Southwood Primary School is an inclusive mainstream school. We treat pupils as individuals, providing them with equality of opportunity and an education that is suited to their needs. We are an inclusive school, welcoming every child and their family, regardless of their ability or background. We have high expectations for all of our pupils and encourage all to engage in every aspects of school life. 

The key questions/ information below describes the provision and support that we offer for children identified as having Special Educational Needs. 

The Local Authority's offer can be accessed here https://www.lbbd.gov.uk/local-offer

SEND - Key Questions/ Information

How do we ensure that children who need extra help are identified early?

At Southwood there is a high expectation of all teaching staff that they know their children well. If a teacher has concerns about a child this will initially be discussed informally with the phase leader/SENCo who will offer advice. Class teachers meet each term with the SENCo to discuss pupils who are not making adequate progress, based on their teacher assessment and data from termly assessments. A discussion takes place, and the class teacher, with the support of the SENCo, identifies the area of need and plans appropriate in-class intervention and support for the pupil.

What should a parent do if they think their child may have special educational needs?

If parents have a concern about their child they can speak to the class teacher and arrange an appointment to discuss their concerns. If you would like to meet with a member of the Inclusion Team, an appointment can be made through the office. Please look out for our Inclusion Team Coffee Mornings that happen every term where you can discuss concerns with a member of our team. 

What needs could my child have?

In the SEND Code of Practice (2014), need is broken down into four areas.

• Communication and Interaction: Children who have speech, language or communication needs

• Cognition and Learning: Children who have learning difficulties or learn at a slower pace

• Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties: Children who experience difficulties with their own mental health and may struggle to manage their emotions and/or behaviour

• Sensory and /or Physical needs: Children who have a physical condition that affects their mobility, this may be children who have a visual or hearing impairment or a physical disability

What do we do to help children with special educational needs?

All teachers are teachers of SEND and so the expectation is that children’s needs are met through quality first teaching and effective differentiation. There are teaching assistants in classes who work alongside the class teacher to support the learning all of the children either individually or as part of a small group. We have termly pupil progress review meetings with the class teacher, deputy or head teacher. At these meetings, the learning needs of the pupils are identified and a discussion takes place to determine the best intervention/support for the pupil. If the teacher is concerned that there is a specific SEND need, a referral will be made to the SENCO for an assessment to be carried out.

How do teachers match the curriculum and their teaching for children with special educational needs?

Teachers plan so that all children have the opportunity to access all of the national curriculum subjects. Lessons are planned and support is put in place to enable all children to access the learning. If a child has an Educational Health Care Plan (EHC) they will have a Personalised Learning Plan (PLP) with individual targets. If you feel that your child may need a PLP, please speak to their class teacher. 

How do we allocate and match our resources to the needs of the child?

Identification and assessment procedures for pupils causing concern:

Step 1: High Quality Teaching for all pupils

Step 2: Regular termly assessment for ALL pupils to discuss children who are not making good progress or are below age expected levels- interventions and support will be put in place based on the need

Step 3: If the teacher still remains concerned about a child’s progress or levels, a referral will be made to the SENCo or Social Inclusion Lead who will observe the child in class and work alongside the class teacher to put support in place

Step 4: Sometimes the SENCo or Social Inclusion Lead may need to seek advice from specialist agencies, if this is the case, they will make a referral for specialist intervention from one of the following agencies: Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service , Community Paediatric Team, Targeted Family Support,  Educational Psychologists or Speech and Language Therapists. 

What services can the school offer children with additional needs?

At Southwood we have lots of in-house support that children can access, these include:

• Speech and Language Therapy
• Thrive
• Nurture
• Family/ Pastoral Care
• Mentoring
• Therapy
• Sensory Circuits

Medical support

Our Medical policy has been updated with new guidelines

• Where necessary (and possible) we make referrals to the school nurse

• There are yearly height, weight checks in Reception

• First Aid policy and procedures are clear and followed by all staff. Recording systems for accidents is robust and clear. Parents are informed by note of any accidents their child has been involved in at school.

• Parents are notified by the class teacher/ teaching assistant when their child suffers a bump to the head

• We have a team of first aiders led by a senior first aider (Mrs Partridge)

• Medication can be administered by the first aid team if a consent form is completed – this can be obtained from the school office

How accessible is our school environment?

Southwood is wheelchair accessible with ramps at both main entrances and disabled toilets. Corridors are wide enough for wheelchairs to move around freely and the second storey of the building can be accessed by a lift. Please take a look at our Accessibility Plan for further details.  

Jargon Buster