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Edith Cavell Primary School

“Inclusion is about all learners and about taking action to remove barriers to participation and learning.”

Edith Cavell Primary School is a fully inclusive school where children experience an extensive curriculum and where children with special educational needs/vulnerable pupils are taught alongside their peers.

At Edith Cavell Primary School the staff, governors and parents are committed to providing a happy, ambitious and stimulating environment. All learners are nurtured to achieve their full potential and develop a love and enthusiasm for lifelong learning. High expectation within a progressive, stimulating and enriching curriculum ensures all leaners are safe, valued and diversity is celebrated, therefore Learning is Fun!

The school is mostly wheel chair accessible and has audio enhancements to cater for children that are hearing impaired.

- There are disabled changing and toilet facilities located by the main entrance of the building and this includes a shower cubicle that can be easily accessed. There is a disabled toilet in the UKS2 block.

- We ensure where ever possible that equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs.

- After-school provision is accessible to all children, including those with SEND.

- Extra-curricular activities are accessible for children with SEND and we encourage all children to participate. 

There are many ways of contacting the school. The first point of contact would be the main office who can then contact the necessary people or inform you of setting arrangements and key information.

There is a SEND information leaflet in the entrance hall of the school. If parents have any concerns we encourage them to speak to their child’s class teacher directly or to discuss their concerns with the Inclusion Leader or SENCO Assistant if regarding SEND or Safeguarding issues.

Our school website holds all the key information and contact details for parents and viewers to easily access both inside and outside of school hours.

We are always more than happy for families to bring along a friend or relative to translate any information during meetings. We have good relationships with our parents and many are happy to assist us in communicating with parents or carers whose first language is not English.

Who to contact

Contact Name
Mrs Lorna Stanton
Contact Position
Assistant Head teacher/Inclusion Lead
Telephone
E-mail
office@ecls.org.uk
Website
https://www.edithcavellprimary.co.uk/

Where to go

Name
Edith Cavell Primary School
Address
Manton Lane
Bedford
Beds
Postcode
MK41 7NH
Get directions

Time / Date Details

When is it on
Mon-Fri

Other Details

Costs

Details
Before School Club: 8 – 8.45am After School Club: 3.30-5.30pm contact for latest costings/pricing
Age Bands
0-4 years old
5-10 years old

Schools Extended Local Offer Response

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

As outlined in our school’s SEN & Inclusion Policy, children with SEND can be identified in a number of ways. We recognise the importance of early intervention to support children in reaching their academic potential. At the beginning of each term teachers meet with the Inclusion leader to discuss any children that need extra support in the four areas of SEND. During this meeting, the teachers and Inclusion Leader consider what appropriate provision is needed to support this child and ways forward by considering what measurable methods have already been trialled. Following assessments by class teachers a sensitive decision may be made about whether or not the child is making adequate progress. These concerns are discussed with parents and then the Inclusion Leader takes the lead in working alongside teachers to acquire all the relevant information in order to plan for future support of the child and monitor and review the actions the school has decided to take in terms of SEND support strategies. These strategies are documented on a provision map that is shared with parents and monitored closely. If parents have any concerns regarding their child, we reiterate our school’s supportive open door policy whereby parents can communicate openly with school staff in various ways e.g. in person, on the telephone or through written comments. As a school with children of varying SEND needs we pride ourselves on having a good rapport with educational professionals such as The Autistic Advisory Teacher (AAT) and Peripatetic Teacher of the Hearing Impaired (Sensory Communication Support Team).We can also signpost parents to other local support services such as SENDIASS (SEN Advice) for someone impartial to talk to. We are also privileged to have a workforce of highly skilled teaching and support staff who receive regular staff training in a number of specialist areas for instance hearing impairment, speech, language and communication and ASD.

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

Here at Edith Cavell everyone is responsible for Special Educational Needs. As outlined in our ‘School Prospectus’ we are fortunate to have a large supportive and skilled workforce made up of both teaching and non-teaching staff. Present in each class is a qualified teacher and for some of the time, a L3 teaching assistant. 1:1 key workers are also allocated to children who have an Educational Health Care Plan for some specified times. Each class has a class teacher who has overall pastoral and curricular responsibility for the children in his/ her care. From time to time children are taught by other teachers within school to share expertise and make the best possible use of the resources available. Classes are housed within units where common areas are made available to all children within that unit. Children are taught sometimes individually, sometimes in small groups and sometimes as a whole class. The school’s Governing Body is made up of members of staff, parents and Local Authority or community representatives. Each Governor has an area of responsibility and this information is communicated to parents at the entrance of our school as well as being explained on the school website, see “Governors” tab.

The school’s governing body is responsible for the conduct of the school, and must promote high standards of educational achievement at the school. Our Governors:

- provide a strategic view of the school by establishing a vision and setting the purpose and aims of the school within an agreed policy framework.

- Appoints and performance manages the Headteacher, agreeing the school improvement strategy (School Development Plan) which includes setting statutory targets with supporting budgets and staffing structures

- monitors and evaluates the work of the school by reviewing the performance of the Headteacher, the effectiveness of the policy framework, progress towards targets, and the effectiveness of the SDP.

- signs off the self-evaluation process and responds to school improvement service and Ofsted reports as necessary.

- In addition it holds the Headteacher to account for the performance of the school and ensures that parents are involved, consulted and informed as appropriate, with information to the community being made available as required.

In order to do this effectively, our governors gain insightful knowledge of how our school operates through attending staff training, by attending meetings, and by getting to know their school community, for example through a number of visits to the school during the school day, supporting school trips or by attending planned visits with subject leaders.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's/young person's needs?

As specified in our ‘Teaching and Learning Policy’ “We believe that people learn best in different ways. At our school, we aim to provide a rich and varied learning environment that allows children to develop their skills and abilities to their full potential.”

Effective learning only comes about from first quality effective teaching. When teaching we focus on motivating the children and building on their skills, knowledge and understanding of the curriculum. We use the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework, National Curriculum (2014), White Rose Maths, Jigsaw PSHE and the Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education to ensure sequential lessons build upon previous knowledge and skills learned, establishing continuity and progression across the school.

For teaching to be effective, we believe that it is necessary to:

- Assess children’s knowledge and skills, to know the pitch of the lesson

- Develop a clear and structured plan leading to a well prepared, differentiated and well delivered lesson that includes pace, rigour and good use of time

- Have a clear learning objective that is shared with the children

- Have clear success criteria so children know what they have to do to achieve

- Self and peer assessment is used against the success criteria

- Ensure feedback whether verbal or written is linked to the success criteria

- Review the learning at the end of the lesson and link to future learning

- Use a range of teaching strategies to include: o effective questioning o interactive teaching o balance between child/teacher talk o Teacher questioning, modelling and explaining

- Have appropriate challenges and expectations of all children

- Deploy teaching assistants effectively

- Use appropriate resources

- Manage behaviour so that children are keen to get on with their work

- Provide a secure and friendly environment in which children can experiment and learn from their errors

- Ensure teachers are well informed, confident and enthusiastic

- Deliver the lesson enthusiastically so that the children are motivated and enjoy their learning

- Ensure opportunities for applying Literacy, Numeracy and Computing and ICT skills across the curriculum

- Involve all the children

- Praise and encouragement is used to motivate pupils further. We use a creative thematic approach to teaching, based on the National Curriculum, which sets out the aims, objectives, and details of what is to be taught in each key stage.

We have designed a 2-year rolling programme of themes where each curriculum subject meets the needs of the different age groups while ensuring continuity and progression. Our medium and short-term lessons are planned sequentially and contain detailed information about the learning objectives and success criteria, the teaching activities and tasks to be set, the resources needed, and the type of assessment to be used. In personalising the curriculum, we aim to find appropriate challenges for pupils and address their particular needs so that they may all have an equal opportunity to succeed.

We aim to cater for the needs and interests of the full range of learners, including:

- more able learners

- learners with learning difficulties and disabilities

- learners with English as an additional language

- girls and boys

- looked after and vulnerable children

- learners with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

At Edith Cavell Primary School we employ an open door policy with parents so that they feel valued and welcome to come in and talk openly to staff regarding any aspect of their child’s school life. This two-way communication between home and school is evident in other areas for instance via written comments from parents in reading record books or telephone conversations. Weekly achievements such as ‘Star of the week’, ‘Maths Magician’, ‘Reading Bookworm' and ‘Jigsaw Values’ achievements are communicated to parents in the form of a certificate or badge and an conveyed on the school's newsletter and an invitation is offered for parents to attend the assembly when the certificate is presented to their child. There is a parents consultation evening offered to parents in the Autumn and Spring term whereby teachers verbally feedback to parents on their child’s progress and attainments from the term. As a school we offer a range of learning events opportunities for parents to come in to school and provide information on how learning is planned, for example we have held targeted Sounds Write phonics intervention drop-ins and numeracy based drop-in sessions to inform parents of how these subjects are taught in school and how they as parents can further support their child at home. We have also held SATs information evenings as a guide to parents. Any children that receive SEND support (require additional support to high quality-first teaching) have a provision map documenting the support in place for them and parents are included in every stage of this process. Provision maps are on-going historical documents that are reviewed and updated termly and discussed with parents. Parents have the opportunity to talk through the provision map and targets with teachers in person at our termly SEND Parents Information evenings becoming part of the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ cycle. A column on the provision map also details how the child’s targets can be further supported at home. An annual teacher report is written and sent out to parents at the end of the academic year detailing children’s progress across all areas of learning. Children receive an attainment and effort grade in their report for each subject, alongside targets of how to improve further. Parents are then invited to attend a meeting with their class teacher to discuss the report in person if they wish to. Parents are also invited to feedback on the report in the form of a review sheet to once again reiterate the importance of their views.

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall well being?

As an “ambitious, achieving and nurturing school” we pride ourselves on the pastoral care given to children at our school. At Edith Cavell every member of staff seeks to create the best possible circumstances for learning for their pupils. In essence, this means creating and maintaining the sort of positive relationships throughout the school within which pupils will want to learn, and teachers can teach most effectively for all pupils. Our “Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy” outlines this vision further by stating that “All pupils in our school are aware of a number of members of staff who they can talk to. The school is committed to ensuring that pupils are aware of behaviour towards them that is not acceptable and how they can keep themselves safe.” All classrooms have an allocated teacher and known teaching assistants and children are encouraged to speak to adults about any concerns that they have. Any pressing concerns identified by staff are noted onto the “CPOMS” system to be documented. The school shares a purpose with parents to educate, keep children safe from harm and have their welfare promoted. We are committed to working with parents positively, openly and honestly. We ensure that all parents are treated with respect, dignity and courtesy. We respect parents’ rights to privacy and confidentiality and will not share sensitive information until we have permission or it is necessary to do so to protect a child. Edith Cavell Primary School will share with parents any concerns we may have about their child unless to do so may place a child at risk of harm. We encourage parents to discuss any concerns they may have with Edith Cavell Primary School and make parents aware of our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy. Children are given a voice through use of The School Council and each class has two representatives to feedback children’s ideas on how to improve the school or on any events that children would like to be part of. Children are asked their opinions through the use of questionnaires regularly to assess how they feel about school for instance their thoughts on extracurricular clubs and what they would like offered more of at school. As a school we assess the children's Mental Health and Well-being and each class teacher continues to observe and monitor the level of children’s wellbeing and involvement during lessons and act on this if there are concerns for instance by adapting teaching or deploying an appropriate intervention.  WE have a lead teacher responsible for Mental Health and Wellbeing.  The School’s Learning Mentor is timetabled to work with children that may have low self-esteem which can be on a 1:1 or small group basis. Every day as the children enter their classroom, they are encouraged to self-assess their feelings or current mood by placing their name on the sunny or blue clouds. The sunny cloud represents feeling happy and content and the blue side indicates if children are unhappy or unsettled about something. This is a valuable tool for all staff and is a way of teaching children to self-regulate their own feelings. If a child has placed their name on the blue side, a member of staff will sensitively talk to them about why they feel this way and this communication is vital in supporting them for the rest of the school day. The school follows guidance detailed in the LA’s Guide on Managing Medicines in School and Early Years Settings and with regards to administering medicines, no child under 16 should be given medicine without written parent consent. A record is also kept in a written form each time medicines are given. Our “Behaviour and Rewards Policy” adopts a positive approach to high expectations of behaviour management in school so that all children feel safe and secure. The schools behaviour policy is reviewed bi-annually. We see behaviour as an integral part of the curriculum. The school logs any behaviour incident on our CPOMS system. We do all we can to support all children to attend, and to put in place appropriate procedures such as having the Learning Mentor present in the office for a warm welcome. We believe that the most important factor in promoting good attendance is the development of positive attitudes towards school. In having high expectations for attendance, we offer rewards such as the class attendance bear and a wrist band for children with 100% attendance for each term. Pupil voice is an imperative part in children feeling valued in school and we promote this through a number of ways for instance having school council representatives in each class, pupil comment box on provision maps and as part of annual reviews, end of unit reviews, subject questionnaires, 'ask-it baskets' for the older children and 'tell me' boxes in the younger classrooms.

What specialist services and expertise are avaliable at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

Mrs Stanton is the Assistant Head teacher and Inclusion Leader in school who oversees the SEND, EAL and MA provision. Mrs Stanton is a qualified teacher and has had training within the field of SEND. Mrs Dennis is the SENDCO Assistant and also an integral part of the Safeguarding team. She has previously worked at a special school for a number of years and has attended an array of training courses. As a school we have a good rapport with the Sensory and Communication Team who visit us each term. As already mentioned our Learning Mentor works with children who suffer from low self-esteem and completes different activities with children in a nurturing environment. We have successfully liaised with other professionals such as CHUMS wellbeing service, Faces (Families and Children’s Early Help Services), Young Carers Support and Social Care to benefit the wellbeing of a range of identified children. As a Leap Trust school we liaise closely with other schools in our network and surrounding area for instance we have links with Priory and Livingstone. We also have community links with Scott Primary School, Queens Park Academy and Bedford Modern School.

What training have the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had? Are any being trained currently?

Various members of staff have completed training such as First Aid training, Attachment Theory, Early Interventions for Children Who Are At Risk of Sexual Exploitation, Sexualised Behaviour in Prepubescent Children, Hearing Impairment Training and Training for Looked After Children (LAC). All Teaching and Learning staff have completed Autism in Girls training, systems of SEND in our school INSET, cognitive skills and strategies to support in the classroom and strategies to support Speech and Language difficulties with two staff members trained by Talking Success as Communication Champions.

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

Activities are highly differentiated for all children to access and Teaching Assistants are placed in each class to assist children’s access further. Children that have an Education Health Care Plan may have an allocated Learning Support Assistant that accompanies them on school trips and encourages them to be as independent as possible. All children are invited on school trips and when needed parents are invited to help on trips as additional adults. Parents are given questionnaires throughout the school year for them to voice their opinions and they invited to feedback when completing their child’s annual report feedback. Children that suffer from changes in routine or anxieties are provided with personalised social stories and exposure to the visit location prior to going on the trip. Children are supported by visuals to communicate that they are going on a trip. All children are welcomed to breakfast and after school clubs and a range of motivating activities are offered at both clubs to boost social skills and interest. All children are welcome to attend extracurricular activities and those children with SEND are supported where necessary for instance by additional adult help where needed.

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

As laid out in our “Admissions Policy” parents have a right to express their preference for the school of their choice and should do so on the appropriate application form. Expressing a preference does not, in itself, guarantee a place at our school. The school notifies parents of the decision as soon as all the applications have been considered for the academic year.

Children are admitted to a full time place in the September of the school year in which they have their fifth birthday. Where a place at the school is required during the school year, parents need to apply to the local authority and not directly to the school.

During the summer term, class teachers provide their children with a lot of opportunities to discuss transition for instance moving on to a new class or school setting. This usually takes place during weekly PSHCE sessions and can be personalised to match children’s needs for instance a transition book with photos may be created for children that would benefit from it and extra visits to their new class area. For children with an EHCP the transition school would be invited to the child’s Annual Review or a Transition Review would be held earlier.

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

Following assessment by class teachers in collaboration with parents, a sensitive decision may be made about whether or not the child is making adequate progress. These concerns are discussed with parents and then the Inclusion Leader takes the lead in working alongside teachers to acquire all the relevant information in order to plan for future support of the child and monitor and review the action the actions the school has decided to take in terms of school strategies. These strategies are documented on a provision map and further advice from professionals is sought after where appropriate after a review of the child’s progress.

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

The Inclusion Leader is provided with an allocated SEND budget and liaises with the Head Teacher, SLT and teaching staff to identify where the funding could be used most effectively. Resources are regularly audited and deployed to support children where needed. Where possible the Inclusion Leader creates personalised resources to support and motivate children using their interests.

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

Close links between home and school matter to us, as we know that parental support is important if a child is to succeed to their full capability. Our policy is one of openness with parents and the community based on mutual respect and understanding, to ensure that our children achieve their potential, both academically and socially. Parents can be involved in the school in a number ways for instance by being invited to come in and read with their child in class on a Friday morning, being invited to attend assemblies, shows, open afternoons, information evenings and events such as fayres and cake sales. We have an excellent Parent association ‘Friends of Edith Cavell’ (FOEC) that regularly hold fund-raising events. Parents can feedback to school in a number of ways such as by speaking to staff face to face, completing parent questionnaires and from contacting the school using ICT. We share information with parents regularly via our school website, entrance area and parent mail electronic service.