SpecialNeeds and Inclusion in School
AtWest Kidlington School,webelieve that every child has individual and unique needs. However,some children require more support than others. If these children areto achieve their full potential, we must recognise this and planaccordingly.
Withparental permission, we may ask external professionals to come in andassess your child. A full list of these external agencies can befound in our SEN informationreport. Included in the support offered are intervention programmes.These range from programmes set by external agencies to our own ‘Keepup, not catch up’ interventionswhich aim to narrow the gaps in learning from children with learningdifficulties to their peers.
Webelieve for a child to achieve their full potential,wemust develop their self-esteemand resilience, asthis will help build confidence and motivation.
Our School prides itself on its ability to offer and successfully deliver a full curriculum that is inclusive to all children, irrespective of need.
AdmissionArrangements for Children with Special Needs
WestKidlington is an inclusive school, which means that all children areencouraged and enabled to participate in all activities,both on and off the school site.
Whenchildren with disabilities join the school, specific arrangements areput in place to ensure they are suitably supported. There aremeetings with advisors, the school nurse, parents,and other appropriate school staff before the child starts school,ensuring systemsare in place to achieve a smooth transition into school life.
Otherfeatures of our SEN are as follows:
- All the school buildings are designed to accommodate children and adults with disabilities.
- We follow Oxfordshire County’s Admissions Policy (available from the school office).
- At the time of entry to school, a meeting for new parents and school visits are pre-arranged in order for the transition to run as smoothly as possible.
- If outside agencies are supporting children and families, they will be involved in the early stages to assist in identifying the special requirements and resources.
Beforea child is admitted to school, we aim to ensure that any specialeducational needs have been identified and discussed, and supportingarrangements put in place.
Duringthe assessment period when a child first arrives in nursery,the nurseryteacher works closely with the SENCO, Jo Simpson, in identifying any child who mayneed additional support.
"There’s always a warm welcome to be had at West Kidlington Primary School. The office staff are really helpful and friendly. There is a strong ethos of inclusivity, and a drive to ensure children are happy and well supported by nurturing staff. The SENCO is passionate about ensuring the provision is good. Her open-door policy, excellent rapport with parents, and exceptional relationships with children ensure open communication and outstanding care"
Emma O’Regan
Physical Disability Team Advisor, Oxfordshire
How do we identify and give extra help to children and young people with SEN?
The school uses Oxfordshire County Council’s guidance ‘Identifying and supporting Special Educational Needs in Oxfordshire schools and settings.’ The guidance sets out:
- How we identify if a child or young person has a special educational need.
- How we assess children and plan for their special educational needs, and how we adapt our teaching.
- Ways in which we can adapt our school environment to meet each child’s needs
- How we review and agree outcomes and involve you and your child in this.
How do we work with parents and children/young people?
We will always contact parents if we have a concern that a child/young person may have a special educational need. We work closely with children and young people with SEN and their parents to agree outcomes and how we will all work towards these, and then review progress. We do this by: termly meetings, in line with parents’ evening meetings, using home/school communication books, scheduled phone calls etc… There are also opportunities for parents and children to contribute to our policies on SEN and Equality. We do this by: parent forums, school council, young people’s consultation activities etc..
Adapting our curriculum
We offer a broad and balanced curriculum for all children and young people including those with SEN. Details are published on the school website. The way we adapt this for children with SEN and disabled children is set out in the School Accessibility Plan.
What expertise can we offer?
Our SENCo holds Qualified teacher status, has the National Association of Special Educational Needs (NASENCo) certificate and is currently studying to become a dyslexia specialist teacher. Teaching assistants are trained to support the particular needs of the children they work with and are offered specific training as required.
We also have access to a range of support services including:
- Educational Psychology
- SENSS, who support children with communication and language, sensory needs and physical needs
- Behaviour Support
- Primary Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (PCAMHS and CAMHS)
- Oxfordshire School Inclusion Team
- Therapy Services inc occupational therapists, speech therapists and physiotherapists
- LCSS/Early Intervention - through the Bicester Early Intervention Hub
- Children's Social Care
Information about these services and what they offer can be found on the Oxfordshire County Council SEN web pages.We will always discuss the involvement of specialist SEN services with parents first.We also work with other services and organisations that are involved with the family, with the family's permission.
How do we know if SEN provision is effective?
The progress of all children is tracked throughout the school through assessments three times a year.
In addition for children with SEN we regularly review progress towards agreed outcomes assessing whether the support that’s been in place has made a difference and what needs to be done next. We evaluate this progress against age related expectations.
When we run specialist intervention programmes for groups of children we assess how successful they have been and use that information to decide de on how best to run them in the future.
Information about how the governing body evaluate the success of the education that is provided for pupils with SEN is contained in the governors’ annual SEN report. You can read a summary of this report on the website.
How are children and young people with SEN helped to access activities outside the classroom?
All children and young people are included in activities and trips following risk assessments where needed and in accordance with duties under the Equalities Act 2010.We talk to parents and young people when planning trips so that everyone is clear about what will happen.
There is information about activities and events for disabled children and those with SEN in Oxfordshire in the Family Information Directory.
Please also read the Oxfordshire’s accessibility strategy.
What do we do to support the wellbeing of children/young people with SEN?
All children have the opportunity to share their views through their school council representatives, in open discussions and circle times in class. We listen to the views of children/young people with SEN through circle times, nurturing sessions and encouraging them to share concerns with key adults in school. We take bullying very seriously. We help prevent bullying of children/young people with SEN through school values work, participating in Anti-Bullying Week activities and constantly instilling an attitude of fairness and respect for all through a Values-led curriculum.
Joining the school and moving on
We encourage all new children to visit the school before starting. For children/young people with SEN we may encourage visits before joining the school or a graduated start to ease the change of school setting.
We begin to prepare young people for transition into the next stage of their education by participation in the Early Transfer Programme set up by Gosford Hill School. We will also actively encourage all pupils with SEN to take part in the Sumer School offered at Gosford Hill during the Summer vacation.
If transferring to another secondary school, additional visits may be organised for pupils if they are felt to be beneficial.
Who to contact
If you are concerned about your child please speak to your child’s class teacher initially. The class teacher will be able to explain what support is being offered to your child. The class teacher may suggest that the SENCo is included in the discussion.
If you would like feedback, including compliments or complaints about SEN provision please forward these to the headteacher. We aim to respond to complaints within 7 days.
If you would like impartial advice please contact the Oxfordshire’s Parent Partnership Service and Oxfordshire SENDIASS.
If you would like to know more about opportunities for children and young people with SEN and their families, support groups or information about SEN these are listed in the Family Information Directory.
Oxfordshire’s Local Offer contains a lot more information for parents.
