Special Education Needs
Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) have the greatest need for excellent teaching and are entitled to provision that supports achievement at, and enjoyment of, school. Supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities at Sandgate Primary School is part of a proactive approach to supporting all pupils. It means understanding the specific barriers pupils face to learning and what they need in order to thrive so that they can be included in all that Sandgate Primary School has to offer. High-quality teaching, differentiated and/or adapted for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have special educational needs. Many steps are taken to support children with SEND through their learning journey. Quality first teaching is vital; however, for some children, there are occasions when further additional support may be needed to help them achieve their targets.
At Sandgate Primary School, all staff are considered responsible for supporting the needs of pupils with SEND. Our staff are committed to regular, high-quality training to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to better meet a wide range of pupil needs. Mrs. Rachel Shoob is the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Leader, who is supported by a SEND team comprising of Mr. Matthew Green (Headteacher), Mrs. Lianne Jones (Deputy Headteacher and DSL), Mr. Jamie Evans (Deputy Headteacher) and Ms. Wendy Hill (Family Liaison Officer). The SEND Governors are Mr. David Lea and Mrs. Sarah Uden.
Mrs Rachel Shoob, the school's SENDCO (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator) can be contacted via email sen@sandgate.kent.sch.uk or via the school office, 01303 257280
Please click here for further information regarding SEND
Please click here for the SEND Policy which has been written in consultation with parents and school governors.
The Mainstream Core Standards
Speech, Language and Communication Development
Speech, Language and Communication development are important life skills. They are linked to learning, attainment, behaviour, social and emotional development as well as mental wellbeing. We are committed to supporting the speech, language and communication development of all our pupils. We are working in partnership with our NHS link speech & language therapist, Mary Sibun, as well as specialist teachers to continue to improve our practice and provision and help to ensure that all our children reach their potential. Your child may therefore come into contact with Mary Sibun within their classroom or around school. If you have any concerns about your child’s speech, language or communication skills, please speak to your child’s class teacher in the first instance. We will then work together with you to agree next steps. You will be kept informed about any plans to support your child.
Below are links to useful Speech and Language websites:
Children's Therapies - The POD: https://www.kentcht.nhs.uk/childrens-therapies-the-pod/speech-and-language-therapy/
Speech and Language UK: https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/
Speech and Language UK have a very useful 'Child's Progress Checker' tool that allows you to answer questions about your child's speech and language and then based on your answers, gives useful recommendations and strategies for support.
Children and Families Bill 2013
The Children and Families Bill takes forward the Coalition Government’s commitments to improve services for vulnerable children and support families. It underpins wider reforms to ensure that all children and young people can succeed, no matter what their background. The Bill will reform the systems for adoption, looked after children, family justice and special educational needs.
The Government is transforming the system for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN), including those who are disabled, so that services consistently support the best outcomes for them. The Bill will extend the SEN system from birth to 25, giving children, young people and their parents/carers greater control and choice in decisions and ensuring needs are properly met.
It takes forward the reform programme set out in Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability: Progress and next steps by:
- replacing statements and learning difficulty assessments with a new birth- to-25 Education, Health and Care Plan, extending rights and protections to young people in further education and training and offering families personal budgets so that they have more control over the support they need;
- improving cooperation between all the services that support children and their families and particularly requiring local authorities and health authorities to work together; and
- requiring local authorities to involve children, young people and parents in reviewing and developing provision for those with special educational needs and to publish a ‘local offer’ of support.
What is the Local Offer?
The Local Offer was first introduced in the Green Paper (March 2011) as a local offer of all services available to support disabled children and children with SEN and their families. This easy to understand information will set out what is normally available in schools to help children with lower-level SEN as well as the options available to support families who need additional help to care for their child.
Parents can find this information on the following website: www.kent.gov.uk/kent-parent-partnership-service
What will it do?
The Kent framework will allow the Local Offer to provide parents/carers with information about how to access services in their area, and what they can expect from those services. With regard to Education, it will let parents/ carers and young people know how school and colleges will support them, and what they can expect across the local settings. During the last year, the Local Offer Steering Group has developed questions for schools, and trialled them with a small number of settings.
There are 14 questions, devised in consultation with parents/carers and other agencies, which reflect their concerns and interests. These will be answered by agencies, schools and colleges to provide information to parents and carers to enable them to make decisions about how to best support their child’s needs.