Special Educational Needs Statement

Some children will require additional support for  a physical, emotional, behavioural or learning difficulty.

At Holden Lane Primary School, we identify these needs as soon as possible and if we have a concern about your child, we will always speak to you directly. Any child identified as having a special need is placed on the Special Needs Register and the school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator will work closely with you and your child’s teacher to develop an appropriate plan of support.

Where appropriate, the help and guidance of the Learning Support Service and the Educational Psychologist are sought and parents can also receive support through the Parent Partnership group by calling 01782 234701.

Our Vision

Teachers work in partnership with children, parents and a range of agencies to ensure that children ‘work together and learn for life’.

Every teacher is a teacher of every child including those with SEN. Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty that calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

Children have a learning difficulty 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 them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age.
  (Code of Practice 2015, paragraphs xiv.)

The Children and Families Act (2014) introduced a new approach to the way children, young people and their families are supported. A Special Educational Need and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice provides information and guidance to everyone involved.

Special Educational Needs are supported at Holden Lane in four broad areas:

Communication and Interaction:
Speech, Language and Communication Need
Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Cognition and Learning:
Moderate Learning Difficulty
Specific Learning Difficulty including dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties

Sensory and Physical Needs
Hearing Impairment
Visual Impairment
Physical Disability

(Stoke on Trent SEND website, October 2014)

Our aims:

1. To identify and provide for pupils who have special educational needs.
2. To work within the guidance provided in the SEND Code of Practice, 2015.
3. To operate a whole pupil, whole school approach to the management and provision of support for special educational needs.
4. To provide a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) who will work with the SEN inclusion policy.
5. To provide support and advice for all staff working with special educational needs.

External Agencies:

We support children through links with external agencies. These agencies support with learning, health, disabilities and social and emotional health needs.

The following agencies support the school:

Educational Psychologist

This agency offers advice to support pupils with their learning and social and emotional skills.

Special Education Needs and Disability Service

Kuljit Jheeta provides guidance and advice for pupils with a range of learning difficulties.

Inspire

Inspire is a multi-agency service to support young people who are experiencing difficulty in school. Inspire means Inclusion and Nurture in Stoke on Trent through Prevention, Intervention, Reintegration and Education.  Children access a calm, small group environment with specific targets for a placement of two or six weeks.

CAMHS (Child, Adolescent and Mental Health Service)

This service supports and assesses for mental health concerns.

Holden Lane also has links with the following schools that provide outreach support:

Kemball School

Kemball is a day special school administered by Stoke on Trent City Council Children and Young People’s Service (CYPS) to meet the needs of pupils with cognition and learning difficulties aged between 3 and 16 years.

Abbey Hill School and College

Abbey Hill is a large, purpose built Local Authority school for children aged 3 to 19 years with learning difficulties, communication and interaction difficulties or Autistic Spectrum conditions.

Watermill School

Watermill provides support for pupils with moderate, severe, physical and multiple learning difficulties and autism.

Portland School and Specialist College

Portland supports young people with Social, Emotional and Behavioural difficulties.

Support for parents:

SENDIASS

Stoke on Trent Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice Support Service provide parents with information, advice and support with all aspects of special educational needs.