Key Questions

What type of school is Kanes Hill Primary School?

Kanes Hill Primary School is a mainstream school for children between the ages of 4-11. We are committed to providing a high-quality education for pupils with a wide range of needs. This includes those with particular needs in the areas of communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social, emotional and mental health, sensory and/or physical.

As of September 2021, the school has 420 places. All 14 classes are fully inclusive and determined by children’s ages rather than their individual level of need. We have high levels of expectations for all our children and we aim to fully extend their academic and social development. We manage high levels of support and individualised learning programmes to ensure both the learning and social needs of each child are met within their class. Throughout their time in our primary school, children may receive varying levels of support according to their changing needs and circumstances.

What special educational needs do you cater for?

We provide an inclusive education for all pupils, including children who may be experiencing difficulties in one of these four broad areas:

Communication and Interaction (e.g. autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties)
Cognition and Learning (e.g. dyslexia, development co-ordination disorder)
Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties (E.g. ADHD)
Sensory and Physical Needs (E.g. visual impairments, hearing impairments, processing difficulties.)

How do you know if my child may need extra help or may have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND)?

Class teachers make regular observations and assessments of all children within the classroom setting. More formal assessments may also take place, for example a GL Ready Assessment or a Boxall Profile. Assessments may be of an academic or a social nature.

These assessments are used to identify any children whose:

Progress is significantly slower than that of their peers
Progress fails to match or better their previous rate of progress
Attainment falls below the age-related expectation and widens the attainment gap
Formal assessment score indicates a particular weakness.

Slow progress and low attainment will not automatically mean a pupil is recorded as having SEND, but may often lead to further investigation.

If any concerns are raised, the class teacher will then consult with the SENCo, Miss Ralston or Assistant SENCo, Mrs Wiles, who will look further into the nature of the difficulties with the class teacher and look at the criteria for placing a child on the SEND register, following a rigorous Assess, Plan, Do, Review approach. Parents will be informed if any concerns are raised and their viewpoints will be taken into consideration.

The early identification of additional needs is paramount in ensuring the best possible progress for all children.

For those children working below their Key Stage and not able to access the National Curriculum, we apply the engagement model to assess learning needs and next steps.

How will I know how my child is doing with their learning?

We recognise the importance of developing close working relationships with parents and we regularly update you about how your child is progressing with their learning through:

Informal communication and chats before and after school
Formal SEND meetings where we share your child’s individual learning targets with you and discuss how well your child is doing
Regular communication where necessary through home school communication books or Marvellous Me
Meetings with outside agencies (E.g. Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists)
Annual reviews (if your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan)
Transition meetings with new class teachers or schools
Additional meetings as and when required

We will advise you about how you can best support your child at home or sometimes signpost to external agencies for further support.

For those working below their Key stage and not accessing the national curriculum, we will apply the Engagement Model to help us reflect on how well the bespoke curriculum we are offering is helping your child to make progress. This does not necessarily replace our existing plans, assessments and reporting systems, but adds value to them.

How will my child be involved in their learning?

We believe that your child should be at the centre of all learning discussions. Where appropriate, we will seek your child’s viewpoints and are keen to find out how they think they are progressing, what they are finding difficult and useful strategies to use to support them.

Children are always welcome at meetings if that is your wish.

How will my child’s progress in learning be reviewed?

As part of the graduated response, we all work within a cycle of ‘Assess – Plan – Do - Review’. Every small step is clearly planned based on assessment of your child’s needs. Provision is set up for your child (E.g. either a specific 1:1 intervention, small group work, inclusive teaching or adaptations to the environment) and a timeframe is agreed in which to achieve the set targets.

After the timeframe has ended, your child’s learning target and progress within it is evaluated and the cycle continues. You are informed of your child’s progress and their next steps in learning.

Ongoing responsive teaching and assessment for learning happens on a daily basis.

How will you support my child’s transition to school and to the next school?

If your child has been identified as having special educational needs prior to starting school, then a meeting will take place with your child’s current setting and the school. It enables us to gain a more thorough understanding of your child and their needs before they join the school. We work closely with the professionals that know your child the best at that time and put together a structured plan that details the strategies and provision that will help your child have a successful transition into school. If your child has an Educational Health and Care Plan, the Local Authority in charge of this plan will consult with a new setting prior to your child starting, to ensure this setting can meet the needs of your child in line with their plan.

A similar process will happen when your child moves from Kanes Hill Primary School to another setting, whether this be at an end of phase transition or an in-year transfer. There will be an arranged meeting with the next school’s SENCo and future schools will also be invited to your child’s Annual Review if they have an Education Health and Care Plan.

What is your approach to the teaching of children with SEND?

High quality, inclusive teaching is our first step in responding to children with SEND. We offer a broad and balanced curriculum that will be adapted and differentiated for individual pupils. Some children may benefit from smaller group work or 1:1 support at times.

We provide the following interventions:

Precision Teaching
Nurture
Reading Wise
Clever Hands and Clever Bodies (Fine and Gross Motor)
ELSA
Speech and Language programmes, including social skills groups such as Talkabout
Drawing and Talking Therapy

We also provide small group or 1:1 support for children with specific cognition targets which do not fit into the above interventions. This may be 10 minutes working on a specific target e.g. recalling number bonds to 10.

What adaptations are made to the curriculum and the learning environment for my child?

In order to meet your child’s needs, it may be necessary to make adaptations to the curriculum or the learning environment. This may be through:

Differentiating our curriculum to ensure all children are able to access it, for example, by grouping, 1:1 work, teaching style, content of the lesson, etc.
Adapting our resources and staffing
Using recommended aids, such as laptops, coloured overlays, visual timetables, larger font, etc.
Differentiating our teaching, for example, giving longer processing times, pre-teaching of key vocabulary, reading instructions aloud, etc.
Setting up an individual workstation, giving a specific seat or carpet space, creating a calming zone, etc.
Completing risk assessments where necessary to make adjustments to school trips, sports events and after school clubs etc.

What training and expertise do the staff at Kanes Hill Primary School have with SEND?

Miss Ralston is the SENCo at Kanes Hill Primary School. She has completed the National Award for Special Educational Needs or Disabilities Co-ordination at the University of Winchester. Miss Ralston has a non-class-based role in order to manage SEND provision. She is particularly passionate about achieving high-quality inclusive education for all.

There are three trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistants at Kanes Hill Primary, Mrs Hanley Mrs Whyte and Mrs Furnell who is also our Positive behaviour lead.

Mrs Munday and Mrs Jackson run the Nurture Group, and they are undertaking further training from the Educational Psychology Service to support the running of this group. This group is also overseen by Mrs Furnell and Miss Ralston.

Mrs Kingston is our Speech and Language Support Assistant and has been trained by Elklan, she works closely with the SaLT to deliver 1:1 programmes, complete speech sound assessments and is qualified to run Attention Autism. Mrs Winstanley is also a Speech and Language Support Assistant, she is trained to deliver BLAST and also runs intervention groups such as Narrative, Talkabout and NELI.

Regular CPD is provided for all Teachers and TAs. This is both with external agencies or through senior leaders/specialists within the school.

In addition, Miss Ralston is leading the Trust wide SENCo group. She also attends the Southampton SENCo Hub, where local SENCos meet and work collaboratively under the guidance of Southampton Inclusion Partnership. Miss Ralston is undertaking the Senior Mental Health Lead Training from October 2022.

Specialist expertise is secured through referrals to external agencies and outreach support where necessary.

How is SEND provision evaluated?

We evaluate the effectiveness of provision for children with SEND by:

Reviewing children’s individual progress towards their learning targets
Reviewing the impact of interventions
Completing pupil questionnaires, pupil interviews or pupil conferencing
Monitoring by the SENCo, the Principal, the CEO, Outside Agencies such as SAOS and and the Academy Councillor with responsibility for SEND
Holding annual reviews for children with EHC Plans
Ongoing school self-evaluation and monitoring.

Would my child be able to join in with other children who do not have SEND?

Absolutely! As an inclusive school, we believe that all children should be given the same opportunities and experiences. Whilst there are some times where children with SEND may need to complete learning on a 1:1 or small group basis, we strongly believe that they need to be integrated and included with the rest of the children in the class.

All of our after-school clubs, trips and other opportun

ities are available to all our pupils.

All pupils are encouraged to take part in sports day, school plays and special events.

How would you support my child’s emotional wellbeing?

We are a very caring school where children’s emotional wellbeing is given a high priority. We teach Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) in classes and strongly believe that children’s emotional wellbeing is crucial to their development in all areas of learning.

If any child is struggling with their emotional wellbeing, it may be appropriate to receive some ELSA support. Like our other interventions, this is a time bound intervention that is individually planned to target a particular area of concern for a child.

For some children, a period of time accessing the Nurture Group may be appropriate.

We always listen to the views of our children and take any emotional concerns seriously. We have a zero tolerance to bullying at Kanes Hill Primary School.

Do you work with any other agencies?

We work with a range of outside agencies (where necessary) to support your child’s learning and development. We can also make referrals to agencies to support you and family. Examples of outside agencies include:

Educational Psychologist
Speech and Language Therapist
Occupational Therapist
Jigsaw support
Southampton Advisory Outreach Support (SAOS)
Children’s Services
Mental Health in Schools Team
CAMHs
School Nurse
Specialist Teachers for Visual and Hearing impairments

What would I do if I had a concern about the SEND provision at the school?

Please come and tell us if you have any concerns about the SEND provision at our school. We would advise that you speak to your child’s class teacher in the first instance where we will try and resolve any issues. If necessary, the SENCo or the Principal may be involved.

For more information, please follow the link to the Inspire Learning Partnership’s complaints procedure: https://khps.ilpartnership.org/Policies/

What happens if my child is looked after by the local authority?

All the information contained in this report is relevant and applicable to children who are looked after by the local authority.

Your child’s individual needs will also be discussed and documented as part of the Personal Education Plan (PEP).

Where can I find more information?

For more information, please follow the link to our website where you can find the SEND Policy and the Accessibility Policy: https://khps.ilpartnership.org/Policies/

Further information can be found on Southampton’s Local Offer Website: Southampton City Local Offer.

We welcome visits at any time so please call the school office on 02380 463737 to arrange a time to come and look around the school.