Welcome to the Skegness Infant Academy Special Educational Needs and Disability information page.

Please see our trust policy SEND Policy

Lincolnshire Local Offer  https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/start-send/what-local-offer

The Lincolnshire County Council Local Offer can be accessed using the link above. The website gives a comprehensive guide to services available within the County.

Parents are also encouraged to contact our Family Support Worker, Nicky Vincent, through the school office for extra help and support.

Please also access our 'useful information' page for information on local and national initiatives which could benefit you and your family. 

SEND statement for Skegness Infant Academy

Here at Skegness Infant Academy we want to make sure that every child gets the best support we can offer in order to help them to enjoy their learning, feel confident and happy amongst their friends and make the best possible progress.

Every child has individual needs that will affect their learning. We have a number of different strategies to support children with this; for example we have many different intervention groups to help with learning and various catch up programmes. However, sometimes children need special support to give them an extra boost, to help them emotionally or to help them catch up with other children of the same age. They may need this support for a short time or a longer period, but during this time they will be part of our Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Register and we will keep a close eye on their progress, look carefully at what special support they need and keep in close touch with their parents.

Key staff for SEND

SENDCO

Denise Pilcher

SEND Assistant and Pastoral lead

Sue Ellis

Family Support Worker

Nicky Vincent

Our training and experience

The SEND and pastoral team is led by a SENDCO with the National SENDCO award. They regularly attend SENDCO briefing and training days, provided by both Greenwood Academies Trust and the local authority, to update their knowledge and understanding of SEND provision, practice and requirements.

The specialist TAs within the SEND Team have lengthy and wide-ranging experience of working with children with a variety of special needs, including autism training. SEND staff have extensive experience of working with children and families in different settings and have undertaken training courses in areas of mental health, therapy and family support including  ‘Theraplay.’

All staff including those within the SEND Team attend training courses related to specific difficulties or areas of practice to keep their knowledge updated. We also benefit from working with other local schools and sharing expertise across sites. We have a wealth of expertise which we can access externally, depending on the needs of the child.

What is the SEND List?

The SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) List is a list of children who need extra help because they have some sort of difficulty that affects their learning.

With some children their area of difficulty is clear. With other children the actual difficulty is less clear, but because they are not making good progress, additional support needs to be put in place. Children can be placed on the SEND List because they have difficulties in any of these areas:

• Communication and Interaction Difficulties  (includes Autistic Spectrum Disorder
• Learning and Cognition Difficulties (includes dyslexia)
• Social, Emotional or Mental Health Difficulties (includes behavioural difficulties)
• Sensory or Physical Difficulties  (includes Hearing or Visual Impairment).

Here are different categories of need on the SEND List.  They are called:

SEND Support

Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), which has replaced ‘Statements’  and stays with the child until the child is 25 years old)

In addition to this, we as a school also have a ‘cause for concern’ list which we monitor very closely and may include children who are not on the SEND register, but who require extra support for their learning and/or their emotional behavioural or sensory needs.

Additional support for SEND

Additional support for children on the SEND List differs considerably from child to child. It may be that extra interventions for reading, phonics, writing or maths are required. We also have concrete aids available to children such as ear defenders, pencil grips, busy boxes and sloping boards.

Sometimes children require further additional support which is where we would work with outside agencies and consider EHCP application if this was appropriate.

Details of some of the agencies we work with can be found here

Transition

Because we are a Junior Academy, our children transition from the Infants at year 2.  During these times we hold joint SEND reviews with parents,  to ensure provision is continued for the child and they have the smoothest possible transition. At times there may be a need for further enhanced transition opportunities, which are carried out on a small group basis.

How can the SEND team be contacted?

The SEND team can be contacted through the school office on 01754 879166 or if email is more convenient, enquiries@skegnessinfantacademy.org.