Timothy Hackworth Primary School

Timothy Hackworth Primary School is a large, mainstream primary school and nursery with Enhanced Mainstream Provision for children with additional Speech and Language needs. We are very proud to be a Rights Respecting Gold Award school. 

For a small contribution, Breakfast Club is also available from 8.00am every morning.

Timothy Hackworth is a happy, rights respecting school with high hopes and ambitions for all our children and we welcome working in partnership with parents and carers to ensure that everything is done in the best interests of the children at all times, helping all children to be the best that they can be. 

 

When is it on?

Time of day
Morning
Afternoon
Session information
Monday to Thursday 8.50am - 3.30pm
Friday 8.50am - 2.35pm

Who to contact

Contact name
Lynn Boulton
Contact position
Head Teacher
Telephone
01388 772 959
E-mail
timothyhackworth@durhamlearning.net
Website
Timothy Hackworth Primary School

Where to go

Address
Byerley Road
Shildon
County Durham
Postcode
DL4 1HN

Other details

Related links
Ofsted reports

Availability

Childcare availability
Closed bank holidays
Before school
Term time
Will be providing 30 hours

Local Offer

Local Offer description

Admission arrangements
Durham County Council arrange all admissions to school, including admissions of children with special educational needs. If a child has a statement of SEN or an Educational, Health and Care Plan, the council also arrange this through Special Educational Needs Placement and Provision.

We currently have 52 nursery places and 16 places for two year olds. Our nursery offers a flexible approach to hours within a total of 15 hours for each child.

In addition to our nursery, the school offers a total number of 420 mainstream places and 20 places in the Enhanced Mainstream Provision for children with significant speech and language difficulties, as agreed by a panel for the council. There are two classes per year group with 30 children in each class plus children from the Enhanced Mainstream Provision in one class in each year group.

Key Policies

  • Disability Equality Scheme
  • Confidentiality Policy
  • SEND Policy and Guidelines
  • Safeguarding Policy
  • School Security Policy
  • Timothy Hackworth Policy on Disability Discrimination
  • Timothy Hackworth Behaviour Policy
  • Timothy Hackworth Equality and Diversity Policy

Contacts
Lynn Boulton (Head Teacher)
Jill Slattery (Deputy Head Teacher)
Kim Kozlowski (Special Needs Co-ordinator)
Nicola Nixon (Pupil Learning Mentor and Parent Support Advisor)
Telephone: 01388 772 959, email:timothyhackworth@durhamlearning.net

Pastoral, medical and social support
We have a comprehensive system and history of supporting children with medical issues, ranging from temporary medication needed while children recover from infections to regular training of all staff with EpiPens for severe allergies. Three members of staff, including the Special Needs Co-ordinator and two members of the office staff, have attended training on the provision of medicines in school. Generally, in order for medicines to be administered in school, medicine needs to be named and prescribed four times per day.

In addition, several members of school staff have experience in supporting children with Type 1 Diabetes, and regular updates for specific children are held in school by the Diabetic Nurse.

The school holds an asthma register and care plans are in place for children with more complex medical needs such as allergies and food intolerance (for example coeliac disease), eczema and epilepsy etc. Temporary care plans are arranged for children who have limited mobility or medical issues, and full care plans for children who may have long-term limited mobility. The school has a staff operated lift to the second floor of the main building and an evacuation chair in case of fire. Regular fire drills are held which involve use of this for any children needing the facility. The school has very close links with the School Nurse who provides good support in developing care plans and pastoral support and the School Nurse also supports the delivery of education programmes on sex and relationships.

The school employs a Pupil Learning Mentor who is also Parent Support Advisor. Together with the Special Needs Co-ordinator and the Head Teacher and Deputy Head Teacher, she provides regular pastoral support for children on a temporary and a long-term basis.

These staff members have extensive experience in leading Team Around the Child/Family meetings and in assessing early levels of social need.  Staff work with parents and outside agencies such as CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service), Speech and Language Therapy, Educational Psychology and Social Care Direct, to ensure school does all it can to support children with social and emotional issues, whether temporary or long term. Staff have a good record in developing close relationships with children and parents. This is crucial because parents know their children better than anyone.

All year groups run regular small group or individual interventions to support the SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning – part of the general curriculum) programme. Timothy Hackworth School has Level 2 accreditation for the Rights Respecting Schools Award, led by Mrs. Slattery, which encourages positive, trusting and respectful relationships between adults and children in school.

Statement of intent for promoting equality
Timothy Hackworth Primary School recognises that many individuals and communities experience unlawful and unfair discrimination and oppression on the grounds of their gender (including transgender), marital status, race and ethnicity, disability, learning difficulties, speech and language difficulties, sexual orientation, religion or belief or age. The school believes that equality for all is a basic human right and actively opposes all forms of unlawful and unfair discrimination. The school celebrates the diversity of society and are striving to promote and reflect that diversity within this organisation. We will provide services which do not discriminate against any users and provide fair and equal access for all.

Timothy Hackworth Primary School are committed to giving all pupils every opportunity to achieve the highest of standards. The school does not tolerate bullying and harassment of any kind. The school's equality policy helps to ensures that it promotes the individuality of all children, employees, volunteers, service users and general public.

Special Educational Need provided for in Timothy Hackworth School
As a mainstream school with enhanced provision for speech and language difficulties, the staff at Timothy Hackworth are committed to providing a high quality education for children with any kind of need or disability.

The kinds of special need provided for now and in recent years include:

  • Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia/Dyspraxia – now often referred to as DCD – Developmental Co-ordination Disorder)
  • General learning difficulties (children who are achieving a level of attainment across the curriculum significantly below other children the same age)
  • ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) 
  • ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)
  • Autistic Spectrum Disorder, including Asperger’s Syndrome.
  • Speech and/or language difficulties (a specialism in the school)
  • Physical difficulties (including cerebral palsy)
  • Moderate learning difficulties (children who are achieving a level of attainment across the curriculum very significantly below other children the same age)
  • Social and emotional difficulties.

Arrangements for consulting children with SEND about, and involving them in, their education
All children, including children with SEN, have the opportunity to make their views known through School Council, Rights Respecting steering groups and Family Groups and within all areas of the curriculum through speaking and listening activities.
Family Groups, which are organised across age ranges from Year 1 to Year 6, are held every two weeks with a focus on pupil voice.

All children, including children with SEN, are encouraged to attend termly progress meetings with their class teacher and parent.

All children, including children with SEN, have the opportunity to discuss targets, and children with more complex special needs have the opportunity to contribute to their Pupil Profile at each half term point.

All children with statements of SEN, or Education, Health and Care Plans, are included in person centred annual review meetings, in which they present a PowerPoint about themselves, what is going well and what they need help with.

Children with and without special educational needs across the age groups in school are being consulted by the SENCO about what they think should be in the Local Offer for Timothy Hackworth Primary School.

Enhanced Mainstream Provision
Timothy Hackworth School is currently additionally resourced by the Local Authority for a 20 place Speech and Language Resource Provision (SLRP). In order to access this, a child’s primary difficulty should be a significant and specific speech and/or language disorder or delay, which is inconsistent with other abilities. These might include a speech disorder, a phonological disorder (difficulty in processing speech sounds), an expressive language disorder or a receptive language disorder.

This provision currently benefits from a part time, daily speech and language therapist, employed by the NHS Foundation Trust, who provides direct therapy, monitoring and assessment and advice to learning support staff who are trained to deliver speech and/or language programmes to children. All support staff working with the therapist and the child have accessed an accredited speech and language training programme, ELKLAN, to understand and deliver speech and language therapy programmes. In addition, a specialist teacher supports the provision, providing advice on adaptation of the curriculum to support staff and teachers. Children access the curriculum in class alongside their year group peers.

Admission to the provision is decided by a Local Authority panel comprised of speech therapists, Head Teachers and SENCOs of the schools making provision, and a specialist Educational Psychologist.  Schools and settings who have been advised by a speech and language therapist that a child would benefit from the intensive therapy provided by a SLRP apply to the Local Authority for assessment by the panel. Evidence required would include an Educational Psychology Report, Educational Advice from the school and a Speech and Language Therapy report.  The Local Authority would then refer to the panel of professionals and, if agreed, the appropriate Enhanced Mainstream Provision would be allocated based on available places and proximity to the child’s home. Transport is provided.

In the past, a statement of special educational needs was required for a place in the SLRP, but from September 2014, the level of provision or need will be a requirement for EMP (Enhanced Mainstream Provision), a level just below that of statement in the new SEN Planning Tool for Speech and Language.

If or when a child makes very good progress in developing their speech and language skills and no longer require additionally resourced provision, this will be discussed at the annual review meeting. Advice will be sent to the Local Authority (SEN Placement and Provision) and a decision about exit from the Enhanced Mainstream Provision will be made.

General information
The Local Authority provides a set amount of finance to schools, depending on the number of children in the school altogether, where the school is and the level of children’s needs. In addition, schools receive Pupil Premium for children who have been entitled to free school meals within the last six years. This funding is designed to support children who may be from homes in a relatively deprived area.

Notional SEN Funding (Special Educational Needs)
Based on information the school provides to the Local Authority about the number of children with special educational needs, through a regular Census, the Local Authority provides additional funding to support these children. This is called the Notional SEN Funding.

Top up funding
School also receives additional funding to support children with complex and significant needs, including children with a statement of SEN. 

Enhanced Mainstream Speech and Language provision
School is additionally funded for a 20 place resourced provision for children referred from the local area (Shildon, Bishop Auckland, Crook, Newton Aycliffe) who require intensive speech and language therapy. This is currently £200,000.

How funding is used to support children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities
The SEN funding and the Pupil Premium has made it possible for school to fund a number of initiatives for children with special needs and from disadvantaged backgrounds. This includes very high levels of small group interventions from the most experienced and creative teachers in school, including members of the Senior Management Team, Mrs. Boulton, Mrs Slattery and Mrs. Kozlowski. Miss Paramore are valuable additions to the team providing extra support to children in core skills of Maths and Literacy.

Extra equipment which may be needed to support children, such as resources to support social and emotional learning and resources to help children to concentrate are financed through this.

Costed provision maps and timetables:

Costed provision maps and timetables are provided to the Local Authority and to parents for children with more significant or complex needs. This has already begun in Timothy Hackworth and will be extended in an effort to provide clarity to parents about how we support their child with special needs.

Compliments and Complaints:
Close relationships are developed between class teachers and parents and this facilitates an atmosphere in which parents can express their views freely, including areas with which parents are particularly happy with school and also issues which concern them. All staff are on the playgrounds from 8.40 - 8.50am when school starts, and many minor issues can be dealt with at this time. All children are invited to a progress meeting at least once a term or more if required, and this is also a forum for any issues to be raised.

The Special Needs Co-ordinator and the Speech and Language Resource Provision Teacher also arrange annual meetings with parents, teachers and other professionals.  If a parent wants to discuss an issue in private, they can arrange an appointment through the office with any member of staff, including the class teacher.

Equally, if a member of staff needs to discuss a sensitive issue regarding medical or behavioural concerns for example, they should invite a parent to discuss this privately. For regular issues (for example concerns about how much a child is/is not eating at lunchtime) the Home School book is the easiest way to communicate.

The Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, Special Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator and the Parent Support Advisor also foster close relationships with parents and families through informal and formal meetings and through their work with families.

The school is beginning a new government initiative, ‘Achievement for All’, which will involve further training for staff in developing close and trusting relationships between home and school , linking to the Special Educational Needs reforms  (Children’s Act, September 2014) requiring schools to put the views of the child and the parent at the heart of provision.

If a parent continues to be concerned or has an issue which they would prefer to discuss with a member of the Senior Management Team, they should request an appointment with the Head Teacher or the Deputy Head Teacher. If this issue concerns special educational needs, they should request an appointment with the Special Needs Co-ordinator in the first instance. In the vast majority of cases, complaints can be resolved by direct communication with teachers, senior staff or the Head Teacher.  If parents feel the issue is not resolved, they should put their complaint in writing to the Head Teacher. If their concerns continue, they should write to the Chair of Governors who will raise the concern with the Head Teacher.  Parents who are unsure about decisions they need to make or who find issues difficult to understand, for the education of children with significant and complex difficulties, should contact the Parent Partnership Service.

Contact name
Kim Kozlowski
Contact telephone
01388 772 959
Contact email
timothyhackworth@durhamlearning.net
Links
SEND at Timothy Hackworth

How do you identify Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)?

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

Identifying and assessing children with special educational needs:

All children admitted to Timothy Hackworth Primary School are assessed using a variety of assessment tools, including Baseline Assessments for Foundation Stage children.

Some children enter school already having been assessed as experiencing special educational needs and children who come into Nursery or Reception with SEN tend to have complex needs or very clear speech and language needs.

Children who start Timothy Hackworth School without recognised special educational needs are supported in the first instance through Quality First teaching, which is provided in all classes. If, through regular assessment and support expected through Quality First teaching, a child consistently fails to make progress and is achieving a significantly lower level of attainment in core skills of communication, language and literacy and number than expected for his/her age, the class teacher will bring the child to the attention of the Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). 

If after discussion and possible further assessment by the SENCO, it is agreed that the child may have a special educational need, the SENCO and the class teacher will arrange a meeting with the parents to discuss this.

At this meeting, the parents will be given a copy of ‘My Story’ to complete so that important information can be shared easily with any professional who may become involved. If it is agreed by parents, class teacher and SENCO that the child needs additional or different support to their peers, a SEN Support Plan will be put in place, agreed by parents, child, teacher and SENCO, and any additional referrals, assessments or information needed will be requested by the SENCO.

Support will then be put in place in accordance with the SEN Plan and planned outcomes will be reviewed termly, with parents, child whenever possible, teacher and SENCO. 

If outcomes are met, all information required is produced and assessments indicate that the child continues to achieve at a significantly lower level than his/her peers, the outcomes will be reviewed in the light of any further information and a new plan will be put in place. If the child has made good progress and level of attainment falls within the average range, the child will no longer need a SEN Support Plan. This cycle is in accordance with the national Code of Practice (2014) recommendation of Assess – Plan – Do – Review.

For children joining Timothy Hackworth School later, from other schools, the process will be the same and if the child already has a SEN Support Plan, this will be continued and reviewed as soon as possible after the child has settled into school.

For any child who continues to cause significant concern in terms of attainment or possible disability, the SENCO, through two cycles of SEN Support reviews and with agreement of parents, may decide to refer to outside agencies or the council's SEND Inclusion Service for further advice and/or assessment.

This will then be implemented through the SEN Support Plan and if concerns remain high between parents, school and the Inclusion Service or outside agency such as Speech and Language Therapy, then a referral may be made to the Educational Psychologist for assessment and advice, again following the SEN Support cycle. This may inform the level and nature of support required, as described in the relevant council SEN Planning Support Tool. In cases of very significant and complex needs a decision may be made by parents and school to request statutory assessment of needs with a view to the provision of an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan.

All children are provided with Quality First Teaching. This includes differentiated groups of children across each year group according to their level of ability and in class support from the teacher or support assistant. Withdrawn intervention groups are provided in the core curriculum areas of Maths and Literacy and taught by teachers mainly and occasionally by experienced support assistants.

These groups are for children with and without a SEN Support Plan and fall within the category of Quality First Teaching, as they also target children entitled to Pupil Premium. However, for children with a SEN Support Plan these can be included in the plan as inclusion in the groups can be part of the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle, monitored by the Plan.

Other intervention groups may be in addition to the curriculum provided for the majority of children and are targeted at Literacy, Maths, Vocabulary Groups and Social and Emotional needs.

For some children very small group interventions or one to one support is provided if needs are greater or for children without special educational needs if the potential for rapid progress is present, for short periods of time.

Specialist support is provided for children with speech and language difficulties, including small group interventions and one to one support for children with significant difficulties, usually identified through the Enhanced Mainstream Provision for Speech and Language Resource Provision, but occasionally provided for other children too.
The effectiveness of provision for curriculum-based interventions is measured mainly through progress in skills in core subjects Maths and Literacy, through regular assessment, both formal tests and continuous assessment.

For social programmes, specific assessments are used with teachers and parents before and after an intervention to try and measure improvements in confidence, peer relationships and behaviour in and out of class. If a child’s skills in core curriculum areas also improve this can also be an indication of the success of a programme.
For measures taken to address difficulties for children on the Autistic Spectrum or with social communication difficulties, these are assessed in terms of how settled and happy the child is in school.

Pupil progress is tracked currently through National Curriculum levels, SATs, Phonic Screening – both in school and through national testing, and regular formal and continuous assessment by the class teachers. If a child joins Timothy Hackworth School from another school or authority, the class teacher requests information from the previous school.

Progress towards outcomes in the SEN Support Plan or Education, Health and Care plan can be assessed through tracking as specified above in school, by parental observations and by assessments by external agencies such as Speech and Language Therapy, SEND inclusion service and Occupational Therapy etc.

The curriculum and environment is adapted according to the needs of individual children within each class in Timothy Hackworth – for example the aim currently is to provide a distraction free area in classrooms for children who may have difficulties in concentrating on individual tasks, and a regular tool is the use of individual task strips for children who find it difficult to remember complex instructions. 

All classrooms have a visual timetable in daily use, but this is regarded at Timothy Hackworth as part of Quality First Teaching. Teachers are aware of the need for a communication friendly environment and constant improvements are considered as part of the monitoring process by SEN staff, especially those involved in Enhanced Mainstream Provision for children with speech and language difficulties.

Some children are provided with enhanced supervision during physical activities, during PE and outside visits, for example. If there are observed difficulties compared to other children of the same age, for a child in developing co-ordination and gross and fine motor skills, additional small group programmes to develop these skills are implemented by support staff experienced and trained in this area. Two members of staff are also experienced in assessing levels of difficulty in co-ordination. As in other areas of the curriculum, assessments are carried out before and after interventions and if a difficulty persists into Key Stage 2, a referral is made to Occupational Therapy, with parental agreement, by the SENCO.

Comprehensive support is available for developing social skills and emotional resilience, as detailed under ‘teaching and learning’.

How will you support my child with their special educational needs and disability?

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

All classes have access to shared in class support from experienced Learning Support Assistants, and extra support is provided for children with significant needs.

In addition, some support staff have developed specific skills, such as in supporting children with speech and language difficulties, social and emotional difficulties or gross motor/co-ordination difficulties.

These members of staff are sometimes deployed to a different year group to the one they work in so that their skills can be used to support children throughout school. Where possible, however, and increasingly as more staff develop specific skills, support staff allocated to the year group carry out interventions for the difficulties listed above.

All year groups deliver vocabulary groups for those children who need to develop their vocabulary or who experience difficulty in remembering the words they need.

For some children, all that is needed is extra support from the class teacher to develop basic maths and literacy skills. For others, more experienced Support Assistants may deliver specific interventions such as ‘Moving On’,  ‘Springboard’, Early Birds Reading (children come into school earlier for additional one to one reading and are entitled to a free breakfast), Assembly Maths (one to one during assembly times), under the supervision of the class teacher.

Experienced teachers from the Senior Management Team have provided extra small group interventions for a large percentage of children in specific year groups. This has been targeted particularly to children who are entitled to Pupil Premium and has included many children with special educational needs.                                                                    

Flexible groupings
Children are taught in group sizes according to their needs in specific subjects. Some children may have a specific need in Literacy, for example, and may be in a very small group or access one to one support for this, but they may have a relative strength in Maths or Science and would only need in class support in the recording aspects of these subjects.

Most children, particularly those with special educational needs or for whom there is a concern about progress, will be taught in a mixture of whole class settings and small groups and some will access one to one support, for speech and language, maths, literacy and/or social and emotional development.

How will you make sure my child's education meet their needs?

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's young person's needs?

Assessment and monitoring of progress:
Children are rigorously assessed, and progress closely monitored in the same way for all children, including children with special educational needs and disabilities. 

A baseline assessment is carried out in Nursery and Reception which informs expected and challenging levels of progress for the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2 SATs). The KS1 SATs then inform expected and challenging levels of progress for each year group, including Year 6 SATs. However, this process can be flexible if there are genuine reasons for a child making less than expected progress.

All members of the Senior Management Team monitor progress termly for all children and the Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) monitors progress particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). If a child falls behind in the expected rate of progress, specific interventions are considered and, again, evaluated for the child.

Teaching and learning styles:
All class teachers are aware of the need to address a range of learning styles through a range of different teaching styles. The SENCO provides regular training through staff meetings to develop and share skills in this area. We recognise the challenge of teaching children of varied abilities and the need to adapt the curriculum or the teaching style to the individual needs of a child.

Differentiation:
Teaching is differentiated according to the needs of the child but children with special educational needs often require a different approach and training for staff has been provided, and will continue to be developed, in providing a ‘multi-sensory’ approach. This, as the word implies, involves supporting learning through all the different senses, depending on the strengths of the child.

Some children learn through what they hear, some through a more visual approach and many with SEND require a ‘kinaesthetic’ approach, involving all the senses, including touch and practical activities. The latest innovation in school is greater use of the ‘Forest Schools’ curriculum for small groups of older children, which does involve a practical approach but also supports the needs of children with social and emotional difficulties.

Additional Support:
All classes have access to shared in class support from experienced Learning Support Assistants, and extra support is provided for children with significant needs.

In addition, some support staff have developed specific skills, such as in supporting children with speech and language difficulties, social and emotional difficulties or gross motor/co-ordination difficulties. These members of staff are sometimes deployed to a different year group to the one they work in, so that their skills can be used to support children throughout school.

Where possible, however, and increasingly as more staff develop specific skills, support staff allocated to the year group carry out interventions for the difficulties listed above.

All year groups deliver vocabulary groups for those children who need to develop their vocabulary or who experience difficulty in remembering the words they need.

For some children, all that is needed is extra support from the class teacher to develop basic maths and literacy skills. For others, more experienced Support Assistants may deliver specific interventions such as ‘Moving On’, Early Birds Reading (children come into school earlier for additional one to one reading and are entitled to a free breakfast), Assembly Maths (one to one during assembly times), under the supervision of the class teacher.

Experienced teachers from the Senior Management Team provide extra small group interventions for a large percentage of children in specific year groups. This has been targeted particularly to children who are entitled to Pupil Premium and has included many children with special educational needs.
                                                                           
Flexible groupings:
Children are taught in group sizes according to their needs in specific subjects. Some children may have a specific need in Literacy, for example, and may be in a very small group or access one to one support for this, but they may have a relative strength in Maths or Science and would only need in class support in the recording aspects of these subjects.

Most children, particularly those with special educational needs or for whom there is a concern about progress, will be taught in a mixture of whole class settings and small groups and some will access one to one support, for speech and language, maths, literacy and/or social and emotional development.

How will you support my child's overall wellbeing?

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall wellbeing?

Rewards and sanctions:
We are a Rights Respecting Gold Award School with UNICEF. A high standard of behaviour is expected and achieved by the majority of children in the majority of situations.

There have been many reports about the high standard of behaviour shown by Timothy Hackworth Pupils in outside visits and visitors to school often comment about the calm atmosphere in school and in the manners shown by pupils to adults, adults to pupils and pupils to each other.

Rewards include Golden Time in some classes, extra playtimes in others and Right Respecting Cards and nominations for showing consideration and respect in school. Class EDojos are also used to reward positive behaviours. Use of positive and specific praise in schoolwork is expected of all staff.

For inappropriate behaviour in school, ‘yellow cards’ are issued, which means that the child loses some free time so that they can think about how they can improve their behaviour. For more significant incidents, such as hurting another child, a ‘red card’ may be issued, which would result in loss of free time and parents being informed.  Children who regularly receive red or yellow cards are monitored and strategies and interventions are put in place, with close liaison between staff and parents by a member of the Senior Management Team.

Mentoring and counselling
We provide an extensive system of mentoring and counselling for children who may experience temporary or long term social and/or emotional difficulties. We regard it as essential to address the emotional and social wellbeing of children so that they can achieve their potential. Social and emotional difficulties can be a major barrier to learning for some children.

We employ a Learning Mentor, who supports children in their emotional wellbeing across school. The Special Needs Co-ordinator also supports children who need to talk to an adult about an emotional issue.

The Learning Mentor is also the Parent Support Advisor for school, and this helps to develop a close home/school partnership in supporting children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

The Deputy Head Teacher, Assistant Head Teacher, SENCO and Learning Mentor are all trained in up to date Level 2 Safeguarding of Children, and the Head Teacher is trained to Level 3.

These members of staff liaise with Social Care Direct to support families through the Single Assessment procedure. The SENCO and Learning Mentor are also trained to carry out the Single Assessment, but school are more likely to be involved and lead or contribute to Early Assessment and Team Around the Family interventions.

Across school, interventions are provided to develop children’s social skills, in addition to the SEAL programme provided for all children, and to address their emotional wellbeing and sense of being valued.

In Reception, enhanced access to supported play or circle time turn taking activities are encouraged for some children.

In Year 1, Time to Talk (through Ginger Bear) is provided by the Learning Mentor for two groups weekly.

In Year 2, ‘Silver SEAL’ is provided by the year group Support Assistant, for small groups to supplement the main SEAL programme.

In Years 3, 4 and 5 year group support assistants provide Units 1, 2 and 3 respectively to develop social communication.

In addition, a programme of support for very small groups is provided for children who experience significant social communication difficulties, such as children who show characteristics of Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Children who experience social communication difficulties are also provided with more time and individual support to rationalise incidents they have found difficult through ‘Comic Strip Conversations’.

For children with repeated difficult behaviours on the autistic spectrum, the SENCO provides a Social Story, in collaboration with the parent, support staff and teacher.

Two members of staff have been trained by the Educational Psychology Service in providing a programme called ‘Connecting with Children: Listening Matters’ on a one to one basis. This combines creative activities and play with time to talk in a therapeutic environment for children who have been or may be struggling with an aspect of their life emotionally. This is supervised by the SENCO who has been trained for this role.
One of the staff members who has been trained for Listening Matters has attended further training so that this programme can also be offered to children with social communication difficulties or on the autistic spectrum.

The Learning Mentor provides some individual support for children on a regular basis to help them cope with the demands of school life.

The Learning Mentor/Parent Support Advisor also provides coffee mornings and out of school activities for families to encourage mutual social and emotional support between families and between school and families.

The SENCO has attended training in providing a programme called ‘Story Links’ which is designed to provide emotional support to parents and children whilst at the same time supporting children’s literacy skills.

What specialist services and expertise is available at or accessed by the staff?

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

School works closely with a variety of external agencies including:

  • Educational Psychology
  • Special Educational Needs and Disabilities support service (SEND)
  • Sensory Support Service (also part of SEND)
  • English as an Additional Language Service
  • Gypsy and Roma Traveller Service
  • School Nurse
  • Health Visitors
  • Family Workers
  • Social Services including Family Pathfinders
  • Children in Need
  • Safeguarding Services
  • Stronger Families service
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Paediatric service
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
  • Occupational Therapy including Treetops, Young Carers etc.

If the needs of a child require referral for further advice than that available within school, we refer to the relevant agency with parental permission.

An assessment is usually undertaken by the service and advice is followed in school by staff with appropriate expertise. Often services contact school after becoming involved through a different service (for example a GP may have referred to the Paediatrician or CAMHS or Speech Therapy and they in turn contact school).

Collaboration with other schools
We are part of a local cluster of schools (Col 12) from Shildon and Newton Aycliffe who can organise initiatives or buy resources benefitting all of the schools within their ‘col’ or cluster/group. The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, for example, recently met with SENCOs of other schools within the Col, to discuss improvements to transitions arrangements between primary and secondary schools, and the Head Teacher regularly attends Col meetings.  

We have close links between the school and local secondary schools, including regular ‘taster’ lessons provided for Years 5 and 6 at Sunnydale Community College, King James Academy, Whitworth Park, St John’s and Barrington Schools. Transition arrangements are discussed in a different section dedicated to this.

How are staff trained regarding SEND?

What training are the staff supporting children and young people with SEND have had or are having?

Staffing and special qualifications/expertise:

Key staff for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities:
Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator: Kim Kozlowski
The Special Educational Needs Governor is Mr Tony Jones and regular meetings are arranged with the SENCO so that Mr Jones knows about latest developments in SEN and any SEN issues in school. The SENCO also produces data analyses of progress of children with SEN.

Support staff who have ELKLAN qualifications in working with children with speech and language difficulties:

  • Mrs Wall
  • Mrs Firbank
  • Mrs Boukadida
  • Mrs Laverick
  • Mrs Mills
  • Mrs Howell
  • Mrs Ellison
  • Mrs Sharp
  • Mrs Tomlinson
  • Mrs Furness
  • Mrs Dykes

In addition to staff trained by ELKLAN, at least one support assistant in each year group is trained within school to provide support for children who need to develop their word finding or vocabulary skills.

Higher Level Teaching Assistants

  • Mrs Tracey Howell (also specialising in supporting children accessing Enhanced Mainstream Speech and Language Provision: ELKLAN Level 3)
  • Mrs Lindsay Ord
    Mrs Elaine Taylor and Mrs. Michelle Ellison are also trained as Higher Level Teaching Assistants.

All year groups, including Nursery, benefit from at least one Learning Support Assistant, providing at least 50% support to all classes, and most have ELKLAN Level 3 qualification in supporting children with speech and language difficulties.

Learning Mentor/Parent Support Advisor: Miss Nicola Stainsby. Miss Stainsby is also one of the trained Safeguarding Officers (together with Mrs Boulton (Head Teacher), Mrs Slattery (Deputy Head Teacher), Mrs Reid (Assistant Head Teacher) and Mrs Kozlowski (SENDCo)

Miss Stainsby also has extensive training over several years in supporting the social and emotional needs of children and families and is a qualified and experienced Parent Support Advisor who has supported many families through difficult times and encouraged several parents to develop their educational skills and qualifications. She also has ‘Hidden Sentence’ training, providing effective support to families with a member of their family in prison.

She provides a high level of support to Mrs Jill Slattery (a member of the Senior Management Team) in developing the school’s Rights Respecting Schools Award and ethos.

Miss Stainsby and Mrs Kozlowski have attended training in the Single Assessment process, which replaces the Common Assessment Framework to support families. Mrs Boulton, Miss Stainsby and Mrs Kozlowski have extensive support in leading and attending Team Around the Family meetings.

At least one support assistant in each year group is trained within school to provide support for children who need to develop their word finding or vocabulary skills.
Two support assistants (Mrs. Lesley Firbank and Mrs. Karen Boukadida) have attended training at Treetops Occupational Therapy to support children with co-ordination, gross and fine motor difficulties. Mrs. Firbank and Mrs. Boukadida have several years of experience and training in this area and provide assessments within school to identify children who may be experiencing these difficulties. They worked closely with the previous Local Authority Advisor, Chris Ridley, in screening for co-ordination difficulties as part of the ‘fatty acids’ research to investigate the impact of taking fish oils several years ago, and so developed a good understanding in this area.

Although not directly employed by the school, staff and pupils also benefit from general advice from a very experienced Speech and Language Therapists, Mrs. Jenni Watson, who is in school every Monday and Alice Kennedy who is in school every Thursday as key members of the Enhanced Mainstream Speech and Language Provision. Although they do not provide direct therapy or assessment for the general population of the school, they do provide general and useful advice to staff and have been key motivators in developing Timothy Hackworth Primary School as a communication friendly school. She works closely as a member of a growing team of specialist staff in developing children’s speech and language skills and provides valuable support to the Special Needs Co-ordinator in organising support for children in speech and language.

What activities outside the classroom will there be?

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

Extra-curricular activities:

  • After school homework club
  • After school guitar club
  • After school singing and dancing club
  • After school football club
  • After school gymnastics club
  • After school gardening club
  • After school ICT club
  • After school singing and dancing club
  • After school ‘Press Pack’ club
  • Lunchtime ‘Story Club’
  • Lunchtime ‘Reading Detectives’ club
  • Local Motion (to encourage walking/biking to school)

Intergenerational activities:

  • Safety Carousels
  • Show Racism the Red Card
  • PSA Summer activities programme
  • Swimming (as part of curriculum) – mainly in Y3 but with extra sessions for children who need it
  • Family Groups (mixed age – Rights Respecting agenda – part of the curriculum)
  • Residential opportunity in Year 6 for outdoor activities

How will you support my child's needs?

How accessible is the setting/school/college environment?

We are well resourced for children with limited mobility or physical difficulties, with ramps providing access to all buildings in school.

There is an Occupational Therapy room which houses a therapy bed, disabled toilet and wash facilities, and which provides storage for some of the equipment used regularly for children with motor co-ordination difficulties. There are a further two disabled toilets with washing facilities, one in the small building and one on the ground floor of the main building.

In addition, nursery has a disabled toilet facility for younger children and a shower. The main building has a lift to the second floor, operated by adults for children with permanent or temporary mobility problems, and an EVAC chair in the event of fire.

We are well resourced for computers and the latest technology. All classrooms have interactive whiteboards, which is useful for children who require a visual approach. Classrooms in Reception and Year 1 have computer areas where children can develop their independent skills in Information Technology. Other classes have access to a class set of wireless laptops and IPads.

We liaise closely with outside agencies such as Occupational Therapy and the technical department of Speech and Language Therapy to borrow or purchase specific items needed for children, such as specialist cutlery, writing slopes and Augmentative Communication Devices (for children unable to communicate through speech).

How will I be involved in my child's education?

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

All parents are invited to a termly meeting to discuss progress and targets with the class teacher. Once a year children with EHC Plans attend a meeting to discuss progress and to review the EHCP. Three times a year, parents are invited into school to discuss their child's SEN Support Plan. During these meetings, a person centred approach will be used, with parents and children at the heart of this process. During statutory annual reviews of EHCPs, pupils present a PowerPoint representing their views.

All children are fully involved in deciding on appropriate targets, which will enable progress and how they will improve achievement.

My child is going to be starting or leaving soon, how will you help them?

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

Transition arrangements:
When children start school in Reception class from Timothy Hackworth Nursery, they have already become accustomed to the outside setting because this is a shared area for the Foundation Stage, and there are lots of visits towards the end of the summer term so that children are also familiar with the indoor setting and the adults who are going to be working with them.

When children start school from other pre-school settings, additional transition sessions are arranged to those listed below. Byerley Road Pre-School, for example, bring their children for a session and there is close consultation between the Foundation Stage Leader (Mrs. Calcutt), the SENCO (Mrs Kozlowski) and the Pre-School staff about the children who are about to transfer.

A meeting is arranged for all parents and teachers to share information about the setting and the children.

Parents and children are then invited together to spend a morning in the Reception setting and to have lunch with their children. When children are in Year 6 and about to leave school, close links are forged with the various secondary schools involved. During Years 5 and 6 children have made several visits to the schools for ‘taster’ sessions, transition workers employed by the ‘Col’ (local group of schools) come into Timothy Hackworth and work with the children, getting to know them, and there is liaison between the Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) and the SENCOs at the receiving schools. Finally, in the summer term before transfer, children attend induction days at the receiving schools and many of these also offer summer schools.

For children who transfer to the Enhanced Mainstream Provision for Speech and Language (EMP/SL) for the start of Reception, arrangements are the same as for other Reception class children and in addition the SENCO, with the class teacher visit the child in their pre-school setting.  

For children who transfer to the EMP at other times in their primary education, visits will be offered with parents initially, then for parents to leave them for a session or a day, depending on the child’s age and needs, before finally agreeing on a start date. All adults working with the child will be introduced during these visits.

For a child transferring into Timothy Hackworth without EMP ideally school would prefer visits as above and will endeavour to arrange this between previous schools and parents.

All new children arriving during a school year are allocated a reliable, sensible ‘buddy’ who can help them through the early days in their new school. All adults involved try to make it easy for new children to feel comfortable in school, through the Rights Respecting ethos in school.

On exit from the Enhanced Mainstream Speech and Language Provision, efforts are made to arrange visits to the child’s new primary or secondary school, depending on what stage this occurs. For children transferring to a mainstream secondary school, transition arrangements are the same as for other children and for children transferring to a specialist placement, school forges good links with The Oaks (Special School) and with Enhanced Mainstream Provision settings for Speech and Language (Whitworth Park School, Spennymoor).

Comprehensive transition arrangements are made for these children and the receiving schools have an excellent record of developing relationships and supporting children both in Timothy Hackworth and in their new setting and in their new setting in good time before leaving primary school.

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