Special Educational Needs

Communication and interaction needs

Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in 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 for 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 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.

Cognition and learning needs

Support for learning difficulties may be required when children 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) and severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication. Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.

Social, emotional and mental health needs

Children 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 These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour.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, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder.

Sensory and/or physical needs

Some children 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 with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or habilitation support. Children with an MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties. Some children with a physical disability (PD) require additional ongoing support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.

If you have any concerns about your child’s progress you should first talk to your child’s class teacher. The teacher spends the most time with your child each day and will have the most knowledge and information about their learning needs.

Working together with your child’s class teacher will often help to sort out worries and problems. The closer you work with your child’s teacher, the more successful and helpful it can be. If your child has a different teacher for a certain subject, e.g. maths or literacy, it is also helpful to inform those teachers of any concerns you may have in relation to those subjects.

In our school we have an SEN Co-ordinator (SENCo), who is responsible for co-ordinating support for children with special educational needs. The SENCo is Mrs Zayla Beecham and she can be contacted at zbeecham@ls.hmfa.org.uk or by calling the main office and leaving a message. Mrs Beecham is our Federation SENCo so often visits the other HMFA schools, however she will respond to any messages as soon as she is able to. We also have an Assistant SENCo, Mrs Kate Higgins, who supports Mrs Beecham’s role in a variety of ways – she can be contacted at khiggins@ls.hmfa.org.uk. Mrs Beecham and Mrs Higgins work very closely together so Mrs Higgins may respond to messages from parents in Mrs Beecham’s absence.

In addition to the SEN Team we also have a Pastoral and Safeguarding Team which is led by Mrs Jan McColl, our Pastoral and Safeguarding Manager. Although all staff members have a responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children in our care, Mrs McColl has the overall responsibility in this area. There are several other members of staff in the pastoral team: Mrs Ryder (Family Support Worker) &  Mrs Millikin (Learning Mentor). The Pastoral and Safeguarding Team support and motivate children who are experiencing any barrier to learning including poor social skills, difficulties with friendships, poor attendance, low self-esteem, difficult family circumstances and bereavement to name a few. They have many contacts with a range of agencies and they can offer signposting, guidance and support for children and families on a wide range of issues and difficulties. These issues and difficulties may include questions and concerns around parenting, behaviour, separation or divorce, domestic violence and more. See the Safeguarding Information on this website.