Miss Akrigg is the SENDCo (Special Education Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator) at Kildwick CE VC Primary School. Miss Akrigg is the Class Teacher in Class One and assistant head teacher in addition to her SENDCo role. She took up role of SENDCo in September 2016. Appointments can be made to see Miss Akrigg to discuss any SEND issues or concerns you may have. As SENDCo Miss Akrigg coordinates the support of children with SEND. She works closely with parents and external agencies. She can be contacted on [email protected]. The SEND governor at Kildwick is Anna Fisher and her email is [email protected]
What are Special Educational Needs or Disabilities?
The term 'Special Educational Needs' (SEN) has a legal definition, referring to children who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn or access education than most children of the same age. At Kildwick school we appreciate that some children may have different or additional needs to others and may need extra support to access the curriculum. All teachers in school adapt the curriculum and environment with the aim of meeting all the children’s needs.
Children who have Special Educational Needs, may need extra help in a range of areas, including
- reading, writing, number work or understanding information
- expressing themselves or understanding what others are saying
- social skills including making friends or relating to adults
- Understanding emotions and support to regulate
- organising themselves and their belongings
- sensory or physical needs which may affect them in school
- Medical needs
How will you know if your child has Special Educational Needs?
- Your child's class teacher will arrange to discuss their thoughts with you if we feel your child needs to receive some extra, or different support. You will then be invited to meet with Miss Akrigg and your child's class teacher to discuss a way forward for your child. The level of extra help is known as SEN Support. This could include:
- adapted teaching strategies
- extra support from an adult
- using particular equipment
- Small group work for targeted intervention
- If we feel that your child has additional needs that requires external support we will always seek your consent before we make a referral to gain specialist advice or support to help us meet your child's needs. This could include a specialist teacher, Educational Psychologist or a speech and language therapist. You will always be informed by your child's Class Teacher and/or Miss Akrigg of the outcomes and recommendations of any referrals made.
How do we meet the needs of SEND children?
If we feel that your child has additional needs we will devise Pupil Overview of Provision (POP) which will outline what we feel they need in place to help them progress through the education system. This may be provision within school and/or through external agencies. The POP will give specific targets and outline how children are being supported. Your child's class teacher will invite you in every term to review your child's progress and look at the planned provision for each term.
If your child's needs continue to create a barrier to their learning and development and we feel we need additional support in school order to deliver the required provision it may be necessary to apply for an Educational Health Care Plan (previously known as statements).
It is important to note that children with SEND may require support on a short term basis or for many years. The needs of each individual child will be different.
At Kildwick CE School we firmly believe that all children make progress in different ways and at different speeds. Teachers take this into account and work hard to consider children's strengths, different learning styles and abilities. This means that children may have different levels of support. If your child is making slower progress it does not automatically mean that they have SEND.
