Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)
What is SEND?
SEND stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. All educational settings have a duty to be accessible and inclusive for the children within their community. It is our job to support parents in providing the best possible education for children.
What is a SENDCO?
A SENDCO, or Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator, is the educational settings designated adult who is responsible for assessing, planning and monitoring the progress of children with special needs/SEN.
The SENDCo’s Job Role:
The SENDCo’s works with practitioners in the settings on the implementation of the Supporting Children with SEND policy and the SEND Code of Practice:
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For coordinating the provision across the setting
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Supporting colleagues in all aspects of their work with children with SEND
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Ensuring parents are closely worked with and their insight informs actions taken in the setting
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Liaising with professionals or agencies beyond the setting.
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Supporting transitioning onto school to ensure it is as smooth as possible
(For full details on the SENDCo job description please view the appendix in our Supporting Children with SEND policy)
Our approach.
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Each child has a key person who will help them settle into the group while building positive relationships and understanding their needs.
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We use strategies such as Makaton and visual aids to support children to communicate their needs.
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Through information gained from parents/carers, other professionals and observations we will discuss if we feel your child may require some additional support. If we believe this to be the case we will ask for your written consent to refer your child to the right agency to help with their development.
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Our SENDCo will work with the child and parents/carers to provide a ‘Play plan’ (IEP) to help everyone involved meet the needs of the child.
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These play plans are used to record and review the child’s progress on a regular basis.
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Play plan targets are sent home to parents to help with learning and progression at home.
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Interventions are implemented, ensuring staff are confident and competent in their delivery, through training and monitoring
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If your child requires medication a member of staff will be responsible for administering this with another member of staff as a witness. (More information can be found in our Health policy)
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Staff also have training regarding children who have additional needs such as: Epilepsy and Hearing Impairment (HI).
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If your child is displaying unacceptable behaviour, we will follow our Promoting Positive Behaviour Policy and work with all those involved to improve and support their behaviour.
(For more information on our approach, please see our Local Offer.)