Questions frequently asked by parents 

Q: What should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs? 

Shirley Junior School is committed to early identification of special educational needs. A range of evidence is collected through the school assessment and monitoring arrangements: if this suggests that the learner is not making the expected progress, the teachers will decide whether additional and/or different provision is necessary. If you are concerned, please speak to your child’s teacher, or contact the SENDCo (Special educational needs and disabilities coordinator). 

Q: How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive? 

Year Leaders hold regular team meetings where they discuss children’s progress. Teachers attend termly meetings with a member of the senior leadership team where all children’s progress is reviewed. If a child is identified as needing additional support the SENDCo is informed and in consultation with the class teacher extra provision is arranged. 

Q: How will staff at Shirley Junior School support my child? 

Your child’s class teachers and the SENDCo will oversee and plan your child’s education programme. Depending on the intervention required, your child may be working at times in a small group aimed at supporting their learning. Sometimes a student requires support to access the curriculum or to manage his or her behaviour, emotions, or to work on their social skills. In this case, the ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) may support your child to be a successful member of the school community. This will all be explained to you by your child’s class teacher, the ELSA or SENDCo. 

Q: How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs? 

All our teachers are teachers of children with special educational needs. All teachers plan to include everyone in their lessons and work is provided at the appropriate levels for children to access their learning and make good progress. Planning is monitored rigorously by the Senior Leadership Team. 

Q: How will I know how my child is doing, and how will you help me to support my child’s learning? 

At Shirley Junior School we believe that regular home-school communication is very important. There are parent evenings twice a year, and you can ask for an appointment to speak with your child’s class teacher or the SENDCo at a mutually convenient time.  If appropriate, your child may have a Home School contact book. This will enable you and your child’s teacher to keep each other informed about any significant events on a regular basis. 

If your child has an Education Health and Care plan, an annual review is held according to the guidance in the SEND Code of Practice.  This will allow you and the class teacher to discuss your child’s progress towards the targets set in their EHCP.  You will also be able to talk about the targets for the next year. In addition to this, your child will have a learning log, containing current targets, records of interventions, photographs and examples of your child’s work; this will be shared with you.  The learning log will also show how he or she is meeting those targets.  Learning logs are also a way of celebrating the child’s hard work, so both child and parents will be asked to give their feedback about how well it is working.  

If your child is on the SEN register and has a specific learning need, he or she will have an Individual Education Plan (IEP).  This will record the targets that your child is working towards, and will also show how he or she is making progress towards those targets.  A copy of the IEP will be sent home every term for your information.  You will also receive a report at the end of the academic year, and we will always ask to see you if we have concerns about your child’s progress. 

Each half-term the school gives an overview of what your child will be learning during this period. This is available on the school website home page, under the Curriculum heading.  In addition, we have sharing time with parents in class twice every half term, once at the beginning of the school day and once at the end. 

Q: What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being? 

At Shirley Junior School we hold regular assemblies which focus on different areas of personal, health and social education. In class, teachers may also hold class circle times when they need to address specific issues.  Pupils are encouraged to take an active part in discussions and express their own views. We can also refer children to the school’s Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) or to our family support worker when necessary.  We will also help prepare your child for any changes in their school day, such as school trips, awards ceremonies, activities weeks and sports day. 

Q: What other support is available? 

Shirley Junior School has a family support worker, whose role is to support families to enable their children to come into school happily, safely and successfully so that they can access their learning.  She is able to signpost families to outside agencies that may be able to offer support. 

The Special Educational Needs & Disability Information Advice & Support Service (SENDIASS) is also available to support families.  Its aim is to empower children and young people with special educational needs/disabilities and their parents/carers to make informed decisions about education, health and social care.   

https://www.southamptonsendiass.info/  

Q: What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by Shirley Junior School? 

In addition to high quality teaching in school, we have links with other professionals such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Social Care, Educational Psychology, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language therapy, the outreach advisory service, the school nurse and specialist teachers for children who have physical difficulties, specific learning difficulties and visual or hearing impairment.  

We also have a Family Support Worker, who can discuss any concerns you may have at home, or provide advice about outside agencies that might be useful to you. 

Q: What training has been available for the staff supporting children and young people with SEND? 

Our Inclusions Lead is an experienced teacher, who has gained a Master’s degree in Education specialising in special educational needs and has obtained the National SENDCo Accreditation.  They attend an annual inclusion conference as well as regular SENDCo forums.  All staff members receive regular training and updates for the main categories of special educational needs. During the last academic year, staff have received training on: Emotion Coaching from the educational psychologists, Little Wandle phonics programme, provision map training, EEF (Education Endowment Foundation) for inclusive teaching strategies: flexible grouping, metacognition, scaffolding, explicit instructions.  We also provided Hamwic TA training focusing on a pupil support scale. 

Q: How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips? 

We make every effort to include all pupils in school trips. If an individual risk assessment is required we will write this in order to ensure that everyone is as fully included as possible.  If there are concerns we will always seek to make adaptations such as taking additional staff or in some cases asking parents to come along.   

Q: How accessible is Shirley Junior School? 

There is wheelchair access to the ground floor.  This floor contains the school hall, which is used for end of term performances, assemblies  and other community outreach events.  It also contains a community room where parent/teacher meetings can take place.  There is a disabled toilet in the lobby outside the hall.  Unfortunately, as the school building is on 3 floors and more than100 years old, there is no wheelchair access to the upper floors. 

Q: How will Shirley Junior School prepare and support my child to join the school and then transfer to a new school? 

The SENDCO and Year Leader for Year 3, and Head of Year for Year 6 liaise with infant and secondary teaching staff, support staff and SENDCOs  from other schools as appropriate. There are regular visits between Shirley Junior School and our local Jefferys Education Partnership infant and secondary schools: Shirley Infant School and Upper Shirley High School. Extra transition takes place as necessary in addition to the City’s transition days. This can be arranged for individual children or small groups and may include a number of visits and activities before the child changes school.  Social stories are written for children who might struggle with the transition process. Throughout the year, year 6 children and provided with regular opportunities to meet teaching staff from Upper Shirley High in preparation for the move to secondary school. 

Q: How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs? 

The Department for Education provides funding for schools to meet the needs of all children with SEND. This is worked out using the information about the children’s prior attainment and the socio-economic make up of our school cohort. We allocate support according to need. Additional interventions are funded to support children’s progress. If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan, we will ensure that the provision specified in Part 3 is provided.