Special Educational Needs
Miss Emma Stanley - SEND Co-ordinator/Inclusion Leader
We aim to include and immerse children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in all aspects of school life as well as valuing their individual needs, working with parents and outside agency professionals
At Downs View, we aim to support all of our children to enable them to achieve their best at school. In order to do this, many steps are taken to support them on their learning journey. Quality teaching is vital; however for some children further additional support may be needed to meet their individual needs and targets within a fully inclusive environment.
SEND Policy SEND Information Report
It is our policy to meet the needs of all children and remove barriers to learning in order for children to achieve their personal best and become a confident learner. These barriers may relate to cognitive learning difficulties, communication and interaction needs, social and emotional development and sensory or physical impairments.
SEN Support in School
Children with an Educational Health Care Plan and those children in receipt of High Needs Funding will have a Personal Provision Plan (PPP), which specifies end of key stage outcomes.
SEN support children will also have SEN outcomes and SMART targets that directly link to the end of key stage outcomes. The continued support and interventions the particular pupil receives will be present on the class provision map and will be reviewed with the parents at least three times a year.
Pupils with medical needs
If a pupil has a medical need they will have a specific Care Plan which is completed in consultation with parent/carers.
The plan is discussed with all staff who are involved with the pupil. All relevant staff receive regular Auto-injector asthma, epilepsy and diabetic training delivered by the school/nursing team. When necessary, and in agreement with parents/carers, medicines are administrated in school if a pupil has a specific or long term identified medical need, but only with signed parental consent and with medicines in the original packages.
Speech and Language
Language Link
Downs View use a language and speech programme called Language Link with some of your children at school.
Below is a link to this website for Parents to use and access some excellent games (some virtual games too) and activities to develop speech and language skills for children as recommended by Speech and Language therapists.
This information and games /activities would be good for any Parent not just those with speech or language difficulties.
Please click here to access the website.
Some of our children have personalised speech and language targets which are set by the Ashford Speech and Language Team at the Rainbow Centre.
Speech and language therapists visit our children to review their targets and set new ones. Our speech and language specialist works across the school to provide 1:1 support and group sessions that link directly to these targets.
There are other children in our school who also receive speech and language support. They may have been identified by their class teacher. Their support might be linked directly to speech articulation, as well as activities to develop language skills such as prepositions, pronouns, verb tenses, following instructions and questioning.
Language Enrichment
Language enrichment groups give the children an opportunity to follow simple instructions and respond to questions by using full sentences.
Stories and puppets are used to inspire the children and support their language development.
This is also part of the EYFS daily practice as practitioners support the children in developing their construction of sentences and exposure to language in child initiated sessions.
Accessibility
Our accessibility plan outlines details of how we integrate all children with a disability, ensuring that they have physical access across the school if required and access to a fully inclusive curriculum. Please read Down View's accessibility plan for more details. We are a one floor school with ramps in place for outside access to the school, if required. There are a minimal amount of steps.
Please see the school SEND Policy for additional information.
Admissions:
Please follow Kent's admissions policy when applying for a place. If your child has an EHCP, you must contact Kent County Council's admission team who will support you with the process and contact schools on your behalf.
If you wish to find out more about SEN-D at Downs View, please contact our SENDCo/Inclusion Leader:
Miss Emma Stanley by phone or via email.
The Kent SEND Local Offer
The Kent SEND Local Offer tells you what support is available for children and young people with special educational needs and /or disabilities, and their families. It includes information about education, health and care provision.
You can find the SEND Local Offer for KCC at:
www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs
Does your child have a Special Need and/or a disability?
The Integrated Inclusion Ashford District have recently updated their website to support schools and Parents with advice, training/webinars, community events etc across a range of areas. There is a whole section for Parents too.
The Integrated Inclusion website is managed by the Specialist Teaching and Learning Service.
Our school works to support speech, language and communication with support from our NHS link speech & language therapist, Eve Cryer as well as specialist teachers. The SENCo, Miss Stanley, will have regular meetings with Eve Cryer to discuss our school’s provision.
If you have any concerns about your child’s speech, language or communication skills, please speak to your child’s class teacher in the first instance.
If we have discussed a specific concern with you about your child’s speech, language or communication, or you have raised a concern, we will decide together whether to discuss this with our link therapist. You will be kept informed of any plans to support your child.
