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Special Educational Needs & Disabilities

"A child or young person has special educational needs and disabilities if they have a learning difficulty and/or a disability that means they need special health and education support." (NHS website)

Here at Scotts, we celebrate that every child’s learning journey is different. We strive to ensure that every child receives the highest quality teaching, adapted to their individual needs, to help them to achieve their personal goals. We want to support them to build on essential knowledge and skills both in the curriculum and with skills for life. It is vital that our pupils are equipped with the tools needed to become independent, inquisitive learners both in and out of the classroom. All of our classrooms are inclusive environments, where all learners develop together, working towards the common goal of achieving their personal best.

If you have any concerns regarding your child's ability to access the curriculum, please contact our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCo) Mrs Taylor on 01708 457019 or sen@scotts.havering.sch.uk . Either Mrs Taylor, or another member of the team will get back to you.

More information about SEND provision at Scotts:

SEN information report-our school offer

SEND policy

Accessibility policy

Our SEN information report and policy gives further information on our School Offer of SEN support,

across the four areas of need.

Cognition and Learning

Children who experience difficulties with cognition and learning may have difficulties with:

Reading and spelling
Learning new information and concepts
Working with numbers
Working memory
Concentration
Organisation
Balance and coordination

Holbeach Primary Academy - Cognition & Learning

Students may have conditions such as Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD), Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) or Specific Learning Difficulties (e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia). Students may present with difficulties that do not have a specific title.

For students with cognition and learning difficulties, the quality first teaching that they will receive at Scotts, with appropriate differentiation and targeted SEN support is the best possible provision.

In addition to this, they will have access to visual aids, adapted equipment and resources and individual assessment of significant needs. They may also have an adapted timetable/curriculum to meet their needs.

Targeted support for groups or individuals may include group or 1:1 interventions that focus on a range of needs such as numeracy, literacy, comprehension and spelling skills. Support could also focus on improving working memory, balance and coordination.

Where needed, we will seek support from the Havering CAD 5-19 team, which may be through the General Learning Disabilities advisor or through our allocated Educational Psychologist.

Dyslexia

We have regular communication with parents who are concerned about the possibility of their child having Dyslexia.

As a school, we are unable to diagnose Dyslexia in our learners however we are able to spot potential signs of Dyslexia and can offer assessment and support.

As well as Nessy Screener and the Pearson Dyslexia Screening Programme which assess the chances of Dyslexia, we are able to assess Visual Stress in order to find out whether coloured overlays and paper would benefit the pupil.

Ultimately, however, it is the quality teaching and the selection of appropriate interventions that we offer here at Scotts that will best support our pupils.

If you have any concerns regarding your child and Dyslexia, please speak to their teacher.

In school dyslexia training to parents

Part 1

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Part 2

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Additional Support Resources

In order to support our children with their learning, we have a number of additional support resources that we offer throughout the school.

During times of remote learning we would like to continue to offer as much additional support as possible through access to these resources.

Please use the links below:

Nessy Reading and Spelling

Communication and Interaction

On entry, in EYFS, we assess all of our children using a programme called Language Link. This helps to identify any specific language needs and enables us to put language groups in place for identified children. If there are any children that are observed as having speech needs, we will then complete a Speech Link assessment.

We have a Speech and Language caseload meeting twice a year with our Havering allocated Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) and communication and interaction advisor. This is where the progress of children's S&L needs are discussed, new children are referred and assessments of children are agreed. Any children already known to this service when starting in EYFS will already be on this caseload.

We support the individual needs of all of our children and will introduce different resources and interventions to support any communication needs.

This may include visual timetables, now and next boards, task board, visual cues, makaton signs...

Speech and Language Therapy for Children - Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

Sensory and/or Physical Needs

Our school is a single story, accessible building, with ramps in place where needed and accessible toilets in both the infant and junior buildings. An individual risk assessment will always be made to ensure the correct provision is in place for any child or member of staff with physical needs. Further information on supporting children with physical needs can be found in our accessibility policy.

Where additional advice is needed, the Havering CAD 5-19 team are available to support. Within their team, they have a visual impairment and hearing impairment advisory teacher and a habilitation specialist. We can also refer for further advice from the paediatrician and occupational therapist.

When physical and/or sensory needs are identified, we will work together to put the best support in place. This could be by following a physiotherapy plan of exercises that has been set for us, this could be a fine or gross motor skills intervention programme, sensory play activities or appropriate resources selected to support your child's physical or sensory needs.

Meeting the Sensory Needs of your child - free training for families - SEND Supported

Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)

Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) is a broad term used to define a range of different needs children may have at any given time.

Needs may include (but is not exclusive to):

ADHD

Oppositional Defiance Disorder

OCD

Eating disorders

Mental health provision (see our main page on Mental Health for more info.)

At Scotts Primary School we know the importance of all members of our community being healthy in both body and mind. The world in which we live has been an uncertain and constantly changing place this year and now more than ever we must pull together to support one-another.

As such we have- and will continue to- invest a lot of time and resources into promoting mental well-being within school. We are proud to be a Mentally Healthy School and are working collaboratively with both staff in school and with external agencies to ensure that we are able to offer support to those who need it.

There will always be challenges that arise for children and adults that can affect their ability to be happy and successful and we are very proud of the supportive team that we have developed who are on hand to support during these times.

As parents and carers, you too are a vital part of our school community and if you are concerned about your own mental health, we can signpost you towards agencies that can support you too.

Pupil pathway to mental health and well-being

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The Rainbow Room

The Rainbow Room is a calm and safe space within our school that is accessible for all children when they need somewhere to escape the stresses of daily life. We have access to resources within this room that can support children when they are finding it hard to explain how they are feeling or to cope with overwhelming emotions. We aim to support children in managing and resolving issues before they grow or develop into bigger issues.

Our Rainbow Team

3 days out of 5, our Rainbow Room is used to provide specialised support from either our school Counsellor or by our ELSAs.

Mrs Sfaltos is a qualified and experienced counsellor who is well equipped to tailor support for the individual children she supports. This may be a one- off session or a series of sessions.

The aim of her support is to equip children with the skills they need to cope with and manage their emotions in the future.

Miss Green and Mrs Monk are our school Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs) working with either small groups of children or individuals to support them in developing their emotional literacy. This means understanding and implementing strategies to improve the way that they think and feel, usually in relation to themselves.

Areas that our ELSAs can support can include: