ROCKMOUNT PRIMARY SCHOOL
Meeting the Needs of Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
September 2020
All Croydon Schools are committed to and adopt a similar approach to meeting the needs of all pupils including those with special educational needs. There is a shared expectation that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, will benefit from inclusive teaching which will enable them to make the best possible progress in school, ensure they can actively participate in the wider aspects of school life and support readiness for the next phase of education and preparation for adulthood.
Rockmount School is whole heartedly committed to an inclusive approach in all aspects of school life. We welcome everyone into our school community and ensure that we offer the best education for all children, enabling them to achieve their full potential in all areas of personal development.
Educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all members of the school community. We are a reflective school, continually adapting our practice in order to meet the needs of our pupils, staff and community members. All our children should play a positive role in society where diversity is recognized and respected. We believe that every person should be valued equally and should have the same opportunity to realise his or her potential.
We carefully monitor the achievement and wellbeing of different groups of learners in order to make appropriate provision for ever-changing needs. We use varied access arrangements and teaching styles to ensure that all pupils are provided with an appropriate and accessible curriculum which allows them to develop and progress at their own level.
What support do we offer?
The school will use its best endeavours to ensure the necessary provision is made for any pupil with SEN. In doing so we will fulfil the statutory duties and best practice guidelines set out in the Department for Education Code of Practice for SEN, January 2015.
| Roles and responsibilities Who should I contact to discuss the concerns or needs of my child? |
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| Class teacher |
He/she is responsible for:
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Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) Amber Pearless Hayley Gorman hgorman2.306@lgflmail.org |
The SENCO is responsible for: |
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Co-Headteachers: Helen Carvall |
The Headteacher is responsible for:
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Assistant Headteachers for Inclusion: Amber Pearless amberv@rockmount.croydon.sch.uk Vivien Bull vbull@rockmount.croydon.sch.uk
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The Assistant Headteachers for Inclusion is responsible for: •Coordinating inclusive practice across the school |
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SEND Governor |
The SEND Governor is responsible for:
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| SEN support - Assessment, Planning and Review How will the school decide if my child needs extra help? How can I find out about how well my child is doing? |
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Class teachers are responsible for identifying pupils who are not making appropriate progress. Formal meetings are held each term with class teachers and senior leaders to look at the progress of all pupils across the school.
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| Curriculum and Teaching Methods (including groupings and interventions) How will teaching be adapted to meet the needs of my child? |
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Teaching is adapted to meet the diverse range of needs in each class. Daily planning takes into account the needs and requirements of individual pupils. Differentiation is approached in a range of ways to support access and ensure that all pupils can experience success and challenge in their learning. Flexible grouping arrangements and support from additional adults are used to help groups and individual pupils, with a long term goal of encouraging and developing independent learning skills. If required, more specific interventions are available to support groups and individuals to develop key areas of their learning and development. Details of the additional support offered to your child will be included in their Individual Education Plan and will be discussed with you. A range of interventions and support are available to promote progress in specific areas of identified need:
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| Interventions and Support | |
| Cognition and Learning: •Curriculum access support •Literacy support •Numeracy support •Homework Club •Home/School Support Pack •Home/School Contact Book •Read Write Inc. Phonics scheme •Reading support •Dyslexia support •Higher Level Challenge •Educational Psychologist services |
Social Mental and Emotional Health/Wellbeing: •Conflict Resolution Support •Marvellous Minds •Specialist assessment tools |
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Sensory and Physical: •Specialist equipment
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Communication and Interaction: •Words and Symbols (ICT) •Adapt to Learn - ASD Support
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| Access What arrangements are made to enable my child to benefit and take advantage of the full school curriculum and extra curriculum activities? |
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We have a Disability Access Plan and Equality Scheme in place to ensure that pupils with SEN and Disability can take part in all aspects of school life and that any reasonable adaptations are made to support this. The school's accessibility plan is updated annually. Current access arrangements include disabled toilet facilities and lift access to all floors.
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| Staffing Expertise How skilled are staff in meeting the needs of my child? |
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Provision for pupils with SEND is included in our regular monitoring of the quality of teaching across the school. This helps to identify priorities for our ongoing programme of staff professional development and training and ensures that all teachers and support staff have appropriate skills and knowledge to support provision for children with additional needs. SENCOs actively engage in a range of opportunities to share best practice and keep abreast of current local and national initiatives and policies to support pupils with additional needs. •Mentors trained to use Restorative Approaches to manage conflict
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| External partnerships What support from outside does the school use to help my child? |
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The school works with a number of external agencies to seek advice and support to ensure that the needs of all children are fully understood and met. These include: •Visual Impairment Team •Hearing Impairment Team The full range of local support available to support your child both within and outside of school can be found in the Croydon Local Offer for pupils with SEND.
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| Transition How will the school help my child to move to a new class/year group or to a different school? |
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| Children and young people with SEND can become particularly anxious about ‘moving on’, so we seek to support their wellbeing and positive mental health through successful transition and ensure consistency of support: When joining our Nursery/Reception Classes: The Early Years Leader or SENCO will contact the pre-school setting to seek information regarding the nature and level of needs for pupils identified with SEND and the provision that has already been offered to overcome these barriers. If the pupil has more significant needs and/or has support from other professional agencies, more formal transition meetings will be arranged and documented. When moving to another school: We will contact the School SENCO and share information about special arrangements and support currently in place to help your child achieve their learning goals. We will ensure that all records are passed on as soon as possible. When moving between classes and phases An information sharing meeting will take place with the new teacher. Opportunities will be provided for your child to visit the new class and meet the teacher and other key staff. |
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| When moving to secondary school: Our SENCO will encourage parents and carers to visit a range of secondary schools and make contact with the Year 7 leader or SENCO once a school has been named to start planning for transition. Multi-agency meetings may be arranged to create a more detailed transition plan. Successful arrangements and interventions currently used to support your child can be shared with the receiving school and additional visits to the new setting may be planned to help your child become familiar with the new setting and to reduce any anxieties. Your involvement in this process will be critical to supporting a successful move. |
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| Engagement with Pupils and Families How are children and parents/carers involved in decisions about support and provision? |
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The views of parents/carers and children are an extremely important part of the process of identification and support of an individual child's Special Educational Need. The school will work in partnership with you to do the very best for your child. Regular meetings will take place to discuss your child's needs, targets, progress and provision. Parents/carers and children (where appropriate) will be involved at every stage and all aspects of the process will be fully explained to you. The school SENCO will be happy to discuss any issues or concerns you may have. We are always keen to support parents and carers and to take your views on how we can continue to develop positive experiences and promote wellbeing for SEND pupils at Rockmount. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require further information or would like to discuss any aspect of our SEND provision.
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| Arrangements for handling complaints What should I do if I am unhappy about the support for my child? |
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If you are unhappy about any aspect of the support given to your child, please speak to the class teacher straight away. Depending on the nature of your concern, a meeting will be held with the SENCO or one of the senior leaders. We will work with you to resolve any issues and alleviate your concerns. We can also make arrangements for you to discuss concerns with other key professionals such as the Educational Psychologist.
If your concern is directly related to decisions around the Education and Health Care Plan, this will be managed directly by the Croydon SEN Team. |