We are proud to be an inclusive school at The Martin Wilson School & Early Years Centre. Through our comprehensive approach to SEND, we strive to provide a secure, caring and happy environment in which all of our pupils can experience success and enjoyment.
Our dedication to meet all children's individual needs helps us to maximise every child's inclusion in all aspects of school life. We believe in equal opportunities for all, where everyone is treated with respect, dignity and is equally valued. We value and honour the views of our pupils and their families and provide opportunities for them to influence change and to be fully involved in the decision-making process.
The aim of this information report is to explain how we implement our SEND policy and to provide an overview of how our school supports pupils with special educational needs.
If you would like to know more about our arrangements for SEND, you can access our SEN policy on our website.
A child or young person is identified as SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which requires special educational provision. In accordance with the SEN Code of Practice 2015, our provision for SEN needs is grouped into these 4 broad areas:
Cognition and Learning
Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people have a growing attainment gap to age related curriculum. Learning difficulties can be mild or severe and can also include Specific learning difficulties (SpLD).
Communication and Interaction
Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) may require support to build skills to communicate with others. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. It is also important to recognise the impact of any possible issues related to wellbeing and mental health. Children with identified SEMH needs can require support to build emotional literacy, develop skills for self-regulation and benefit from building trusting relationships with key adults.
Sensory and/or Physical Needs
Some children and young people require special educational provision to ensure that both curriculum and learning environments are inclusive and accessible. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Support may be required to meet specific needs related to vision, hearing or multi-sensory needs. Children who experience sensory processing difficulties can also require personalised adjustments. In addition, this area may encompass needs within gross and fine motor co-ordination skills
Miss Wilson (SENCO)
I am the school SENCo at Martin Wilson School and I have enjoyed working in this role for the last 6 years. I have achieved the National Award in Special Educational Needs Co-ordination and I am also a qualified teacher. I have taught at Martin Wilson School for 11 years and I currently teach Year 2 (Wrekin Class).
I am released to support SEN Mon-Wed and I am class based Thursdays and Fridays.
If you would like to speak with me at all, I can be contacted via the school office number- 01743 236520 or via email: senco@martinwilsonschool.org.uk
All members of staff are integral to our SEN provision and we work together to facilitate our whole school approach to SEN. Every teacher is a teacher of SEN and support will always begin with quality first teaching approaches. We understand and recognise the importance of identifying, assessing and personalising teaching approaches to meet the needs of all children within our setting as well as building trusting relationships. Through understanding children and valuing their voices we put them at the heart of their learning.
Each class has a supporting TA. The class team’s SEN support may be timetabled through targeted 1:1 or small group support in class or through personalised interventions.
In addition, there are currently 3 SEN teaching assistants who support children with funded provision. Our school HLTA (Miss Jamie Hagans) and Key Learning Mentor (Mrs Michelle Bucknall) also provide highly personalised 1:1 and small group support. Please see our school website for a list of all staff details.
In the last 12 months, the following training has taken place:
-Whole school Phonics Bug Club training
-EYC Team- Intensive Interaction Training- (Supporting Non-Verbal pupils)
-EYC- Stoke Speaks Out training
-KS1 Talkboost Training (Yr1 staff)
- (Key adults) SALT workshops - Contrastive Pairs, Contrastive Pairs Plus, Teach Speech
- (Key adults) SALT- Selective Mutism Pathway support
--SENCo and Key Mentor- Brooke Traffic Light Training
- (Key adults) Introduction to supporting pupils with Autism
- (Key adults) Co-production of personalised support plans with MatI Outreach Services.
Training is reviewed regularly, and our school SENCo also
Sometimes we need extra help to offer our pupils the support they need. Whenever necessary we will work with external support services to meet the needs of our pupils with SEN and to support their families. These include:
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about The Martin Wilson School & Early Years Centre School, please contact us. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff are happy to assist you in any way we can.
Tell us about your concern
If you think your child might have SEN, the first person you should tell is your child’s teacher. They will pass the message on to our SENCO, Vickie Wilson who will be in touch to discuss your concerns. You can also contact the SENCO directly.
We will invite you to a meeting to discuss the
We will arrange to either meet with you or arrange a phone call to discuss your concerns and try to get a better understanding of what your child’s strengths and difficulties are.
Together we will decide what outcomes to seek for your child and agree on next steps.
We will make a note of what’s been discussed and add this to your child’s record.
We will decide whether your child needs SEN support
If we decide that your child needs SEN support, we will formally notify you and your child will be added to the school’s SEND register.
How will the school know if my child need SEN support?
At Martin Wilson School we identify the needs of pupils by considering the needs of the whole child in addition to emerging SEN needs.
We also consider other factors that may impact on progress and attainment that are NOT considered SEN and these may include:
Children meeting the criteria for EHCP or GSP will automatically be placed on our School SEN Register.
Pupils who do not receive additional funding but still require SEN support are identified through two or more of the following criteria:
Children with emerging SEN needs will be monitored through the graduated approach. Teachers will collect evidence of intervention tried so far and the impact this had on progress. Pupils on the SEN register have a termly IEP with individualised targets which contributes to the assess, plan, do, review approach.
Consulting and involving pupils and parents/ carers
We will have an early discussion with the pupil and their parents when identifying whether they need special educational provision. These conversations will make sure that:
We will formally notify parents when it is decided that a pupil will receive SEN support.
The designated SENCo is Vickie Wilson. As SENCo, responsibilities include monitoring and updating the SEN register. This is done largely through consultation with class teachers and school staff in addition to discussion with parents and carers. Parents are able to book an appointment to meet with the SENCo. This can be requested through the school contact number and email.
How will the school measure my child’s progress and evaluate support?
We follow the ‘graduated approach’ to meeting your child’s SEN needs.
The graduated approach is a 4-part cycle of assess, plan, do, review.
Assess
If your child is not making the expected level of progress, we will carry out assessment to find out what strengths and difficulties your child has. We will ask for input from you and your child, as well as getting help from external professionals or screening tools where necessary.
Plan
In discussion with you and your child, we will decide what outcomes we are hoping to achieve. We will make a plan of the support we will offer your child to help them meet those outcomes and facilitate any training staff may require. We will make a record of this and share it with you and all relevant school staff.
Do
We will put our plan into practice.
The class teacher, with the support of the SENCO, will be responsible for implementing personalised intervention that focuses on areas of need and acts on recommendations from external professionals.
Review
We will assess how well the support we put in place helped the child to meet the outcomes we set. We will use our improved understanding of
your child’s needs to improve the support we offer. Exit data from each cycle may be collated through observations or through attainment data. Where appropriate alternative assessment such as pre-key stage interim standards may be used to measure progress.
A Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO for short) is a teacher who is responsible for special educational needs at school. Every school in the UK is obliged to employ a SENCO as they ensure all students with learning disabilities are well equipped to obtain the right help and support they need at school.
Our Special Educational Nee
A Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO for short) is a teacher who is responsible for special educational needs at school. Every school in the UK is obliged to employ a SENCO as they ensure all students with learning disabilities are well equipped to obtain the right help and support they need at school.
Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is Miss Wilson.
If you would like to discuss your child's needs in relation to SEN, please contact the office to make an appointment and Miss Wilson will be happy to meet with you.