Report from SEND Governor (Special Educational Needs and Disability)

Information from the Special Needs Governor As Special Needs Governor I meet each term with the Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) to review the provision being made for Special Needs children at Walmsley School. At my recent meeting with Mrs. Lindley I was informed of the changes made to special needs provision which came into force in September. Special needs provision is now seen as joint agency provision across the services, Education, Health, Social Services etc. and is to cover children from birth to 25 years of age. Mrs. Lindley has ensured that all staff at Walmsley are kept fully informed of the changes.

The new Code of Practice concentrates on four areas:1) Communication and interaction 2) Cognition and Learning 3) Social, mental and emotional health 4) Sensory and/or physical Much emphasis continues to be placed on assessment, parental involvement and increasingly the views of the child/young person themselves. With this in mind termly meetings are now held with parents of special needs pupils at times separate from the main parents’ evenings. Information about special needs provision is readily available on the school website.

The careful mapping process for special needs provision gives a whole school overview, information about each year group and the vitally important individual provision maps.

The work that is carried out at Walmsley concentrates on the individual needs of all pupils and seeks for early intervention where this is thought necessary. Parents are fully involved in the learning process for their children.

I would like to thank Mrs. Lindley and all the staff for the excellent work they carry out in supporting all the children no matter what difficulties they may be experiencing.

Chris Jamieson (Special Needs Governor)