Barnwood C of E Primary School

Barnwood C of E's Inclusion Team is led by Mrs Adele Knight, who is a highly experienced SENCO and holds the National Award in Special Educational Needs Co-ordination (NASENCO). 

The school has a dedicated Nurture room, where a fully trained practitioner delivers pastoral support. She is currently under-going training to become a fully accredited ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant)

Staff are trained in Team Teach, which is an accredited, award-winning provider of positive behavioural management training. Strategies equip staff with the tools they need to understand and manage behaviour. Staff are also trained in de-escalation and co-regulation.

Staff have received training in Autistic Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Attachment Disorder and Cognition and Learning Difficulties.

There is a core of staff who have been medically training to meet clinical needs and intimate care.

The School is proud of its inclusive ethos. It has a full time, dedicated Inclusion Team who are committed to supporting children and removing barriers to learning for ALL, including those with SEND.

In line with current best practice, Barnwood C of E Primary School believes that early identification is essential and should include an open discussion with the child and his/her parents about ways of providing support to meet needs and specific, agreed outcomes.

This person-centred approach is a dynamic process to accommodate and reflect the changing nature of a child’s needs; recognising that over time a child may need more, less or different support and resources as they progress through their education.

Most children will receive support in class so they are inclusively accessing the work of their peers, sometimes at an adjusted level; others may be withdrawn for short periods of time to receive group or individual targeted work based on academic, social and/or emotional needs. For a few children, who are experiencing greater levels of difficulty accessing learning, they will require more intensive support. This may, but not always, require 1:1 support. Where this is the case, school will work with parents to facilitate attuned, individualised support. Where a child’s needs are more complex, a request can be made for an Education Health and Care Plan assessment. This is decided by the Local Authority.

Universal Support delivered, inclusively, by the Class Teacher:

All teachers are teachers of SEN and have overall responsibility for meeting the needs of all children, including those with special educational barriers. This provision is overseen by the SENCo who quality assures any support that is put in place. We use;

• High-quality classroom teaching as the primary strategy for supporting any SEN need. Reasonable adjustments are made to facilitate access to learning and the wider activities of the school.
• Lessons that are carefully planned and adapted to suit all learners needs, through the use of differentiated support and outcomes.
• Teaching that is based on building upon what a child already knows, can do and can understand. High expectations are maintained, even where there are barriers, as we are ambitious for all children, regardless of need.
• Additional adult support, in every class, every morning often targeted to those most in need.
• Classrooms which are adapted and resourced to suit pupils with educational/ additional/ physical needs.
• A holistic approach to education, which considers all aspects of learning including social and emotional well-being. We see the child as a cohesive whole.
• A variety of visual and tactile resources used to support learning.
• Specialist equipment is used to ensure pupils with Special Educational Needs and Physical Disabilities have fair and equitable access to the school environment and curriculum.

 Targeted work with a smaller group of children:

For some children, more intensive support may be required, which is over and above classroom provision. This may involve a child having small-group catch-up and/or consolidation learning work, known as intervention. This is delivered in work bays/ learning areas just outside the classroom by either a teacher or Learning Partner. This is designed to close the gap towards age related attainment or above and can include;

• Pre-teaching which rehearses key learning before the main lesson to instill greater confidence to engage with high-quality teaching.
• Precision teaching, which is a teaching programme that meets the needs of an individual child who is experiencing difficulty with acquiring or maintaining some (basic) skills.
• Additional small group guided support from an adult - teacher and/or Learning Partner that further practises key learning at a tailored pace and delivery.
• Nurture-style provision to support social and/or emotional difficulties
• Sometimes an external professional will guide or run an intervention such as a Speech and Language Therapist.

 Specified Individual support

We provide personalised provision for pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For a few this may include individualised specific support, sometimes supported through a 1:1 adult. This support can be provided in a classroom or outside; often there is a balance of both, dependent on need. For children with more complex difficulties, an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) may be put in place to provide robust targeted provision. Children who receive this level of support have been identified by the class teacher, SENCo and outside agencies, such as the Educational Psychologist or Advisory Teaching Service, to need a particularly high level of support.

 Medical assistance for children with on-going health conditions, are documented on Care Plans.