SEN
SEN Information
At Park Hill Primary School…
we aim to bring out the best in everyone.
If you would like to know more about Birmingham’s Provision for Special Education Needs and Disabilities please follow this link Children Services
Start by talking to your child’s class teacher about your child. The class teacher may suggest that you talk to the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (often called the SENCo).
Ms Beki Stoiber is the SENCO at Parkhill Primary School. She leads a team of people who support children who have all kings of difficulties. Ms Stoiber will speak to your confidentially about your child You can contact Ms Stoiber by going to the school office to ask for a meeting or by telephone 0121 449 3004.
The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities governor at Park Hill is Jameela Hizam.
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (2014) states that “A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
- has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
- has 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 or mainstream post-16 institutions” (Department of Health and Department of Education, page 4)
The four areas of special educational needs are:
- Communication and interaction
- Cognition and learning
- Social, mental and emotional health
- Sensory and/or physical
School will assess every child’s skills and levels of attainment on entry and build upon information from previous settings where appropriate. We will look at any evidence that a child may have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and if so, what reasonable adjustments need to be made for them.
Class teachers make regular assessments of progress and well-being for all of their pupils. Where pupils are falling behind they will be given extra support. The class teacher or SENCo will involve you in any decisions about your child’s education.
“Pupils who are disabled or who have special educational needs are taught well through an effective mix of individual and class support, where appropriate”. Ofsted report, October 2012.
All teachers are trained to provide high quality, inclusive teaching within their classrooms. Teachers are skilled at planning activities top develop learning.
Where appropriate additional support is provided through high quality small group teaching delivered inside or outside the classroom. Teachers expect that these learners will be back on track to meet expectations by the end of the year.
In addition to this Park Hill Primary School also provides high quality one-to-one teaching for children where needed. These very structured programmes run over a set period of time and aim to accelerate and maximise progress. This support usually occurs outside the class.
The school has a range of SEN Interventions in place. These include:
- Language Land
- Mentoring
- Direct Instruction
- Pocket folders
- Precision Teaching
- Direct Phonics
- Write Dance
- Fine Motor Groups
- Pre-tutoring
- Social Interaction Groups
- Speech and Language Therapy programmes
- Wordshark
Each term we will look at your child’s progress to identify strengths and weaknesses. This tells us the support your child will need over the next term.
Every year the SEN team evaluates the effectiveness of our school’s SEN provision. This helps us to make sure we have the right support available for your child the following year.
“Pupils who require additional support, are disabled, or have special educational needs, receive very good one to one teaching or other means of support so that they can achieve well and catch up with their peers.” Ofsted, October 2012
Teachers are responsible for the progress and development of all of the pupils in their class.
Once a child has been identified as needing SEN support we will look closely at their needs. This will include looking at information from all the adults, including outside professionals, who work with your child about their progress, their attainment and their behaviour. This assessment will be reviewed regularly to make sure the support and interventions provided for your child are matched to their needs.
We practice teaching methods that will suit the needs of your child..We promote an inclusive ethos throughout school and encourage all children to develop social responsibility and understanding. If your child requires any medical support, adaptations to the environment and/or a differentiated curriculum this information is shared with appropriate staff. The SEN team have a responsibility to ensure that these reasonable adjustments are made.
The school has a range of specialist SEN facilities in place. These include:
- Storage facilities for medical supplies, gloves and aprons
- Dedicated bins or disposal systems for clinical waste
- Specialist PE equipment
- ‘Help Hands’ in every room
- High-visibility markings around the site for children with visual impairment
- Accessible toilets with alarm cord
- Grab rails
- Shower
- Lifts in old and new buildings
- Medical needs
- Sensory needs
- Physical difficulties
- Communication and interaction needs
- Cognition and learning needs
- Autism
- Social, mental and emotional health
We consult parents regularly to ensure staff training is appropriate to meet the needs of your child.
Parents will always be involved in any decision to involve outside agencies. School will involve specialists to advise us on early identification of SEN and effective support and interventions. Recommendations raised will be shared with you and teaching staff supporting your child.
Specialist services used at Park Hill include:
- Access to Education:
– Educational Psychology
– Pupil and School Support
– Sensory Support
– Behaviour Support
– Communication and Autism Team
– Physical Difficulties Support Service - Speech and Language Therapy Service
- Health Services:
– School Nurse
– Health Visitors
– Physiotherapists
– Occupational Therapists
– Park House Child and Family Centre
– Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
– Birmingham Children’s Hospital
– James Brindley Teaching School - Social Services
- Malachi Trust
- Sweet Project
If you felt your child’s needs were not being met or if you had other concerns about your child please contact the school office. The office staff will pass on the message and a member of the SEN team will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also contact a school governor to raise any concerns by leaving a message with the school office.
We welcome your involvement in this process.
The school had an Ofsted inspection in October 2012. Inspectors considered the school to be good.
The new legislation replaces statements of special educational needs and Learning Difficulty Assessments with a single Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan for children and young children people with complex needs.
For children with less complex needs who still require help the new legislation introduces a new system called Special Educational Needs Support which replaces School Action and School Action Plus (and the equivalent in the Early Years Setting).
You can read more information in our SEN Policy and our Accessibility Plan, all of which can be found on our Policies Page.