SEND Policy

SEN+D Summative Report 2023

How we support children with Special Educational Needs 2020

Please visit Hackney Local Offer web page for further information.

Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is Farzana Chowdhury.  You can contact Farzana by the following means:  you can make an appointment at the school office,  email: admin@wentworth.hackney.sch.uk, or by  phone : 0208 985 3491 option1.

How does Wentworth know if my child needs extra help?

• Sometimes a parent raises concerns about their child before the child starts attending
• Sometimes other professionals (e.g. a Speech and Language therapist or a Portage worker) have already identified a need
• We carry out home visits and gather information from you, the parent/carer,  about your child
• We have a keyworker system
• We have very experienced teachers and support staff  who are specialists in 3 and 4 year old children
• We carry out baseline assessments and meet with parents within 6 weeks of your child starting in the nursery

What should I do if I think my child may have SEN?

Speak to either Farzana Chowdhury Headteacher and SENCo  or your child’s keyworker

My child has identified SEND.  How will Wentworth support them?

Your child will benefit from everything that every other Wentworth child does; all our facilities, all our staff and our entire provision.
In addition they may need extra input. This can take many forms:-

• Speech and Language assessment
• ongoing Speech and Language therapy
• structured language groups, either daily, twice daily or weekly
• a smaller story group, either daily or twice daily
• 1:1 support for part of the day
• 1:1 support at lunchtime
• extended hours
• referral to First Steps (Child Psychology)

Who will explain this to me?

• Once a child has identified SEND, as well as their keyworker,  our SENCo keeps an overview of their progress.
• He leads a termly review meetings for every child with SEND
• If your child receives individual support, then Donna Davis our Learning Support Coordinator will also be a key contact for you
• If your child receives Speech and Language therapy, then Olivia Hogg , Speech and Language Therapist will make herself known to you.

How will Wentworth know how effective its arrangements and provisions are?

• Review meetings each term with parents will provide feedback
• Informal conversations with parents
• Observations of children’s progress
• Assessments of children’s attainments
• Professional dialogue

How are Governors involved and what are their responsibilities?

• SEND is an item in the written Headteacher’s report to Governors 3 times each year
• We have a named Governor for SEN, Sally Lindsay-German
• Sally and other Governors visit the school regularly and write a report of their visit which they share with senior staff and the full Governing body.  At least once a term a  Governor visit focuses on SEND provision.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs

• The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum applies to every child at Wentworth.  It lends itself very easily to children of all developmental levels.

How will you support me, as a parent/carer of an SEND child, to support my child’s learning?

• There are informal talks each week with your child to share about their learning.
• We have regular out and about visits which we share with parents/carers.
• At review meetings each term, parents agree with professionals some appropriate targets for their child to work towards and strategies on how to support this learning at home.

How and when will I, the parent, be involved in planning my child’s education?

• Review meetings each term with parents
• Informal conversations with keyworker
• Information is shared with parents through newsletters, our website, displays
• Parents are encouraged to make an appointment to speak to any of the senior staff team whenever they have any concerns/suggestions/questions

Do you offer any parent training or learning events?

Within Wentworth we offer:-

• an annual parents evening,
• regular workshops for parents/carers every term
• a full programme of parental training at our Children’s Centre
• We signpost parents to other relevant training within the borough

What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being

• a dedicated keyworker
• very experienced and highly trained staff who meet regularly and have systems for information-sharing
• children’s Personal, Social and Emotional Development is given a very high priority, all day, every day, by all staff
• we have a range of policies designed to promote children’s well being including; our Behaviour  and safeguarding policy all of these are on our website.

How will my child be able to contribute their views and how will you support them to do that?

• All  classroom staff practice recognise the importance of listening to children and using a range of communication strategies to engage with all our children.

What specialist services are available ?

• Interpreting services
• Speech and Language Services
• Educational Psychology services
• SEND Department at Hackney Learning Trust
• Child Development services at Hackney Ark
• Hackney Child and Family Services

How accessible is the environment?

Both our buildings and outside areas are fully accessible

How well will Wentworth manage transitions, both from home to school and from Wentworth to the receiving Primary School?

• We have a carefully managed initiation in to Wentworth for all children, including a home visit and a twilight session for parents as well as additional meetings if required.  If SEND is known in advance we offer extra visits and plan even more carefully.
• When the time approaches to move to Primary school, children with SEND are provided with a transition plan which usually involves 3 visits, usually, morning, afternoon and lunchtime.  When appropriate they are given a personalised Wentworth-made photo book of their new school.  Links are made with the receiving SENCo.

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive?

• This is decided with the child’s best interests at the centre of the discussion.  All professionals and the child’s parent/s are involved and their viewpoints are all valued.