1. Learning & Support
  2. Inclusion (Special Educational Needs and Disability)

Inclusion (Special Educational Needs and Disability)

Special Educational Needs (SEN)

The school's SENDCo (Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator) is Miss Lauren Langdon. She can be contacted through the school office: office@bradfordabbas.dorset.sch.uk 

From time to time, some children will plateau with their progress and require intervention to narrow the gap or boost achievement. This will be carried out as part of class teaching. However, sometimes when children make are still making limited progress after inventions have been implemented, the advice of the school's Special Educational Needs Coordinator or SENCo may be sought by the classteacher. If achievement does not improve, the SENCo can engage outside agencies, i.e. an education psychologist or the speech and language service to carry out assessments of the child's needs and draw up personalised learning plans if appropriate. The personalised learning plan can be carried out by an adult outside of the class lessons or alongside the child in the classroom.

All children on the SEN Code of Practice have a Support Plan which should be shared with parents regularly. Please refer to the school's special educational needs policy for more information.

Having a child with special educational needs can be daunting for some parents who may feel unequipped to deal with the difficulties their child faces. There are support services available to give advice and help if needed.

New SEND reforms came in during August 2014. This will change the way children and young people with SEND are supported from 0-25 years. Please refer to this guidance for Parents and Carers from the DFE for more information.

Inclusion


Local Special Needs Support Groups

Bridport ASD and ADHD Support Group
Every other Wednesday 6.30-8.30 Bridport Children’s Centre
Contact Emma 01308 458554 /Tasha 07969608268

Yeovil Parent Support Group
3rd Wednesday of each month Fairmead School, Mudford Road, Yeovil BA21 4NZ
Contact Steve Coles 01935 421295

Gillingham Parent Support Group
1st Tuesday of each month 1.30-3pm Gillingham Children’s Centre
Contact Kirsty 01747 823562 kirsty@metamorphictouch.co.uk

Blandford ASD and ADHD Support Group
4th Monday of each month 10-11.30 Blandford Children’s Centre
Contact Kevin Anthony 07776472746 /Caroline Anthony 07717361356


More Able Children

All pupils in our school are taught to their ability within the remit of the new National Curriculum. Our most able children are idenitifed by the school quickly and we are proud of the fact that we encourage every individual to reach their potential. These pupils are challenged within the classroom through higher order questioning and differentiated activities. There are also opportunities to extend learning through activities at other local independent schools, i.e. art enrichment at the Sherborne Boys' School or Leeson House.

 

Wellbeing at BA Pathway

We have revised our wellbeing offer across the school so that we can cater for the needs of all children giving them the right intervention at the right time. As a staff team, we have a good understanding of the provision available and what our pupils’ need. Miss Mcfarlane is an experienced Mental and Emotional Health practitioner, Miss Grunnill has completed the Level 3 BACP Counselling Skills certificate and completed the Dorset Senior Mental Health Lead training. All staff have completed the Storm break training and Relational Practise and Miss Langdon is completed training on ‘developing a therapeutic approach to behaviour support'. 

If parents would like to arrange a meeting with Miss Mcfarlane to discuss any concerns regarding their child’s emotional or mental health, she is available on a Tuesday. Please book directly with the office by phone, 01935 476515 or in person at the school. 

Level 1A - Whole class / school

-Children can share concerns with teachers and Teaching assistants as a first point of call. These are the adults most familiar with pupils and can touch base with children daily. For most pupils with emotional issues, talking to familiar adults on a day to day basis will be enough to support them.This also includes using age appropriate whole class check in such as using emotion cards at the start of the day.

-All pupils will participate in Stormbreak. Stormbreak is a purposeful participation in movement to shape and support mental health, linked to Dorset CAMHS and Public Health Dorset. Stormbreaks are focused on concepts supporting good mental health including resilience, self worth, relationships, self care, hope and optimism. Through regular storm breaks, children learn skills to positively shape and support their mental health for life. Each Stormbreak takes between 5-15 minutes and is bookended with a quick discussion giving children the correct vocabulary needed to talk about mental health. All staff will have Stormbreak training. All staff have had Relational Practise training.

Level 1B - Lunch time groups

Lunchtime groups for invited pupils who would benefit from quieter lunch times with a ‘light touch’ approach to wellbeing. We will offer a games club and an arts and crafts club. We will also offer a drop in wellbeing session once a week.

Level 2 - Targeted group work / 1:1 sessions

-Some pupils may benefit from small group work or 1-1 sessions to develop their emotional literacy, friendship skills and resilience. Groups will be discussed according to need.

-In addition to Stormbreaks for the whole class, there is a Shine pathway for individual children who may need extra help managing emotions and behaviours. Using mentally healthy movement, Stormbreak Shine teaches children to recognise their emotions, respond to their feelings and strategies to self-regulate. This will be delivered by our SEN TA in a 1:1 setting, with parental involvement. 

Level 3 - CAMHS referral

CAMHS referral – it is incredibly difficult to get any involvement with CAMHs. Pupils have to display extreme difficulties for referral and/or support. We hope that with the new interventions, there would be very few pupils who reach Level 3.