SEND Provision at Chantry

Overview

Chantry Primary Academy believes in including all members of the school community regardless of whether they have a disability or barrier to their learning. Chantry has an excellent reputation for providing a secure and safe environment where all children are able to learn according to their ability and for this reason, is extremely popular with parents. Children are given every opportunity to participate in all aspects of school life and are encouraged to take part in extra-curricular clubs, residential trips and all sporting activities wherever possible.

All children may at some time have special needs, including able pupils. Whenever possible these needs are catered for by the child's class teacher, with support from the Inclusion Team staff, led by the Inclusion Manager as needed.

If teachers become concerned about the progress being made by your child, they will discuss this with you and draw up an Individual Education Plan to help address your child’s needs.  Regular reviews help everybody to stay informed about progress and staff are on hand to discuss any concerns.

It can be important that specialists, such as Educational Psychologists, are brought in to help to identify exactly what the nature of a child’s difficulty is.  This helps teachers to adapt methods or resources to match children’s needs. This is always discussed with parents. 

What is a Special Educational Need?

A child has a special educational need if he or she has a learning difficulty that calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

A child has a learning difficulty if he or she:

1. a) Has a significantly greater difficulty than the majority of children of the same age or
2. b) Has a disability that prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the Local Authority
3. c) Are under compulsory school age and fall within the definition above or would do so if the special educational provision was not made for them.

Class teachers and the Inclusion Team keep parents informed at all times about the needs of their child and how these are being addressed in school. Parents will receive information about meetings concerning their child, any input from outside agencies, observations etc. Parents will be invited to contribute to the Individual Education Plan for their child which is reviewed termly by the class teacher and parents at Parents Evening.

Parents whose child has an EHCP will be invited to attend and contribute to their child's Annual Review which is held annually. Interim reviews can be held earlier if thought appropriate.

The Inclusion Team liaises with schools when receiving or transferring children with SEND and transition arrangements can be put in place if necessary.

Specialist Resources

The Inclusion Team are able to provide children with SEND with a variety of resources to help them with their learning ranging from specialist pencils to help with their writing grip, to specialist literacy resources to specialist writing slopes and footrests to help with posture.

Specialist Staff

We are very fortunate at Chantry to have a wealth of expertise and knowledge among the staff in the inclusion team.  The team consists of:

Mrs Bordiak – Inclusion Manager

Mrs Ruffett - Inclusion Assistant

Mrs Hammond – SEN Learning Supervisor/Autism Advocate (currently on maternity leave)

Mrs Collins - Autism Advocate

Mr Bateman – Therapeutic Music Instructor 

Mrs Gendi - SEN Teaching Assistant

As part of Chantry's 'open door policy', members of the Inclusion Team will always be available to meet with parents regarding any queries or concerns they may have about their child, this can be arranged through the school office.