Special Educational Needs & Disabilities
Mrs Laura Finch is the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCO) at North Mundham School.
Contact the school office and make an appointment on 01243 785502 or email: sendco@northmundham.w-sussex.sch.uk
Click here for the SEN Information Report 2023 – 2024.
Click here for the Accessibility Plan 2024 – 2027.
Click here for the current SEND Policy.
Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. Children have a learning difficulty if they:
a) Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age;
OR
b) Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for the children of the age in schools within the area of the local education authority;
c) Are under compulsory school age and fall within the definition at (a) or (b) above or would so do if special education provision was not made for them.
Children must not be regarded as having learning difficulty solely because the language or form of language of their home is different from the language in which they are taught.
Special Educational Provision means:
For children of two or over, educational provision which is additional to, or otherwise different from, the educational provision made generally for children of their age in schools maintained by the LEA, other than special schools in the area.
We are committed to early identification of special educational needs and adopt a graduated response to meeting them in line with the SEND Code of Practice 2015. A range of evidence is collected through school assessment and monitoring arrangements. If this suggests that your child is not making the expected progress, the class teacher will consult with both you and the school SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) in order to decide whether additional or different provision is necessary. In addition to the school assessment, there are specialist assessment tools which we use to explore the reasons for any difficulties. There is no need for pupils to be registered or identified as having special educational needs unless the school is taking additional or different action. Until then we meet a child’s needs through quality first teaching and differentiation in the classroom.
If you have a concern about your child’s progress or believe they have a special educational need, this should be first discussed with the class teacher. Further assessment and/or additional support can then be discussed with the SENCO.
Our Governing Body ensures that as a school we make appropriate provision for all pupils identified as having special educational needs. The named SENCO for the school is Mrs Laura Finch. A member of the Governing body, Lindsay Haines, takes particular interest in special educational needs, although the Governing Body as a whole is responsible for ensuring suitable provision is made for pupils with special educational needs.
The school may support your child in a variety of ways depending on their individual needs. The first way is within the class where learning tasks will be matched to your child’s needs and will be overseen by the class teacher. Additional provision may be through targeted small group work that could take place in or out of the classroom, delivered by a Teaching Assistant or SEN teacher. Your child’s targets will be set by class teacher in collaboration with the SENCO. A further level of provision may involve your child working individually with a member of staff to meet specific targets. These targets may be set out in an ILP (Individual Learning Plan) and/or Therapeutic Behaviour Plan. These documents describe the support that is additional to or different from that provided as part of the school’s usual differentiated curriculum.
Our school strives to provide an engaging and exciting curriculum for all children. All class teachers are responsible for high quality teaching in their classes for all children, including those identified with SEND. Your child’s class teacher will plan for the variety of needs in the classroom by providing appropriate tasks and achievable outcomes to consolidate and extend children’s learning. (Please see our Teaching and Learning Policy for more details.) For children with special educational needs, the teacher may provide different resources or there may be an adult to assist a small group of children to complete the task as independently as possible.
The progress of all children is tracked each term through teacher assessment. Teachers make their judgements based on the learning they see and hear in the classroom and evidence is found in children’s books and observations made by staff. Interventions are monitored and progress tracked based on the objectives set to be achieved. In addition to the termly parent meetings, you will be kept regularly informed of your child’s progress by agreeing and sharing your child’s targets with the class teacher. These will identify the next steps for your child to make progress and how the school and you can help him/her. Progress will be monitored and reviewed regularly to ensure that both you and your child can express your views and are fully involved in decisions. Regular contact may be through a home/school link book, emails, telephone calls or meetings. All parents are invited to three parents evenings each year. You will also receive an end of year report detailing your child’s effort and attainment. Parents can request additional meetings with the class teacher, SENCo or Headteacher by contacting the school office.
We aim to develop children’s emotional and social well-being in partnership with parents and carers. In some cases this may be supplemented by specialist support from our ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) who supports children who need support for emotional reasons. Healthcare plans and therapeutic support plans can be used to meet specific needs. These plans are created in collaboration with school, parents and pupils, and other agencies as appropriate, and they are monitored and reviewed at agreed intervals. Assemblies and school council support children to discuss issues related to wellbeing. We are a healthy school and promote the wellbeing of all children. We also support all our children to attend extra-curricular activities.
External support services play an important part in helping the school identify, assess and make provision for children with SEN. These include:
Before the school make any referrals, we will always consult with you first.
Training for staff is an ongoing process. We make an annual audit of training needs for all staff taking into account school priorities and personal professional development. Particular support is given to new members of staff and to training that addresses children’s specific needs. The SENCOs of each school within the Chichester Locality meet together each term to share good practice and this is a strength of our group of schools.
It is the school’s policy to enable every child to participate as fully as possible in all elements of the wider curriculum. We ensure that all children attend school trips and residential visits with support as appropriate. Where necessary, the school will meet with parents and carers to discuss individual needs prior to any visit or activity.
Our school has an accessibility policy which is reviewed regularly. As part of this review, we ensure that the school environment is accessible for all children, including those with physical and sensory needs.
When you apply for a place for your child at the school, we encourage you to share your concerns about your child’s special educational needs or pass on information about any specialist support or agencies already working with you. We will contact any previous educational establishments for relevant information. Any practical arrangements can then be discussed and put in place.
At the end of the school year or if your child moves to another setting, the relevant staff communicate to pass on information and ensure that transition arrangements are in place. This may include meetings with parents and the future school as well as visits to the setting to ensure a smooth transition for your child.
The school receives money as part of their annual budget to support provision for special educational needs. It is used to pay for staffing and resources which support children with special educational needs throughout the school.
On top of this resource, there may be additional funding from the Government and West Sussex County Council to support individual children on specific programmes. This includes ‘Pupil Premium’ money and additional funds for children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Guidance on resources is also taken from a child’s statement or EHCP where appropriate.
Every child’s needs are carefully assessed and decisions are then made based on the ability of a child to access the curriculum and make progress. The school SENCO will work closely with you and all staff to discuss relevant interventions, adult support and advice from specialist services to make best use of available resources. We regularly assess the impact of any additional support and resources and report children’s progress to parents.
Parents are involved right from the beginning of any discussions about their child and this will take the form of ongoing structured conversations. We encourage parents to maintain regular contact with the class teacher, teaching assistants and SENCO.