More About Our School Curriculum & Organisation
Special Educational Needs
We aim to give all our pupils the opportunity to succeed and reach the highest level of personal achievement. We analyse the attainment of different groups of pupils to ensure all pupils are achieving as much as they can. Teachers use this information when planning their lessons. It enables them to take into account the abilities of all their children. We also make ongoing assessments of each child’s progress, this enables us to identify children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) who need additional help in school.
Additional support is given to all children with Special Educational Needs, whether for learning, physical, emotional or social difficulties. This is given either within their classroom setting or during individual/group time in a distraction free environment and with minimal disruption to their daily class lessons.
A range of teaching styles and intervention programmes are used to support pupils individual learning in order to improve their basic skills. Parents are always kept informed of any programme of learning. Some of the programmes we regularly use, that have proved to be successful in raising attainment include:
- Catch Up
Reading – a literacy intervention programme aimed at helping readers develop their word recognition, comprehension and phonic knowledge along with spelling, writing and self-esteem. - Paired
Reading – A scheme to encourage reluctant readers and raise self-esteem. Year 6 pupils are paired with pupils from other year groups and have regular daily slots to read, discuss and share stories together. - ‘Exerceyes’ Club – Our early morning club runs three mornings per week before school. As it is an extra part of the school day it is completely voluntary but parents and children are enthusiastic and supportive. The children take part in a range of eye exercises to improve visual perception and ‘gym’ type activities to aid concentration, help co-ordination, including handwriting skills and improve behaviour.
- ‘Bubble time’ & Social Skills Groups – Experienced and trained support staff, help children who have social/emotional and communication difficulties or may experience problems with friendships to develop their skills and independence. These sessions allow the children to leanr through discussion and role play.
Children with SEN are monitored and assessed on a regular basis and individual programmes of work are devised to help them. Review meetings are held with parents/carers, Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) and class teacher to share progress/concerns together and update the child’s Individual Education Programme (IEP). Pupils are also invited to attend so that they can be involved in their own learning and target setting.
Children With Disabilities
Some children in our school have disabilities. We are committed to meeting the needs of these children, as we are to meeting the needs of all groups of children within our school. The school fully meets the requirements of the amended Disability Discrimination Act that came into effect in 1995. All reasonable steps are taken to ensure that these children are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled children.
The school is committed to providing an environment, within its resources, that allows disabled children full access to all areas of learning. All our classroom entrances are wide enough for wheelchair access. We use specialist equipment as and when necessary for pupils. Our Accessibility Plan identifies how we intend to increase the extent to which disabled pupils can take advantage of all that our school has to offer. Our SEN & Inclusion policy aims to highlight our commitment to raising standards for all children and sets out the expertise and resources that already exist within our school.
Teachers ensure that all children:
- Feel secure and know that their contributions are valued
- Appreciate and value the differences they see in others
- Take responsibility for their actions
- Are taught in groupings that allow them all to experience success
- Use materials that reflect a range of disabilities and social and cultural backgrounds, without stereotyping
- Have a common curriculum experience that allows for a range of different learning styles
- Have challenging targets that enable them to succeed
- Participate fully, regardless of disability or medical needs
Admission arrangements for disabled pupils
Admissions are controlled by the Local Authority. We recommend that parents/carers make contact with school as soon as possible if they are considering applying for a place. This will allow the school time to plan and prepare for the admission in terms of securing specialist equipment, support and advice. At