Special needs

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.

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 of compulsory school age has a learning difficulty if he or she:

(a) Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or

(b) Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions, (SEN Code of Practice 2014).

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 education 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 Academy SENCO, Mrs Sophie Tillman-Harries by contacting the academy office.

Support and interventions

Some pupils benefit from extra support in one or more areas of learning and this is tracked through the use of Provision Mapping. Pupils with more complex needs will have Personal Provision Plans.  Parents will receive a letter detailing the Interventions that their child is having three times a year.

Some pupils who take part in interventions may have special educational needs and others will take part because they need to ‘catch up’ or just need some extra support in a very specific area of learning.

Pupils may go out in a small group or receive the extra support in class. Interventions are run by learning support assistants, teachers and other professionals.  These professionals may be volunteers for reading, speech and language therapists or specialist teachers.  At the end of a term, pupils’ progress is evaluated at Pupil Progress Meetings and the class teacher and SENCO decides whether a pupil needs to continue.

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.

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator

Sophie Tillman
stillman@templegroveacademy.com

Kent local offer

See link below.