Support for pupils with special educational needs (SEND) and disability at Linslade Lower School
Linslade Lower School is an inclusive school and we have experience of working with pupils who have a range of needs. Our team of staff are trained to support children who need additional help with their learning. We encourage pupils with SEND to take part in a full range of activities.
There are ramps and handrails to assist access at a number of points around the school.
Parents of pupils with additional needs are encouraged to visit to discuss their child’s needs and view the facilities we have. For further information on admission to school please see the admissions section under the key information tab.
The academic and social and emotional development of all pupils is monitored carefully throughout the year. If we have concerns about your child’s development we will meet with you to explain our concerns and the intervention / support that we can provide. If a parent has a concern about their child they should make an appointment to speak to the class teacher to discuss the concerns. It is important to note that not all concerns or lack of progress will be due to a ‘special educational need’ however where progress is considered to be insufficient appropriate strategies to remedy this will be employed. The school has a special needs co-ordinator (SENCO) Mrs Eileen Alexander who liaises with school staff and external agencies to ensure that the pupils needs are being met. The SEND governor meets with the SENCO each term to monitor provision and outcomes for SEND pupils.
If it is deemed that your child has additional needs they will receive appropriate support. At Linslade Lower School we offer support according to need. Some support is provided in small groups and occasionally one to one. To meet the needs of our current pupils we offer groups led by specially trained teaching assistants to support social and emotional development, one to one mentoring for pupils who face significant challenges socially and emotionally, small group support for specific difficulties for example fine motor skills (e.g handwriting), reading and mathematics. The support and intervention we provide is adapted to meet the needs of the pupils we have in school.
If problems persist or are considered to be more complex the school will ask parents for permission to refer to external agencies for advice and support.
A few pupils arrive at school with difficulties that have already been identified or are already receiving support from another agency. It is important that parents share information and explain their child’s needs to us before they start school so that we can arrange a smooth transition and ensure we have made appropriate preparations to provide support. Likewise, we liaise with middle schools to ensure that pupils with SEND make a smooth transition. The SENCO meets with her counterpart in the middle schools.
Pupils with more complex needs may already have an education, health and care (EHC) plan. Pupils joining the school with complex needs or who have complex needs identified may require a EHC plan.
'Pupil voice' is important to us so wherever possible we take the views of the children into account. Their views are collected via discussion with the class teacher or teaching assistant and are recorded on a one page profile.
If you have a question or a complaint about the SEND provision your child receives please speak to Mrs Alexander or Mrs Farlam in the first instance. The formal complaints procedure can be found on the policies and document page of the web site. We want to work with families to best support their child in a positive way.
For parents of children with special educational needs, including those with
EHC Plans.
The Children and Families Act, which became law and was implemented in September 2014, resulted in changes to the way you and your child receive support from your local council, health and social care services and nurseries, schools or colleges:
Education and Health Care (EHC) Plans
An education, health and care (EHC) plan places emphasis on the child or young person’s personal goals and describes the support a child receives in order to achieve these. The plan ensures that all the information about the child or young person is held in the same place so that all of the professionals involved in your child’s support are fully aware of all of their needs and aspirations, and plan together for how to meet them.
Once your child has an EHC plan, you may choose to apply for a personal budget if you wish. A Personal Budget is designed to give you and your child more control over certain aspects of the support your child needs. A personal budget is a payment that is made to allow you to source and fund some of the services your child needs yourself. The amount you may be given, and how it could be spent, is something that would be agreed with the council. Details of eligibility for personal budgets are available from http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/localoffer . A Personal Budget is not compulsory, and parents are able to decide whether they wish to fund some of their child’s support in this way or not.
SEN support
All children and young people are entitled to good quality teaching, differentiated according to their needs. For children and young people in Central Bedfordshire for whom there is deemed to be an additional need, there is a Graduated Approach which gives guidance for all education providers.
Local Offer
The ‘Local Offer’ provides information for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their parents and carers in one place. The Local Offer for Central Bedfordshire can be found at http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/localoffer
SEND Information
Speech and Language information
If you are concerned about the development of your child's speech, for example, are they not talking, are they stammering or making pronunciation errors, then in the first instance you could look at the advice on the Speech and Language website;
http://www.childspeechbedfordshire.nhs.uk
If you still feel you need further advice then school can complete a referral to a Speech and Language Therapist. Please contact Mrs Alexander (SENCo) to discuss any concerns.
Please see our complaints policy if you wish to raise a concern. A link to the policy section is below.
For up to date leaflets please click the link below.
http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/children/sen-disability/send-partnership/overview.aspx