Our Assistant Head Teacher for Inclusion and SENDCo is Mrs Sarah Freuchen.
Supporting children with additional needs is a very important aspect of Shepherd Primary School. We are an inclusive school and children of all abilities and needs have access to the National Curriculum and the wider opportunities offered by the school and extended school community. In order to support all children at our school, additional support is given where necessary to enable barriers of learning to be removed and enable children to experience the wide and balanced curriculum offered at Shepherd Primary.
It is through teacher observations, parental conversations and assessments, and with the school working with the parent and any external agencies involved, that additional support plans are devised. This might be a more personalised curriculum or timetable, individual interventions and targets, group interventions and will cover the areas of cognitive and learning, communication and interaction, speech and language and communication needs, social, emotional and mental health, physical development, hearing and vision. Plans written are reviewed on a termly basis although informal discussions can take place at any time. We welcome parents to discuss their child’s progress at any time and as a result the school will take appropriate action.
Staff attend SEND courses on a regular basis, so developing their skills in the meeting the needs of the children.
External agencies are involved with children who have more complex needs and the school and parents can request help and support from these. Parents are involved throughout the process. Advice and targets set are supported at school and home and then reviewed as and when required.
Early Years SEND Advisory Teachers
Cognitive and Learning support through Colnbrook outreach
Speech and Language Therapist
Social and Communication Team
Physical and Neurological Impairment Team
Specific Learning Difficulties Team
Behaviour support through Chessbrook outreach
Focussed behaviour support at Chessbrook or the Acorn Centre
English as an Additional Language (EAL)
At Shepherd Primary School the teaching and learning, achievements, attitudes and well-being of all our children are important. We encourage all our children to achieve the highest possible standards. We do this through taking account of each child’s life experiences and needs.
A number of our children may have particular learning and assessment requirements, which are linked to their progress in learning English as an additional language.
Children who are learning English as an additional language have skills and knowledge about language similar to monolingual English-speaking children. Their ability to participate in the full curriculum may be in advance of their communicative skills in English.
We have provision set up for when a child with English as an additional language arrives at our school. Parents of the children are invited to an informal meeting where further information is gathered concerning language ability, previous education and culture requirements. Interpreters will be used if necessary/possible. Information gathered can then be used to support learning and teaching within the class. The appropriate forms are attached. There are resources which class teachers and Teaching Assistants can use to work with children for whom English is an additional language. Support from County advisers can be sought if necessary.
Most Able & Talented
Shepherd Primary School recognises that all of its children are unique individuals at varying stages of readiness and ability but each with their own individual potential. The school aims to ensure that every child fulfils their potential in a caring and supportive environment where each individual is valued.
We aim to serve the diverse and different educational needs of all of our children by providing an appropriate match between the curriculum, the content and the individual learning characteristics of the pupil. Provision may vary, and we acknowledge that qualitative differentiation occur, to ensure equal access is maintained.
Ongoing assessment of individual performance and attainment enables the school to identify pupils who require significant differentiation of the curriculum and its content because they are either falling short of established national standards and require additional support to reach attainment levels appropriate for their year group; or are achieving national standards with ease and who would benefit from further enrichment and extension to achieve attainment levels commensurate with their ability and/or potential. This latter group of children are often referred to as ‘Most Able and Talented’.
Shepherd Primary School aims to create an environment whereby children, staff and the wider community experience parity of esteem regardless of race, gender or disability and is active in promoting community cohesion. As with all schemes in place at Shepherd Primary School, the governors have given due consideration to the spirit of the "Every Child Matters" agenda. In addition, in the application of this scheme, the school will strive to reflect the school aims to ensure the happiness of all individuals who are members of our community.
The school has high expectations of all pupils and is dedicated to helping all pupils to reach the highest possible standards of achievement. Ethnic monitoring is essential, to ensure that minority ethnic groups are not being disadvantaged. Evaluation of data will result in action being taken to address underperformance by any group.
We make regular assessments of pupils' learning, and use this information to track pupils' progress, as they move through the school. As part of this process, we monitor attainment and progress by ethnicity.
School performance information is evaluated in comparison with national data and LA data, to identify any patterns of underachievement. The governing body receives regular updates on information concerning pupils' performance.
In addition to attainment and progress, we also monitor the following records, checking them for signs of discrimination: attendance, admissions, exclusions, racist incidents, the SEN register, and applications of the behaviour policy.
This plan represents the agreed principles for Accessibility throughout the school. This plan has been agreed by governors within the school, all teachers representing the Early Years, Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and the Headteacher.
Shepherd Primary School is fortunate to be supported by a family worker. The school works closely with the family worker and through discussions with families, referrals are made. Referrals might be around sleep, routines, form filling in, classroom expectations and self-esteem. The family worker will plan with the family the intervention required. It could be working with parents out of school or with children within school. The approach is very flexible and our interventions strive to meet the needs of the families and children at Shepherd Primary School.
Coffee mornings are held once a month on a more informal basis where parents can get to know each other. On occasions the family worker holds workshops around different subjects.
If you require a paper copy of any documents, please contact the school office and they will be provided free of charge.