The best thing to do is to make an appointment to have a chat with your child’s class teacher. They will listen to your concerns and talk about what your child is like at school.

Together you will decide what needs to happen next. This might simply be a case of monitoring the situation, or together you might decide to put some extra support in place.

Sometimes it might be appropriate for you to have a chat with the SENDCo (special educational needs and disabilities co-ordinator); the class teacher will discuss this with you.

If your child’s class teacher has any concerns about progress they will arrange to meet with you to talk about what those concerns are. They will be interested in hearing your views too, and might ask you questions about what your child is like at home, what their strengths are as well as their weaknesses. They might also ask you questions about their earlier development.

Together you will decide what needs to happen next. This might be a case of monitoring the situation, or together you might decide to put some extra support in place. Sometimes it might be appropriate for you to have a chat with the SENDCo (special educational needs and disabilities co-ordinator); the class teacher will discuss this with you.

To decide whether or not a pupil has special educational needs we look at the legal definition of SEN in the SEND Code of Practice 2014. This says that:

“A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A child has a learning difficulty or disability if they;

• Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
• Have a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools.”

Our decision is based on lots of things. Your views are very important, as are the views of your child and the class teacher. We look at progress and the work in books. We observe pupils both inside and outside the classroom. We sometimes carry out a range of tests so that we have a better understanding of your child’s strengths and weaknesses. This helps us to target support more effectively.

The type of support your child receives will depend upon their individual needs and is tailored to help them to achieve positive outcomes. The type of support currently offered in school includes:

• Differentiation and scaffolding – this is when the class teacher modifies work to enable pupils to do similar work to the other children in the class
• Small group work – either in or out of the classroom with adult support
• One to one support
• Specialised programmes for pupils with particular learning difficulties such as reading, spelling or mathematical difficulties
• Life skills groups
• Social skills programmes
• Communication programmes for pupil with interaction difficulties
• Language enrichment groups for pupils who need to develop their vocabulary
• Speech and language therapy programmes
• Fine and gross motor skills programmes
• Behaviour programmes

Many pupils with SEN have an individual support plan which provides details about the extra support they are receiving in school, and helps parents to support their child at home. The class teacher and SENDCo will also be happy to help you with ideas for home.

Most of the time your child will work with their class teacher. Whoever else works with your child, the class teacher retains responsibility for their education. Other adults who might work with your child could include:

• A Teaching Assistant
• Another teacher from the same year group
• The SENDCo (special educational needs and disabilities coordinator)
• We are also involved with a number of specialists from outside the school. These include the Education Psychology Service (EP), teachers of children with physical and sensory difficulties (IPaSS), speech and language therapists (SALT), the school nurse, teachers of children with learning difficulties and Northcott outreach service. These specialists offer guidance for the school in order to best support children’s needs.

We will always let you know before someone from outside the school works with your child.

You will be invited to attend regular progress meetings with your child’s class teacher. At the meeting you will have the chance to discuss the progress that has been made and together you can plan what the next steps are.

If your child is getting support from an outside agency they may review your child’s progress by asking you to come and meet with them, chat on the phone or send you a report.

All children are actively encouraged to take part in clubs. The member of staff responsible for the activity or trip will be aware of the needs of all the children and where needed, additional support will be given.

Some pupils can find it difficult when they make the move from one class to another at the start of a new school year. This can be a very worrying time for parents too, especially when pupils move from one key stage to the next or from primary to secondary school. For pupils who would benefit from additional support we make special transition arrangements. These can include:

• Preparation of a transition book which includes photographs of key people and places in the new classroom or setting, as well as other useful information
• Short visits to the new classroom or setting
• Introducing new staff to pupils in familiar surroundings
• “All about me” communication passports, containing important information about the child to share with new staff

Your child’s class teacher should always be your first point of contact and most concerns are easily addressed this way. If you would prefer to, you can talk to the SENDCo. We encourage all parents to share their concerns quickly. If you need more support in meetings at school, you can contact the Parent Partnership KIDS, who are happy to help.

http://www.kids.org.uk/Event/hull-parent-partnership-service