Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

At the heart of the work at Hoath Primary School is a continuous cycle of planning, teaching and assessing which takes account of the wide range of abilities, aptitudes and interests of our pupils. The majority of children will learn and progress within these arrangements. Those children whose overall attainments or attainment in specific subjects fall significantly outside the expected range may have Special Educational Needs or disabilities (SEND).

Children with SEND are those who have learning, physical, behavioural or emotional difficulties, which prevent them from reaching their true potential or fully accessing the National Curriculum. Exceptionally able or gifted children also come under this heading.

At Hoath School, children with SEND are identified as early as possible. Each child’s progress is monitored and provision is adjusted as necessary, in line with the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. Extra support may be given within the class by a teaching assistant or in an extra session run by Mrs Bean (PSA) or a teaching assistant or, where appropriate, special help may be sought from outside agencies.

Also we ensure that parents are notified of a decision by the school that SEND provision is being made for their child and they are kept informed of their child’s progress. Partnership with parents plays a key role in enabling children with SEND to achieve their potential. All parents of children with SEND will be treated as partners and supported to play an active and valued role in their child’s education.

Our Special Educational Needs coordinator is Miss Jasmine Lupton.  Parents who have concerns are welcome to make an appointment to see him. Please use the following email address to message Miss Lupton at jasmine.lupton@hoath.kent.sch.uk.

Useful Links for Parents

Below are some useful links to other websites offering support, advice and resources about frequently occurring types of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities which you might find helpful.

Dyslexia

• British Dyslexia Association - www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/about
• Dyslexia East Kent Support - www.dyslexia-east-kent.org.uk 
• My Dyslexic Mind -  www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/20783005
• See Dyslexia Differently - www.youtube.com/watch?y=11r7CFIK2sc
• Canterbury Dyslexia Centre - www.canterburydyslexiacentre.co.uk

Autism/Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC)

• NELFT (North East London NHS Foundation Trust) - https://www.nelft.nhs.uk/asc
• National Autistic Society – www.autism.org.uk 
• Kent Autistic Trust - www.kentautistic.com 
• The National Autistic Society Amazing Things Happen – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbwRrVw-CRo

Speech & Language Services

• The Pod - https://www.kentcht.nhs.uk/childrens-therapies-the-pod
• NHS Therapies – https://www.kentcht.nhs.uk/service/childrens-therapies-2/
• Ican - www.ican.org.uk 
• Speech link - https://speechandlanguage.info/parents

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties

• Kent Resilience Hub has been created as a resource to help young people, parents and carers and practitioners understand emotional wellbeing and resilience. https://kentresiliencehub.org.uk/
• Kent Children’s and Young People’s Mental Health Service. https://www.nelft.nhs.uk/services-kent-children-young-peoples-mental-health
• Kent and Medway Mental Wellbeing Information Hub. https://www.kentandmedwayccg.nhs.uk/mental-wellbeing-information-hub
• Childline Calm Zone- https://www.childline.org.uk/toolbox/calm-zone/
• MindEd for Families. https://www.mindedforfamilies.org.uk/young-people
• Kooth - Family Links Centre for Emotional Health. https://www.familylinks.org

ADHD

• NELFT (North East London NHS Foundation Trust). https://www.nelft.nhs.uk/adhd
• ADHD Foundation - ttps://adhdfoundation.org.uk/
• ADHD Parents Guide - https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Parents-Guide_FINAL.pdf

General Parent SEN/D Resources

• Place to Be Parenting Smart: Place2Be Parenting Smart offers mini bites of information on a variety of difficulties all parents might face from sleeping and eating difficulties to developing gender identity - https://parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk/
• General Parent Support - Information, Advice & Support (IASK) - www.kent.gov.uk/iask
• SNAAP - Special Needs Advisory and Activities Project - http://www.snaap.org.uk
• SEND Information Hub (Previously Kent Local Offer) This is a really useful site which acts as a directory for different services available in Kent. - http://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs/about-the-local-offer
• Department for Education Parents Guide to SEN/D - https://1ba393f1-48d9-410b-85f9-9f5620f0d05d.filesusr.com/ugd/417ffd_2b22e4c064f04257aadbea4b95d5c85b.pdf
• Department for Education & Mencap’s Easy Read Guide to SEN/D for Parents - Agenda Campaign and Policy Departmental Meeting (mencap.org.uk)

KCC’s SEND Strategy

Please use the link below to access the Local Authority SEND Strategy for 2021- 2024 - https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs/send-strategy/strategy-for-children-with-special-educational-needs-and-disabilities

If you have any further questions then please do contact the school and ask to speak to our SENDCo - Miss Jasmine Lupton.