SEND
Our Inclusion Leader in both settings is Mrs Kerry Davies. To contact our inclusion team, please email office@heathfields.fierte.org or office@wilnecote.fierte.org
Special Education Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCo) is:
Heathfields Infant Academy : Mrs Lisa Kinson
Wilnecote Junior Academy: Miss Chloe Stodd
Mrs D Throughgood is also a member of our inclusion team and co-ordinated the mental health and well-being provision that we provide for our children.
In our schools, we believe in providing pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the needs of all learners. In order to achieve this, many steps are taken to support our pupils through their learning journey. Quality teaching is vital. However, for some children there are occasions when further additional support may be needed to help them achieve their targets. Our schools are inclusive, with the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities being met in a mainstream setting where possible.
The four broad ‘areas of need’ are defined as:
Communication and Interaction, Cognition and Learning, Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties, and Sensory and Physical Needs.
If your child has an EHCP and wishes to attend our school, we will follow the Staffordshire County Council guidance for SEND admissions. If you would like further information, please visit the Staffordshire website on https://www.staffordshirecares.info/send-reforms/Home.aspx
Sensory and/or physical need
This includes:
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Visual Impairment (VI)
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Hearing Impairment (HI)
- Physical Disability (PD)
The SEND Code of Practice:0-25 Years - January 2015 (6.34 and 6.35) states that:
"Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or multisensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning. Children and young people with MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties. Information on how to provide services for deaf and blind children and young people is available through the Social Care for Deaf/Blind Children and Adults guidance published by the Department of Health. Some children and young people with a physical disability (PD) require additional ongoing support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)
This is defined in the SEND Code of Practice:0-25 Years - January 2015 (6.32) as:
Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder.
Cognition and Learning
Learning Difficulties is discussed within the Cognition and Learning section of the SEND Code of Practice: 0-25 - January 2015 (6.30 and 6.31):
"Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment. Specific learning difficulties (SpLD) affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia."
Communication and Interaction
This may have support from a speech and language therapist (SLT). The SEND Code of Practice: 0-25 - January 2015 (6.28 and 6.29) states that:
Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them, or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile of every child with SLCN is different, and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives.
Children and young people with [Autistic Spectrum Disorders] ASD, including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.
Videos to support children at home
Understanding behaviour: the iceberg model
An iceberg is a way of thinking about what unmet physical or emotional needs could cause behaviours that challenge. Use the iceberg model to consider what may be triggering your child’s behaviour to improve their, and your, quality of life.
Emotional needs: autonomy
Advice on the need for autonomy – the capacity to decide for ourselves. As your child grows, encouraging their ability to make free, healthy, autonomous choices is key to their psychological and emotional development. This can also help ease some parenting stress levels.
Emotional needs: relatedness
Our natural need to feel connected to those around us and establish close bonds is the emotional need for relatedness. Use the model of the four Ss – safe, seen, soothed, and secure – to help ensure that your child feels connected to their family and maintains secure and strong relationships.
Emotional needs: competence
Nurturing the feeling of competence in our children, where they have opportunities to match their skill levels to activities and tasks that are important, leads to psychological growth, wellbeing and improves their quality of life.
Family conflict
The drama triangle can be used to think about how parents tend to take up typical patterns of behaviour when confronted with challenging situations – the victim, the rescuer and the persecutor – and how we can break free of them.
Mental Health Newsletter
Heathfields Infant and Wilnecote Junior Academies Parent Portal - Newsletters (fierte.org)