Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND)

Our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCO) is Mrs Hawksworth.  She can be contacted via the main school office email address: info@park-mead.surrey.sch.uk 

SEND information Report

Schools have been asked to provide answers to 14 questions to explain their procedures and provision in supporting pupils who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Schools are also asked to provide an outline of the support and interventions they are currently able to provide for all pupils (Wave 1), for those who may require some additional support (Wave 2), and those who require more specific, individual support (Wave 3 and 4).

This provides parents/carers with a great amount of information. We would, however, encourage you to make a visit to school to discuss the particular needs of your child.

•  Please click here for the Parents' Guide to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities at Park Mead 
•  Please click here to view the School's SEND information Report
•  Please click here to view the School's Provision Map at Wave 1,2 and 3 provision.
•  Please click here to view the Special Education Needs Policy.
•  Please click here to view the Accessibility Policy and Action Plan.

For information about Surrey County Council's Local Offer please click here.

For the SEN Code of Practice (2015) please click here.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service or SENDIASS is a free, confidential and impartial service for parents and carers, children and young people (up to 25 years), please click here.

Home Learning during school closures: Signposting

Please see below a variety of links that may be useful in supporting your child during the period of school closures. These include tutorial videos, activities, resourcing and online courses. I will update this periodically over the time of school closures. 

If you have any questions, or need any further support on how to use these links, please contact the school SENDCO, Mr Elston via the school office email address: info@park-mead.surrey.sch.uk 

Useful SEND related resourcing:

Emotional Literacy:

Park Mead ELSA webpage: Please see our school's 'Emotional Literacy Support' webpage with lots resourcing and activities that will help your child if they are experiencing anxiety over the pandemic, or school closures. There are also links to download mindfulness colouring activities and ELSA games that will help with children who need to develop their self-esteem or emotional vocabulary and understanding. 

Newsround: A series of useful videos to help children understand the pandemic and why schools are closed right now. (Best for Key Stage 2 children). 

ELSA Support: This is a website designed specifically for ELSAs, but there is much free resourcing available that might be useful to parents during the period of school closures. The site can also be followed on Faceboook, where new and free resourcing is often shared. 

Speech and Language:

Supporting your child's receptive language: (Primary Age from Surrey SaLT): An information and training booklet on what receptive language is and how to develop this in your child. Lots of practical activities to use and links to relevant websites. 

Phonics & Literacy: 

Here is a link to a You Tube video of a specialist modelling the 42 phonic sounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ksblMiliA8

It is very important when reading with your child that both you, and they, are using the accurate phonemes for single letter and double letter (digraph) sounds in order to fluently decode unfamiliar words. This video is useful in modelling how to do this. 

Phonological Awareness support pack (From Surrey SaLT team): An information and training booklet specifically for Early Years and Key Stage 1. The booklet explains how to develop phonological awareness in your child with lots of activities to develop speech sounds and phonics. 

Twinkl Phonics suite app: This is a paid for Apple app. that has lots of games and activities for learning and applying phonics up to phase 5. 

Phonics Play website and app: If you are confident in supporting your child with phonics, please see the 'Phonics Play' website. There are lots of games and activities to help with learning and using phonics on this site - we use this resource in school regularly. 

BookTrust: Interactive e-books and stories for Key Stage 1 children. 

Autistic Spectrum Condition:

Freemantles ASC home learning support: Here is a document produced by the outreach team at Freemantles specialist ASC school, Woking. We have close links with Freemantles and they are very knowledgeable about how to best support children with Autistic Spectrum Condition both in schools and at home. The advice covers support for how to maintain routine, create visuals, manage anxiety and much more. It is important to note that many ASC specialist strategies work for ALL children regardless of needs or ability. 

Here is the link to the Freemantles outreach website, with lots more advice, support and links: https://www.freeoutreach.org.uk/Resources-for-working-from-home/ 

Physical and Sensory Needs: 

Accessing home learning for pupils with a physical disability: A strategy based document from Surrey's Physical and Sensory Support Team to support parents who are home educating a child with a physical or sensory disability. The document includes lots of tips and advice as well as many links to apps and websites with further activities and support. 

Fine Motor Activities: Cutting: Images and descriptions of a range of easy to resource cutting activities to develop fine motor control in young children or a child with fine motor control difficulties. 

Fine Motor Activities: Pegs: Images and descriptions of a range of easy to resource pegging activities to develop fine motor control in young children or a child with fine motor control difficulties. 

Symbols:

Coronavirus Vocabulary with symbols: Download this PDF to share with your child to help understand terminology linked to the pandemic, with symbols to aid understanding. Vocabulary includes 'social distancing', 'self-isolation' and 'symptoms'. 

Widigt Online: This is the app. that was used to make the PDF above. As you type a document, symbols will appear linked to the words. You can create visual timetables, task plans, and signs with this software. I use it a lot in school for children with SEND. Widgit are currently offering a free 21 day trial of the online software. 

Online SEND related courses:

Netmums Parenting course: A free online based course for any parent that wants to develop or refine their parenting skills.  The course lasts for 8 weeks with new content shared via email each week. 

NESSY Dyslexia awareness: NESSY is an online based learning programme for children struggling to make progress with reading and spelling, and is especially useful for children who have a diagnosis of dyslexia or an identified dyslexic profile. This section of the website gives some awareness raising information about dyslexia and how to support your child if they show indicators of the condition. it is also important to note that strategies that help children with dyslexia to learn are also beneficial to ALL learners, regardless of attainment or ability. 

Understanding Autism, Aspergers and ADHD: This is a more intensive, formal online learning course offered by the University of Derby and is accredited by the ADHD foundation. Please note, the course if free, but does have terms and conditions of usage, and also a 6 month completion time frame. There is approximately 18 hours of study required to complete the course.