Special Educational Needs

Our SENCo is Mrs L Jones. She can be contacted on 01634 844127 or via office@crestinf.medway.sch.uk

Please click on the links below to read our:

SEND policy

SEND information report 

Information about the local offer provided by Medway can be found here:

Medway Council’s Special Educational Needs and Disability Offer


Crest Infant School is proud of its inclusive approach. The school’s SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) policy, which has been revised to incorporate the SEN Code of Practice, has been successfully implemented.

Mrs Jones, our SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator), leads our SEN Support Team and maintains an overview of all children with special educational needs. The class teachers are responsible for ensuring the needs of all children in their class are being met. Our team of experienced LSA’s (Learning Support Assistants) and other specialist agencies provide additional educational support. We provide a range of therapeutic interventions for children who may need some additional social and/or emotional support.

Our Inclusion Statement:

The National curriculum 2014 states that: “A wide range of pupils have special educational needs, many of whom also have disabilities. Lessons should be planned to ensure that there are no barriers to every pupil achieving.” National Curriculum, 2014.

  • We endeavour to achieve maximum inclusion of all children (including vulnerable learners) whilst meeting their individual needs.

  • Teachers provide differentiated learning opportunities for all the children within the school and provide materials appropriate to children’s interests and abilities. This ensures that all children have a full access to the school curriculum.

  • Special Educational Needs (SEN) might be an explanation for delayed or slower progress, but is not an excuse, and we make every effort to narrow the gap in attainment between vulnerable groups of learners and others.

  • English as an Additional Language (EAL) is not considered a Special Education Need. Differentiated work and individual learning opportunities are provided for children who are learning EAL as part of our provision for vulnerable learners. We focus on individual progress as the main indicator of success.

  • We strive to make a clear distinction between “underachievement” (often caused by a poor early experience of learning) and SEND.

  • Some pupils in our school may be underachieving, but will not necessarily have a Special Educational Need. It is our responsibility to identify this quickly and ensure that appropriate interventions are put in place to help these pupils make appropriate attainment and progress.

  • Other pupils will genuinely have Special Educational Needs and this may lead to lower-attainment (though not necessarily to under-achievement). It is our responsibility to ensure that pupils with Special Educational Needs have the maximum opportunity to attain and achieve in line with their peers.

  • Accurate assessment of need and carefully planned programmes, which address the root causes of any learning difficulty, are essential ingredients of success for these pupils. These will be provided, initially, through additional support funded from the devolved schools budget.

     

Please talk to your child’s class teacher if you have any concerns. It is most important that home and school work together.