‘Special Educational Needs and Disabilities’ (often shortened to SEND) describes the needs of children who have a difficulty or disability that makes it harder for them to learn than most children and young people of the same age.  

SEND can cover a broad range of needs that includes:

• physical development,
• visual or hearing impairment,
• difficulties with speech and language,
• emotional and behavioural difficulties,
• difficulties with thinking and understanding.

Disability is a term used for a recognised condition experienced by the child, usually diagnosed quite early in their lives.

A child has a special need if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.  They may require extra support or different help from their peer group e.g. modified tasks, additional equipment, extra time or breaks in formal assessments.

At Park Hill Junior School, along with the support of other other agencies, we aim to help most children overcome their difficulties relatively quickly and easily. However, a few children will need extra help for some or all of their time in school.

This means that they may have difficulty with:

• Some or all of their learning in school;
• Reading, writing or mathematics;
• Understanding information;
• Expressing themselves;
• Understanding others;
• Organising themselves;
• Personal care;
• Sensory perception or physical mobility;
• Managing their behaviour;
• Making friends or relating to other people including adults;
• Understanding and meeting the expectations of the school.

They may also have a sensory or physical health need which may affect them in school.

Class Teacher or Phase Leader

If you have any concerns about your child, you should speak to your child’s class teacher or Phase Leader first.  You may then be directed towards to our SENDCO, Miss Waxer. 

Your child's class teacher and Phase Leader are responsible for:

• Providing high quality teaching and learning which is differentiated and personalised, responding to the strengths and needs of all pupils;
• Checking on the progress of your child and identifying, planning and delivering any additional support required to support progress in the classroom;
• Developing SEND Individual Educational Plans to prioritise and focus on the next steps required for your child to make progress in learning;
• Discussing ways in which you can help your child at home;
• Applying the schools SEND policy.

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCO) - Miss Waxer

 Our SENDCO (Miss Waxer) is responsible for:

• Co-ordinating provision for children with SEND 
• Ensuring that parents are:
  • Involved in supporting their child’s learning and access;
  • Kept informed about the range and level of support offered to their child;
  • Included in reviewing how their child is doing:
    • Liaising with a range of agencies outside of school who can offer advice and support to help pupils overcome any difficulties
    • Providing specialist advice and facilitating training to ensure that all staff are skilled and confident about meeting a range of needs.

Inclusion Manager - Miss C. Penn

Our Inclusion Manager (Miss Penn) is responsible for:

• Overall oversight and management of provision for pupils with SEND;
• Developing the school's accessibility plan;
• Analysing the impact of interventions within the school;
• Developing the schools SEND policy;
• Holds the National Award of Special Needs Co-ordination.

The Head Teacher - Mrs A. Pratt

The Head Teacher is responsible for:

• The day to day management of all aspects of the school, including the provision made for pupils with SEND.

The Local Advisor (Governor) for SEND

Is responsible for:

• Supporting the school to develop high-quality provision and evaluate impact for pupils with SEND across the school.

The school works with a number of external agencies to seek advice and support to ensure that the needs of all children are fully understood and met. These include:

Educational Psychology Service
Our attached Educational Psychologist is Jo Blanchard.

Ms Blanchard works with the SENDCo, the teachers, the support staff, the parents and the children to assess children’s needs, set appropriate learning targets, give advice to staff about the best ways to help children meet the targets, support referrals to other services and applications for statutory assessment.

Speech and Language Therapy

We receive support from the SALT who will make assessments of individual children referred to them by the school, set targets, review progress, engage with parents, work with some children in a clinic outside school and support small groups in school.

Counselling

We have a school counsellor, Mrs Tara Green, who works with children who have been referred to her on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  She will work with children either individually or within a small group, and is able to offer immediate support and longer-term support, depending on the individual child.

Croydon Sensory Support Service (CSSS) 

Croydon Sensory Support Service (CSSS) supports the educational access and achievement of children and pupils with hearing and visual impairments and encourages pupil participation in all aspects of school life.

The specialist teaching and support staff of CSSS develop working partnerships with health professionals, families, carers, school staff and pupils. Our aim is to maximise for all pupils:

• Educational achievement
• Successful participation
• Independence and confidence in the management of disability for life.

CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Christopher Wren House
113, High Street
Croydon
CR0 1QG

Tel: 020 3228 0000
Website www.slam.nhs.uk

This service offers advice, assessment and treatment for children who have a serious mental health disorder or psychological difficulties. It can also offer support for their families.

Virtual School for Children who are Looked After

virtualschool@croydon.gov.uk

This service oversees and monitors provision for children who are in care of the Local Authority.

Croydon SEND Information and Advice Services (SENDIAS) 
(formerly Family Lives)

Helpline: 020 3131 3150.
www.familylives.org.uk/

This service offers advice on local SEN issues, the statutory process relating to SEN and national organisations. They also provide drop-in advice sessions for parents. They will be providing Independent Support Volunteers to help any family going through an EHC Plan needs assessment and the process of developing an EHC Plan. Support will be provided for new entrants to the system, children with a Statement converting to an EHC Plan and young people with a Learning Disability Assessment converting to an EHC Plan.

• Locality SEND Support - A Detailed Guide for Parents and Carers
• Locality SEND Support - Information for Locality SEND Support school websites.
• Locality SEND Support - A Brief Guide for Parents and Carers

At Park Hill Junior School, all pupils in school receive quality first teaching. This means that a range of teaching and learning styles are used, and that appropriate learning objectives are set for all children with a curriculum matched to their needs.

Teachers are highly skilled at adapting teaching to meet the diverse range of needs in each class. Teachers plan thoroughly, in collaboration with their year group team, to ensure lessons can be accessed by all children, including those with individual needs and requirements. Differentiation is approached in a range of ways to support access and ensure that all pupils can experience success and challenge in their learning.

At Park Hill Junior School, groups are organised flexibly with opportunities for children to work in both ability and mixed ability groups to maximise learning opportunities for all.  Each year, the group is also supported by a Learning Support Assistant who is used to help groups and individual pupils, both in and out of class, with a long-term goal of developing independent learning skills.

Some children with SEND need something additional to or different from that which is provided for the majority of children. The following range of interventions is in place to help overcome a range of difficulties. These include:

• Toe by Toe (support with phonics).
• Sound Linkage (support with phonics and speech & language).
• Precision Teaching (to help address gaps in understanding).
• Catch Up Maths.
• Catch Up Literacy.
• 'Post-it note' Interventions (support on the day to address misconceptions)
• Speech and Language support (in conjunction with the Croydon NHS Speech and Language Service).
• Access to the School Counsellor or Mentor.

 

• Supporting children with literacy difficulties

Transition can be particularly stressful for children with SEND, who can be anxious about moving on.  At Park Hill Junior School, every effort is taken to ensure transition times are successfully managed.

When moving from Park Hill Infants' School to the Juniors:

Staff work closely with our colleagues at the Infants' School to ensure that the transfer from Year 2 to Year 3 is as smooth as possible for all children, but especially those who have additional needs.  The SENDCos and Inclusion Managers from both schools meet during the summer term to arrange additional transition support e.g. additional class visits or a transition booklet.

When moving to another school:
When a child with SEND moves from Park Hill Junior School to another school, we will contact the schools SENDCo and share information about special arrangements and support that has been made to help your child achieve their learning targets.  We will ensure that all records are passed on as soon as possible.

For secondary transition, the SENDCo and/or Inclusion Manager will meet with staff from all Croydon secondary schools to ensure the relevant information is handed over, to ease the transition into Y7.  We also work with the secondary schools to arrange additional visits etc.

When moving classes in school:
At the end of the academic year, an information-sharing/transition meeting will take place between the old and the new class teacher.
The new class teacher, Phase Leader and year group LSA will spend time meeting the children in their current classrooms, in an environment where they feel comfortable and can show their strengths.  There will also be opportunities for the child to visit the new teacher and a new classroom will be provided.  If required, we can also ensure that there are opportunities for the parents to meet the new teacher, although this is not always needed.

A copy of the report can be found here.

• Croydon's Local Offer

Ongoing assessment takes place by class teachers to identify pupils who are not making adequate progress. At Park Hill, the progress and attainment of all pupils is reviewed every half-term by the Senior Leadership Team and class teachers, at which time provision may be adjusted to meet identified needs.

Following further assessments and after discussions with key staff and parents, additional support may be put into place to help overcome any difficulties.

This additional support is documented and tracked by the school through the Individual Provision Maps. Interventions (run by the Class Teacher, Phase Leader, SENDCo or Learning Support Assistant) are used to address key areas of learning.  For children with significant needs, a support plan will be put in place. The teacher and SENDCo make every effort to involve the child and the parent in the SEND support plan process. Where external agencies are involved, their advice and recommendations are included in this planning. Actions agreed take into account each pupil’s strengths as well as their difficulties.  Parents are kept informed of the support their child is receiving at the termly Consultation Evenings where a copy of the Individual Provision Map should be offered by the class teacher. If your child continues to make little or no progress, an EHCP may be requested. 

In some cases, and for pupils who already have Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP), an Individual Support Assistant (ISA) may be allocated. The level of support will relate to the complexity and severity of need. There will be an expectation that pupils should develop independent learning skills as far as possible and not become reliant on adult supervision.  Formal EHCP review meetings are held at least annually. Parents are invited to this review and external agencies attend when appropriate. The impact of support offered is considered along with the progress towards targets set. Support arrangements will be updated and revised accordingly. If not involved already, this might include referral to external agencies. The outcomes of these meetings will be formally recorded.

Further details about this process will be explained by the SENDCoand information published in the Local Authority’s Local Offer. 

For Croydon's Local Offer, click here.

At Park Hill Junior School, we value the views of both the pupils and the parents in identifying key strengths and areas of need, as well as planning and reviewing provision. Please contact Miss Waxer (SEND Lead Teacher) if you have any views on these areas, either by contacting the school office on 020 8686 8623 or by emailing senco@parkhill-jun.croydon.sch.uk.

Where possible, we will ensure that parents are kept up to date with the provision of support their child is receiving through the termly consultation evenings.   Where this is not possible or where more regular updates are required, we will agree with you the best way to share information. 

We are also keen to support parents with pupils with SEND and take their views on how we can continue to develop a positive experience for SEND pupils at our school.   

This year we hope to provide:

• Workshops and advice clients to develop parent knowledge and skills in various areas of the curriculum and SEN.
• Coffee mornings for parents of pupils with SEND
• Annual parent and pupil surveys to take views on current SEND practice and recommendations for further development. 

• Parent send support leaflet

• Sunshine Support
• Croydon SENDIASS