Local Offer Contact Name: Deb Kelly, SENCO

Local Offer Contact Telephone: 01202 488142

Local Offer Contact Email: office@mudefordinf.dorset.sch.uk

The staff at Mudeford Infants can identify if your child needs extra help in a number of ways. They include the following:

• We assess and monitor every child closely.
• In Reception we look if there are any concerns arising from information received from Pre-schools.
• We discuss your child with their Pre-school Staff.
• Your child is formally assessed termly and the school has additional assessments when we feel there is a need.
• Provision is made for children making limited progress or have shown a change in their behaviour or progress.
• Concerns are raised by parents/carers, a teacher, teaching assistant or the child.
• The school will act on advice received from Outside Agencies e.g. Community Paediatrician, Speech and Language Services.

If you think your child may have a Special Educational Need or Disability; Please contact the school prior to starting as there are many ways we can help with a smooth transition when staring at Mudeford Infants. This may include:

• Additional pre-visits for you and your child
• Meetings about your child’s strengths and areas for development, which may also include Outside Agencies who are already involved
• Mudeford Infant staff meeting your child at their Pre-school and working with Pre-school staff

If you have any concern regarding your child:

• Firstly, contact your child’s Class Teacher.
• You can also speak to the SENCO and the Head Teacher.
• If you are unhappy about how your concern is being managed you can speak to the Head, Special Educational Needs & Disability Governor and/or follow the school’s Complaints Procedure.

Your child’s needs will be met through:

Quality First Teaching – Your child’s strengths are recognised and areas for development are identified, with achievable targets set. Your child’s class teacher will use a range of teaching and learning styles, differentiating work and adapting learning resources. Every child needs support at some time and this will involve the Class Teacher and Teaching Assistants.
Every child at Mudeford Infants School is entitled to Quality First Teaching.

Small Group Work – Every class is supported by Teaching Assistants who can provide small group work and booster activities when required, managed by the Class Teacher. This is available to any child in the school.

Specialised Small Group Work – For those children requiring support beyond which is provided by Quality First Teaching, groups are run, some with guidance from Outside Agencies. Usually this is for children identified as being at ‘SEN Support’ or with an ‘Education Health Care Plan’.

Individual Support – Your child may receive individual support within the class and/or separate one-to one teaching/provision. Individual work can be carried out by an Outside Professional.

At Mudeford Infants, Reading and Writing skills are taught using the Read Write Inc scheme. Your child will be taught in a small group according to their ability. In Maths, our ‘Big Maths’ curriculum ensures your child’s basic skills are embedded before they progress to the next step in their learning. All of the children benefit from our Active Listening scheme which develops their listening skills, ability to focus and auditory memory.

Their learning is also taught in exciting and engaging child friendly topics. The staff prepare a differentiated curriculum in which children’s different learning styles and needs are recognised. Your child may receive support within a group or individually. Every child has individual, challenging targets.

Our Teaching Assistants adapt tasks and resources for individual children when needed.

The progress and attainment of all pupils is reviewed through their school year. This is formally done termly (3 times a year) by each Class Teacher, the Senior Leadership Team and SENCO. Your child’s support may be adjusted to ensure they make progress needed to meet their targets.

You will know how your child is doing by:

• Your Class Teacher, the SENCO or Leadership staff will meet with you informally or phone you.
• If your child has ‘SEN support’ or an ‘Education Health Care Plan’ their progress, Provision Map and their SEN Support Plan will be reviewed at least termly with you.
• In the Autumn and Spring terms there are Parent Meetings with the class teacher to discuss your child’s progress and targets.
• In the Summer term your child will receive a progress Report.

Your class teacher can discuss with you how you can best support your child at home. Each class holds a Coffee Morning for all parents to attend to introduce ways to support your child at the beginning of the school year and send home letters about the current topics. Your child will also bring home reading, spelling and number practice activities suited to their ability.

The school recognises the enormous impact your support can have on your child’s engagement in school so the Head Teacher and SENCO have additional progress and provision meetings with some parents, to help support their child at home.

All children at Mudeford infant School participate in Personal Social Health and Citizenship sessions and are encouraged to speak to the adults in school if they have any worries. Your child will have access to SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) and have Rights Respecting sessions. Parents seeking support to aid their child’s Personal, Social, Health or Emotional development can be signposted to local courses and relevant Outside Agencies. We ensure the ‘Pupils voice’ is heard for example through the School Council.

All children have a right to be nurtured according to their needs and at some point may have to face challenges that impact on their ability to engage with their learning.

If your child has additional emotional and/or social needs, the following may be provided:

• In class interventions for example a quiet area, talk time with an adult, individual reward system
• A home-school link book
• Our Emotional Literacy Support assistant (ELSA) can provide support with: emotional awareness, self-esteem, anger management, social and friendship skills, social communication difficulties, loss, bereavement and family break-up
• Personal Communication passport drawn up with the child and parent
• Assessments can be carried out to identify areas of need and provisions put in place
• A Personal Behaviour Plan that identifies your child’s strengths, areas for development, triggers, individual rewards systems and sanctions, drawn up with discussions with you and your child
• Referral to Behaviour Support Services and other Outside agencies

All children are supported by staff to have ownership of their ‘code of conduct’, with clear expectations, rewards and sanctions. Relevant staff are trained for certain medical needs and we approach outside agencies if we need advice and support. Your child’s attendance is monitored and we put measures in place when a child has prolonged unauthorised absence.

Mudeford Infants School is proud of its dedicated staff who have experienced working with a range of Special Needs and have had training in a variety of areas. We can seek advice and support from the following outside agencies:

• Behaviour Support Services
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHs)
• Children’s Therapy Services – Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy
• Christchurch Early Intervention Team
• Community Nursing
• Community Paediatrician
• Educational Psychology Service
• Hearing and Vision support Service
• Speech and Language Services
• SEN Specialist Service

The school will ask for your input when referring to these agencies. We can also support you, as a parent, to find support and advice. For example:

• Parent Carers Together | BCP FID (bcpcouncil.gov.uk)
• Local Children’s Centres – Somerford Children’s Centre (christchurch.gov.uk)
• The Incredible Years | Training series for Parents, Teachers, and children
• BCP’s Local Offer – information provided by the local authority about local provision for children and young people who are disabled and those with special educational needs (SEN) can be found here BCP FID (bcpcouncil.gov.uk)

• Our SENCO is a Qualified Teacher and keeps the staff informed of Special Educational Needs news and changes.
• ASD training
• Big Maths (all staff)
• Cerebral Palsy support
• Comic Strip Conversations
• Confrontation and Managing Behaviour
• Early Bird Plus – Autism Training
• Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)
• Family SEAL (Social Emotional Aspects of Learning)
• Functional Assessment of Behaviour
• Higher Level Teaching Assistant
• Inclusion Development Programme including Speech, Communication and Language Needs, Behaviour, Emotional and Social Development, Autistic Spectrum Disorders & Dyslexia.
• Learn to Move, Move to Learn
• Narrative
• PEIC-D Programme (Promoting Early Interactive Conversations – Dorset)
• Precision Teaching
• Read Write Inc (all staff)
• Safeguarding (all staff)
• Senior Teaching Assistant
• Sensory Provision
• Speech, Language and Communication Needs

School staff have had training in a variety of areas and where a need for training is required the appropriate agency is contacted to support staff in school or appropriate course attended.

The school uses the Manual Handling Adviser to support staff who work with those children who may at times need physical support.

We will work together with you and your child to ensure they participate in all aspects of our school life.

Where appropriate, before Educational Visits or Outings in the community, your Class Teacher, Teaching Assistant or SENCO will:

• contact or meet with you to discuss how your child’s needs will be met
• a specific Risk Assessment will be drawn up and copied to a Senior Leader
• adaptations will be made and/or resources prepared

Some of the facilities available at Mudeford Infants include:

• A disabled toilet with changing facilities and shower
• Ramp access into the hall and some classrooms.
• Removable ramp
• Handrails are fitted in some toilets
• Steps to aid access to toilets
• Specialist (Foxdenton) chair and foot supports to aid sitting position
• Writing slopes and finger grips to aid writing
• Variety of sensory resources
• ICT and internet access available in all classrooms.
• Lap-tops to aid visual learners, provide bigger screen & alternative way to record writing

The SENCO will contact the Parent and relevant Outside Agency when support and advice is needed to ensure we meet the needs of a child with specific needs. This may include:

• Behaviour Support Services
• Children’s Therapy Services
• Educational Psychology Service
• Hearing and Vision support Service
• Senior Advisor Physical and Medical Needs Specialist Teaching and Advice

These services can help the school assess the environment and identify resources and changes needed.

Mudeford Infant School reviews it’s Accessibility and Equality Policies to ensure we are meeting the needs of our school community.

When your child is about to move up to the Junior School:

• Your child will visit their new school during the Summer Term with their class and have additional opportunities like Sports Day to familiarise themselves.
• The ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support assistant) selects those children who would benefit from additional pre-visits and photos of their new class etc.
• Their Class Teacher will meet with the Junior Staff to share relevant information
• The Inclusion leader meets with SENCO at the Junior school to share information about your child and pass on their Special Educational Needs records
• When necessary, we will organise transition meetings between both schools’ staff and yourselves to discuss how we can make your child’s move to their new school as smooth as possible
• Your child may benefit from working together with a Teaching Assistant to create a ‘Moving to new School’ booklet, to help them adapt to the changes ahead.

If your child is moving to another school

• We will contact the school SENCO and ensure relevant information is passed on
• The SENCO works with Teaching Assistants and Class Teachers to ensure support is put into place for your child which encourages them to develop skills to enable them to become more independent.

Once your child’s needs have been identified by the class teacher, provision is matched to meet those needs within the school budget. Once your child has reached their individual target the provision may be adjusted or they may be discharged.

If your child is identified as needing Special Educational Needs Support, they will have a Provision Map. This outlines the support given and ensures there is no overlap in their support.

There will be a number of ways in which your child’s needs could be met. The SENCO monitors the effectiveness of provision throughout the year and with discussion with the class teacher, teaching assistants and you, will choose the provision that will best meet the desired outcomes for your child.

As a parent, you will be involved in every step of your child’s learning journey at Mudeford infants – by attending your child’s progress meetings, special events at school and supporting them at home.

You are always welcome to come into school to share your child’s successes and any concerns you may have.

There will be opportunities to support your child by being a parent helper on school visits or special days in school e.g. craft days.

The ‘Friends of Mudeford’ are always looking for willing volunteers, and the Governing body has parent representatives.