Inkpen Primary School

At Inkpen School we discuss concerns with the SENCo. These may relate to learning challenges, behavioural challenges, physical and sensory issues as well as social and emotional situations. These are recorded on an awareness form that is kept in the SEND file for that year group. If, following suggested activities, opportunities and support, the situation is not resolved the school staff and the SENCo will carry out a series of activities with the child to identify areas of learning need. If the situation is not learning based the school, with parents/carers, will identify the appropriate people or organisations to contact in order to provide further advice, support or assessment.

Your first step would be to talk to your child’s class teacher raising your concerns. These may be concerns about your child at home or how your child is getting on, socially or academically, at school. An awareness form would then be completed outlining your concerns. School will then liaise with you to discuss the situation over the following weeks.

Once a child has been identified as having SEND the school SENCo will work with the class teacher, and parents/carers to identify the key outcomes to be considered over the next period of time usually over 3 months. The class teacher will manage the day to day education programme for your child in consultation with relevant outside agencies including the Sensory Consortium, Autistic Spectrum Support Service, medical professionals, Educational Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy and the Cognition and Learning Team.

As part of an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) you will be invited into school to work with the staff in the setting of targets and provision of support for your child. Children who do not have an Education, Health and Care Plan will be supported in the same way, with parents being invited into school for regular meetings with the Class Teacher to discuss and evaluate targets and programmes that are being worked on. There will be a Success & Achievement Plan (SAP) to confirm the provision of support and the key targets that have been agreed upon, which will be written and evaluated at least once every long term.

In some situations, a child’s SEND will mean they require 1:1 adult support in order to attend school and access the National Curriculum. At Inkpen School, the Teaching Assistants work flexibly so a child would be unlikely to receive support from only one additional adult. This means that the child cannot rely on a single adult to interpret their needs. Children as they develop work individually at times and these sessions will be managed by the Class Teacher and the Teaching Assistant to ensure that a child with SEND is beginning to work independently thereby developing wider independence over longer periods of time as they move through the school. Children are offered choices in order to encourage development of a ‘now and later’ understanding.

Inkpen School’s Classes are mixed aged and ability groupings. The differentiation of the curriculum is arranged by the Class Teacher. The activities are evaluated to assess the appropriate level being given to children with SEND and then matched appropriately. Should the nature of the child’s SEND require adaptation of the physical curriculum this would be organised in liaison with professional medical staff, the school and PE coaches so that all children were able to access the learning to the best of their ability. The idea of the differentiated curriculum is to close the gap in attainment between a child with SEND and their peers.

Each class has homework set including reading, spelling and maths in KS1.  Times tables are added in KS2 and a project piece linked to classwork eg making a model, a written or art activity or research.

Following professional advice children with SEND are provided with their own visual timetable where the need arises but most classes have a general visual timetable or specific class timetable for their use. For children with a specific diagnosis they might have a task bar showing what is expected of them in sequence. School is made aware of speech and language difficulties and recommendations are followed through by the classroom staff.

For some children their name is used to attract their attention when instructions are going to be given. Instructions are modified (sometimes made simpler or shorter) for children for whom understanding the spoken word can be challenging.

In some situations, teaching about the vocabulary or content of a lesson (pre teaching) is provided prior to the specific lesson where this knowledge is required.

The classroom set up is managed to seat children with visual or hearing impairments where they can have optimal access to the visual and spoken elements of teaching.

For children on the Autistic Spectrum, class teachers provide motor breaks and concentration tools to keep the child engaged with the task. Advice is taken from the Autism Support Teacher following diagnosis.

In line with Local Authority and Government expectations, the school would provide support to a child with SEND where assessments and diagnosis suggest this is in the best interests of the child.

Following a diagnosis and/or report from the relevant agency equipment and resources are purchased to match their need. The school is able to provide sloping desks, specific pencils for motor control support, rock and sit cushions, dictaphones, theraband and concentration tools from existing resources. In cases of exceptional need a laptop might be provided on loan following a request from the relevant agency.

In keeping with current practice children with appropriate needs can be provided with extra time and/or breaks to sit Standard Assessment Tests. These have to be applied for and agreed with the Skills and Assessment Agency following a set procedure. In cases of Visual or Hearing impairment the appropriate arrangements are made in keeping with Agency requirements and the child’s need. Should the need arise a scribe can be provided in appropriate circumstances.

The work the children cover at Inkpen School is monitored in different ways. In English and Mathematics the school uses the Age Related Expectation Statements to identify where a child is succeeding and whether there are any ongoing challenges to progress. Reading is assessed for all children using the Salford Reading Tests. Spelling is assessed using the Hodder Diagnostic Spelling Test. Maths is assessed using PUMA Assessment papers. The age-standardised results for these tests are used to assess the child’s progress and ensure ongoing progress over time. Progress is also recorded informally by teacher/teaching assistant observation individually and in small groups where social, emotional, physical or learning skills are being observed. Where a child with SEND’s progress falls below that of his/her peers it will be the rate of progress towards expectations that will be monitored and gradual achieving of the steps along the way. Sometimes the intervention programme being used results in its own progress track which will be shared.

Parents of children with SEND will be invited into school at least termly in order to discuss progress generally, and progress towards targets in that term’s plan. If the child’s plan includes physical or developmental observations parent/carer views will be sought in order to evaluate the targets successfully.

At the meetings between school staff and parents/carers, evidence will be shared and the outcomes on the Success & Achievement Plan considered and evaluated. The next outcomes will then be discussed and agreed by both carers and the school. Sometimes the Carer's observations form a key part of the targets for the time period. Depending on the child’s ability to understand the discussions within a group of adults their opinion on their success and their thoughts about future targets will be sought. 

School Reports in written format are issued once a year. There are also Parent Evenings for consultations with the class teacher during the Autumn and Spring Terms. There is also an opportunity on these occasions to meet with the Head teacher. If, following a written report, further discussions are needed parents/carers have the opportunity to make an appointment to see either the Head Teacher or the Class Teacher. For a child with SEND, there will be further opportunities at least once a term to meet with the Class Teacher and the Teaching Assistant/Learning Support Assistant involved with their work to discuss progress, concerns and other factors. It is likely that they will take the place of regular Parent Evenings as the need for specific discussions takes longer than the parent evening slots allow.

Inkpen School has an open door policy, which means that any parent needing to speak to a member of school staff can do so via the school office or directly with the Classroom staff. Should the discussion need more than a brief conversation this can be arranged with the school to enable an appointment to be made. In specific situations a home/school diary can be set up to support parents/carers and the child in knowing and understanding what is going on both at home and in school. The school uses an email/texting service to communicate with parents/carers as well as written letters for regular communication.

Inkpen School welcomes the support parents/carers provide for their children. If a child joins the school in the Reception Year (Foundation 2) there is a meeting with the Class staff and Head teacher to outline expectations and key learning activities that most support a child on starting school for the first time. The school provides a Welcome Pack to give parents/carers key information. Children at Inkpen School bring books home for shared, individual and eventually independent reading. They will also have a Reading Record for parents (and the children themselves in due course) to record the reading done at home after school, at weekends and during the holidays. Discussing what your child has done at school is a good way to support their learning. Offering related activities, such as weighing in the kitchen, planting seends or  going on outings to museums, different locations, cafes or galleries will support your child's development and learning. Class Teachers welcome comments associated with homework, particularly if your child is struggling to get it done.

The school holds welcome evenings for parents/carers at the beginning of each Academic Year in order to share what the class will be doing and the things that make a child’s experience positive. During the year the school might also hold specific subject sessions to look at key ideas such as reading, phonics, number or e-safety. 

Depending on your child’s SEND their view about how they are getting on will be sought approximately termly in order to establish their levels of confidence and understanding of their success and challenges. The Education Health and Care Plan encourages a child with SEND to contribute to the evaluation of their plan. Sometimes the child’s views will be obtained by the Learning Support Assistant or Class Teacher prior to a meeting and brought on the child’s behalf if the child would find it too challenging to give their opinion in a group situation.

As Inkpen is a Primary School we do not offer accredited or non accredited courses.

At Inkpen School the SENCo and Headteacher evaluate the effectiveness of the SEND provision via improvements and progress in standardised tests in the children on the SEND register. It is desirable for the children to close the gap between themselves and their peers, and this is set against their difficulties and rates of progress. Not all intervention programmes work for every child, and should your child not make progress with a specific programme it is likely to be altered, along with further assessment in order to establish key understanding. During the meetings at school, it is hoped that parents/carers and young people will be able to discuss how they feel specific interventions are working and how they link to the progress shown.

We are always looking to support the emotional and social development of the children at Inkpen School and this also applies to children with SEND. The school has trained ELSAs (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants) who, following discussion and referral are able to offer support to children with issues including friendship, anger management, self-esteem, bereavement and loss. These sessions last for about 6 weeks, during which the ELSA meets with the child carrying out a range of activities and a discussion. Targets are usually set which are also shared with the Class Teacher and other relevant staff. Following the course a further discussion is held with the Class Teacher. Parents are often involved in discussions leading to ELSA but are always notified before the intervention begins. All staff are also involved with providing emotional support to the pupils; this might be in small groups for social development or 1:1 where the need arises. All of this support is usually short term to cover a particular incident or need.

The school makes use of specific programmes which support social and emotional development within small groups. The Educational Psychology Service have provided the FRIENDS intervention to support children in small groups to develop their confidence and resilience. Individual support can also be provided when necessary to children and parents. 

Inkpen School expects high standards of behaviour from its pupils, but recognises that it is not always easy for all pupils. The school makes use of the Therapeutic Approach recommended by West Berkshire which recognises that children need to be able to regulate themselves in different ways. This approach is used by staff when working with children so they can discuss their feelings and what helps the to regulate themselves. Should a child’s need fall outside these parameters the school would be able to seek advice, training and support from the Therapeutic Thinking Team's support service). When the need arises obseravations establish patterns and build-ups in order to modify the situations where dysregulation occurs. 

Parents/Carers of children with a medical need complete the relevant paper work for the administration of medication. This is managed by the School Office staff and Class Teachers. Should a child require more sophisticated medication (injections/infusions/multiple doses) this would be arranged with relevant training by appropriately qualified staff and with the agreement of school staff. Children with severe allergies are managed within school. Allergy training, including the use of allergy pens, is carried out regularly. 

Parents/Carers of children complete the relevant paper work for the administration of medication. This is managed by the School Office staff and Class Teachers.

School is able to provide toilet facilities for SEND users. There are no showering facilities. Should the need arise, particularly in the short term, staff will support SEND children with personal care following specific training and advice from qualified professionals. 

Inkpen School has links to all West Berkshire’s support services.

For Educational Needs the school’s first port of call is the Cognition & Learning Team who liaise with the SENCo, meeting at least termly to discuss and review the needs of children with SEND. On occasion, and following previous assessments carried out by school staff, the Teacher might carry out further assessments of Literacy or Numeracy skills to establish the child’s strengths, weaknesses and next steps.

On occasion if the child’s need is more complex this might result in a conversation between the school and their allocated Educational Psychologist. In some cases, it will be appropriate for the school to refer child to the Educational Psychology Service.

Children who have been diagnosed with Autism have access, once they are in Year 1, to the West Berkshire Autism Support teachers. They are available to the school for advice and support when needed and visit the child in school following diagnosis and prior to Key Stage and Secondary transition. If the child is joining Reception the Early Development Inclusion Team (EDIT) might be involved and come in to visit the school as part of the transition process. Meetings are sometimes held, when the need arises, between the school staff, the Autism Team and parents to discuss the child’s need, progress and curriculum.

The Therapeutic Thinking Team provides support and advice to the school and parents when children are finding regulation challenging.

The Ethnic Minority and Traveller Team work with children for whom English is an additional language and children from Traveller backgrounds, they provide support to the child and the school and appropriate activities and resources in order that the child’s need can be accommodated within the classroom environment.

The Sensory Consortium become involved if a child has a hearing or visual impairment that matches a certain level of need. Should a child enter the school with such impairments the Consortium would be contacted to provide immediate advice and then, should a referral be necessary, would visit the school to provide further advice and support and  to provide specific support to the child in order to develop their independence and life skills.

The Emotional Health Academy offer a triage service following referral by parents or the school. Support is offered according to need following a panel discussion. Parents can access this service independently and without resource to the school. 

In the first instance you should speak to your child’s Class Teacher telling them of your concerns at home as well as at school. With your agreement, the teacher would then pass on the ‘Awareness’ form to the SENCo. If there was a need for immediate school intervention, in order to ensure the safety of your child or others, a telephone call would be made to the relevant organisation seeking their advice. In most cases this would not be necessary.

If your concerns were health based including sensory issues such as hearing and vision or conditions such as Autism or ADHD, then the school might suggest you make an appointment with your GP in order to establish what might be available from the NHS.

It is possible to self-refer to some organisations via CYPIT which includes Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and CAMHS Autism and ADHD pathways. Further information would be available from your GP. School and parents are able to make some of these referrals.

Following discussions between parents, class teachers and professionals the school can access Speech and Language Therapy and Assessment. School is not able to access Occupational or Physiotherapy services directly.

Please talk to your child's class teacher in the first instance. If you are concerned about their occupational health, or indeed physiotherapy needs your GP will be able to provide you with access information. School can refer for Speech and Language Assessment. The CYPIT website is a good source of information. 

If a child has contact with the Social Care services they would usually contact the school for a discussion and planning session. If the school is concerned about the welfare of a child they have access to the Children’s Social Care services via telephone.

Inkpen School accesses its SEND training via the West Berkshire training programme for teachers. As and when needs arise or skills need to be updated the teachers attend training off-site or sometimes in house. Often, the school delivers training via the Cognition and Learning Team and the SENCo.

If the need is of a medical nature a specialist trainer i.e. School Nurse will attend the school to provide training in the relevant issue.

All Class Teachers are made aware of the pupils with SEND in their class groups and SEND reports and Success & Achievement Plan are transferred on moving from one class to another. New staff are shown how the system works at Inkpen and have time to discuss issues with the SENCo.

The SENCO monitors the use of interventions and their success rates and the experience, knowledge and understanding of the Teaching Assistants. Sometimes Teaching Assistants attend offsite training, more often training is provided within the school by the Cognition and Learning Team or the SENCO to cover the area of need. Online training is available for those who need it to properly deliver their role or have an interest in it.

One teacher has attended training to provide Catch Up reading and SNAP on 2 Maths these do not provide a qualification.

The experienced SENCo was not required to obtain the National SENCO Award owing to length of time in the role.

Two Teaching Assistant have the ELSA qualification.

Some of our Teaching Assistants have been trained in SNAP on 2 Maths, Catch Up and SPRINT which do not result in a qualification.

The school looks at the value of school activities and trips with an ‘open to all’ view. All aspects of the trip would be considered in order to ensure that every child could be included and able to take part in activities to the best of their ability. Each child is an individual and their needs would inform the discussion and appropriate arrangements made. There might be resource implications for the visit as the result of a child having SEND, these would need to be considered by all parties. On occasions it would be necessary to carry out a risk assessment to ensure that the child, the staff and the providers have all needs understood and provision made for events that might occur.

Should the need arise, parents and carers would be invited into school with any others involved in the provision for the child eg. the Autism Team, Educational Psychology or Sensory Consortium to ensure that the child’s needs could be met by the proposed activity and that all involved with the child would understand their role for the child to be included in such an activity.

Inkpen School is centred around a Victorian School building. The school has been adapted to provide mobility/wheelchair access to all areas.

No adaptations have been made to the auditory and visual environment in the Victorian School building. Consideration has been given to the siting of Interactive White Boards to avoid glare and reflection. Due to its listed status it has not been possible to adapt the older parts of the building for the auditory environment.

The school has accessible toilet facilities.

The school has been adapted for wheelchair/mobility access. All children attending the school with SEND are considered to ensure they have access to the physical environment and the learning environment in line with their peers and to the best of their ability.

Inkpen School communicates in a wide range of ways with parents and carers, including, by telephone, in writing, by text and email and in person. In order to communicate with adults with a hearing impairment we can access West Berkshire support for lip reading, British Sign Language and Makaton. Those who are visually impaired would receive communication in an audible format. It is hoped that we are able to communicate with all parents by one of these means, but if this was difficult, by discussion, we would ensure that communications were accessible to all, including those with disabilities.

The school has access to the Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service. Through liaison with them we believe we would communicate effectively with parents/carers for whom English is not a first language. When the need arises, a translator can be organised to help with communication. 

Prior to a child starting Inkpen School invitations are issued for the child to attend introductory sessions during the Summer Term. Parents are then invited to a meeting to discuss how the school works and what will be needed on starting in their new class. Just after the start of the Autumn Term, parents are invited to meet with the Class Teachers. If the child is working with EDIT, they may make additional appointments for the child to visit the school. The EDIT usually visits the school to discuss how needs have been met in previous settings and the best practice for the new setting. In some situations, the school and Class Teacher would provide a transition booklet showing photographs with key information that can be used by the child at home with a parent/carer to help them to feel more familiar with the school and the environment.

Children usually have a visit to their new class during the late Summer Term when they will meet the teacher and carry out activities together. If the child has SEND, and it is appropriate, they will be given a Transition Booklet using photographs to identify the new classroom and people who will be involved in the new situation.

The children visit their allocated Secondary School to become familiar with the environment and arrangements. Where a child has SEND the Secondary Schools sometimes provide an additional session or sessions and in some cases a Summer School to give children further experience of their new situation.

Advice is always sought from those services that also interact with children with SEND.

Should a child move school mid-year data concerning the child’s progress and attainment, as well as SEND records, would be transferred to the new school.

As children with SEND approach Secondary School, transfer meetings are held with their staff to discuss transition, individual needs and plans that have been in place during the Primary years. On occasion, observations might be carried out by staff from the receiving school.

When children leave Inkpen Primary School for a new setting all their school records are transferred. In the case of a child with SEND, their SEND folder would be sent to the receiving school. This provides a picture of the assessments, interventions and progress of the SEND child.

As a Primary School we do not take part in the preparation of children for transition to further education or employment.

It is important that parents feel able to speak to their child’s Class Teacher when they have concerns or worries. This is often best done via an appointment made in conjunction with the Class Teacher in order that sufficient time can be allocated. In situations where a sudden need or concern has emerged it will often be possible to speak with a member of staff at school on the same day, although this might not be the child’s Class Teacher.

Inkpen School provides leaflets and brochures from teams such as the Parent Partnership to offer support to parents. This is a voluntary organisation which provides a ‘listening and support service’. Parents/carers obtain support from this service directly. The Autism support team provide materials for parents/carers that offer meetings, talks and seminars as a support for parents/carers as well as advice regarding training for parents. 

Inkpen does not have a Family Support Centre. 

Inkpen School provides leaflets and brochures from teams such as the Parent Partnership to offer support to parents. This is a voluntary organisation that provides a ‘listening and support service’. Parents/carers obtain support from this service directly. The Autism Team provide materials for parents/carers that can be accessed online for advice, as well as meeting opportunities and training. 

The Local Offer website allows searches for specific situations. 

Your child’s class teacher is the first person to speak to regarding compliments and complaints. Compliments are always welcomed! Should your concern be a complaint the class teacher will work with you to find an acceptable solution to the situation. If that proves challenging parents/carers approach the Head Teacher. If this proves unsatisfactory then the school’s complaints policy and procedures come into place and the parent/carer would then contact the Governing body, usually in writing.