SEND and Inclusion Provision at Hob Hill
Our SEND Vision: to enable all children to flourish and achieve, regardless of need, by scaffolding an ambitious, inclusive and high quality curriculum designed to take into account their unique abilities as creations of God.
As an inclusive and caring church school, Hob Hill is able to offer a range of support for pupils with various SEND. Details of the 'school offer' for children with special educational needs and disabilities can be found by following the link below. This document provides parents with information about how we aim to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities. It also includes detailed information about the arrangements for identifying, assessing and making provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
SEND Information Report (Local Offer)
Information about our systems and procedures for supporting pupils with SEND can be found in the SEND & Inclusion Policy found by clicking on the link below:
Further information about SEND support in Staffordshire can be found on the Staffordshire Connects website.
If you have any further questions, please contact the Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator (SENDCo), Mrs Sally Ncube, through the school office.
SEND Terminology
What is SEND?
SEND stands for Special Educational Need and Disability and covers a variety of needs. Schools must have a qualified SENDCO whose job it is to support teachers in identifying children who need additional support and ensure that all children with a SEN have access to a high quality education.
The SEND Code of Practice 2015 provides statutory guidance for organisations working with children and young people aged 0-25 years old. The code of practice states that a child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she has “a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.”
What is The Graduated Approach?
The graduated approach, as highlighted in the SEND Code of Practice 2015, forms a four-part cycle that allows schools to monitor progress and adjust provision regularly. It is known as assess, plan, do and review and each child on the SEND database moves through this cycle on their SSPs (school support plans).
Assess – clear and detailed assessments of the child’s current strengths and weaknesses are made, using a range of strategies, so that teachers are able to effectively identify a child’s needs.
Plan –high quality provision is planned for each child including interventions, quality first teaching strategies and outside agency support where necessary. This provision may take place in or out of class and pupils/parents will be made aware of the intended outcomes.
Do - In this phase, teachers and other school staff gain a growing understanding of the most effective ways to support the pupil through implementation of the agreed provision.
Review – the child’s progress against the intended outcomes is evaluated with regards to both success and impact alongside the child’s parents/carers. Decisions are made regarding the revision of support in light of the progress made.
What is meant by the term Reasonable Adjustments?
The reasonable adjustments duty is owed to disabled pupils, as defined in the Equality Act 2010. The Act says that a pupil has a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Reasonable adjustments seek to either remove physical barriers or provide extra support. At Hob Hill, reasonable adjustments may include the use of ear defenders, wobble cushions, weighted blankets, pencil grips, approved stress toys, chewellery, specialised equipment such as writing slopes or adapted rulers, specific seating arrangements which promote inclusion, wheelchair access, and practical support for hearing or visual impaired students.
Interventions at Hob Hill School
What is QFT (Quality First Teaching)?
Special educational needs provision is underpinned by high quality teaching (known as quality first teaching), which is the first step in supporting children with additional needs (and, of course, benefits all children in class). QFT focuses on making learning purposeful, enjoyable and learner-centred and has the following features:
1. Highly focused lesson plans with sharp objectives 2. High demands of pupil involvement and engagement with their learning 3. Appropriate use of modelling, explaining and questioning for pupils to engage with higher level, critical thinking skills. 4. An emphasis on learning through dialogue, providing pupils with the chance to talk both individually and in groups. 5. An expectation that pupils will accept responsibility for their own learning and work independently. 6. Regular use of encouragement and authentic praise to engage and motivate pupils, developing resilience through supported risk taking.
Under each subject on the curriculum page, you will find details of the QFT approaches teachers may use for each specific area.
What is FFT?
Fischer Family Trust (FFT) are a non-profit organisation, established in 2001 to help schools enable children to reach their full potential. The FFT intervention we offer here at Hob Hill is a highly structured, early intervention for children, predominantly in Year 1, who are having difficulties with learning to read and write. Led by Mrs Welch, the children attend three weekly 1:1 sessions designed to facilitate accelerated progress in their literacy skills and enable them to close the gap with their peers. The programme normally runs for between 10-20 weeks and the children are regularly assessed for progress. We have been using FFT for a number of years and it has an enormous amount of impact, particularly as Mrs Welch has become a very skilled and knowledgeable practitioner in this intervention.
What is an ELSA?
Although it is tempting to burst into a song from Frozen, ELSA actually stands for Emotional Literacy Support Assistant, and we are lucky enough to have a fully trained ELSA here at Hob Hill School – Mrs Grimley. ELSA’s are teaching assistants who have had special training from educational psychologists to support the emotional development of children in school. They also have regular, professional supervision from educational psychologists to help them with their work. ELSA sessions recognise that children work better when their emotional needs are met and are designed to support in the following areas: recognising and understanding emotions, building self-esteem, social skills, friendship skills, anger and behaviour management, loss and bereavement, relaxation techniques, transition/ change. To receive ELSA support, children have to be referred to the school SENDCo by either their class teacher or a senior leader. Personalised programmes are then put in place to support the child during timetabled, weekly sessions.
What is Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT)?
Children who have been identified as having specific speech and language difficulties will be referred to the Speech & Language Therapy Service. Programs written by qualified therapists are then delivered in school by Mrs Lovatt, a highly trained SaLT TA.
What is Mindfulness Group?
Mindfulness Group is a before school session designed to give children a calm, meditative and thoughtful start to their day. Those children who are invited to take part in the group come to school a little earlier, at 8:30am, and make their way up to the Nurture Room. Once in there, they find a comfortable place to sit or lie down (on bean bags, huge cushions or the sofa) take their shoes off, snuggle with a blanket and spend some quiet time listening to music whilst watching soothing lights dance on the ceiling. They then take part in daily guided meditations which really help to establish feelings of wellbeing, gratitude and positivity whilst also giving the children strategies for coping with any difficulties which may come along during the day. All of the children in the group report feeling calmer and more purposeful as they start their lessons. They have also reported using a number of the strategies we discuss in their daily lives. I now call them my Mindfulness Ambassadors, as they are so well trained in the practice and enjoy teaching their peers about the benefits and joys of regular meditation.
What is a Sensory Diet?
A sensory diet is an individualised plan of physical activities designed to help a child meet their sensory needs. The plan provides the sensory input needed to stay focused and organised throughout the day. For example, some people may feel overwhelmed or overloaded and need to get to a calmer state; some may feel lethargic or sluggish and need some activities to feel alert. The main goal of a sensory diet is to prevent sensory and emotional overload by meeting the nervous system’s sensory needs. However, it can also be used as a recovery technique. Understanding a child’s sensory profile and the activities which create calmness and regulation can really help when a child feels overwhelmed and out of control. Usually, an occupational therapist or autism specialist will design the sensory diet, which is then implemented in school. At Hob Hill, we are lucky to have a huge Nurture Room, which facilitates many types of sensory activity, such as rolling on a big ball, balancing, stretching with exercise bands, throwing/catching and dancing, to name but a few.
What is Chit Chat Group?
Social communication skills are extremely important because they allow us to build social relationships with other people. They are also important academically, as many curriculum-based activities rely on working in groups and communication between peers
Chit Chat, run by Mrs Grimley, is specifically designed to help children refine and hone their social communication skills, using a scheme called 'Talkabout.' In small groups, the children are given the opportunity to practice key skills such as taking turns to speak, reading body language, making use of eye contact, listening and interacting with confidence. Using drama, role-play, puppetry and games, the children are able to practice and refine these skills in a safe space, so that when they are needed in real life, they have confidence in their abilities. It is lovely to watch the children interacting together so well and being extremely respectful of each other’s specific areas of need.
What is Precision Teaching?
Precision teaching is a highly focused, evidence-based, structured teaching method that’s designed to improve the accuracy and fluency of reading, spelling and maths. The main goal of precision teaching is to target and improve specific skills within an intervention. Precision teaching is carried out on a one-to-one basis between a teacher and a learner. Each intervention session lasts 10 minutes, and takes place daily.
Precision teaching is designed to get learners to think quickly until they’re able to recall the spelling of a certain word almost instinctively. This is why this form of structured teaching intervention is so fast-paced and repetitive - children will learn to read or spell words until they become fluent and confident. They only move on to a new skill once they’ve mastered the skill they are currently working on.
What is Dough Gym?
What is the Lego Social Skills Group?
The Lego Social Skills group aims to develop social communication skills, such as sharing, turn-taking, following rules, using names and problem-solving.
In each session, children work together to build a model following instructions. Each child is assigned a role. There’s usually:
- an engineer, who has the instructions
- a supplier, who has the bricks
- a builder, who builds the model
- a foreman or director, who makes sure everyone works as a team.
The children take turns playing the different roles, and together they build the model. Towards the end of the session the children have some time to build whatever they want.
This way of working encourages children to use verbal and non-verbal communication skills, take turns, share and use problem-solving skills.
What is Play-Doh Therapy?
Play-Doh Therapy, devised by the Autism Inclusion Team, is designed to promote social communication skills in much the same way as the Lego Social Skills group. It is predominantly aimed at Early Years and Key Stage 1 and can be delivered as either a 1:1 intervention or as a small group. During the sessions children are encouraged to communicate with each other in order to create shapes and models out of Play-Doh and build on their collaborative learning techniques.
Useful Links for Parents/Carers
CAMHS (MPFT) Children and Adult Mental Health Services
National Deaf Children's Society
'I Can' - Children's Communication Charity
Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
SEND Guide for Parents and Carers
Staffordshire Emotional Health and Wellbeing Service (Action for Children)
