SEND

Our Inclusion Manager is Miss Natalie Collins

We aim to meet the needs of all our pupils, identifying quickly any who may have special needs. Children who do have special needs will have a carefully planned individual learning plan and their progress will be continually monitored. Sometimes outside agencies will be involved. Parents will always be kept fully informed and involved in any decisions made about their child. No child will be refused admission because of his or her special need.

At Springfield Infant School and Nursery, the children with Special Educational Needs and/ or Disabilities (SEND) gain a high quality, inclusive education that is based on child-centered approaches. All SEN children will be challenged with high expectations for achievement.

At Springfield we use the Graduated Approach as part of the assessment, planning, teaching and review cycle. This ensures that all children receive support and provision targeted to meet their needs and that of their family. We believe parents/carers and their children’s views should be listened to, understood and incorporated into the support that they receive.

We believe it is essential to maintain communication between different agencies and individuals involved with the family including support services. The Inclusion Manager is a point of contact for parents who need information on support and advice regarding provision. The Inclusion Manager co-ordinates advice and support from a range of outside agencies and facilitates effective partnership with them. These agencies include speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists.

By using targeted intervention programmes and regular assessments, we will ensure that provision for each child will be real, relevant and engaging. Some of these interventions include language groups and literacy or numeracy based interventions.

We also feel it is of high importance to support children’s social and emotional development. We provide a nurture groups run by trained Learning Mentors who support children to be able to express how they are feeling and be more able to cope with difficulties that they may encounter. We also run self-esteem, anxiety groups and have a sensory/nurture room in Polar Bears, which the children can also access at lunchtimes.

If you have any concerns, initially these should be raised with the class teacher and interventions put in place. If the difficulties are more complex Miss Collins will happily be involved, and be able to give more specific support.

Please do feel free to contact Miss Collins on ncollins@springfieldschool.co.uk or (01903) 219243 if you need any assistance or further information.

Here are a few links to further information, including our SEND policy.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/part/3 – part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 which sets out schools’ responsibilities for pupils with SEN and disabilities.
Early Help Service: https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/jobs/featured-jobs/careers-in-early-help-in-west-sussex/about-the-early-help-service/
Childline – The Childline website has lots of valuable information, but one particular area is their Calm Zone. The activities aim to help children feel better when they’re feeling anxious, scared or sad. Although children could be encouraged to visit the website themselves, these are good techniques for adults use with children. Ideas include: breathing exercises, a ‘let it go’ box and creating a ‘sense drawer’.
https://www.childline.org.uk/toolbox/calm-zone/
If you child has an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) in place, admissions to the school will be through the Special Educational Needs Assessment Team (SENAT). If your child does not have an EHCP in place admissions will be through the link: https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/education-children-and-families/schools-and-colleges/school-places/apply/starting-school-places/#apply-for-a-place
Please advise the school if your child is currently in the process of an Education Health Care Plan Needs Assessment (EHCNA).