SENCO and SEN Staff
Our SENCO is Jennie Anderson (BA Hons Primary Education, BSc Hons Psychology, QTS, NASENCO) 0191 3710443.
If your child has Special Educational Needs the SENCO will:
- ensure the right support is put in place for each child;
- advise other staff on how to help each child and ensure they have an up to date individual support plan detailing how their needs will be met in school;
- arrange training for staff so they understand each child’s needs;
- refer children to specialist services;
- apply for top-up funding or EHC assessment;
- work closely with parents on a regular basis to talk with them about their child’s needs and listen to any ideas or concerns they might have; and
- work with other professionals (if necessary) who may be able to help individual children, e.g. speech and language therapist /medical professional/educational psychologist.
More details of the SENCO’s role can be found in the SEND Policy which you can find in the School Policies section of our website.
Edmondsley staff receive regular training in order to help them support the pupils in our school who have special educational needs.
- ASD and strategies to support children in school (All staff);
- strategies in supporting children with dyslexia (All staff);
- speech and language support including those with Selective Mutism (Jennie Anderson);
- Listening Matters (Claire Wall);
- Relax Kids (Jennie Anderson);
- SEND reforms and new Code of Practice (Jennie Anderson);
- movement difficulties (Julie Boundy);
- Downs Syndrome (Julie Boundy);
- Prada Willi Syndrome (Key Stage 1 Staff);
- ADHD, ODD & attachment disorder and strategies to support children (Jennie Anderson);
- Restorative Approach (All Staff);
- Team Teach training (Angela Rees, Jennie Anderson, Laura Skidmore and Claire Wall); and
- Makaton (all EYFS/KS1 foundation level, Julie Boundy level 2).
External Specialists and Other Bodies
The school enjoys good working relationships with a wide range of people who provide services to children with SEND and their families.
The external specialists may:
- act in an advisory capacity;
- extend expertise of school staff;
- provide additional assessment;
- support a child directly;
- suggest statutory assessment is advisable; and
- consult with all parties involved with the child.
These include:
- Durham County Council Local Offer
- Durham SEND Information, Advice and Support Service
- Central Durham Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
- Special Educational Needs Support – This link will provide you with access to the following services: including Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Team, Educational Psychology Services, Movement Difficulties, Sensory and Physical, Cognition and Learning, Autism Social Communication Team and Portage Services;
- educational social workers;
- health agencies, particularly school nurse service;
- Looked After Children;
- medical practitioners;
- school parent support advisor;
- Tree Tops Occupational Therapy;
- Stronger Families; and
- First Contact.
How We Secure Specialist Expertise
Our Additional Needs Budget is used to support children and young people with SEN.
This is used to support children and young people with SEND by:
- purchasing specialist training for all staff;
- purchasing specialist training for SENCO;
- enabling the school to employ members of staff to support children and run programmes of intervention;
- buying resources to enable children to meet outcomes;
- buying in the services of specialists;
- buying into support packages and service level agreements; and
- purchasing assessment and intervention tools.
If a child has complex special educational needs, we can apply for additional funding from the Local Authority to help meet the agreed outcomes for a child with special educational needs. This additional needs funding is monitored by the senior leadership team and governing body to ensure the funding secured meets the needs of the child and has a positive impact on outcomes for children with SEND.
If a child has complex special educational needs, we could also receive additional funding from the Local Authority to meet the agreed outcomes.
