Seven Sisters Primary School - SEN Local Offer
Our vision:
At Seven Sisters Primary School, we will provide child centred learning within a stable, consistent and inspiring environment. We aim for our children to become independent, creative, innovative and reflective. We nurture and support all abilities and as an inclusive school we recognise the uniqueness and aspirations of all members of our school family. Through an inspirational curriculum our children will achieve and become lifelong achievers with a love of learning.
Every member of our school community is valued, listened to, supported and given skills and opportunities to develop and be the best they can be. We aim to make a difference to the lives of our community and prepare our children for an ever changing world.
How we know if a child has Special Educational Needs:
All children are different and have their own unique needs, and we recognise that some children may require additional support, as well as quality first teaching, in order to achieve and progress.
According to the SEND Code of Practice: 0-25 years (2015) the four categories of Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) are:
Some of the ways we identify SEND are by looking at the following and seeing how the child compares to their friends:
The following are not considered SEND but may impact on a child’s ability to learn and make progress in school:
What we do to help children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities:
If a child is recognised to have SEND the first thing we do is look at how we can improve the ways they are able to learn. This normally means that they are given additional resources to support them which might include: templates, word banks, scaffolds and picture symbols, adult support and so on.
Where deemed necessary, children are also provided with extra support from one of our team in school. This might be a group session or something more personal and individual in nature. We are very lucky to be able to offer a range of sessions which are both wellbeing and learning focused. Children can access social skills, Counselling, therapeutic groups, Maths support, English support and health mentor support.
Support we offer for children’s health and general wellbeing:
Seven Sisters Primary School is committed to promoting health and wellbeing and we do this in a number of ways:
What happens if a child needs more specialised support?
If we decide that the child requires support from outside the school, we invite parents into school to discuss next steps.
This may be a referral to the paediatric team at St. Ann’s Hospital, the Speech and Language Therapy service, Occupational Therapy or CAMHs (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).
Specialist external services we use when we think extra help is needed:
Medicines
All medicines are stored safely and are managed and administered by our Welfare Administrator, Lorna Douglas in the medical room. Care plans are kept here also, and updated when needed. All classes have care plans for their children in their classroom. Epi-Pens and Asthma Pumps are kept in yellow bags in the child’s classroom within easy reach if needed in an emergency. We also have a school inhaler and a school Epipen.
Accidents
All accidents are logged and, if resulting in head injury or something of a serious nature, parents are contacted by telephone.
Staff Training
The training our staff have received includes:
How we include children in activities and school trips
Trips and visits are an integral part of learning and we believe that every child has the right to access them. Sometimes, in order to ensure the health and safety of a child, we may request that a parent or carer accompanies them, but we understand that this is not always possible. In this instance, we will try to allocate an adult from within the school to accompany the child in a 1:1 supporting role, and will work to make reasonable adjustments for them.
Our school environment:
Seven Sisters Primary School is a large building set across 2 floors. We have wheelchair ramps into the school, but access to the top floor is via stairs only. If possible, reasonable adjustments will be made to integrate children into the school where learning occurs downstairs.
How we prepare children for joining and leaving our school:
When children with SEND join the school, we always encourage the family to come and have a meeting with the SENCo to discuss the provision that we can offer, and to find out their views and aspirations. In addition to this, we liaise with the previous school or setting to find out as much as possible about the child as possible.
For those children moving on to Secondary School, we will liaise with the new school to ensure provision is in place for them, and prepare children through workshops to help them get ready for the transition.
How parents and families are involved in school life:
We see parents and families as partners in the lives of our children and as such, endeavour to involve them as much as possible in our school life. Examples include
When a parent does not speak English, they are welcome to bring along a friend or family member to interpret for them.
Who to contact for more information or to discuss a concern:
We are very lucky at Seven Sisters Primary in that we have many staff who know your child well, and who are available to talk to you.
If you want to discuss anything about your child your first point of contact is always the class teacher.
If you wish to discuss anything relating to SEND please contact:
If you wish to make an appointment to see any of these members of staff, please call the school office on 020 8802 6670 and ask to speak to them.
For a more detailed over view please see the staffing structure on the school website.