Children are identified as having special educational needs/disability (SEND) through a variety of ways including the following:

We know pupils need help if:

• Concerns are raised by parents/carers, teachers or the child.

• Limited progress is being made.

• Concerns are raised by the teacher, for example if your child is making poor progress despite interventions of support or there is a change in the pupil’s behaviour or self-esteem 

• Use of checklists and assessments to identify areas of learning or emotional wellbeing that are in need of support.

• Liaison with external agencies e.g. Integrated Services for Learning, Speech, Language, Communication and Autism Team etc.

• Health diagnosis through a paediatrician.

• Liaison with previous school or setting, if applicable.

Where a pupil’s progress is significantly slower than that of their peers, or fails to match their previous rate of progress, despite high quality teaching targeted at specific areas of difficulty, it may be that a child has SEND. 

Rachel Matthew (School SENDCO) and/or your child's class teacher will arrange a meeting with you, if they believe your child may have a Special Educational Need.

If you have concerns regarding your child’s progress or well-being then please speak to your child’s class teacher and/or

• SENDCO lead Rachel Matthew

• Head teacher- Miss Cooper

Contact can be made via the school office;

by telephone 01442 823551 or

by email: admin@goldfield.herts.sch.uk

When children join the Nursery or Reception class, they are assessed in each area of learning. Throughout their time with us, we will continue to monitor and discuss your child’s progress with you.  If a parent has a concern, this should first be discussed with the class teacher.  If the class teacher has a concern, this will be discussed with the parent.  The next step will be agreed together. 

Each pupil’s education will be planned by the class teacher.  It will be adjusted accordingly to suit the pupil’s individual needs.  This will include:

• additional general support by the teacher or teaching assistant in class;

• work being given at the right level for your child with the right resources to help them

• If a pupil has needs related to more specific areas of their education, such as spelling, handwriting, numeracy or literacy skills etc. then the pupil will be placed in a small focus group.  This will be run by the teacher or teaching assistant.  The length of time of the intervention will vary according to need.  It will be regularly reviewed by all involved to ascertain the effectiveness of the provision and to inform future planning.  These interventions will be recorded on the class provision map.  If you have any queries related to the interventions, please do not hesitate to contact the class teacher.

• Some children may require individual adult support for some or all of the school day.

• Some children may require specialised equipment or technology to support their learning.

• Class teachers will, in consultation with you and your child, assess your child’s needs, plan for support and ensure this is carried out.  The teacher will then, with you and your child, review the progress made and if required implement further interventions.  This cycle of ‘assess, plan, do and review’ will continue until the cause for concern is no longer a worry or, if necessary, it may be agreed that your child may benefit from more expert support from an outside agency such as the Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language team etc.  With your consent, a referral will be made and forwarded to the most appropriate agency.  After a series of assessments, a programme of support is usually provided to the school and parents/carers.

• Our governing body has a responsibility to monitor the school’s provision for children with special needs. The nominated SEND governor regularly meets with the headteacher and/or the SENDCO to review the impact that our interventions are having.

• All parents are actively encouraged to contribute to their child’s education.  This may be through:

• Discussions with the class teacher.

• During parents evenings.

• During discussion with other professionals.

• For children with special needs, parents are strongly encouraged to be highly involved in agreeing and reviewing the targets for their children and will be invited into school at least termly to discuss their child's individual plan, alongside their child. 

• You will be able to discuss your child’s progress at Parent’s Evenings twice a year.

• Once a year you shall receive a report outlining your child’s progress and achievements.

• Your child’s class teacher will be available at the end of each day if you wish to raise a concern.  Appointments can be made to speak in more detail to the class teacher by visiting the school office.

• Parents of children who have a ‘My Individual Targets (MITS)’ will have additional meetings at least once per term to discuss progress made and set new targets, pupils will also be invited to these meetings.

All children at Goldfield, whatever their ability, are taught at a level that is both challenging and realistic for each individual child. Children with special educational needs are supported while our higher attainers are given more demanding work. Generally, this takes place within the usual working environment and children are not segregated according to needs.

However:

When concerns are raised about a pupil’s progress a four stage process: Assess, Plan, Do and Review will be adopted to give further identified support and assistance. 

• Assess: the pupils needs taking in all information from parent, class teachers and assessments;

• Plan: identifies the barriers to learning and plans the learning

• Do: provide the support;

• Review: Measure the impact of the support and consider whether changes need to be made. All involved contribute-the learner (using pupil voice), parents/carers, teacher, and if necessary the SENDCO will decide on the next steps.

Once a child has been identified as having special needs and advice and support from other professionals has been received, their work will, if necessary, be further adjusted by the class teacher to enable the child to access the curriculum more easily. 

Teaching Assistants (TAs) or Learning Support Assistants (LSA's) may be allocated to work with the pupil on a 1:1 or small focus group to target more specific needs.

If appropriate, specialist equipment may be given to the pupil e.g. writing slopes, concentration cushions or pen/pencil grips, or specialist provision may be made e.g. consideration of: their seating position, ability to copy from the board, length of time concentration is required or, pre-teaching vocabulary.

We place great value on the all round development of each individual child and we recognise that we need to encourage in the children such skills as assertiveness, resilience, co-operation, tolerance and empathy.  We seek to develop these qualities in our children, encouraging them to be good citizens through a variety of approaches, including:

• Circle time,

• PSHE and Relationships Education,

• Assemblies,

• Values based curriculum.

At Goldfield, we teach 'The Zones of Regulation' programme to support pupils in understanding their emotions and to develop self-regulation strategies.

Our policies including teaching and learning, behaviour, anti bullying, equal opportunities, race relations, children looked after, supporting children with medical conditions and special educational needs all contribute to a climate where all children feel happy, successful and valued.

In addition, Goldfield School offers a variety of additional support and methods to provide pastoral support for pupils experiencing emotional difficulties, including:

• Social skills/friendship groups to meet specific needs, 

• A lunchtime club, offering a quiet and calm provision,

• 1:1 well being sessions with Mrs Sladden

• 'Individual or group support from Dacorum Education Support Centre (DESC).

For further information about how we support the emotional wellbeing of pupils at Goldfield please look at the 'wellbeing' section of the website.

Pupils with medical needs are very well supported:

• Staff receive annual anaphylaxis, epilepsy and asthma training. 

• All staff have basic first aid training.

• Depending on an individual’s needs, appropriate training is carried out by staff involved with that particular child

For further information about how we support children with medical conditions, please ask for a copy of our 'Supporting Children with Medical Conditions' policy from the school office.

• Regular review of every child's progress

• School staff carry out assessments with any child who requires intervention support, this gives us a baseline to assess the impact of the provision put in place.  This enables us to know whether to continue with the intervention or to try a different approach

At Goldfield, we also highly value the feedback from parents and pupils of the effectiveness of what we do for their children.  We gain your views in a variety of ways:

• Parent and pupil views are gathered as SEND plans are reviewed

• Parent questionnaire

• Pupil questionnaire

The school endeavours to be self-critical and look for areas to develop for the well-being of our pupils.  To do this, we evaluate every area of our practice at least annually and in many cases more frequently than this e.g pupil progress, our curriculum, lessons, intervention records, support plans, our environment, records of incidents and provision mapping.

Following consultation with parents it may be agreed that gaining the expertise of different professionals from outside of the school, may be helpful.  Here are some of our partners:

• Specialist Advisory Teachers for Speech Language Communication and Autism (SLCA)

• Child Protection School Liaison Officer

• Educational Psychologist

• CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service), including Step 2

• AIO (Attendance Improvement Officer)

• Children's Services

• Speech and Language Therapy

• Occupational Therapy

• School Nurse

• Family Support Worker

• Family Centres

• Special School Outreach Teachers

• DESC (Dacorum Education Support Centre)

• Physiotherapists

• Physical or Neurological Impairment Specialist Teachers

• Deaf and Hearing Support Service

• Visual impairment Team

• On occasions, it may be helpful for parents to gain additional support directly from other professionals.  This may include:

• The child’s GP. 

Different members of staff have received training relating to SEND.  These have included sessions on:

• How to support pupils on the autistic spectrum.

• How to support pupils with social and emotional needs.

• How to support pupils with speech and language difficulties.

• How to support pupils with ADHD.

• How to support pupils with dyslexia and other Specific Learning Difficulties.

• How to support children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACE's).

• Mental Health Level 1 Training.

• Asthma

• The class teacher may suggest ways of how you can support your child.

• Parent training courses are advertised in our school newsletter and on the school website.

• Teaching staff provide 'Welcome to Year _' presentations that direct you in the support you can offer through home learning in reading, writing, maths and social development.

• Parents of children joining Goldfield in Reception, are invited to attend a transition meeting and 'Stay and Play' sessions at the start of the new academic year.

• Regular parent review meetings.

• If your child has a support plan, at the termly meetings with parents and carers about these plans, there is an opportunity to discuss specific ways to support your child's learning at home.

   

• Activities and school trips are available to all.                   

• Risk assessments are carried out and procedures are put in place to enable all children to participate.

• However, if it is deemed that an intensive level of 1:1 support is required, a parent or carer may be asked to accompany their child during the activity.

As a school, we are happy to discuss individual access requirements.  Facilities we have at present include:

• Ramps into school to make the buildings accessible to all.

• A toilet by the office adapted for users with disabilities.

• Step-ups to toilet seats in nursery and reception.

For further information, please read the accessibility policy and plan.

If you wish to discuss your child’s educational needs or are unhappy about something regarding your child’s schooling, please contact the school office to arrange a meeting with the class teacher.  Following this, a meeting can be arranged with the SENDCO lead -Rachel Matthew.

To arrange an appointment please contact the school office:  01442 823551

or email on: admin@goldfield.herts.sch.uk

The schools complaints procedure can be accessed on our policy page.

For further support you can also contact an impartial Special Educational Needs and Disability Information and Advice Support Service (SENDIASS) here. 

Many strategies are in place to enable the pupil’s transition to be as smooth as possible.  These include:

• Discussions between the previous or receiving nurseries/schools prior to the pupil joining/leaving.

• Children attend a transition session in July where they spend time with their new class teacher.  

• Additional visits and/or meetings are also arranged for pupils who need extra time in their new school.

• Transition support groups with Rachel Matthew, our SENDCO.

• Junior school staff visit pupils prior to them joining their new school.

• Our school SENDCO liaises with schools to pass on information regarding SEND pupils.

• Where a pupil may have more specialised needs, a separate meeting may be arranged with the school.

The SEND budget is allocated each financial year.  The money is used to provide additional support or resources dependant on an individual’s needs.

These decisions are made in consultation with the parents, child, the class teacher and Senior Leadership Team. 

Decisions are based upon termly tracking of pupil progress and as a result of assessments by outside agencies.

During their school life, if further concerns are identified due to the pupil’s lack of progress or well-being, then other interventions will be arranged.  Some children may need short term intervention or longer learning support.

Support may be enhanced through:

• HNF or LNF (Higher Needs Funding or Local Needs Funding) which can provide resources, specialist equipment and/or teaching assistant support.

• Some children with SEN may receive Pupil Premium Grant (PPG).

• Some children may have a Team around the Family (TAF) or Families First plan to support them.

• Some children may have outcomes as part of an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

The school attends termly cluster meetings for SENDCOs where information is shared and some training is given.

The school office returns data about children with SEN to the local authority through the annual school census, which informs the authority and enables local strategic planning of SEN Support and produce information for the National SEN report.

The school receives and shares information provided by Dacorum Special Provision Locally panel and the Dacorum Extended Schools unit including the Family Support Workers.

Please click here to view the Local Authority’s High Quality SEND Statement.