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Balliol Primary School

At Balliol we believe in an aspirational curriculum which offers all children memorable experiences within an exciting, challenging and creative environment alongside effective teaching of key skills for life and learning.  We see parents as partners in the education of their children and greatly value their involvement in school life.  Working in partnership with our community, we believe that we can lay foundations for success that will equip your child to become a confident and aspirational learner as well as a responsible and compassionate citizen.

Who to contact

Contact Name
Louise Youngman
Contact Position
Headteacher
Telephone
E-mail
office@balliolschool.co.uk
Website
https://www.balliolschool.co.uk/

Where to go

Name
Balliol Lower School
Address
Balliol Road
Kempston
Bedford
Postcode
MK42 7ER
Get directions

Time / Date Details

When is it on
School day 8:45am to 3 15pm

Other Details

Age Bands
11-14 years old
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?

All children are assessed on entry to the school in order to ensure that they are provided with a curriculum which allows them to progress.

Class teachers are continually aware of children’s learning. If they observe that a child, as recommended by the 2014 Code of Practice, is making less than expected progress, given their age and individual circumstances, they will seek further advice in how best to support them.

The progress of every child is monitored at termly pupil progress meetings. Where children are identified as not making progress in spite of Quality First Teaching, they are discussed with the SENDCo or a member of Senior Leadership team and a plan of action is agreed.

Parents sometimes ask us to look more closely at their child’s learning. We take all parental requests seriously and investigate them all. Frequently, the concern can be addressed by Quality First Teaching or some parental support. Otherwise, the child is placed at Special Educational Needs Support on our SEND register and given interventions to address their needs that are different to and additional to normal differentiated lessons.

If more specialised advice is needed in identifying SEND, then the SENDCo/class teacher and parent may wish to conduct an EHA (Early Help Assessment) to request a service to come in and observe and advise, or they may opt to attend a ‘drop-in’ appointment on offer in Bedford Borough with experts such as Educational Psychologists, autism experts and behaviour specialists.

The purpose of identification is to work out what action the school needs to take, not to fit a pupil into a category.  At Balliol primary School we identify the needs of the pupils by considering the needs of the whole child which will include not just the special educational needs of the child but also consider the impact of other areas such as; Attendance and Punctuality, Health and Welfare, EAL, being in receipt of Pupil Premium Grant, being a Looked After Child or being a child of a Serviceman/woman.

All children benefit from ‘Quality First Teaching’ throughout the school; this means that class teachers are responsible for assessing, planning for and teaching all children at a level which allows them to make the best possible progress. In addition, we implement some focused interventions to target particular skills.

In each class there are children who have more significant barriers to learning and who don’t seem to be able to make progress even with usual classroom differentiation. These are children who need some provision that is ‘different from or additional to’ the provision made for the rest of the class. These children are classified as needing Special Educational Needs Support. The staff, parents and child then start to become part of the ‘graduated approach’ cycle to try and find effective provision for the children to make progress. This includes assessing where we are at, planning a provision / reasonable adjustment / intervention, implementing this, and then reviewing it, before starting the cycle again.

The class teacher is responsible for writing and reviewing a SEND Plans (PLP - Personalised Learning Plan, SAL - Speech and Language Plan or PSP - Pastoral Support Plans), seeking advice from the SENDCo if necessary. The SENDCo monitors all the plans, checks targets are suitable and attainable and that progress from previous plans has been made before they are finalised. SEND Plans reviewed and new targets written at least 3 times a year, or more often, if targets are achieved or limited progress is being made. Staff supporting the child on specific SEND targets, write a short comment about the progress made towards each target.

Children are part of the review cycle, where appropriate and can contribute opinions about their own progress.

Parents are invited into school to discuss the progress towards previous targets and discuss and explain future targets.

Class teachers regularly monitor the progress each child with SEND is making and evidence is clearly recorded in SEND Books against individual targets.  The SENDCo monitors the progress against targets regularly as well as analysing the impact of specific interventions through close provision mapping.

The SENDCo meets the SEND governor to analyse and review the systems in place for all SEND children, and look at trends in SEND across the school.

The SENDCo meets regularly with both the Borough SEND officer working in partnership with the school and with the Educational Psychologist assigned to the area, as well as having an annual planning meeting with each at the start of every school year.

Our primary approach to differentiation is through quality first teaching, ensuring that lessons are delivered, taking into account the differing needs of the class. Where a child has additional needs which are deemed to be specific or temporary, then they will be scheduled to receive Wave 2 intervention – a short term specific programme tailored to meet their individual need. Should a child’s need be deemed significant or long term they will received Wave 3 intervention – a termly programme of additional support, delivered in addition to the main curriculum and with the possible support of an EHC plan.

Children at Balliol Primary are encouraged to develop a ‘growth mind-set’, believing in themselves and their abilities, with some opportunities to choose the level of challenge they would like in their tasks.

At times children will be supported by other adults such as teaching assistants under the guidance of the class teacher.

Specialist teachers may support your child with specific difficulties, this will always be discussed with parents first.

Resources and equipment, such as pencil grips, visuals prompts, writing slopes, and specially adapted scissors etc… are used to remove barriers to learning.

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

All children benefit from ‘Quality First Teaching’ throughout the school; this means that class teachers are responsible for assessing, planning for and teaching all children at a level which allows them to make the best possible progress. In addition, we implement some focused interventions to target particular skills.

In each class there are children who have more significant barriers to learning and who don’t seem to be able to make progress even with usual classroom differentiation. These are children who need some provision that is ‘different from or additional to’ the provision made for the rest of the class. These children are classified as needing Special Educational Needs Support. The staff, parents and child then start to become part of the ‘graduated approach’ cycle to try and find effective provision for the children to make progress. This includes assessing where we are at, planning a provision / reasonable adjustment / intervention, implementing this via an IPP system, and then reviewing it, before starting the cycle again.

The class teacher is responsible for writing and reviewing a PLP (Personalised Learning Plan) or Speech and Language Plan, seeking advice from the SENDCo if necessary. The SENDCo monitors the PLP’s, checks targets are suitable and attainable and that progress from previous PLP’s has been made before they are finalised. PLP’s are written at least 3 times a year, or more often, if targets are achieved or limited progress is being made. Staff supporting the child on PLP targets, write a short comment about the progress made towards each target.

Children are part of the review cycle, where appropriate and can contribute opinions about their own progress.

Parents are invited into school to discuss the progress towards previous targets and discuss and explain future targets.

Class teachers keep provision maps to record all support and interventions applied. The SENDCo monitors these each term and ensures all record keeping is up to date.

The SENDCo meets the SEND governor to analyse and review the systems in place for all SEND children, and look at trends in SEND across the school.

The SENDCo meets regularly with both the Borough SEND officer working in partnership with the school and with the Educational Psychologist assigned to the area, as well as having an annual planning meeting with each at the start of every school year.

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

Our primary approach to differentiation is through quality first teaching, ensuring that lessons are delivered, taking into account the differing needs of the class. Where a child has additional needs which are deemed to be specific or temporary, then they will be scheduled to receive Wave 2 intervention – a short term specific programme tailored to meet their individual need. Should a child’s need be deemed significant or long term they will received Wave 3 intervention – a termly programme of additional support, delivered in addition to the main curriculum and with the possible support of an EHC plan.C

hildren at Balliol Primary are encouraged to develop a ‘growth mind-set’, believing in themselves and their abilities, with some opportunities to choose the level of challenge they would like in their tasks.

At times children will be supported by other adults such as teaching assistants under the guidance of the class teacher.

Specialist teachers may support your child with specific difficulties, this will always be discussed with parents first.

Resources and equipment, such as pencil grips, visuals prompts, writing slopes, and specially adapted scissors etc… are used to remove barriers to learning.

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?

The school has an open door policy and staff are happy to discuss any issues relating to individual children through direct contact with the class teacher or through a formal appointment which can be made through the school office.

Consultation evenings take place in the Autumn and Spring Term as well as a formal annual report, which is written in the Summer Term. For children with additional needs there are termly review meetings with the class teacher where targets are reviewed and individual plans are prepared alongside parents.  The SENDCo also offers consultation appointments on consultation evenings and parents are encouraged to sign up if they wish to discuss their child’s needs and support they are receiving further.

Children who have a SEND plan, termly SEND review meetings take place where parents are invited in to discuss their child’s targets, progress towards targets and to set new ones if deemed appropriate.  Parents are actively encouraged to be involved in this process and for continued support for children on our SEND register, parents may be invited to Team Around the Family meetings (TAF meetings), where we can review strategies used so far, the impact they are making and plan further action (whether this be within the school or seeking external support).

Early Years pupils have a home/school book and the children have a scrapbook in which progress is documented. The scrapbooks are given to the children at the end of the Reception Year.

Other opportunities for parents and carers to discuss their child’s progress include weekly coffee mornings with some weeks having a specific focus, e.g. the attendance of the Educational Psychologist, School Nurse, Finance/Housing or workshops from the Bedford Parent Carer Forum (www.bbpcf.org.uk) etc…

 

Workshops are also offered to families throughout the year.  Such workshops include developing children’s phonics skills in the Early Years, reading and maths workshops to enable parents to support their child with homework.

 

The class teacher has a responsibility to plan for, teach and assess all children within their class.  On-going assessments are made throughout the term, with more formal assessments happening termly.

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

Balliol Primary School is a caring and nurturing setting and not only thrive in supporting the child but also the whole family.  We have a strong focus on pastoral support for all of our children and this is reflected in our numerous provisions that we are able to offer.

The behaviour policy promotes the emotional and social development of all pupils positively, rewarding behaviour for learning with ‘rainbow rewards’, focussing on our pupils learning and embedding value-based outcomes. Where there are concerns in this area, the children follow a consistent behaviour consequence procedure for low/mid/high-level (Level 1, 2, 3) behaviours that all children are well aware of. Parents are encouraged to be involved and support their child in making positive choices and being happy at school.

Whole school assemblies not only promote our Values but also promote positive well-being and children are encouraged to take part in short mindfulness and physical activities throughout the school day in their classrooms.

Each term, some children take part in our weekly Kaleidoscope sessions, where trained staff use a range of activities in our designated room to build self-esteem and social awareness for children in a calm and positive colour-based therapy as well as weekly Drawing & Talking and Emotional Literacy Support (ELSA) sessions to develop children emotional needs.  These interventions are always discussed with parents first before children take part.

For children with specific social, emotional and mental health needs, the policy may be adapted in line with advice from specialists working with the children and provision is then adapted so that the child feels safe and secure. Some examples include nurture group, social groups, 1:1 support in play etc. If needed, a pastoral support plan is put into action and advice is sought from the Greys Education Panel to try and avoid exclusion for all pupils.

Children with mental health or behavioural needs are supported with a Pastoral Support Plan and we employ a pastoral support team which includes Behaviour Support Worker and Family Support Worker to help support the needs of these children.  For children with specific social, emotional and mental health needs, interventions may be implemented including social stories, social skills groups, Play Therapy, Dangerous Academy etc…  All interventions are carefully planned for and monitored closely to ensure positive impact.

The school adheres to an Administration of Medicines Policy. Children with ongoing medical needs will be supported with a Care Plan, and where appropriate this plan will be posted throughout the school for ease of reference in an emergency situation.  Some children with medical conditions may be disabled and where this is the case the school will comply with its duties under the Equality Act 2010.

For more information on the arrangements in school to support pupils with medical conditions, please see our Medicine Policy.

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

The school employs the following specialist staff, all of whom have qualifications from their validating body:-

  • Speech and Language Therapist
  • Play Therapist
  • Pets as Therapy support
  • Family Support Worker

We also access a number of Local Authority professionals including:

  • Early Years Support Team
  • Educational Psychologist
  • Behaviour Support Team
  • Autistic Advisory Teacher
  • Early Help Team
  • SEND Team
  • Inclusion Support Officer
  • Children and Adult Mental Health (CAMH)
  • Sensory and Communication Team
What training have the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had? Are any being trained currently?

All staff have access to professional development opportunities and training is consistently encouraged. Recently staff have been trained in the following: 

Safeguarding:

English & Maths:

Speech and Language:

Emotional, Behavioural and Social:

Other:

Ø  Safer Recruitment

Ø  Protective Behaviours

Ø  PREVENT

Ø  FGM

Ø  Annual Safeguarding Training

 

Ø  Talking Partners

Ø  Therapeutic Story Writing

Ø  Cognitive Skills

 

Blanks Level Lift Off to Language

Talking Success

 

Ø  Behaviour Support Training

Ø  Kaleidoscope Therapy

Ø  Mentally Healthy School

Ø  Attachment Theory

Ø  Sensory Processing

Ø  Promoting Resilience in the Classroom

Ø  Behaviour as Communication

Ø  Supporting Students in Crisis

Ø  Delivering High Quality 1:1/Group Support

Ø  Early Years Framework Reform

Ø  Early Years Training

Ø  SENDCo has achieved National Award for SEN (NASENCo award)

Ø  Mental Aid Frist Aid

Ø  Paediatric First Aid

Ø  Mentoring

 

Specific interventions/provisions to support pupil’s academic learning and social, emotional and well-being skills are implemented by trained staff and these programmes include the following:

English Interventions:

Maths Interventions:

Speech and Language:

Coordination Interventions:

Emotional, Behavioural and Social Skills:

Ø  Sounds Write

Ø  Daily Reader

Ø  Fischer Family Trust

Ø  Talking Partners

Ø  1:1 support

Ø  Small group work

Ø  ‘ARC’ Club

Ø  Numicon

Ø  1:1 support

Ø  Small group work

Ø  ‘ARC’ Club

Ø  Specialist Maths Teacher

 

Ø  Speech Circles

Ø  Individual SAL programme

Ø  Lift Off to Language

Ø  Speech Therapist

 

Ø  Speed Stacks

Ø  Additional Handwriting

Ø  Fine Motor Control Activities

Ø  Sensory Circuits

Ø  Play Therapy

Ø  Trusted Adult

Ø  ‘Seeing Red’/’Volcano in my Tummy’

Ø  Extra-Curricular Clubs

Ø  Breakfast Club

Ø  Dangerous Academy

Ø  Kaleidoscope Therapy

Ø  Social Stories

Ø  Talkabout Programme

Ø  Independent Social Worker

Ø  Drawing & Talking

Ø  Emotional Literacy Support Assistant

 

Where staff are working with specific learning needs they will be encouraged to attend additional training to ensure children’s needs can be fully met.

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

It is the policy of the school to ensure that all pupils regardless of SEND are encouraged to take an active role in the school through opportunities such as joining the School Council, school clubs (Choir, Performing Arts, Karate, Cricket etc…), or the Student Leadership Team and Eco Team to share children’s views.

All pupils have access to all school trips and we work with parents to ensure that any additional needs are addressed in order that school trips can be fully inclusive.  All staff complete a vigorous risk assessment procedure for all trips and visits that is checked by the Headteacher.

All school clubs, including breakfast and after school clubs are open to all children and the expectation is that any child attending will be supported if this is deemed to be necessary.

Those children who have additional needs and would like to attend clubs then discussions with parents and teachers take place and additional support or reasonable adjustments are implemented if deemed appropriate to ensure children can access the club fully.

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?

When children transfer from Balliol to a new setting, be that mainstream or a specialist provision we aim to work with the receiving school to facilitate a smooth transition.  Where children need additional visits these are arranged and parents can be accompanied to visit new schools to address any concerns that they may have. We will work with parents to secure a seamless transition in whatever way is deemed appropriate for the individual child.

Transitions within the school are also carefully managed and children spend at least a full day with their new teacher in the summer term.  Additional transitions are arranged within the school and transition booklets with key information are created to support children over the long summer break if deemed necessary.

High quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils is available to all pupils. Where the need is greater, interventions are put in place after discussions with the SENDCo and the ‘graduated approach’ response is followed on a continuous cycle.

If progress is still not satisfactory then the parents or school may wish to apply for an Education Health Care Plan.

The progress of all children is rigorously monitored each half term and is analysed by the Assessment Coordinator and SENDCo.

Parents are welcome to discuss their child’s additional needs with members of school staff at any time and their wishes will be taken into account when provision mapping and target setting is being undertaken.

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

Decisions regarding resource allocation are made by the school’s Senior Leadership Team and are monitored through the school’s provision map. The school has recruited a team of support staff who are able to deliver intervention programmes across a broad range of additional needs.

Additional to these intervention programmes being implemented the school is also able to get advice from specialist service via the ‘buy in’ service to Bedford Borough.

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

Parents are welcomed into the school, subject to DBS checks, to support in classes with aspects such as reading and with school trips.

Parents are invited to parent’s consultation evenings, celebrations assemblies and class performances and concerts. Over the year, there are parent coffee mornings and workshops too which parents are encouraged to attend.

Parents receive termly overviews of their child’s topics and weekly homework is given out.  

For children with SEND, parents are involved in all aspects of the provision decisions – including reviewing and planning of each SEND cycle, meetings requesting any specialist report and discussing ways forward, and formal contributions in applications for support or reviews of EHCPs.

The Family Support Worker is also available to work closely with families and can support them in getting advice on a number of different topics, including housing, benefits, financial difficulties and support with home-life.  Additional support can be sought via the Early Help process where further professionals can get involved if parents feel this would be beneficial.

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

We acknowledge the importance of strong home school relationships and welcome parents to school events, including class assemblies, Christmas concerts, workshops and curriculum days throughout the year.

Parents views are taken into account in an annual questionnaire and parents are asked to comment on receipt of their child’s annual report. For children with additional needs there are termly review meetings where parents can express their views on the existing provision for their child and also discuss current targets and how their child is progressing as well as advice on what support can be given at home.  Annual SEND parent questionnaires are also completed.

Parent consultations also take place twice a year and parents are encouraged to attend to discuss their child’s progress.  Consultation appointments can also be made with the school’s SENDCo if parents wish to discuss their child’s needs or support they are receiving further.

Parents are welcome to take on a greater role at the school by joining ‘Friends of Balliol,’ or by opting to become a school governor.

We also welcome informal approaches where there are individual concerns regarding the quality of provision for individual children.