Special Educational Needs
At High Beeches Primary School we value the abilities and achievements of all our pupils, and are committed to providing the best possible environment for learning for each pupil. We aim to develop a culture of inclusion and diversity in which all those connected to the school feel proud of their identity and able to participate fully in school life.
High Beeches School believes that each pupil has individual and unique needs. However, some pupils require more support than others to achieve their full potential. We acknowledge that a significant proportion of pupils will have special educational needs at some time in their school career. Many of these pupils may require help throughout their time in school, while others may need a little extra support for a short period to help them overcome more temporary needs. We use a variety of different interventions to support the needs of all of our pupils. These interventions are regularly reviewed to ensure the best possible outcomes for the children they are supporting.
From the 1st September 2014 the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0-25 years came into force, replacing the 2001 SEN Code of Practice. We have put together detailed information about our arrangements for identifying, assessing and making provision for pupils with SEN in our SEN Information Report and SEND Policy.
If you have any questions about our provision, please contact our SENCo Mrs Burley via the school office.
What are Special Educational Needs?
Under the Code of Practice 2014, a child is deemed to have Special Educational Needs, or SEN, if he or she has ‘significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age’, or his or her disability ‘prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in a mainstream school’. Special educational provision is needed for him or her, over and above that which can be met through good quality classroom teaching and differentiation.
Broad areas of need are identified as communication and interaction; cognition and learning; social, emotional and mental health difficulties and sensory and/or physical needs. They may be for a short period or throughout a child’s educational life. They may be identified before a child has even entered school or they may come to be recognised at a specific point in their education.
Support groups and information for parents
A summary of services available locally to parents of children with additional needs can be found by following the link above. Further information can be found below and in the parent/carer hub and Mental Health & Wellbeing sections of the school’s website (on the 'Parents' tab).
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
Rsponsible for health services delivered locally.
Children and Young People's Therapies Advice Line
For parents, carers and professionals who may have a concern about a child or young person and wish to discuss a potential referral to either Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy or Speech & Language Therapy 01992 823093.
Hertfordshire’s SEND Local Offer
The Local Offer sets out the information, support, services and activities that are available in the local area for families, children and young people aged 0-25 with SEND. Here is a selection of different pages that may be useful:
Services for parents, carers and families (hertfordshire.gov.uk) From this page you can find all the different types of support that parents and carers of children and young people with SEND might be able to access, including information on support groups, mental health, parenting courses and how to access services such as SENDIASS
Getting help at school from your SENCO (hertfordshire.gov.uk) This page explains what the role of a SENCO is, and how parents and SENCOs can work together to achieve the best results for a pupil. It may help you to work with a parent and set out for them what to expect and how to ensure things run smoothly.
If your child is too anxious to go to school (hertfordshire.gov.uk) This page is designed to help parents whose children’s attendance is low due to anxiety, and has advice on how to support them and where to go for help.
Contact a SEND service (hertfordshire.gov.uk) This page has contact details of the different SEND services, including details of Advice Line for EPs, the SLCA team, the SpLD team and others
New to SEND (hertfordshire.gov.uk) This page has information and advice for those whose children have just been diagnosed with SEND, or have suspected SEND.
Delivering Special Provision Locally (DSPL7)
DSPL is a Hertfordshire-wide partnership approach where parents, carers, staff in early years settings and schools, further education colleges, local authority officers and representatives from other agencies, work together as part of an Area Group, to ensure that there is a range of provision and support services available in their local community.
ADD-vance was set up in Hertfordshire in 1996. They provide training, advice and support for the families of children affected by ADHD and/or Autism and the professionals involved in their care.
If your child has additional needs you can register them on the Hertfordshire Additional Needs Database (HAND). This is a free service and you will be issued with a membership card. This card can be used in getting assistance in many situations. You will also receive a termly newsletter.
You can join HAND online or call 01992 556984.
Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS)
The Information Advice and Support Service provide a free, confidential and impartial service to parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and to children and young people (up to 25 years) with SEND.
The HUBs offers information and support to any parent or carer of a child aged 0-19 with any disability or additional need living in Hertfordshire.
Space is a Hertfordshire based charity supporting parent/carers of children and young people on the Autistic Spectrum, with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or a related condition.