Special Educational Needs

 

Our aim at The Oaks Infant School is that all children will thrive both academically and socially the best they possibly can. For some children to achieve this, it is necessary to provide additional support and/or resources to enable them to achieve well in school. If you would like to talk to our Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo), Mrs Shaw you can phone the office to make an appointment to come in, or request a telephone consultation. Alternatively you could email senco@oaks.kent.sch.uk. Mrs Shaw is also available to speak to during Parents' evenings.

 

Mrs Elaine Shaw – Special Educational Needs Coordinator

 

I am responsible for the co-ordination of Special or Additional Educational Needs throughout the School.  It is my job to ensure that all children receive the support and education they are entitled to. This includes ensuring we are following the Code of Practice and consistently delivering our highest possible quality of provision for pupils with SEND, as outlined in our Special Educational Needs Policy.  I also liaise regularly with staff, parents and other professionals to ensure that children are given the most appropriate support/resources for their individual needs.  A large part of my role is to work closely with external agencies to gain specialist advice and support for individual children, and then to facilitate these recommendations being put into practice in the classroom.

 

I have a large team that work closely with me and as a team we run a wide variety of interventions throughout the whole school and Nursery. These interventions are monitored closely to ensure they enable the children taking part to make good or accelerated progress towards the set targets.

A list of our relevant policies can be found using the link below. These include the SEN Policy and Behaviour Policy. In the unlikely event a complaint regarding the SEN Provision for your child is decided to be made, it should be done so following the procedure outlined in the Complaints Policy.

 

In the SEN policy you will also find information regarding:

• the steps we take to prevent pupils with SEN from being treated less favourably than other pupils;
• access facilities for pupils with SEN.

For more information on our admissions arrangements for pupils with SEN or disabilities please read the Kent Admission Policy which is on our Key Information Page.

Information about some of the strategies we use in school to support children with SEND

 

 

Colourful Semantics

 

Supporting your child at home with Colourful Semantics.

Colourful Semantics can support your child to organise their sentences using a familiar system that, with practice, will help to embed these skills.

 

Below are some resources and some examples of how to support your child using the system.

 

Children with ASD and/or Learning Difficulties

 

Below is a link to a leaflet giving parents information on supporting their child with ASD and/or Learning Difficulties at home. There are many strategies and suggestions which may be useful. 

Visual Timetables and Visual Support

 

Below are documents to support your child with home routines using similar images they are familiar with in school.

Sensory Circuits

 

Some children may require an intervention known as Sensory Circuits which follows a process of 'alerting', 'organising' and 'calming' activities which help focus them ready for their learning.

 

Below is a leaflet with more information and some examples of activities that could be used with your child. A sensory circuit can last for around 15 minutes but can also be done within just a few minutes depending on its effectiveness. The key to a circuits success is ensuring the alerting, organising and calming activities are completed in that order. 

 

It will also be trial and error. What alerts one child, may organise or calm another. Try a variation of activities and take note of what works best for your child.

Emotional Regulation

 

This is a very uncertain time for us all and many children may have difficulties managing and regulating their emotions. They may also become anxious or overwhelmed. This is to be expected and there are ways of supporting these needs at home. Below are some resources to help support your child to recognise and manage these feelings. 

Below is a resource which uses colour to represent moods and feelings. It helps children to recognise when they are feeling a certain way and what they can do to help themselves. For very young children it can be adapted to use just 3 colours to represent their feelings. It can be adapted to suit your child and is just a guide. Your child could also be encouraged to point to the colours/emotions they are beginning to feel so you can work together before your child is completely overwhelmed. 

Free Speech and Language Resources

 

The link below will take you to some free resources to support your child with Speech, Language and Communication difficulties. 

 

https://chatterpack.net/blogs/blog/list-of-free-speech-language-communication-and-send-resources-for-schools-and-parent-carers

If you would like to find out more about our curriculum please email senco@oaks.kent.sch.uk.