A child is likely to have special educational needs if they need resources which are ‘additional to or different from’ those generally available for other children of the same age. This goes beyond the normal approaches and learning arrangements provided by the teacher as part of high quality, personalised teaching.
The 2014 Code of Practice identifies four areas of special educational needs.
These are:
Communication difficulties and finding it difficult to get on with others
Thinking and learning difficulties (e.g. Difficulties with English and Maths skills)
Difficulties related to social, mental and emotional health (e.g. anxiety)
Sensory and/or physical difficulties
Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, even where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff.
The Head Teacher has overall responsibility for learning and monitoring progress of all children in the school; class teachers identify what is needed and how they will meet those needs; the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) monitors the provision, liaises with outside agencies and provides advice for both parents and teachers.
Currently the SENCO is Mrs Deborah Thombs. (National SENCO Award Qualified)
| Who? | How? |
|---|---|
| Educational Psychologist (EP) | Working with the school to support a variety of needs. Providing advice, ideas for teachers and consultations with parents Conducting specific assessments/observations to help to analyse difficulties |
| Lincolnshire BOSS Team (Behaviour Outreach Support Service) | Support schools in a variety of ways to enable them to more effectively support their pupils that display behaviour that challenges, with a view to delivering an inclusive approach to learning. Conducting specific assessments/observations to help to analyse difficulties |
| Specialist Teacher and Applied Psychology Service (STAPS) | Conducting specialised detailed assessments to help identify difficulties; advising teachers and parents with support; planning and delivering specific programmes of work to support learning |
| Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) | Planning programmes of work to be delivered in school to support children with speech and language |
| Physiotherapist | Planning programmes of work to be delivered in school to support children with the development of physical skills |
| School Nurse | To provide medical advice for physical and emotional difficulties |
| Counsellor | To provide social and emotion wellbeing |
| Families Working Together Team (Autism Outreach) | Specialised support and advice for pupils, parents and teachers to help identify difficulties and problem-solving strategies to help manage or overcome them. |
| Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) | This service is for those children who need further support for their behaviour and social and emotional well-being |
| Community Paediatrician | Children are referred to the school doctor if there are medical, physical, social or emotional concerns |
If you have any complaints about the support provided by the school related to Special Educational Needs, please contact your child’s class teacher and/or Mrs Thombs (SENCo) in the first instance. The full complaints procedure can be found in the Policies section of this website.
For more information on the Lincolnshire local offer, please go to https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/send-local-offer
This is a group that provide support for parents whose children have special educational needs. They can provide a whole range of advice both on the phone and in the form of leaflets. Their contact details are:
This is part of the Local Educational Authority and can provide advice about services in the county.
They can be contacted on 01522 553332.
They also have a dedicated website which provides advice and support with access to any of the services available in and around Lincolnshire.
