Our School Offer

At Cambridge Primary we are committed to giving all our children every opportunity to achieve the highest standards.  This report supports the Teaching and Learning policy and helps to ensure that opportunities are given regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, attainment or background.

Our school aims to be an inclusive school.  This means that equality of opportunity must be a reality for our children.  We make this the case through the organisation, support and attention we pay to all the children within our school, being particularly conscious of the need to continually strive to ensure that we are aware and providing for:-

• girls and boys,
• children with specific needs – medical, learning, behavioural;
• minority ethnic and faith groups,
• gifted and talented children,
• children who need support to learn English as a foreign language,
• children with social and emotional needs,
• children who are at risk,
• any children who are at risk of disaffection or exclusion.

The National curriculum is our starting point for planning a curriculum that meets the specific needs of all children - individuals and groups.  We do this through:-

• providing suitable learning challenges,
• responding to children’s diverse learning needs,
• overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and  groups of children,
• providing other curricular opportunities outside the National Curriculum to meet the needs of individuals and groups of children (e.g. language and social individual & group activities, after school activities).

 We achieve educational inclusion by continually reviewing what we do, through asking ourselves:-

• do our children achieve as much as they can?
• are there differences in the achievement of different groups of children?
• what are we doing for those children who we know are not achieving as well as we had hoped?
• are our actions effective?
• what else could we do?

“Evidence from observation, and the scrutiny of pupils’ work, show that they make good progress because tasks are very carefully prepared to match their abilities and potential. Disabled pupils and those that have special educational needs achieve well and some make outstanding progress.” OFSTED March 2012

How does our school know if children need extra support?

When children have identified SEND before they join our school, we work with the people who already know them and use information already available to identify what the child’s needs are and how best to support them.

If a parent or carer feels their child has a SEND we encourage them to come and discuss their concerns. Together the necessary course of action will be discussed and a plan of what to do next will be made.

The identification of SEND may also arise as part of our usual practice of termly meetings between class teachers and senior leaders in order to monitor and discuss the development and progress of all pupils. These are called class profile meetings.

Staff are continually planning for the needs of all children within their class. Should a member of staff feel that a child has additional needs or requirements they would inform the SENCo and further action would be planned.

How does school support SEND children?

The class teacher is responsible for all of the children in their class. They will plan the daily provision for all children including those with SEND and will be supported and advised by the school Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) where necessary.

Your child’s class teacher will discuss with you any support they think is needed, that is additional and different to what we would offer to children as part of our usual practice. If you and/or the teacher identify a need for a specific in-school assessment or involvement from any outside specialist services then the SENCo will talk to you about this and seek your permission to proceed.

The SENCo then becomes the lead person for working with outside services and keeping you, and everybody in the team around your child, informed of key events and information.

All the teacher’s know and care about my child’s needs. Parent questionnaire 2014

How will the curriculum be matched to meet the needs of all children?

High quality classroom teaching with adjusted plans and resources for individual pupils is the first step in responding to children who may have special needs. All our staff are trained to make lessons easier or more challenging, and children can be provided with additional resources or support so that every child is able to learn at their own pace – this is known as differentiation and will enable your child to access a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum.

If your child is not making the expected progress and has specific gaps in their understanding he/she may work within a smaller group of children or one to one with a teacher or teaching assistant. This may happen within the classroom or in another room or area.

Thank you for all the different experiences you offer for all the children. Parent questionnaire 2014.

The curriculum is outstanding. Teachers and leaders plan class activities, visits, cultural and scientific events, residentials, clubs and play, to provide an excellent range of interesting, memorable and effective learning experiences. Ofsted report 2012.

How will our school ensure all children are included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?

At Cambridge Primary it is our aim that all children are sufficiently supported at all times to ensure inclusion and equal opportunities, on and off the school site.

Risk assessments are carried out for school visits including residential trips and reasonable adjustments will be made where required. If a child has specific needs a plan will be discussed with all involved in the child’s care prior to specific activities/visits. The destination of these trips will be taken into account when assessing the needs of all children.

On some occasions an individual member of staff may be assigned to support a small group or individual child if the risk assessment indicates that this is necessary.

After school clubs are available to all pupils. Should any child need support to access these activities, school will make the necessary arrangements.

Health and safety audits are conducted to ensure that the school provides a safe environment for all pupils.

 “Pupils’ behaviour is good because they enjoy learning and respond positively to the high expectations of staff.” OFSTED March 2012

What specific training do members of our staff have?

We are very fortunate at Cambridge Primary to be able to offer children many teaching and learning programs which staff have been trained to deliver including:

We have a rolling programme of training and support for staff, based on the needs of the pupils within our school. Our staff receive more individualised/ focussed training if they are supporting a pupil with a specific need or by personal request.

Medical training to support children with medical care plans is organised as needed. This may be for conditions such as diabetes or epilepsy.

How do home and school work together to support children’s needs?

School procedure is that targets are sent home half termly to inform parents and carers of children’s next steps. Parent’s evenings take place at least twice a year and a summative report is provided for parents at the end of the summer term.

Additionally parents can arrange a meeting at any time with the class teacher or with the SENCo if there are any concerns. In some instances, a home-school communication book may be used, if agreed between teacher and parent.

Outside agencies involved with some children, such as speech and language therapists, specialist advisory teachers and those linked to specific medical needs may provide reports and information about attainment and expected progress. Meetings within school provide the opportunity for such reports to be shared.

If a child is identified as needing a Pupil Support Plan (PSP) to support their education then parents will be involved in helping the school to create this, and in reviewing these targets at regular intervals, usually three times a year or more if needed. Progress and new targets are shared with parents/carers at PSP meetings and modified if necessary. These meetings may include the child and any other agencies if appropriate/possible. A review date is set at IPP meetings.

My children are happy and have achieved so much since joining Cambridge Primary. Parent questionnaire 2014

What support is there for children’s overall well-being?

We are an inclusive school. All staff believe that children’s emotional well-being influences their academic progress. Class teachers and support staff work hard at developing strong emotional bonds with the children in their care, providing a safe, secure learning environment for every child to thrive in.

Parents/carers are encouraged to share any specific personal circumstances that may impact on their child’s emotional well-being (short or long term) to enable school and home to work alongside each other in supporting the child’s needs. If and when appropriate, school may, with parental/ carer permission, initiate involvement from outside agencies, such as Social Care, Young Carers, the Bluebell Foundation and Action for Children. This would be to further support families in need.

Trained first aiders and paediatric first aiders are available in school (please see the school’s health and safety policy for more information about this). If your child requires medication to be administered in school then you are asked to provide details of this. The school nurse is available for advice and will write a health plan with the SENCo, when a child has specific medical needs.

The school has a system of sanctions and rewards for behaviour management for all children (please refer to the whole school Behaviour Policy for more information about this). Additional behaviour management plans or risk assessments may be used where needed, to support individual children who are experiencing particular difficulties.

Teachers know the emotional, physical and learning needs of every child in their class and adapt their teaching accordingly. They have high expectations of pupils, both in terms of academic success and behaviour, and this contributes significantly to pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.’ OFSTED March 2012

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school?

We have support from specialist advisory teachers and support staff for accessing the curriculum and extra work on SEND related needs (speech, language and communication, hearing impairment, visual impairment, behaviour related needs and severe learning difficulties, autism etc).

We are able to access support from other Local Authority and Health services such as SEN Specialists, Educational Psychologists, Speech Therapy and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy

Additionally we work collaboratively with other schools in the Barrow area and are members of the Furness Inclusion Group which enables us to seek advice and support from other SENCO’s.

How will we support children in their transition into our school and when they leave us?

Children entering Cambridge Primary School Nursery will have a home visit prior to them starting. This helps school staff get to know the child in a familiar environment where the children are more relaxed. Information will be gathered regarding any SEND and any necessary support to be considered. Additionally a preparatory visit to nursery is organised for all children with their parent/ carers to further build links between home and school.

Meetings will be arranged for those children who are already known to Early Years SEND Services to make school aware of their needs to ensure the correct support is in place.

When children leave Cambridge Primary School to go to secondary school, meetings are arranged between the receiving schools to exchange information. There is enhanced transition support provided for children who would benefit from such support. SENCo’s from each school will meet to discuss those children with SEND with statements or Education Health Care Plans.

In-year transition is supported with extra visits to the new class when possible and discussion with previous settings.

Teachers meet at the end of each academic year to pass on social as well as academic information to try to ensure that changes of year groups are as smooth as possible for all children.

How accessible is the school both indoors and outdoors?

All areas of the school are accessible by wheel chair, and we have disabled toilet facilities. The governors of the school would consider other reasonable adaptations (visual, auditory and structural) to meet the needs of pupils.

How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?

The school budget received from the Local Authority includes funding for supporting pupils with SEN. The Head teacher and School Bursaries Manager then decide on the budget for SEN in consultation with school governors and based on the needs of pupils in the school.

The school will use its SEN funding in the most appropriate way to support your child. This may include some individual or small group teaching assistant support but this may not always be the only way to support your child. The funding may therefore be used to put in place a range of support strategies.

SEND funding may also be used to purchase specialist equipment or support from other specialist support services etc. There are regular meetings to monitor the impact of interventions and SEN provision and the Governing body is kept informed of funding decisions through a meeting and report from the SENCo and the SEN Governor.

Further information/complaints

For further information and details of the school’s complaints procedure please contact the school office.