SEND

Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) all have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children and young people of the same age. These children and young people may need extra or different help from that given to others.

Many children and young people will have SEN of some kind at some time during their education. Early years providers (for example, nurseries or childminders), mainstream schools, colleges and other organisations can help most children and young people succeed with some changes to their practice or additional support, but some children and young people will need extra help for some or all of their time in education and training. Children and young people with SEN may need extra help because of a range of needs. The 0-25 SEND Code of Practice sets out four areas of SEN where children may need support:

Communicating and interacting – for example, where children and young people have speech, language and communication difficulties which make it difficult for them to make sense of language or to understand how to communicate effectively and appropriately with others.

Cognition and learning – for example, where children and young people learn at a slower pace than others their age, have difficulty in understanding parts of the curriculum, have difficulties with organisation and memory skills, or have a specific difficulty affecting one particular part of their learning performance such as in literacy or numeracy.

Social, emotional and mental health difficulties – for example, where children and young people have difficulty in managing their relationships with other people, are 8 withdrawn, or if they behave in ways that may hinder their and other children’s learning, or that have an impact on their health and wellbeing.

Sensory and/or physical needs – for example, children and young people with visual and/or hearing impairments, or a physical need that means they must have additional ongoing support and equipment Some children and young people may have SEN that covers more than one of these areas.

How do we support SEN in our school?

NCEA Warkworth C of E Primary is a fully inclusive school which provides quality education for primary-age children of all abilities in line with the Local Offer established by Northumberland County Council to support those with additional needs across education, health and care.

In school we use a variety of different ways to assess whether a child or young person has special educational needs. Some of these ways include:

• Observations
• School based test result
• Information from parents and carers
• Information from the child or young person
• Specialised assessments carried out by members of the support services/li>
• Information from previous schools or settings
• Results from end of key stage assessments
• Discussions with adults who work with the child or young person

Once a child or young person is identified as having a special educational need, a graduated approach to support is taken. The child or young person’s needs will first be assessed, then support will be planned, carried out and then reviewed. At the review, any necessary changes will be made.

You can view our SEN and Accessibility policies on the Policy section of our website.

Monitoring SEND pupils’ progress

All pupils in school have individual targets that are regularly reviewed. This helps the school to monitor the impact of interventions that we are using within school. The progress each child is making is discussed at pupil progress meetings with the class teacher and head teacher and then we will communicate this information to parents during parents’ meetings.

Our school has an open-door policy to parents ensuring we are always approachable so parents feel involved in the education of their child. In addition, our school aims to regularly involve parents in the education of their child through a variety of different ways including:

• Regular meetings with SENCO, class teacher and support staff
• Target setting at parents’ evenings, so parents/carers can see what their child is working on next
• Regular school newsletters to inform parents of what will be going on during the term
• Facebook and Class Dojo that provides weekly updates for all parents from Nursery to Year 4
• Home reading records
• Information on the school website
• Parents’ evenings
• Class workshops/ training for parents/carers
• Parent/carer drop-ins/ themed activities and events
• Further information on parents’ groups.
• Three additional meetings with class teachers per year.

For further information on Special Educational Needs: please contact Mrs Pam Coils (SENCO) or Mr Jonathan Booth (Headteacher).

MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Positive mental health is the foundation on which each of us can live healthier lives. With good mental health we are more likely to be motivated and engaged in our learning, realise and achieve our potential, choose healthier lifestyles, engage in all the world has to offer, shout out when abuse is occurring, seek help when times are tough and recover a sense of wellbeing and achievement following traumatic experiences.

In addition to supporting our pupils, the philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff has suggested that the ultimate goal for Christian educators should be to seek ‘shalom’. ‘Shalom’ is a biblical vision of what God wants for humans and can be defined as flourishing in the enjoyment of relationships: with self, others, creation and with God. Therefore, we aim to promote positive mental health for every member of our community : including, staff, parents, pupils and governors. We pursue this aim through our Christian vision:

“For everyone to ‘motivate one another’ and become agents of change ‘through acts of love and good works’. ‘And let us not neglect meeting together’ (Hebrews 10 24-25) as our community is central to enabling everyone to thrive and achieve their God given potential.”

# We strive together as one (Philippians 1:27).

Mental Health First Aid

We now have a number of qualified Mental Health First Aiders in school to help support our pupils and staff with any concerns they may have.

This year, we’re also working towards the Mental Health and Wellbeing Awards with Leeds Beckett University (Silver Award) and the Better Health at Work (Silver Award).

Our mental health lead and wellbeing lead for pupils is : Mrs Coils 
Our mental health and well being lead for adults is : Mrs Gibson

Strategies we use in School for Pupils

Providing pupils with as many opportunities as we can to talk about their feelings through:

• Wellbeing areas in each classroom;
• Worry Monsters in classrooms;
• Mindfulness clubs;
• Yoga and relaxation activities;
• Character education and the star board;
• Mental health and wellbeing incorporated into PSHE and RSE curriculum;
• Mental health awareness weeks;
• Mental health and wellbeing leads;
• Pupil voice questionnaires;
• Mental health training offered to all staff and a mental health and wellbeing policy for everyone.

We also have a school dog, Coco, who comes into school each week and works with every class in school.

Research that has Informed our Practice

• The Church of England Education Office – ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing: Towards a Whole School Approach’
• SIAMs Inspection Framework – September 2018
• Place2Be Charity

Support and Information for Parents

NSPCC Mental Health and Suicide | Advice on recognising signs of anxiety and depression in children.

Young Minds | Support for parents

NHS Mental Health | Information on youth mental health services for parents and carers

MindEd | Free educational mental health resources

ANTI-BULLYING AND E-SAFETY

What is Bullying?

“Bullying is something that can hurt you on the inside or on the outside. It hurts you on the outside by hitting you and hurting you physically. It hurts you on the inside by name calling, or hurting your feelings.

“Bullying is done on purpose, it’s not an accident. If someone hurts you during a game by accident that is not bullying, but if every time you played a game they hurt you, or your feelings that would be bullying. It can aim to hurt a group of people or just one person and can be done by a group or just one person.

“Bullying happens more than once. The bully/bullies do it over and over and over again and they can take away your self esteem and confidence.” – Bully Busters, 2017.

We have a zero-tolerance attitude to bullying at our school. Our ultimate aim is:

• To embed our shared vision and a create a school environment where all members of the school and the community feel safe and secure.
• To ensure all pupils follow our school rules: love yourself, love each other and love the world!
• To make it clear that all forms of bullying are unacceptable at our school.
• To encourage and support pupils to report incidents of bullying, including cyber bullying.
• If an incident of bullying does arise it is dealt with as quickly and as effectively as possible, taking into consideration the needs of all parties and of our community, and, as a result, reduce the incidents of bullying.
• To support and protect victims of bullying and ensure they are listened to.
• To help and support children/young people displaying bullying behaviour to understand their own behaviour and actions.
• To embed the value of forgiveness across the curriculum in school and at home.
• To support pupils with reconciliation and making peace with themselves and others.
• To liaise with parents and other appropriate members of our community.
• To ensure all members of our community feel responsible for helping to reduce bullying.

Policies page.

What is E-Safety?

Did you know that the # on the front of our vision is there to remind us to behave online as we do in everyday life? In 2019, pupils at NCEA Warkworth Primary signed the Church of England’s Social Media Guidelines. Pupils then added the # to our Christian vision as they felt this would remind them and others that behaviour online is very important and that we must be kind, respectful and good role models, and always stay safe! If you would like to find out more, visit: https://www.churchofengland.org/terms-and-conditions/our-social-media-community-guidelines

Often referred to as ‘internet safety’, ‘online safety’ or ‘web safety’, E-safety is defined as the safe and responsible use of technology. This includes the use of the internet and also other means of communication using electronic media (eg text messages, gaming devices, email etc).

In practice, e-safety is as much about behaviour as it is electronic security. E-safety in this context is classified into three areas of risk:

• Content: being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful material;
• Contact: being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users;/li>
• Conduct: personal online behaviour that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm.

As a school we have a duty to protect and educate pupils and staff in their use of technology and have the appropriate mechanisms in place to intervene and support any incident where appropriate (Ofsted 2017). We teach pupils about e-safety at every opportunity through their computing lessons, but appreciate that outside of school hours, children can be given unsupervised access to the internet which might leave them vulnerable to harmful material.

In school we talk to pupils about being SMART and these are the rules we follow online: https://www.childnet.com/resources/be-smart-online

To support parents with maintaining safe online practices, please see our helpful tips and resources below. If you need more help with e-safety, or if you wish to report a problem, please visit the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) command website.

LGBT SUPPORT

All children and young people at Warkworth Church of England Primary School are entitled to an education which is free from discrimination and harassment, regardless of their identity. 

We aim to ensure everyone associated with our school will experience life in all its fullness, as promised by Jesus, doing so with Love, Peace and Courage. Our purpose in education is to enable the children, families, staff, governors and the wider community we serve to flourish. The Christian values of Love, Peace and Courage are at the core of teaching and culture within the school and, as a key part of this, the school challenges hate-based prejudice strongly.

In line with the school’s Christian vision, values and ethos, and with particular regards to guidance from the Church of England Education Office, ‘Valuing All God’s Children’, as well as the Equality Act 2010, and all relevant guidance from the Northumberland Church of England Academy and relevant statutory advice, the school unequivocally supports endeavours to improve the status of people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Queer (LGBTQ+). 

As part of this, the school aims to create and foster a learning environment which is free from harassment and discrimination, regardless of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or gender expression. The school’s Antibullying Policy ensures that such issues are logged and dealt with appropriately. 

Any families who feel that they are affected by these matters are encouraged to speak to school staff at the earliest possible opportunity so that we can work together to help in whichever way we can.