SEND at Alderton Junior School
At The Alderton Junior School, we aim to provide an exceptional education that is inclusive and challenging for all learners, and provides wider opportunities for all. We ensure that all children have access to exemplary provision that enables them to achieve success through a rich, diverse and exciting curriculum.
We see every child as an individual and create personalised plans and intervention strategies to ensure pupils develop academically and socially for life, and the world beyond Key Stage 2.
At The Alderton Junior School, we put children at the heart of everything that we do, ensuring our pupils are happy, healthy and confident individuals.
We do this by ensuring:
We are a family at the Alderton Junior School, and believe that every individual should be nurtured and supported to achieve. We have a team of highly skilled teachers and dedicated support staff who firmly believe that supporting children with SEND is the responsibility of everyone in the school.
How are all pupils, including those with SEND, supported at our school?
Support for all pupils begins with high quality teaching. Our staff ensure that all learning opportunities meet the needs of the individuals within the classroom through effective use of Assessment for Learning, differentiation and scaffolding and feedback in the moment within lessons. We use assessment effectively to identify pupils who may need additional support or require further challenge provided to them in order to ensure all pupils make rapid and sustained progress. The Senior Leadership Team provides professional development training to all staff to ensure they have the necessary knowledge and skills to support all pupils and feel confident to
do so.
As excellent practitioners, our teaching and support staff provide additional support to pupils within lessons as individuals or in small groups to secure key concepts. We plan in class intervention through research-led intervention models that have been tested and recommended by the Education Endowment Fund or professionals such as our Educational Psychologist. For example, our staff use pre-teaching as a means to introduce new concepts or language to pupils in advance of this being taught to the entire class, thus developing confidence and support individuals to contribute and access the learning they may have otherwise found challenging. In addition, we use precision monitoring as a strategy to support pupils to practise key concepts and knowledge in English or Mathematics on a regular basis, supporting pupils to secure this knowledge in their long-term memory, removing this as a barrier to future learning and development.
How do we support pupils who require additional intervention?
Through effective use of assessment, observation and communication with families, some children are identified as having additional needs. This could be in a particular subject area or relating to specific types of needs e.g. physical needs, communication related needs. All pupils who are identified as having additional needs will have a One Plan. This plan is created collaboratively, working in partnership with children, parents or carers, teachers and the SendCo Miss Davies. In some cases, additional professionals are invited to these meetings or their advice may be used to support the planning process.
During One Planning meetings, the child’s strengths and progress are celebrated, next step areas for focus are discussed and key targets decided for the next term. These targets are then worked on through specific actions at home and in school. This happens on a termly basis and follows what we can an Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle. This is the same cycle for those children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). For these children, we also hold an Annual review each year to review EHCP targets, celebrate successes and plan longer term targets to achieve by the end of Key Stage 2 and to help plan for transition to Secondary School.
What if a child has needs that cannot be met through Quality First Teaching or the One Planning Process?
On rare occasions, we may have a very small number of children who have additional needs and require an Educational, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This is a legal document that is created to provide specific support to an individual until they are 25 years old. An EHCP is applied for to the Local Authority only when it has been identified in partnership with families and professionals, that an individual has needs that are greater than the school can provide within current resources. The additional needs are likely to be a significant barrier to the individual from accessing learning expected for their age. These barriers are likely to cause the individual to be working well below that of the current year group expectations, despite high quality teaching and additional intervention having been provided for a period of time. In this case, Mrs O’Riordan will work closely with families to discuss the process, liaise with relevant professionals, gather the necessary evidence needed and support as required.
How are pupils supported socially and emotionally?
In addition to academic support, all our staff recognise that at different times in their lives, some children may need additional emotional support. We have all taken part in extensive mental health training, and as a school we follow the Trauma Perceptive Practice approach. Miss Davies and Mrs Carroll Bastian support individuals and small groups of pupils who may require additional teaching and support to maintain good mental health. For example, pupils may have difficulties managing their emotions, have anxiety, be dealing with trauma or have a lack of self-esteem or confidence. Mrs Carroll Bastian is able to run a range of tailored interventions to support these children.
As well as Mrs Carroll Bastian, we access SPARKS Counselling service to provide Talk Therapy and Counselling through the Family and Children’s Support Services. More information can be found on our Pastoral Care and Wellbeing pages.
What other facilities do you have to support pupils with SEND?
We have a Sensory Room in a quiet part of our school building. This space is for pupils who need a quiet, calm space to meet their sensory needs, to relax and to regulate. We have introduced sensory experiences for as many senses as possible through the use of cushions, a sensory tent, a hanging pod, bubbles, access to trays of different sensory objects to touch, scented bean bags, an aromatherapy diffuser, a range of different relaxing and nature related CDs to listen to, a bubble panel, bubble tubes, lamps and a projector displaying a rainbow of colours. This space is constantly evolving as we respond to the needs of our children.
In addition to this, we have a kitchen area, a garden, a sound garden, a well-resourced music space and an extensive outdoor area. We also support all pupils to develop a sense of responsibility within the school and a number of our pupils, including those with SEND, hold a position of responsibility either on our School Council, as a Reading Ambassador, Sports Leader or Peer Mediator. Many pupils also support play outside and enjoy training as referees for football games! Our pupils also access a range of sports and enrichment activities. Through our extensive Sports and P.E offer and drive for pupils who live active and healthy lives, we attend inter and intra sports competition events including events designed especially for SEND pupils.
SENDCo:
Miss E Davies