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SEND

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities at Dobwalls

SEND is an integral part of teaching and learning at Dobwalls. Throughout our lessons, we best endeavour to meet the needs of all children including those with special educational needs, in line with the SEND Code of Practice.

“high quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN. Additional intervention and support cannot compensate for a lack of good quality teaching.”  SEN Code of Practice.

The SENDCo at Dobwalls is Mr Robin Spencer. We have our own internal system for teachers to monitor children’s progress and adapt teaching and learning as needed which is overseen by Mr Spencer and Mrs Pipe.  As in the SEND Code of Practice, our provision is considered in the four areas of need:

  •          Cognition and Learning Difficulties
  •          Social, Emotional and/or Mental Needs
  •          Communication and Interaction
  •          Sensory and/or Physical Needs

If additional support is not making the progress we feel is expected, we will liaise with outside agencies to receive further support. Please be aware that outside agencies have their own criteria’s to meet for a child to be referred. These include:

  •          Cognition and Learning Team
  •          Physical and Medical Needs
  •          Hearing Support
  •          Speech and Language Therapy
  •          Educational Psychologist
  •          School Nurse
  •          Family Support Workers
  •          And more…

 

What can I expect additional support to look like for my child at Dobwalls?

Children who are receiving additional support which is above and beyond normal classroom differentiation will be provided with an individual education plan. This is agreed between parents, children and teachers. These documents are reviewed on a termly basis known as a plan-do-review meeting. These documents give specific clear targets for children to focus on in small steps to plan for progress. The delivery of these targets can be through a variety of methods. For example, daily precision teaching with a teaching assistant, daily practice of key skills, personalised Read Write Inc programme, use of a computing programme, additional support in the classroom e.g. word banks, visual images and more.

If you have a concern for your child:

In the first instance, please speak to class teachers about your concerns. They will liaise with Mr Spencer.

Further details of our provision can be found in the SEND Information Report on the statutory information page. 

The Early Help Hub

The Early Help Hub is the single point of access for council and community based health Early Help services for children, young people and families in Cornwall. This is the point of contact for advice and requests for support for a child or young person who:

  • May have additional needs that cannot be met solely by universal services and;
  • Where there is no perceived risk of significant harm.

The team within the Hub will consist of:

  • Contact workers, from a variety of backgrounds including Early Years, Social Care, Education and Early Help, who will process the Requests for Help.
  • A professional triage team, from a variety of professional disciplines, who will offer advice, guidance and support on all aspects of Early Help. They will also make recommendations in response to the Requests for Help.
  • A Manager who will be responsible for the operation of the Hub and will sign off all recommendations and decisions.

How will the Hub respond to Requests for Help?

  • A Request for Help form is completed and submitted to the Hub.
  • A contact worker will carry out additional checks against a range of systems to ensure we are as informed as we can be about the Request.
  • In most cases, the Request will be passed to a professional triage worker who will explore it further to make a recommended response. These may include:
    • Additional information gathering and screening by specialist clinical teams
    • Assignment to a health or council locality team to provide an Early Help service
    • Provision of information, advice and guidance.
  • The recommendation is reviewed and signed off by the Hub Manager where appropriate.
  • Professionals, parents, young people and members of the public can also ring the Hub to seek advice and support on Early Help services

For further information, www.cornwall.gov.uk/earlyhelp

The Cornwall Local Offer

Further support can be found online via the Cornwall SEND Local Offer:

https://www.supportincornwall.org.uk/kb5/cornwall/directory/localoffer.page?newlocalofferchannel=0