Bowes Hutchinson's Church of England (Voluntary Aided) School

We are a small and friendly village Church of England primary school offering children a highly creative and innovative education. 

Our small class sizes enable personalised learning for children, whatever their needs and abilities. We encourage all children to build upon their talents and develop their skills.

We encourage parents to build a partnership with school and believe that by working together we can prepare children to become confident, lifelong learners, thus equipping them to succeed in 21st century life.

As a Church School, we have close links with St. Giles’ Church in Bowes and the church community and Christian values underpin their ethos.

When is it on?

Time of day
Morning
Afternoon
Session information
Monday to Friday during term time

Who to contact

Contact name
Mrs C A Matthewman
Contact position
Head Teacher
Telephone
01833 628 291
E-mail
boweshutchinsons@durhamlearning.net
Website
Bowes Hutchinson's Church of England (Voluntary Aided) School

Where to go

Address
Bowes
Barnard Castle
County Durham
Postcode
DL12 9LG

Other details

Related links
Ofsted reports

Local Offer

Local Offer description

We are committed to the equal inclusion of all pupils in all areas of primary school life. We recognise the diverse and individual needs of all our pupils and take into account the additional support required by those children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Mrs Matthewman is our designated Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator. It is her job to:

  • Oversee the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy
  • Liaise with the relevant Designated Teacher where a looked after pupil has SEN
  • Advise teacher’s on using a graduated approach to providing SEN support
  • Advise on the deployment of the school’s delegated budget and other resources to meet the pupil’s needs effectively
  • Liaise with parents of pupils with SEN
  • Liaise with and act as a key point of contact for external agencies
  • Ensure that the school keeps the records of all SEN pupils up to date
  • Work with the school governors to ensure that the school meets its responsibilities under the Education Act (2010) with regard to reasonable adjustments and access arrangements
Contact name
C. A Matthewman
Contact telephone
01833 628291
Contact email
boweshutchinsons@durhamlearning.net
Links
School website

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?

We celebrate the fact that every child is unique. We understand that children learn and develop in different ways, and have different strengths and areas for improvement. Teachers and teaching assistants recognise this and use different teaching styles, resources and plan different levels of work in the classroom to cater for the various ways children learn. However, many children, at some time in their school life, need extra help.

We believe in early identification of any special educational needs and disabilities, and this process starts from the first day children enter our school. If a child is attaining lower than age related expectation or progress is slower than expected/usual for the child, but it is felt that the child doesn’t have a SEND, then appropriate intervention is planned for and specific objectives are recorded on a whole-school provision map.

If you have any concerns about your child's learning, please contact your class teacher or the head teacher and arrange an appointment to discuss next steps.

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?

If we suspect a child might have SEND, we talk to the people who know the child best-the child and their parents/carers. In that initial assessment meeting, the child, their parents and their class teacher are invited to share their opinions and discuss the child’s strengths, areas of difficult and hopes for the future. This forms the starting point for future support planning. We use the graduated approach detailed in the new Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2014 of “assess, plan, do, review.”

Following the first meeting, if it is deemed appropriate, a Support Plan will be created for your child. This contains two or three specific, measurable, achievable and realistic targets, outlines appropriate support or intervention programmes and who will be the responsible adult. These targets will be reviewed at least every term with the child, their parents and class teacher. If extra intervention and support is required, then your child will be assigned to one of our skilled Teaching assistants. They will work closely with the class teacher to plan a programme of intervention. This intervention will be recorded on the whole-school provision map and will be regularly reviewed. Class teachers will also discuss with you how you can support your child at home.

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?

In class, each child’s teacher will be finding ways to support your child to achieve these targets, such as:

  • Changing the way activities are planned and delivered
  • Matching activities to the ability/need of each child (differentiation)
  • Adapting learning materials such as equipment and activities to suit each child’s needs
  • Providing intervention is one to one or small groups as appropriate

 

How will we know my child is progressing?

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

We aim to support the development of the whole child. To ensure we are effective in this, we recognise the need to develop effective partnerships. First and foremost, we actively seek to foster positive working relationships with both children and their parents. We believe that children and their parents know best; parents are a child’s first and most enduring educator after all, so we start the assessment process by discussing what the child and their parents think.

We then use the following strategies:

  • Have regular meetings and discussions with the child and their parents to determine how the child behaves at home, their strengths, areas of difficulty and hopes for the future
  • Make close observations during school to identify the types of activities and experiences that most engage each child so these can be developed further and be used to form future planning
  • Involve SEND children and their parents with setting their own targets

We track pupil progress through:

  • Analysing pupil progress data and setting appropriate targets
  • Using national curriculum testing
  • Using tests such as the year 1 phonics test, reading age and spelling age tests
  • Gathering information from the child, parents, carers and professional from other agencies. 

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?

We work with a number of external agencies and fellow practitioners to help support and develop a child’s pastoral, social, educational and medical needs wherever necessary.

This list includes:

  • Our community of learning, where we share resources and effective practice with a number of schools in the surrounding area
  • The council's Special Educational Needs Inclusion Team
  • Durham Educational Psychology Service
  • Durham One Point Hub
  • Health Agencies, particularly School Nurse Service
  • Central Durham Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
  • Speech and Language Therapists
  • Durham Autistic Spectrum Team
  • Behaviour Support Services/Crisis Response
  • Durham Movement Difficulties Service
  • Tree Tops Occupational Therapy Service for Children
  • The service for the Hearing Impaired
  • The service for the Visually Impaired

How are staff trained regarding SEND?

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

Both teaching and support staff are involved in regular training to support the work they do with children with SEND. This includes having sound knowledge of, for example, dealing with communication difficulties, children on the autistic spectrum and dyslexia.

Support staff have further specialised training for both these and other areas of need within our school.

Specific training to deliver interventions has included:

  • Indicative Provision Guidance (identifying level of need)
  • Introduction to Speech, Language & Communication (SALT)
  • Working with children’s Speech & Language difficulties
  • SALT – Classroom Strategies
  • Supporting children ADHD
  • Supporting children with ASD
  • Relax Kids
  • Lexia
  • Makaton
  • ICT: Communicate in Print (using symbols)
  • Team Teach
  • De-escalation strategies
  • Toe by Toe
  • Socially Speaking
  • Ginger Bear Group
  • Fine motor skills intervention training
  • Dyspraxia support intervention

What activities outside the classroom will there be?

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

Trips and visits are always risk assessed to ensure that they are suitable for the children involved. Where necessary, adaptations will be made to ensure that every child has access to school visits. Child staff ratios will be monitored carefully and if necessary, a child may be allocated one to one support. Parents will be consulted and may be invited to support this process.

What is available to help my child with their education?

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

Resources are allocated in accordance with a EHC plan or SEN statement, according to an individual's needs. Professionals, parents and the young person will be consulted as to their needs and preferences.

What support can I expect for my child?

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

If your child's SEND needs are complex and/or severe, we may ask the Local Authority to carry out an Education, Health and Care Assessment:

  • This is a very detailed assessment of each child’s needs. Parents or carers, the school and a range of professionals will all be asked to provide written reports.
  • At the end of the assessment phase the council will consider these reports to help decide whether or not to issue an Education, Health and Care Plan for the child.
  • Parents/carers also have the right to ask the council to carry out this assessment although it is usually best if you can do this with the support of the school.
  • Education, Health and Care Assessment is only appropriate for a small number of children. Your school SENCO or the Parent Partnership Service will be able to advise you about this.

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

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

We acknowledge the importance of and welcome parental involvement in school. If you wish to support school by participating in activities in school, please contact our school office.

There's also the Friends of Bowes School Association who fundraise and organise social events for the school. They welcome new members so please contact us for further details.

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 is carefully monitored and planned for with the tutors from the secondary schools. Additional visits can be made, photographs provided of adults and settings and other appropriate measures taken to ensure successful transition from primary to secondary. The young person, parents and all relevant professionals will be consulted.

Disclaimer

Durham County Council's Families Information Service does not promote nor endorse the services advertised on this website. Anyone seeking to use/access such services does so at their own risk and may make all appropriate enquiries about fitness for purpose and suitability to meet their needs.
  • www.boweshutchinsonsschool.org.uk

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Address: Bowes  Barnard Castle  County Durham

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