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Renhold VC Primary School

Renhold is an inclusive primary school, embracing the fact that every child is different. Therefore, we make every effort to meet the needs of any child, regardless of aptitude, ability or special need.

Who to contact

Contact Name
Andrea Ward
Contact Position
Headteacher
Telephone
E-mail
office@renhold.beds.sch.uk

Where to go

Name
Renhold VC Primary School
Address
Church End
Renhold
Bedford
Beds
Postcode
MK41 0LU
Get directions

Time / Date Details

When is it on
Open Monday to Friday 8 am to 5:30 pm
Session Information
8:55 am to 3:30 pm School Hours. Breakfast Club 8:00 - 9:00 am
3:30 - 5:30 pm

Other Details

Availability

Referral required
No
Other notes

It is the school’s policy to welcome children with special educational needs.  It is estimated that 20% of children will have a special educational need at some time during their school career, be it short or long term.  This may be a need for extra help in a specific subject like reading or may be an emotional difficulty following, for example, a bereavement.  Renhold VC Primary School is committed to integrating children with special educational needs.  It also has a policy of positive intervention for any child experiencing difficulties in any area of the curriculum.  The staff at Renhold Primary School is trained and experienced in many types of remedial and special needs teaching and has developed resources and methods to help children who are beginning to fail.  If in-school resources prove to be insufficient there are outside agencies to call upon such as the Learning Support Service who provide specialised advice and have access to a variety of diagnostic tests.  If extra support is required above and beyond that available through the school budget your child may be required to undergo formal assessment so that an EHCP may be issued.  This enables your child to receive extra non-teaching or teaching support in the classroom, which is financed by the Local Education Authority.  It is reviewed every year and the child will be de-statemented when the support is no longer required.  There are strict regulations about the statementing procedure, so if you wish to know more please come and see the Headteacher.

 

Any problems experienced by your child will be discussed with parents as soon as possible so that we can work as a partnership to help overcome them.

Qualifications
The Headteacher and Assistant Headteacher both hold the National SENCo Award Qualification
Age Bands
11-14 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?

At Renhold, when children have been identified with SEND before they start here, we work closely with the people who already know them and use the information already available to identify how we can best meet their needs.

Our staff are very experienced at identifying children with SEND and if we think that your child has a SEND we will observe them; we will assess them and use tests to pinpoint what is causing difficulty (what is happening and why) and meet with you to discuss further strategies and support.

At times, we may need to seek advice from other professionals. However, at every stage, we will keep you fully informed and seek up to date information from you about your child. Our approach will always be child-centred and take into account theirs and your aspirations.

If you think your child might have a SEND, come and talk to us at the earliest opportunity. We will discuss your concerns with you and investigate– we will share with you what we find and agree with you what we will do next and what you can do to help your child. The first person to speak to is the class teacher, who will speak to the SENCo.

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

If your child has been identified as having SEND, we will provide provision that is ‘additional to or different from’ a normal differentiated curriculum. The type of support is dependent on the individual learning needs and is intended to enable your child to access learning and to overcome the identified barriers to their learning. The class teacher will work closely with the SENCo to devise interventions to support your child using the SEN Cycle of support:

Assess: this involves taking into consideration all the information about your child gathered through specific assessments and discussions with you, class teacher, teaching assistants, specialists etc

Plan: This stage involves identification of the specific barriers to learning, the intended outcomes and the details of what specific support will be provided to help your child overcome the barriers to learning. This will be recorded on a School Support Plan (SSP) and will form the basis of termly review meetings.

Do: Providing the support which is described in the SSP i.e. equipment, people involved, time.

Review: The impact of the support is then measured. All parties should be involved in this process; parents, teacher, teaching assistants – and especially the child. This then informs the next cycle. We use various measures to assess progress including standardised testing, P Levels and our school’s own assessment system. The Senior Leadership team monitors the progress of every child in the school and ensures that standards are maintained through moderation across school and with other schools.

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

-All lessons are scaffolded and/or differentiated to meet the needs of your child and the class

- Grouping of ability, mixed and independent work is used at various times to support all pupils

-Putting in place specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENCO or staff from outside agencies) to enable your child to access the learning task

-Parents and children being involved in decisions and targets set for children

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 Renhold your child’s progress is continually monitored by their class teacher, SENCO and the Senior Leadership Team.

-Parents hold invaluable information on their child and know them best, so our first port of call is them. We value the information and insight you can give us on your child and how best we can support them in all areas of the curriculum, school life and their emotional and social development

-Progress is reviewed formally every half term in reading, writing and numeracy and discussed with the Head teacher and Assistant Head/ SENCo during Pupil Progress Meeting.

-Depending on the individual child, there are various standardised assessment tools which the school might use to assess your child e.g. NEALE – Reading Ability, Sandwell Early Numeracy, BPVS – Vocabulary Assessment etc

-At the end of each key stage (i.e. at the end of year 2) all children are required to be formally assessed using Standard Assessment Tests (SATS). This is something the government requires all schools to do and are the results that are published nationally

-Children on the School SEND register may require an Individual Educational Plan (IEP). This has targets set for your child and will be reviewed every term. You will be invited to attend a meeting in order for us to review and set new targets together

-The progress of children with an EHC Plan is formally reviewed at an Annual Review with all adults involved with the child’s education

-The Senior Leadership Team and SENCO will also check that your child is making good progress with any individual work and in any group intervention that they take part in

A range of ways will be used to keep you informed, which may include:

- Home/ School communication books

- Reading records

 -Parent’s evenings

-Class Dojo

-Additional meetings as required

-Reports

-School Website e.g. our SEND Policy and Curriculum Information is contained here.

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

At Renhold, we nurture and respect everyone and recognise that some children have social and mental needs that need to be developed. These include behavioural difficulties, anxiety and being uncommunicative.

All classes follow a structured PSHE (physical, social, Health and Emotional) programme called JIGSAW and a Values Education Programme.

We have two members of staff who are trained as ‘Mental Health Champions’ and a member of staff who has been awarded Level 2 (CACHE) in ‘Understanding Children and Young People’s Mental Health.’

Support is given in a variety of ways such as individual, small group or larger group activities.

We can also sign-post parents to additional sources of support.

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

The school has specially trained teachers and teaching assistants e.g. emotional wellbeing, literacy, numeracy

Nurture & Wellbeing Team (signposts to other specialist provision)

We also have access to a variety of Local Authority provision:

  • Art therapy
  • Autism outreach service
  • Behaviour support service
  • CAMHS
  • CHUMS
  • Educational Psychology Service
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Parent Partnership Service
  • Physiotherapy
  • School Nurse
  • Sensory Service for children with hearing or visual needs
  • Speech and language therapy
  • Young Carers in Bedfordshire
What training have the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had? Are any being trained currently?

The SENCO’s job is to support the class teacher in planning for children with SEND.

-The school has a school development plan, including identified training needs for all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children including those with SEND. This may include whole school training on SEND issues or to support identified groups of learners in school, such as Literacy Support using Read, Write Inc, Autistic Spectrum Disorders and emotional and behavioural issues

-We have whole staff training to disseminate knowledge, strategies and experience, to ensure consistency of the school’s approach for children with a SEND

- Individual teachers and support staff attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class

- Each year the SENCo audits the training needs of all staff and then plans a programme of training for staff including regular training on implementing the New Code of Practice

 - The SENCO has the National Award for SENCo’s and the Headteacher was a member of the Bedford Borough SEND Excellence in Practice Group.

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

We encourage all children to take part in every aspect of school life including after school activities. These, and school trips are available to all.

- Risk assessments are carried out for each trip and suitable numbers of adults are made available to accompany the pupils, with 1:1 support if necessary

-Parents and carers are invited to accompany their child on a school trip if this ensures access

-After school clubs are available to all pupils. Vulnerable pupils are given priority and adjustments will be made to support their participation

- Health and safety audits will be conducted as and when appropriate

How accessible is the setting/school/college enviroment?

The school is fully compliant with DDA requirements:

There is easy access via a ramp and double doors.

There are two disabled toilets and changing facilities.

We ensure wherever possible that equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs. E.g. writing slopes, loop scissors, specialist computer programmes etc

After school clubs are accessible to all children, including those with SEND.

Extra-curricular activities are accessible for children with SEND.

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?

We recognise that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEND and take steps to ensure that any transition is a smooth as possible.

  • If your child is moving to another school:

- We will contact the school SENCO and ensure that they know about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child

- We will make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible

  • When moving classes in school:

- Information will be passed on to the new class teacher IN ADVANCE and in most cases, a planning meeting will take place with the new teacher

-All IEPs and Provision Maps will be shared with the new teacher

- Depending on the needs of the child, a visit to their new classroom can be provided to help them in their understanding of moving to a new class

- Books can be made containing photographs of the child’s new teachers, classroom, etc for your child to take home with them over the summer holidays so that they can become familiar with everything whilst they are not in school

  • When moving to Renhold during the academic year:

- We will meet with you and your child to discuss their needs and decide how to best transition into our school

-We will liaise with previous school SENCO to discuss the provision and obtain records from external agencies

- We will organise meetings as needed after transition to discuss settling in and progress

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

• The school budget, received from Bedford Borough LA, includes money for supporting children with SEN and disabilities.

• The Head Teacher/SENCo decides on the deployment of resources for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in consultation with the school governors, on the basis of needs in the school.

 

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

The Head Teacher /SENCo and SLT discuss all the information they have about SEND in the school, including:

◦the children getting extra support already

◦the children needing extra support

◦the children who have been identified as not making as much progress as would be expected and decide what resources/training and support is needed.

The information is recorded on the school provision map 

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

We encourage parents to get involved in the life of the school. There are many ways to do this. You could join our Friends of Renhold Parents and Teachers Association, our Parent Focus Group or join our list of volunteers who help with various activities such as hearing readers, helping at after-school clubs and school trips. If you are interested in either of the above, then come into the office and complete the registration paperwork.