Additional Educational Needs

All children are valued, respected and welcomed to our school.  Children with additional educational needs are supported in their learning and we ensure they are fully included in all school activities, making full use of externally provided facilities where appropriate.
Listed below is a brief overview of the various additional programmes we deliver to support some of our children.  If you wish to discuss your child’s support programmes please do not hesitate to get in touch with Ms Cullen our SEN Coordinator.

Dyslexia

Staff are regularly trained to ensure they are meeting the needs of dyslexic children in their classrooms.  You can read more about dyslexia by visiting the British Dyslexia Association and Dyslexia Action.

Sounds-Write

This phonic-based programme teaches children about the letter sounds useful for decoding when reading and building words when spelling.  It is split into two section: – the teaching of initial sounds and then more complex sounds, known as the Initial Code and the Extended Code.  As children progress through the programme they develop their reading and spelling sills to include multi-syllable words.

Wordshark and Numbershark

These are computer based programmes which help reinforce spellings and maths skills.  They are accessed on the classroom laptop.

Toe by Toe

This is a highly structured multi-sensory individual reading programme which is specially designed for children diagnosed as having Specific Learning Difficulties.

Speech and Language

Speech and Language sessions are for children who have been referred, by the school or by a medical professional, to be assessed by the Speech and Language Therapy Service and have been diagnosed with a speech, language or communication difficulty.  These children may work with our therapist or follow recommended programmes of activities which can include speech sound production, language development, communication and social skills training.
We have a Speech & Language Therapist, Vivienne McKenzie, working one day a week in our school.  She advises staff and works with groups of children, sometimes with TAs, modelling activities that the groups can repeat before their next session.

EAL – English as an Additional Language

This is for children who have a first language other than English and may need extra tuition to improve their oral or written English, particularly checking understanding in order to aid their academic and social development.  Our EAL Administrator works with a few children each term on weaknesses identified by their class teachers.

Mentor Support / Behaviour Support

We have a volunteer mentor and a volunteer child counsellor.
Learning support is sometimes arranged to boost children who are just below their target levels.  For more serious learning needs the Educational Psychologist can be invited into school to consult with parents and teachers.
Emotional support is arranged for individual pupils who may be experiencing difficulty with some aspects of home/school life.

In cases of difficult and persistent behaviour problems, a child may be offered individual sessions with Penny Hunter, an outreach worker from New Woodlands School.

Social Skills / Friendship Skills

Social Skill sessions provide children with strategies to help them work with their peers in a positive way in the classroom and playground.  The focus of a session could be:- following instructions, listening, turn-taking, asking for help and resolving conflict.

Some children, particularly those on the Autistic Spectrum, experience difficulties making friends and find playtimes very stressful.  A group of children from the same class may be chosen to form a Circle of Friends to support a child.

Advice and support for children with social and communication difficulties can be arranged with an outreach teacher from Drumbeat School.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills are vital to the development of many competencies in young children.  Activities include warming up exercises for hand and finger strength, handwriting skills, eye-hand co-ordination training and scissor skills.  These groups and their targets are arranged when recommended by an Occupational Therapist.