Attention ALL Parents - This will take just 30 seconds to read and is a fantastic opportunity!

We have been contacted by The AIM Group who deliver Free online Level 2 Accredited Courses to Parents to help better understand some key issues around young people's mental health and wellbeing, along with a range of other qualifications that may help with developing your own careers.

Here's some of the most popular subjects available:

• Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences (Most popular)
• Understanding Children and Young Peoples Mental Health
• Understanding Behaviour That Challenges
• Understanding Autism

These are just the popular qualifications, but they have over 30 available!

The qualifications are completed within a 6–8-week period in your own leisure. They are equivalent to a GCSE Grade C, so you are required to write comprehensive answers for some questions, so they aren't multiple choice courses. You can do as many as you like, however you can just do one at a time.

The only criteria you must meet to be eligible, is: 

Aged 19 or over on or before 31st August 2020    

Have lived in the UK/EU for 3+ years    

Not already on a Government funded course

If you are interested in undertaking one of these Free Online courses or would like further information, then please either email Liam Duly on liam.duly@theaimgroup.co.uk who is our account manager, or please register your interest via this link: https://theaimgroup.co.uk/registration

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS & DISABILITIES

At Barrow we believe that every child is entitled to a curriculum;

• that enables them to achieve their potential
• that develops the whole child by catering for their social, emotional, physical, intellectual and moral development
• that encourages purpose, self-discipline, independence and community responsibility in a caring and secure learning environment.

Sometimes, despite the class teacher’s support and differentiated planning, some children have difficulty in learning. If this happens we will provide additional help and support.  We will discuss this with parents and devise a Teaching and Learning Action Plan.  This will be reviewed at parents’ evenings and once per term by Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Co-ordinator and the class teacher.  Parents will be invited to contribute to the review and any comments will be welcomed.

 If, despite this help, we are still concerned that a child is not making progress we will increase the help that is given to a child. We will do this if we feel that a child is falling significantly behind the rest of the class and we do not feel that we have sufficient expertise in school to plan appropriate curriculum activities.  If this is the case we will ask for advice from professionals not directly employed by the school.  We will continue to use TLAPs but they will be more detailed.  In a small number of cases where a child meets the LEA criteria for action we will refer the child to the LEA so they can consider making a detailed diagnostic assessment.  This will be fully discussed with the parents before hand.  For pupils who have an Education, Health and Care Plan, the school will hold statutory reviews and meet all statutory requirements.

We value the help that parents can give us and appreciate them sharing any problems a child may have had previously or during their time with us. Should a parent have concerns about the progress of their child they should discuss them with the class teacher.  If there continues to be a cause for concern then this should be brought to the attention of the headteacher.  Complaints about the special educational needs provision made by the school should be discussed with the headteacher.  In the unlikely event that the headteacher is unable to resolve the complaint, then the parent should write to the School’s SEND Governor.

If a parent would like to read a full copy of the SEND policy then they can borrow one available from the school office. If a parent would like their own copy then this can be arranged.

SEND Provision

Mrs McArdle is the acting SENDCO for the school.

SEND@barrow.lancs.sch.uk

The Additional Needs register is where staff have identified a pupil who may be of concern, but that concern can be addressed through First Quality Teaching.

All pupils with SEND Support have Teaching and Learning Action Plans (TLAPs) which set clear and achievable targets for each child. Where Pupils are on the 'Additional Needs' register teachers complete a 'Cause for Concern' form which identifies concerns and actions and is then shared with Parents.   These are reviewed and updated each term and parents are kept informed of their child’s progress.  Pupils with SEND are fully integrated into the school and are able to make progress in line with their capabilities.

Barrow school welcomes all pupils equally and we ensure, through our SEND policy, that no child is treated less favourably than other pupils. Our admissions policy ensures that children with disabilities have suitable arrangements for their admission.

The school has recently carried out an audit of accessibility to the school by those with disabilities. The results of this audit have informed an accessibility plan, which covers future policies for increasing access by those with disabilities to the school. During the year we received outreach support from the SEND Service, Educational Psychology Service, SEND Specialist Teachers, Speech and Language Therapy  and Occupational Therapy.  All these services have provided input, advice and oversight of Support Assistants in school.

Our school takes a graduated approach to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

The graduated approach means that provision for a child with a SEND is a continuum between whole class QFT (Quality First Teaching) at the one end and highly personalised teaching at the other.

All children have access to quality first teaching, but where a potential SEND has been identified, the approach to your child’s teaching and learning becomes increasingly personalised as our understanding of your child and his/her need grows. Thus, support becomes more targeted as outlined in the flow diagram link below:

Within each step of this continuum, a cycle of assessing, planning, doing and reviewing is ongoing.

We do not assume that a child will always remain on a particular step. They could move up or down the continuum depending on what level of support is best for them at the time. All provision is subject to regular review and parents/carers are invited and expected to contribute to this review process by attending meetings, talking to your child’s class teacher and SENCo and ensuring school are kept informed of any changes to your child’s needs.

Please click here to view Guidance on Independent Support for Parents

Please click here to view the LCC local offer for SEND

Lancashire SEND Partnership Website