FAQs:

1. What should I do if I think my child has special educational needs and needs extra help?

At Manorfield Infant & Nursery School, we want your child to be happy and to achieve their full potential during their time with us, but sometimes children need extra help in order to do this.

If you have any concerns about your child’s progress or think that your child may be experiencing difficulties, please discuss this with your child’s class teacher or key worker.

We will:

• listen to any concerns you may have and discuss these with you
• hold a meeting to discuss this with you in more detail, if needed
• plan any additional support your child may need
• consider if a referral to an external agency is needed, in order to support your child’s learning

 

2. How will you support my child or young person with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

Children who are identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported in school through a variety of approaches. These include:

• Quality First Teaching

Our teachers support all children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, through excellent classroom teaching, known as 'quality-first teaching'.

Quality first teaching is what is on offer for all children – a high-quality, inclusive, broad and balanced curriculum, engaging and effective teaching and personalised learning which includes and supports all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Quality first teaching includes:

• Well-resourced and carefully planned provision which provides a rich learning environment
• Clear objectives that are shared with the children
• Lively, interactive teaching and learning, based on real life, practical experiences
• Carefully structured learning activities which enable all children to participate fully
• Children being supported with their learning, in groups, pairs and sometimes individually
• Children being helped to take responsibility for their own learning, when appropriate
• Children being encouraged to know their own targets and how to achieve them

If your child continues to experience difficulties despite high quality personalised teaching, they may need additional support. This is now called SEND support.

• SEND Support

Children who have been identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities can get extra help in school, through SEND Support.

If the school feels that your child may need SEND support, we will discuss this with you and explain the specific support your child will receive. It may mean that your child is supported in some of the following ways:

• Extra support from an additional adult, perhaps working alongside your child within a small group of other children
• Carefully planned activities which aim to meet your child’s specific needs, agreed by the class teacher and SENDCo
• Advice from professionals from external agencies who have specialist knowledge (e.g. educational psychologist, speech and language therapist, specialist teachers)

If your child is identified as needing SEND Support, we will:

• Put a plan in place to support your child
• Regularly review your child’s progress
• Meet regularly with parents to discuss progress and plan future support

Most children receiving SEND Support will respond well to this support and make effective progress.

However, some children may have more complex needs, requiring a greater level of support.

• Education Health Care Plan (previously called a Statement of Educational Needs)

Children with ongoing, significant and / or complex needs may be entitled to receive a much higher level of support through an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan).

An EHC Plan is a legal document and is issued by the Local Authority. It would mean that your child has been assessed by the Local Authority as needing an ongoing, high level of support, which may need additional funding. Some of the additional funding would need to be paid by the school. Some children may need extra funding from the Local Authority to help the school pay for additional support.

If your child needs an EHC Plan, you will be guided and supported through the process by the SENDCo at school, together with the school’s Educational Psychologist.

• Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENDIF)

Every local authority must have a SEND (Special Education Needs and/or Disability) Inclusion Fund for all 3 & 4 year olds with special educational needs and/or a disability who are accessing their free early entitlement. The free early entitlement for 3 & 4 year olds is 15 hours per week over 38 weeks per year with up to an additional 15 hours per week for parents/carers who are working or in training.

The SENDIF supports early years providers to meet the needs and support the inclusion of individual children with SEND and/or a disability. SENDIF is for emerging and lower level needs.

As an early years provider, Manorfield Infant & Nursery School will support children and families to access this higher level of support in our Nursery setting.

3. How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?

The curriculum is planned in a way that enables the teachers to match learning activities to your child’s needs.  Teachers will continually assess how much your child understands key ideas, skills and concepts, then they will plan accordingly for the next steps in learning.

Children work in small groups, in pairs and sometimes independently, under the guidance and support of their class teacher. There is usually an additional adult in each class to provide extra support for those children who need it.

If your child needs SEND Support, the class teacher will plan learning activities personalised to support their specific needs. They may have additional adult support as well. This support will be detailed in a document called an IEP (Individual Education Plan), which will be shared with you by the class teacher.

If your child receives an EHC Plan, they may be allocated extra adult support for some or all of the school day.  This support will be detailed in an IEP, which will be shared with you by the class teacher. The level of support would be decided by Kirklees Local Authority.

4. What support will there be for my child’s overall wellbeing?

At Manorfield we take a holistic view of our children’s needs. Your child will be screened on entry into nursery and/or school by a member of staff who will ask you questions about your child’s health, any allergies they may have and whether your child is registered with a GP and dentist.

During their reception year in school, your child will be screened by the school nurse. This provides a check for height, weight, vision and hearing.

We have a Child Development Practitioner from Locala based in school each week to support parents/carers and children with any concerns around issues with diet, sleep, routines and behaviour.  Parents/carers can make an appointment with the CPD via the school office.

The school’s pastoral team continue to regularly monitor all children as they progress through school. The pastoral team meet with class teachers every half-term to check on the well-being and progress of every child. Any concerns raised by the class teachers are followed up and discussed with parents/carers.

We monitor the following:

• Attendance (including punctuality)
• Health (including dental health, vision, hearing, diet, weight and general health)
• Behaviour
• Progress
• Support of parents/carers (including attendance at parent/carer consultations)

Medications

At times, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) may require specific medications to be administered. Any arrangements regarding medications for children with SEND will need to be discussed with the SENDCo.

The SENDCo may arrange a meeting with the parent and the school nurse. We may decide that a Health Care Plan is needed. This would give details of any medications as well as when and how they are to be administered.

Children’s medicines are kept centrally in a dedicated fridge. Asthma inhalers and Epipens are kept in an appropriate place in class. We ensure that your child knows where their inhaler or Epipen is to be kept.

Any child needing medication (including children with SEND) will require a parental permission form to be completed. These are kept in the school office.

For full details of arrangements regarding medical conditions and medication, please see the Managing Medical Conditions Policy.

Keep us informed.

Parents/carers: if you have any concerns about your child’s health or well-being, please ensure that you let your child’s class teacher know.

5. What specialist services are available to support my child with SEND?

In order to support our children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), we work closely with a range of professionals including the following external agencies:

• School Nurse Team (Locala)
• Early Help Assessment (EHA) Team
• Kirklees Educational Psychology Service
• Kirklees Specialist Provisions
• Northorpe Hall & CAMHS/CHEWS
• Speech and Language Therapy Services (Locala)
• Kirklees Inclusion Service
• Physiotherapy
• Occupational Therapy

6. What staff training is in place at Manorfield to support children with SEND?

At Manorfield we regularly update our staff training in order to support children with SEND:

• The SENDCo attends termly SEND Network meetings held by the Local Authority in order to keep up to date with all aspects of SEND
• Staff receive regular training in order to support children with medical needs such as asthma and allergies
• Additional training is arranged to support children with other medical needs, as required
• A number of support staff are trained in paediatric first aid. This training is regularly updated.

7. How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom, including school trips?

The curriculum at Manorfield is planned to include learning opportunities both inside and outside.  Our school grounds have recently been developed and improved, to provide a rich outdoor learning environment which is accessible to all learners. In addition, our children have the opportunity to experience a wide range of exciting educational visits.  We ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are included in all of these experiences.

All visits out of school are risk assessed. Children with particular needs may require an additional risk assessment. We will discuss arrangements for your child with you at the time of the visit, to ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place.

8. How accessible is Manorfield Infant & Nursery School?

At Manorfield we have tried to ensure that the school environment is as accessible as possible.
We provide:

• Wheelchair access
• Disabled changing, shower and toilet facilities
• Bilingual translation when needed, for children and parents/carers
• A school environment which supports children with a range of additional needs

9. How can parents/carers get involved at Manorfield Infant & Nursery School?

At Manorfield Infant & Nursery School we encourage parents/ carers to be as involved as possible during the time that your child attends our school. We encourage parental/carer involvement in a number of ways:

• Open door policy - parents/carers are welcomed into the school every morning and at the end of the school day. Your child’s class teacher is available for you to speak to at these times
• Bilingual staff - staff are available every morning and end of the school day, should you require translation.
• Parent workshops – we hold workshops for parents to help to inform you about the curriculum.
• MHST parent/carer workshops –we are currently working with the Northorpe Hall Mental Health Support Team who are able to provide a number of workshops and training sessions for parents on well-being, sleep, behaviour and other advisory sessions.
• Parent/carer Consultations – Parent/carer afternoons and evenings are held once each term.

10. What support do we have for you as a parent of a child with SEND?

• The class teacher is regularly available to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have and to share information about what is working well at home and school so similar strategies can be used.
• The SENDCo is usually available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns/worries you may have. If the SENDCo is not available that day, please go to the school office to request an appointment.
• Regular meetings are held for the parents of children with SEND, to keep you informed of progress and discuss next steps. The SENDCo will arrange these when needed. Any input from outside professionals will be discussed with you at these meetings.
• A home/school contact book may be used to support communication with you, when this has been agreed to be useful for you and your child.

11. Who can I contact for further information?         

If you require any further information or if you are worried about your child, please come into school and speak to a member of staff. We can talk to you about your concerns and offer support and advice.

Your child’s class teacher may be the best person to speak to in the first instance, if you are concerned about your child.

• The school SENDCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) is also available to answer your questions.
• If you are concerned about the support your child is receiving at school and feel you need advice about what to do, you may find it useful to contact one of the following organisations, which offer parents support and advice:

Kirklees Parent Partnership  -  http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/special-education/special-educational-needs-support-in-school.aspx 
(SENDIAS - SEND and Disability Information Advice and Support)

Kirklees PCAN  - http://www.pcankirklees.org/ 
(Parents of Children with Additional Needs)

Please contact the school office on 01924 326718 and ask to speak to the SENDCo if you require further information.