Inclusion and SEND
Inclusion at Coxheath Primary School
Coxheath Primary School maintains an inclusive approach to education and we aim to provide equality of opportunity for all children. All children are valued, respected and welcomed to the school whatever their additional educational need. (This may mean a specific learning, physical, behavioural and emotional, communication and language or health need.) More able, children who have English as an additional language and those on our Pupil Premium register are also recognised as having additional needs. There may also be stressful times such as illness, bereavement and family breakdowns when families and children require support. We will support their learning and ensure they are fully included in all school activities.
We recognise that there are some pupils who may require additional resources or extra support at some time in their primary school life and we aim to cater for the needs of all pupils. Early identification of a child’s needs is made by close consultation with parents and pre-school settings from school entry. Individual pupils are monitored through teacher assessment, pupil progress meetings and provision mapping.
The school has a SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) to offer support and advice for any concerns with children's health or learning need.
In addition to this, the school has a CAFSO (Child and Family Support Officer) to offer support to parents/carers who may have concerns about their child’s wellbeing.
Meet the Team
Mrs Sophie Grimley
SENCO
- SEN strategies
- Children in Care
- Referrals to other services e.g. NHS and Specialist Teaching Service
- DSL (Designated Safeguarding Lead)
- Personalised plans, Education and Healthcare Plans & High Needs Funding
I am the school's Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and have taught classes from Year R to 6 over time. I have completed my SENCO Award (Postgraduate certificate) and regularly attend relevant training courses. Recently these have included ASD awareness, Dyslexia and Intensive Interaction. My office is in the Key Stage 1 building but I usually hold meetings in the KS2 building. My working days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and I can be contacted through the office or the Senco email.
My role includes supporting children and teachers in class, completing assessments, developing support plans, writing referrals and liaising with other services. I also plan and deliver training for staff and monitor the delivery of interventions.
Mrs Laura Pamphlett
SENCO Assistant
- Speech, Language & Communication
- EAL
- Intervention work
- Visual support including Social Stories
My role in school is the SENCO Assistant. I am a trained Class Teacher and previously worked as one for 10 years. I have a particular interest in supporting the needs of children with Speech, Language and Communication needs. I recently completed a 10 week course about Communication Support for Verbal Pupils with ASD and have been fortunate enough to work with and observe an NHS and school Speech and Language Therapist.
I work closely alongside Sophie Grimley and I deliver interventions and provide additional support across the school. If you have a child that has a speech or language programme, would like advice about how to support your child at home or if you have any concerns about their speech or language needs, then please contact me through the school office. I am also available in Nurture Breakfast each Wednesday morning.
Together with class teachers, I also support the needs of children who are learning English as an additional language across the school.
Mr Darren Flisher
Inclusion Lead
- Oversee inclusion in the school
- Focus on in class provision
- Support children and teachers in SEND and Behaviour
- Class Teacher
- Assistant Headteacher
- DSL (Designated Safeguarding Lead)
I have many roles across the school as part of my Assistant Headteacher and teaching roles. Alongside this I oversee Inclusion within the school. This involves supporting children with in-class provision, assisting teachers with delivering strategies for SEND in class, carry out training for staff in the latest strategies and equipment used for SEND. I work closely with all the members in the team to ensure we bring the best possible opportunities for our children and staff. I am continually training in SEND and recently carried out Supporting Autism within Education, completing an EEF (Education Endowment Foundation) course in SEND and Learning Behaviours, completed a course in Identifying and Supporting Dyslexia in schools and have just recently finished my NPQSENCO course. The team, work very closely with the Pupil Premium Lead (Mrs Knigth). We continue to work with other schools across the south and within the Trust to develop and share good practice.
Mrs Abi Cheeseman
CAFSO (Children and Family Support Officer)
- Child & family Support Officer
- DSL (Designated Safeguarding Lead)
- Well Being & Mental Health Co-Ordinator
- Nurture Lead
- ELSA
My role is to work with both parents and children within the school. I say to the children my job is to 'Make you as happy as you can be whilst at school". My work can include implementing strategies for the classroom, social situations on the playground or simply being a trusted adult to share information with. I have trained as an ELSA (Emotional Learning Support Assistant) and I am supervised by an Educational Psychologist and observed termly to keep this title. I am also trained to support with Bereavement and have been working closely with the UK trauma Council and Anna Freud Centre as part of focus groups to help identify/change the way children are supported. I enjoy sport and run and coach the school netball team every week through the year.
Special Educational Needs and Disability ( SEND)
The school has a policy for Special Educational Needs (SEN) and follows the Code of Practice. When appropriate, referrals are made to specialist teaching and learning services and medical services. Any referral to an outside agency is undertaken with parental consent. Further details can be found in our SEND Local Offer and SEN policy.
The staff work in partnership with parents/carers and pupils and liaise with external agencies to build upon pupil’s strengths and develop the individual.
We promote equality of opportunity for disabled people: pupils, staff, parents, carers and other people who use the school.
We are committed to ensuring that disabled pupils can participate in the school curriculum, school trips and take an active role in all extra-curricular activities. The school environment includes designated parking and step free access to the school building. There are designated disabled toilets and grab rails around the school so that pupils can develop independence in self-care skills.
Special Educational Needs
Coxheath Primary School is committed to providing an inclusive education for all young people, regardless of ability, gender, language, ethnic or cultural origin. We work effectively with a wide variety of agencies and individuals to focus on improving outcomes for all children with Special Educational Needs.
What are special needs?
Special educational needs could mean that a child has:
- learning difficulties – in acquiring basic skills in school
- emotional and behavioural difficulties – making friends or relating to adults or behaving appropriately in school
- specific learning difficulty – with reading, writing, number work or understanding information
- sensory or physical needs - such as hearing or visual impairment, which might affect them in school
- communication problems – in expressing themselves or understanding what others are saying
- medical or health conditions – which may slow down a child’s progress and/or involves treatment that affects his or her education.
Children make progress at different rates and have different ways in which they learn best. Teachers take account of this in the way they organise their lessons and teach. Children making slower progress or having particular difficulties in one area may be given extra help or different lessons to help them succeed.
At Coxheath Primary School we are committed to:
- Raising the standards of attainment for all SEN students through a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum that is adapted to meet individual learning styles.
- Creating a climate where all staff are aware that they are responsible for students with SEN and plan their lessons accordingly
Coxheath Primary School supports children in many ways and staff refer to the Mainstream Core Standards when considering which strategies and interventions may be suitable. These have recently been updated and a link to a Parent Guide can be found here.
Parent version:
Mainstream Core Standards guide:
Kent County Council's local offer gives information about services that are available in the local area.
https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs
Please see our SEN Report below giving details about what Coxheath Primary School offers children with special educational needs.
Equalities and Diversity
At Coxheath Primary we aim to create an inclusive culture for all staff, pupils, families and visitors to the school. We recognise respect and value people’s differences and ensure that individuals or groups of individuals are treated fairly and equally and no less favourably, specific to their needs, including areas of race, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation and age. We promote equality and diversity treating all staff and students fairly ensuring equal access to opportunities to enable children and staff to fully participate in the learning process and achieve and equip children and staff with the skills to challenge inequality and discrimination.
English as an Additional Language ( EAL)
We celebrate the fact that some of our children speak more than one language. We carefully monitor and track the progress of pupils with EAL to ensure they are not disadvantaged and recognise that they may require additional support to acquire the same competence in English as in their home language(s). This support is provided in class through carefully adapted work and, where appropriate, through the additional support and specific teaching with a teaching assistant.
Children who are learning English as an additional language have skills and knowledge about language similar to monolingual English-speaking children. Their ability to participate in the full curriculum may be in advance of their communicative skills in English. We fully appreciate the necessity of a child retaining their first language and the bonuses it brings.
At Coxheath Primary School teachers take action to help children who are learning English as an additional language by various means such as
- ensuring that vocabulary work covers the technical as well as the everyday meaning of key words, metaphors and idioms;
- displaying key vocabulary and using visual prompts
- providing opportunities to pre learn vocabulary
- using translation resources such as Duolingo or Google Translate
- ensuring that there are effective opportunities for talking, and that talking is used to support writing;
- encouraging children to transfer their knowledge, skills and understanding of one language to another;
- the use of bilingual resources and texts where possible
- offering as many opportunities for speaking activities as possible
Children in Care (ChiC)/Looked After Children
We provide a safe learning environment for our Looked after Pupils ensuring that their individual needs are met by maintaining good communication with those caring for the child, social services and support services. We commit to attending review meetings and ensuring the targets set on Personal Education Plans are integrated into school life.
