Special Educational Needs

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Temple Grove Academy is dedicated to being an Inclusive academy with the aim of ensuring that all children achieve their potential. Some children have special educational needs or disabilities (SEN/D) and the academy is committed in providing appropriate support for all children to ensure that they make good progress. Temple Grove Academy is committed to:

Catering for every pupil’s learning needs
Providing a fully inclusive community of which every pupil is an important part
Celebrating diversity and differences
Building our pupils’ self-esteem and recognising their achievements at every level
Working closely together with parents of pupils with SEN/D
Identifying SEN/D early and putting appropriate support in place
Training our staff so that they can help children learn in the way that suits them best.

Temple Grove Academy is dedicated to being an Inclusive academy with the aim of ensuring that all children achieve their potential.

Rebekah Leeves, Head Teacher and SENCo

Some children have special educational needs and the school is committed in providing appropriate support for all children to ensure that they make good progress.

Temple Grove Academy is committed to:

Catering for every pupil’s learning needs
Providing a fully inclusive community of which every pupil is an important part
Celebrating diversity and differences
Building our pupils’ self-esteem and recognising their achievements at every level
Working closely together with parents of pupils with SEN/D
Identifying SEN/D early and putting appropriate support in place
Training our staff so that they can help children learn in the way that suits them best.

Definition Of SEN/D

A child has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

A child has a learning difficulty if they:

have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age
have a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities in mainstream schools

There are four broad areas giving an overview of the range of needs that we plan for. The broad areas of need fall under:

Communication and Interaction
Cognition and Learning
Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
Sensory and/or Physical Needs

What Do I Do If I Think My Child May Have Special Educational Needs?

If you have any concerns about your child, first of all talk to your child’s class teacher. We value information from our parents about their child, as this helps us to plan to meet the needs of your child better. Alternatively, you can contact the SEND Management Team, by contacting the school office.

Support For Pupils

Temple Grove Academy is working towards offering a range of support for pupils based on their individual learning needs:

Universal Level – Personalised Quality First Teaching In Every Lesson

Support given at the universal level is a whole school response to pupil needs and takes place in all lessons. This may be the use of particular strategies that are available to everyone in the class such as word mats and differentiated or scaffolded lessons.

Targeted Level – Additional Support

Targeted support is for individuals or small groups for a short term, usually around six weeks. The support may be ongoing dependent on the needs of the learner. These interventions can include small group or 1-1 English or maths support, social communication skills and specialist motor development activities. They may also involve teaching pupils how to use specific equipment within the classroom independently such as laptops, task management boards or visual cues. Some pupils who take part in these interventions may have special educational needs, whilst others may take part because they need to ‘catch up’ or need some extra support in a specific area of learning.

Personalised Level – Specific Needs

These interventions are provided for individual learners with more specific and unique needs. These may include additional support from external services such as Speech and Language Therapy Service, Specialist Teaching Service or Child and Young Person Mental Health Service.

Interventions are usually run by Teaching Assistants who receive specific training although other professionals may also be involved.

Planning And Reviewing

Provision is tracked through our online tracking tool, Insight. Pupils with SEND also have a Personal Learning Plan. SMART targets are used to evaluated progress termly at pupil progress meetings, where the class teacher and inclusion team decide whether a pupil needs to continue with their intervention. Interventions may be continued if they are having a positive effect or discontinued if the pupil has made sufficient progress for their needs to be met at a universal level. Interventions will also be discontinued if they are unsuccessful and alternative support put in place.

Child Centred Approach

The SEND Code of Practice (September 2015) aims to put pupils and parents at the heart of provision. Pupils who have been identified as having SEND will meet with a member of the inclusion team three times a year to review their social and learning needs and plan for their next steps. Parents will also be invited to review current interventions that their child is receiving and discuss any additional support their child may need.

Support for parents:

Information Advice Support Kent (IASK) provides information about Kent County Council’s local drop-ins, a range of information leaflets and other links to websites. They can also provide impartial advice and support for parents who are applying for an Education Health Care Plan for their child.