How do the staff at Tynsel Parkes know when a child needs help and support?

Concerns are raised by any adult who works and cares for the child
Information shared from a child’s previous setting
Tracking documents in the academy may indicate a lack of or slow progress
Observed changes in behaviour
Classroom observations that may indicate additional needs
A pupil asking for additional help throughout the school day
Referral from a Healthcare Professional
Tynsel Parkes aims to identify children who have needs as early as possible; each child is assessed on entry to the academy and is closely monitored throughout their academy journey.

Definition: Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. Children have a learning difficulty if they:
• Have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children the same age.
• Have a disability that prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the local education authority.
• Are under compulsory school age and fall within the definitions above or would do so if special educational provision was not made for them.

How will the staff at Tynsel Parkes help me to support my child?
An initial discussion with your child’s class teacher, the academy will suggest further ways in which we can work together to support and develop your child’s learning.
The academy SENCO, can meet with you to discuss how to support your child further.
Classroom adaptations will take place to support your child and interventions will take place with small, measurable targets to ensure progress is taking place. These adaptation will be monitored closely.
If external agencies are involved, they may suggest further strategies and resources to help your child.
We organise a number of parent working together workshops during the year, with the aim of providing parents with more information about the curriculum and suggestions regarding ways to help your child.
Your child’s progress will be closely monitored to ensure that any intervention or extra support given is effective.

At Tynsel Parkes we have an open door policy. We can meet and together and talk about your child, deciding together how we best support your children.
If you are concerned about your child, please:
Talk to your child’s class teacher
Talk to the academy SENCO
Talk to the Principal

Please look on the school website under policies:
SEND Policy
Admissions Policy - Admissions: If the number of applications for admission to the academy exceeds the academy’s Published Admission Number (30), places are allocated first to those pupils whose Education, Health and Care Plan names the academy as the most appropriate mainstream academy that meets the learner’s needs. Please refer to Tynsel Parkes CE Primary Academy’s Admissions policy for further details of admission arrangements and procedures.
Anti-Bullying Policy
Attendance Policy
Behaviour Policy
Behaviour Expectations
Complaints Policy
Equal Opportunities including Race Equality
Safeguarding Policy

Every child is special and unique, all support and interventions are carefully tailored to an individual’s needs. As concerns are raised and discussed with parents, children will be carefully monitored and the needs will be assessed on an individual basis.
All pupils will be provided with high quality teaching that is scaffolded with care to meet the needs of the learners.
The quality of teaching and pupil progress is monitored through processes including: classroom observations, discussions during pupil progress meetings, ongoing assessment of progress, work sampling, scrutiny of planning, meetings with SENCO and pupil and parent feedback/voice.
Pupils with a disability will be provided with ‘reasonable adjustments’ in order to increase their access to the curriculum e.g. in English, a child may need coloured overlays, work mats, writing slopes, IT equipment, specialist equipment and extra reading opportunities .
All pupils have individual age appropriate targets set in line with national outcomes to encourage ambition. These are discussed with parents at Parents’ Evening. Their targets are tracked throughout the year using the whole school tracking system, by staff in school.
Pupils who are not making the expected levels of progress are identified very quickly and are discussed in meetings between the class teacher and SENCO and the Senior Leadership Team.
If further action is required to increase progress this will follow the: Assess, Plan, Do, Review model.
Additional interventions will be planned to increase the rate of progress, the impact of the differentiated teaching being provided for your child will be recorded to assess progress made.
SEND support will be recorded on Assess, Plan, Do, Review assessment sheets, these identify a clear set of expected outcomes, which will include SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely) Targets. The targets will be shared with parents and the children. Targets will be regularly monitored by the class teacher and SENCO. Half termly meetings will be held with parents to discuss the targets and the progress made towards them. Parental support is key to the success of a child’s education and we encourage all parents/carers to attend these meetings and share their thoughts and concerns in a supportive environment.
If progress rates are still judged inadequate despite the delivery of high quality interventions, advice will be sought from external agencies regarding strategies to best meet the specific needs of a pupil.
For a very small percentage of children, whose needs are sufficient and complex and the provision required to meet their needs cannot be reasonably provided within our academy resources, a request will be made to the Local Authority to conduct an assessment of their education, health and care needs. This may result in an Education Health Care Plan (EHC).

All achievements no matter how small are good achievements and at Tynsel Parkes, we provide a rich, balanced curriculum accessible to all children.

Teachers plan lessons and activities according to the current levels of attainment within their class. Differentiation and scaffolding for learning is very important as it means that children can access learning at their own level. When a child has been identified as having special needs, their work will be further differentiated by the class teacher to remove barriers to learning, enabling children to access the curriculum more easily and be successful.

All interventions are closely matched to each child’s level of need. A trained classroom support assistant will usually deliver the interventions, and with the class teacher, will closely monitor progress and outcomes that will support the next steps in learning.
Reasonable adjustments will be made for children who have complex needs. Teachers think carefully about the organisation of their classrooms, ensuring that all sensory needs are effectively met.

Tynsel Parkes works closely with a number of agencies to ensure the best possible provision for your child. These include:
Autism Outreach Team
Educational Psychologist Service
Social Services
School Nurse
CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service)
Speech and Language Support Team
Mental Health Support Team
East Staffordshire SEND Inclusion Hub
Family Support
Attendance support

If a referral is required with parental consent, an initial meeting will be arranged. This will offer a multi-agency approach to support and develop your child’s progress.

The academy receives funding to respond to the needs of pupils with SEND from a number of sources. A proportion of the funds allocated per pupil to the academy provide for their education (the Age Weighted Pupil Unit); the National SEN budget, the Pupil Premium funding for pupils who meet certain criteria.

This funding is then used to provide the facilities to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities through:
• Small group support from classroom support assistants
• Support from external agencies
• Provision of specialist resources e.g. assessment tools, equipment to help with a need
• Training relating to SEND for all staff


If your child had been given support from outside agencies and requires extra support, the academy may apply for additional funding. This will enable the school to deliver all the recognised interventions that the agencies have suggested. The academy will monitor all interventions and support to ensure impact. If there is a very limited amount of progress or an adult is required on a more regular basis, an EHCP application might be the route that the academy takes, after consultation with parents and outside agencies supporting the child.

The decision is made for each individual child; all the children’s needs may be different.
We look at:
The progress your child is making
The type of difficulties your child is experiencing
Participation and access to learning
Multi agency advice and guidance

For pupils with SEND but without an Education Health Care Plan the decision regarding the support required will be taken jointly between the class teacher, SENCO and Senior Management Team. These are reviewed regularly with decisions based upon tracking of pupil progress and assessments, including those by outside agencies if appropriate.

For pupils with an Education Health Care Plan, this decision will be reached about how much support the school provides the child when the plan is being produced or through the annual review.

The school will make decisions about how much support a child will need in school, this decision will be made by the class teacher and SENCO with discussions with parents. Any additional funding and EHCP applications will be sent to county for panels to make decisions about monetary contributions to schools.

SEND equipment and resources will be allocated to children when agencies have recommended the use of a specific resource. This will be secured through use of the SEND allocation within the school's budget. The school has a range of resources to support with specific learning needs in school that can be timetabled by the class teacher. Resources include:
Writing slopes
Short vowel dominoes
Digraph sound dominoes
R controlled vowel sound dominoes
Phonic spots
Touchtronic Letters
Touchtronic Numbers
Magnetic Letters activities
Comprehension activities
Phonemic awareness activities
Speaking activities
Letters and sounds activities
Story starter activities
Write From The Start
Talking Tins and postcards
Talking product activity book
Talking Topics –Transport and Food
Bag of sounds
Bag of Spellings.
Sequential thinking cards –set 1-5
Phoneme frames
Magnetic boards
Pencil grips and triangular pencils.
Coloured Overlays/ Coloured Reading Strips
Exercise books /coloured pages.
Read Write Inc One –to- One Phonics Tutoring
Read Write Inc Whole Programme Manual
Read Write Inc Speeds Sounds Lesson Plans Handbook
Read write Inc Get writing
Get writing: Red Ditty books 1- 10, Green-Book 1,Purple Book 2, Pink Book 3, Orange Book 4, Yellow Book 5, Blue Book 6, Grey Book 7.
Time to Talk - Handbook and resources.
Talking Partners - Handbook and resources.
Toe by Toe-pupil books
Hornet-literacy Primer
Active Literacy KS2
LCP Phonic and Word Recognition
Power of 2
Plus 1
Lego Nurture
No Nonsense Phonics Skills programme
Beanbag activity books - Whole class pack - Take home packs-Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.
Salford Reading Test
Diagnostic Reading Analysis
Non Reading Intelligence Tests NNRIT
Boxall Profile Assessment
Reading Comprehension
Pearson Dyslexia- Pre assessment
Fine motor skills equipment. Box of resources to support Motor Skills United.
Clicker

Parents are encouraged to contact their child’s class teacher regarding any concerns they may have.
Make an appointment with the SENCO by ringing the academy office.
There will be half-termly meetings to discuss your child’s progress and Assess, Plan, Do, Review forms if required.
Throughout the year, we will have regular parents’ evenings, workshops and opportunities to visit your child’s classroom.

Children’s progress will be measured each half term. If your child has Assess, Plan, Do Review targets, these will be reviewed every half term. Progress will be discussed with the SENCO and parents, and new targets will be set. If a home school diary is required to support with your child’s learning and communications, we will set up these if required.
Reports from any external agencies will be shared and discussed with parents and if a further meeting is required multi-agency meetings will take place for parents, external agencies and teachers to attend.
If you child has an EHC Plan this will be reviewed annually with any necessary agencies invited to join the reviews.

All children will have weekly homework tasks and reading books to support with home learning.
School will provide workshops for parents.
Any reports from outside agencies will be shared with parents, to ensure that any strategies are being carried out at home/school in a consistent manner.
Discussions about work to complete at home will be discussed during the half termly meetings with class teachers.

Parents will be invited to half termly meeting to discuss their child’s progress and discuss the SMART targets. Staff will discuss any interventions taking place and the impact of these interventions, what strategies are working well and what barriers to learning are there.
Children who have EHC Plans will have annual reviews completed with parents, class teachers, SENDCO and any relevant agencies working with your child are invited to the the meeting.

All children will be working towards the same learning objectives, but different levels with modifications will be made to the design and teaching of the lesson. This is called differentiation and scaffolding, it allows all children to access the same curriculum.
Whole Academy policies (e.g. English and Maths) are evaluated annually to ensure they measurably increase both the inclusion and progress of pupils with SEND.
We monitor the curriculum regularly to ensure that there are no physical, environmental or language barriers that prevent access.
We reduce barriers to learning by ensuring we have the right resources, for example: ICT resources, learning prompts, pictures, visual timetables, colour overlays (for dyslexia). Where appropriate we offer adult support for particular learning activities.

All of our children are encouraged to join in, welcomed on and included in all activities and school clubs whatever their needs.
Risk assessment processes effectively ensure that action is taken to increase the safety and inclusion of all pupils in all activities.
If a child requires extra support to be able to participate in a school visit or activity, then the adult to child ratio will reflect this; a child may be supported 1:1.
All children who require support at the beginning or the end of the school day will be met by an adult at the classroom entrance or met at the main school office is appropriate.
Extra adult support will be allocated to support at break times and lunchtimes to ensure the safety of children when required.

All our staff members believe in developing children’s self-esteem and our Academy Christian values reflect this. Personal and social development is a priority within our curriculum.
Support assistants are effectively deployed to ensure pupil progress, independence.
There will be resources specifically chosen to aid and support learning, as well as the child’s mental wellbeing.
The Academy regards pastoral care for all its pupils as a priority.
Nurture groups or play therapy are held for children who need a little extra boost to improve confidence, self-esteem or social skills for a short while. These will usually be held with other peers or on a one to one basis when required.
The behaviour expectations document is evaluated annually.
The behaviour expectation document identifies reasonable adjustments to ensure that the need for pupil exclusion is very rare and well below national levels.
The Academy ethos is one where all pupils are valued and their diverse abilities are equally celebrated.
Sanctions are based on restorative and relational principles and result in pupils making more positive decisions about behavioural choices.
Pupil voice e.g. school council and Wellbeing Champions, lead to changes in academy policies and practices and therefore greater autonomy.
Advice and guidance is sought and implemented to respond to pupils who have significant medical needs e.g. asthma, nut allergies, diabetes.
All staff receive medical training where appropriate e.g. Epipen training, epilepsy, diabetes training and training for specific medical conditions when required.
All behaviour expectation documents and anti-bullying policies are found on the school website.

When a child has a medical condition a Care Plan will be written, with the support of parents and medical professionals. It will be the parents’ responsibility to keep the school up to date with any medical changes. Any medicines that are required for an ongoing medical condition will need to be provided by parents, ensuring they have been prescribed by the doctor with their child’s name printed on the medication. All medicines will be kept in the locked medicine cabinet. Any adults who work with the child will be made aware of the care plan and know how to administer the medicines. If it is a specific medical need, training will be provided to the supporting adults.

In any medical emergency the school will immediately call 999 and inform parents.

To support with attendance the school works with VIP Education, who support families and school attendance issues.
The school also works with the East Staffordshire SEND and Inclusion Hub to support with SEND and any behavioural needs signposting to agencies that can support the whole family and child.
School will have regular meetings with parents and discuss behavioural strategies used in school to support the needs of the child. Nurture groups are available and access to behaviour support if this is identified as a need.

The virtual school will work with the school and social workers in developing a Personal Education Plan (PEP). Targets from the plan will be worked towards in school. Regular meetings with social workers will inform the local authority of the child’s attainment and progress in school.
School will ensure that reports are written and the local authority are invited to any multi-agency meetings.

If you wish to discuss your child’s educational needs or have a comment, query or complaint then please feel free to contact your:
Child’s class teacher
Academy Principal
Academy SENCO
Local Academy Council Member with responsibility for SEND.
SENDIASS Staffordshire Family Partnership 01785 356921: sfps@staffordshire.gov.uk

Appointments with academy staff can be made through the office:
Telephone: 01889 221920
Office email: office@tynselparkesacademy.co.uk

Teachers plan lessons and activities according to the current levels of attainment within their class. Differentiation and scaffolding for learning is very important as it means that children can access learning at their own level. When a child has been identified as having special needs, their work will be further differentiated by the class teacher to remove barriers to learning, enabling children to access the curriculum be successful. Teachers will support in making referrals to any relevant agencies that could support children with a specific need and attend any relevant meetings to support.

All classes have SEND files, where the information for your child is kept, this will enable all adults who work with your child to know the child's individual need, know what equipment is used, any classroom adaptations necessary and current targets your child is working on. All relevant staff will attend multi-agency meetings to ensure they understand any strategies. Any reports from outside agencies are kept centrally in a secure location.

Assess, Plan, Do, Review targets will be updated half termly by the class teacher and shared with parents, children and relevant agencies support the child.

Tynsel Parkes provides staff with up-to-date training to reflect the needs of the children in our academy. Awareness training has been provided to staff on how to support pupils:
• with dyslexic tendencies
• on the autism spectrum
• with speech, language and communication difficulties
• with medical issues such as asthma and severe allergies
• motor skills awareness
• memory skills work
• Emotion coaching
• Sensory awareness and sensory diet



Both the SENCO and Principal have a Post Graduate Certificate in SENDCO coordination.
A Play Therapist and Mental Health & Wellbeing Lead are employed by the school – with specific training for their roles.

Tynsel Parkes works closely with a number of agencies to ensure the best possible provision for your child.

These include:
Autism Outreach Team
Educational Psychologist Service
Educational Welfare Officers
Social Services
School Nurse
CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service)
Speech and Language Support Team
Mental Health Support Team
East Staffordshire Inclusion Hub
Family support
Play therapist in school
Mental Health Lead

If you wish to discuss your child’s educational needs or have a comment, query or complaint then please feel free to contact your:
• Child’s class teacher or SENDCO
• School office number 01889 221920 to make an appointment.

SENCO: Mrs. Kathryn Helm
School office: 01889 221920

Governors work as a team. They are responsible for making sure the school provides a good quality education for all pupils. Raising educational standards in school is a key priority. This has the best chance of happening when there are high expectations of what pupils can achieve.
Governors promote effective ways of teaching and learning when setting the school aims and policies. They do this together with the head teacher, who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school. The Local Academy Council ensures the school provides the best education possible for all pupils including those with special needs. At Tynsel Parkes CE Primary Academy a member of the LAC will support the SENDCO and challenge, ensuring that the school is offering the correct support for children with an SEND or Children in Care.

At Tynsel Parkes we have daily acts of worship and weekly PHSE lessons. The ethos of Tynsel Parkes is 'Loving and Learning Together', all children feel valued and can be the best they can be.
There are a number of pupil voice questionnaires that children take part in throughout the school year, this could involve groups of children or whole classes.
A school council will support the school with different events and initiatives.
Mental Health Champions will support classes with ways to develop mental health and wellbeing awareness through the school.

Through the school year we involve parents with different groups, wellbeing, values and school vision. Parents are welcomed into the school to take part in workshops, coffee mornings and school events. There are also meetings and groups set up through Teams virtual meetings.
Parents are encouraged to become a member of the Local Academy Council when a place becomes vacant on the board. Information about vacancies will be put on the newsletters and on our social media pages.

Tynsel Parkes offers an open door policy, if parents need support completing forms for their children we will support with this at a convenient time for both parents and staff. If we are we are unable to support parents, we will signpost to parents to agencies who would be able to support parents.
Parents are always welcome to email the office at office@tynselpareksacademy.co.uk or phone at 01889 221920.

What if my child has a medical need?
For all medical needs, we endeavour to follow the Local Authority policy, the DfE guidelines included within “Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions” (DfE 2014) and our own academy policy.
If a child has a medical need then a Care Plan is compiled in consultation with parents/carers. A medical professional will be consulted if necessary. These are discussed with all staff involved with the child and are reviewed annually or earlier if necessary. Teachers have copies of Care Plans and these should be referred to when necessary.
Where necessary, and in agreement with parents/carers, prescribed medicines may be administered in the academy where a signed parental agreement form has been completed.
Regular training in the administration of certain medicine is given to all staff as necessary (EpiPens/Asthma Inhalers)

How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including academy trips?
Activities and academy trips are available to all.
Risk assessments will be carried out and procedures put in place to enable all children to participate. Risk assessments are completed and consultation with parents/carers, academy staff and outside agencies if needed.
If a health and safety risk assessment shows that a high level of 1:1 support is required then a parent/carer may be asked to accompany their child during the activity in addition to the academy staff.
We currently have a before and after school wraparound facility that all pupils can access, parents will have to complete the relevant forms for a child to have a place at this facility.
The school offers a range of clubs that all children can take part in, these will take place at lunchtimes.

Our Accessibility Plan is reviewed regularly and is available on our academy website. Measures are in place to enable access for all children and parents, which include:
Disabled toilets in both buildings for children and visitors, there is no changing bed or hoist available in the school.
Clear signs around the academy and a regularly updated fire evacuation system in place.
The outside area is accessible from anywhere around the building without the need to use a lift.

We are happy to discuss any individual access requirements and equipment that might be required to support with accessibility, risk assessments will be put in place.

The building is fully wheelchair accessible, the school is all on one level.

We do not have a changing bed, there is access to a disabled toilet, but there is no lifting or hoist equipment in school to transfer a person from a wheelchair.

The school has a specific drop off/pick up point for parents to park by the main school office on the staff carpark.

Our Accessibility Plan is reviewed regularly and is available on our academy website. Measures are in place to enable access for all children and parents, which include:
Disabled toilets in both buildings for children and visitors, there is no changing bed or hoist available in the school.
Clear signs around the academy and a regularly updated fire evacuation system in place.
The outside area is accessible from anywhere around the building without the need to use a lift.

We are happy to discuss any individual access requirements, risk assessments will be put in place.

Weekly newsletters are sent out to parents, parents who we know do not have English as a first language staff will communicate information verbally to them.

If you would like to find out more information about our school please look at our website where a lot of information can be found out about the school:

https://www.tynselparkesacademy.co.uk/

The policies for admissions can be found at: https://www.tynselparkesacademy.co.uk/policies/

Email the office at office@tynselparkesacademy.co.uk

Or phone on 01889 221920, to arrange a suitable time to visit for parents and staff at Tynsel Parkes.

We do have planned Open Days for new starters to the school.

At Tynsel Parkes, we understand what a stressful time moving schools can be for everyone involved. Therefore, many strategies are in place to enable the child’s transition to be as smooth as possible.

These include:

On entry into the Foundation Stage:
Parents/Carers/Children are invited into the academy for a preliminary visit to look around the academy.
Parents/Carers are invited to a meeting at the academy so that they can meet the Foundation Staff. At this meeting, we will explain the daily routines and what to expect during the first term.
‘Stay and play’ sessions for parents and children who are starting the nursery. The children will have the opportunity to visit the academy during the summer term.
Assessment data is transferred from all nurseries to our Foundation Stage team.
Multi-agency meetings to support the transfer of children with additional needs.

Mid-Year Transition from another setting:
All parents/carers and children are offered a tour of the academy and meet with the Principal.
Wherever possible, a planned programme of transition and pre-visits are arranged between the past school, current school and parents/carers.

However, if this is not an option, all information is collected from the previous school and telephone conversations held between relevant members of staff if necessary.

Moving into a new class:
Children have the opportunity to meet their new class teacher in the next classroom environment during ‘transition’ days in the summer term.
Individual transition opportunities are available for children who may need more support/longer periods of transition/specialised transition etc. Your child’s class teacher will talk to you about this if it is necessary.

Transition to Middle School:
As the majority of our children go to two middle schools in the town, the Year 4 class teacher and the SENCO work closely with the teachers and SENCOs of these middle schools to ensure that transitions go as smoothly as possible.
Currently, our transition arrangements at Tynsel Parkes are:
All information is transferred to the child’s next school including current academic levels, personal information, procedures, Assess, Plan, Do, Review targets and any care plans.
Teachers from the middle schools liaise with Year 4 staff to discuss friendship groups and any other issues the children have expressed.
All children have an opportunity to spend time at the middle school and a teacher/teaching assistant from our academy accompanies them.


However if your child has a specific need (either educational or pastoral) then extra visits will be arranged.
If your child has an EHCP, then a transition review will held in the spring term prior to transition. At this meeting, transition arrangements and any specific individual needs are discussed.

SENDIASS Staffordshire Family Partnership 01785 356921: sfps@staffordshire.gov.uk
Appointments with academy staff can be made through the office:
Telephone: 01889 221920
Office email: office@tynselparkesacademy.co.uk

January 2024 - to be reviewed January 2025

Any feedback is always welcome to the school.

SENDIASS Staffordshire Family Partnership 01785 356921: sfps@staffordshire.gov.uk
Appointments with academy staff can be made through the office:
Telephone: 01889 221920
Office email: office@tynselparkesacademy.co.uk

Complaints policy and procedure:
https://www.suatrust.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Complaints-Procedure.pdf