:
Communication and Interaction - difficulty with different aspects of speech, language or social communication. This includes children with autism.
Cognition and Learning - moderate and severe learning difficulties including specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyscalculia.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties - difficulties such as anxiety, depression or self-harming.
Sensory and/or Physical Needs - difficulties such as visual or hearing impairment.
Our Approach to SEND
Through our Christian vision, Pembridge CE Primary School values the individual needs of all our children. We aim to raise the aspirations and achievements of all our pupils, regardless of their SEN status. We have high expectations for all children and every child is encouraged to develop their best – intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially. We support them in a variety of ways including quality first teaching, adapted activities, adult support, intervention groups and advice from outside agencies. We believe in equal opportunities to meet the physical, emotional and learning needs of all of our pupils.
Underpinning all our provision in school is the graduated approach of:
Assess
Children are continually assessed and tracked as part of our rigorous, whole school monitoring approach and every child is discussed at termly Pupil Progress meetings within school. A range of assessment techniques may be used including child observations, discussions with key staff and parents/carers to identify and analyse the child’s needs, formal tests, recorded work and discussions with the individual child.
Children on the SEND register will have an Individual Pupil Passport which will be reviewed at least twice a year and for some, each term and a new set of targets made. The progress of children with an EHC Plan is formally reviewed at an Annual Review with all adults involved with the child’s education.
Plan
If, following additional in class support, your child has still not made the progress required to close the gap and is falling behind the level expected for children their age, a meeting will be arranged with parents and carers. We will discuss what the child needs to improve and develop and how this will be achieved through planned support interventions, additional or different resources and possible outside agency involvement.
Do
Adjustments will be made to classroom practice and more specific interventions may be led by the class teacher or TA. The desired outcomes of the interventions will be more specific and designed to fulfil the needs of the individual child.
Review
Discussions between the class teacher and the adult responsible for delivering the intervention will monitor the effectiveness of the support. Written feedback and assessments from each session are recorded and this is then used to help review the child’s individual targets on their Pupil Passport.
For more details, please click our Pembridge CE Primary School Local Offer.
Click on our own SEND Policy for further details.
Access to the Curriculum and the Learning Environment for all Pupils
Pembridge CE Primary School endeavours to make reasonable adjustments both in terms of the learning and physical environment to ensure that all pupils can access the facilities and opportunities on offer.
Pembridge CE Primary School follows all guidelines and legal requirements set out in the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act), 1995. In this document, a disability is defined as follows: ‘a person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day to day activities’
At Pembridge access can be provided for pupils with physical disabilities. The school building has been adapted and we have additional facilities including a hygiene/wet room and physiotherapy room to support pupils with specific needs. Both these rooms have hoists. We ensure wherever possible, that equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs. In addition before- and after-school provision is accessible to all children, including those with SEN. We do ask, however, that you speak with us to ensure your child has the independence to manage this provision without additional adult support.
Please click on this link for more information: Accessibility Plan 2022-2025
Consulting with Children, Young People and their Parents and Carers
Involving parents and carers and their children in the dialogue about progress and learning is central to our approach. We do this through:
- Parents' Consultation Meetings twice a year
- School reports termly
- Sharing of individual passports at least twice a year
- Informal discussions when appropriate
Pupil Passports are created in conjunction with the child and their thoughts and views are recorded on the document. The views of parents are also recorded on this document. A copy of the Passport is then sent home for the parents’ records.
Staff Development
Staff at Pembridge CE Primary School are highly skilled and are committed to developing the on-going expertise of our staff. Most members of staff have Paediatric First Aid or First Aid at Work and are trained to at least Level 1 in Safeguarding. In addition, our SEND teaching assistants will often have training to deliver specific interventions. Each year, the needs of children within our school are carefully considered and training organised to up-skill staff.
As a school we work closely with a range of external specialist services which are relevant to our pupils’ needs. These may include Speech and Language Therapists, Behaviour Support Workers, Parent Support Advisors, Social Workers, Paediatricians and Educational Psychologists. In addition, the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and Head Teacher are able to consult with Herefordshire Local Authority for advice and support.
All staff are subject to a Performance Management review which identifies training needs that will be addressed either internally or externally.
Additional Services and Provision for SEND Pupils
Intervention to help address the needs of pupils with SEND may be delivered by teachers or teaching assistants freely within the school. Where sufficient progress is not being made advice is sought from outside agencies e.g. Educational Psychologist. Permission will always be sought from parents before involving any outside agencies and parents will be fully consulted in any discussion or decision making. A list of interventions are available on our School Local Offer.
We work alongside colleagues in the Local Authority. Please click on this link for Herefordshire’s Local Offer.
Supporting the Emotional and Social Development of our Pupils with SEND
Pastoral
We recognise that pupils with SEND can sometimes experience a range of social and emotional challenges. As well as a whole school focus on social and emotional wellbeing through our PHSE teaching, we offer a range of interventions to address specific issues as they arise. We recognise that for some pupils, social and emotional factors can be complex and therefore we seek to ensure the provision we offer in this regard is highly personalised and generated through discussion with pupils and their families. Mrs Deveraux is a trained ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) and is able to provide sessions which support children’s wellbeing and development.
Friendships
All children in school are supported to develop relationships with their peers. For those pupils who find this particularly difficult there are alternative arrangements during play and lunchtime where play skills can be actively taught or modelled by staff. We also offer a range of personalised social skills activities and ELSA sessions to support pupils and families in a holistic way.
Peer/Sibling Support
It is sometimes appropriate for us to offer support to the peer groups/siblings of pupils with SEND. Sometimes this takes place in an open and frank manner, enabling peers to ask questions and learn about the needs of their class mates (e.g. circle times). At other times this takes a more general form, such as working with the class on celebrating diversity. We also hold whole school worship opportunities which address some of the key areas of need within our school.
Bullying
The school holds a clear position on bullying and all pupils are taught to distinguish bullying from isolated acts of unkindness. There are a range of whole school events linked to anti-bullying and class teachers are vigilant in monitoring behaviour for indications of bullying. Where bullying is suspected, personalised support measures are put in place for both victims and perpetrators which take into account the needs of all the pupils involved.
Children with SEND may find it more difficult to seek help if they are unhappy at school or if they feel they are being bullied. Our team of staff can be allocated 1-1 opportunities or small group discussions to support our most vulnerable children.
Children may report concerns to their class teacher or another member of staff with whom they feel comfortable – this can be done verbally or through more a more informal process. Staff may seek support from the Designated Safeguarding Officers if they feel a child has a worry or concern that they are not readily sharing.
Supporting Transition
If your child is moving to another school:
- We will contact the new school's SENCo or Inclusion Manager and ensure he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that needs to be in place for your child
- All records will be passed on as soon as possible
- The SENCo or Class Teacher will meet with the SENCo of their new school.
- Your child will visit their new school during transition days and in some cases, staff from the new school will visit your child in this school.
- Additional visit days will be planned to the chosen High School if deemed appropriate.
When moving classes within our school:
- Information will be passed on to the new class teacher in advance and in most cases, a planning meeting will take place with the new teacher. Because we are a small school, staff know many details already and will have shared support strategies collectively.
- All Individual Pupil Passports will be shared with the new teacher. Handover meetings will be held in the summer term to facilitate this.
Further Contacts and Details
Outside Agency |
Telephone |
Email (if available) |
Local Authority SEN Team |
01432 260088 |
|
Speech and Language Therapy Team |
01432 363975 |
|
Occupational Therapy Team |
01432 373940 option 2 |
|
Physiotherapy Team |
01432 269584 |
|
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHs) |
|
|
SEND Information and Advisory Support (SENDIAS) |
01432 260955 |
|
Herefordshire Carers Support |
01432 356068 |
Click on the links below to access information about SEND at Pembridge:
Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years
Frequently Asked Questions
Information about Education & Health Care Plans (EHC)
Local Offer
SEN Policy (October 2024)
SEND Graduated Response
SENDIAS leaflet
Glossary
Parent Leaflet
Additional information about a range of support available for different areas of SEND, please click this padlet link.
We recognise that children will need different ways of support and encouragement to succeed as they journey through school. You can also find out our approach to helping our 'vulnerable' children flourish in school here. Our interpretation of children who are 'vulnerable' are those who have SEND, those in receipt of Pupil Premium, and also those children staff feel in school need additional support to thrive.
Complaints
Initially, we would ask you to speak with your child's teacher or the SENCo. If there are still concerns speak to the Head teacher to resolve the issue before making the complaint formal to the Chair of the Governing Body. The school's Complaints Policy and procedure can be found on the school website.