Our school is made up of a rich and diverse group of children and adults who come from a number of different cultural backgrounds which we celebrate. As a school we aim to ensure our children are well educated, proactive, resilient, happy and healthy individuals who have been cultivated to have a love of learning which will create a solid knowledge base along with the skills to enable them in all their future endeavours. This positive approach is seen through our good attendance and is noted by visitors who regularly talk about the exemplary behaviour of our children.
We will achieve our aim through the Parkway curriculum which is accessible to every child and will increase their cultural capital through a child centred, creative and dynamic set of bespoke learning opportunities which will enrich them as human beings and allow them to leave Parkway Primary with a solid breadth of knowledge supported by transferable skills.
As a school we aim to ensure our children are well educated, proactive, resilient, happy and healthy individuals who have been cultivated to have a love of learning which will create a solid knowledge base along with the skills to enable them in all their future endeavours.
Our learning environments will allow our children to take risks within a safe and secure setting both in and out of the classroom.
Our mission will be achieved through our ACE approach:
Aiming high with confidence
Co-operating and learning together
Enabling everyone to succeed
Our school motto is:
Learning to Achieve
As part of our school community, we have a resource provision for up to 40 children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) who have a primary need of Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD). We call this resource provision ‘Oak Trees’. We ensure that, where appropriate, there are opportunities for children within Oak Trees to join their peers in the mainstream for some activities. These include Forest School, swimming, assemblies, playtimes, lunchtimes and educational visits.
There are four classes in Oak Trees. Each class has its own outdoor learning area. We also have a Sensory Room, a Rainforest Room, a Therapy Room and a separate Dining Room. We currently employ a Speech and Language Therapist for three days a week. She works across both Oak Trees and the mainstream supporting individuals and groups of children as well as providing staff with bespoke CPD.
Additional and/or different provision is made in our school for children with a range of needs, including:
Our staff have extensive experience and continuous training in order to meet the needs of individual pupils. SEN training forms part of the continuing professional development of all staff.
We are also supported by:
We use the Code of Practice (January 2015) definition of SEND to identify pupils who may have a special educational need.
“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 young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
Staff use the ‘Early Identification of Need’ form from Bexley’s QFT and SEND Toolkit (Updated March 2022)
We use a graduated approach to assessing, identifying and providing for pupils’ special educational needs. Throughout EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, pupils are assessed against nationally set criteria to check their progress across all areas of learning. It is through rigorous data analysis, termly tracking and termly pupil progress meetings that children, who are not making expected progress, are quickly identified. We work closely with external professionals such as: Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, the ASD Service, Oxleas NHS Trust, CAMHS, CHEWS, Visual Impairment Advisor, Hearing Impairment Advisor, Community Paediatrics, School Nursing Services and Bexley Early Autism Service to identify any needs or difficulties a child may have.
Individual Support Plans are created with staff, pupils, parents and carers for pupils who are identified as having any additional or special educational needs who do not have an EHCP. These plans describe adaptations that may need to be put into place for the child including additional adult support, adaptations to the curriculum or resources provided. Measurable targets are set and reviewed each term. Parents/carers are invited to attend meetings once a term with the SENCo to review these plans.
For pupils with an EHCP, annual reviews are held. The SENCo is responsible for facilitating these review meetings. Other professionals may also be invited. EHCP outcomes are reviewed and, where appropriate, new outcomes are set.
Pupils’ safety, wellbeing and academic achievement are our foci. We do this by constantly reviewing our provision and curriculum.
Class Teachers have responsibility for enabling all pupils to learn. They do this through:
Support Staff are expected to:
Children are expected to:
Intervention is defined as provision which is ‘additional to or different from’ the usual differentiated curriculum. It can take the form of:
When a child’s need is more complex and persistent than can be met by the school interventions already put in place, the SENCo will engage with relevant external agencies/services. This may be triggered when:
When a child is demonstrating a significant cause for concern or their learning need is more complex and persistent than can be met by the interventions already out in place, statutory assessment will be considered. The EHC Plan incorporates all information about the child from birth. All agencies involved with the child will contribute to the plan. If a Statutory Assessment is required, the school, in consultation with the child, parents and outside agencies, will submit detailed reports for consideration by the Local Authority’s provision Panel. The request is made to Bexley Local Authority.
Our curriculum is scaffolded and adapted to meet the needs of our children. Differentiation may occur by grouping (small group, 1:1, ability, peer); lesson content; teaching style (considering visual, auditory and kinaesthetic styles of learning); lesson format (role play, thematic); pace; alternative recording methods (ICT, scribe, mind mapping, photographs) and the support level provided.
Pupils have access to individual work stations, if required.
Where possible, Oak Trees pupils are given opportunities to integrate with mainstream pupils and vice versa. Mainstream pupils are given opportunities to access Oak Trees resources and provision including access to the Rainforest Room, Sensory Room, Jump Ahead intervention and sensory circuits.
We make sure that all extra-curricular activities are available for all pupils. Risk assessments are carried out for all educational visits. Health and safety audits are conducted as and when appropriate.
Reasonable adjustments and adaptations are made to the curriculum, resources and provision to ensure that all pupils have equal opportunities to access the curriculum.
Staff carry out home visits to new pupils to gather information about a child before they start school. If information has been provided by pre-schools and nurseries with regards to a child’s SEN, the SENCo will accompany the class teacher on the home visit. The SENCo also attends an annual transition meeting with pre-schools and also for those pupils transferring to Secondary School.
At the start of each academic year, we hold ‘Meet the Teacher’ opportunities where parents and carers are encouraged to meet with their child’s new class teacher. This is a time for parents and carers to discuss individual children’s needs. We also hold two open evenings in the year to discuss children’s progress, attainment, attitudes to learning and behaviour. Parents of mainstream pupils with SEN are also invited to attend meetings each term with the SENCo to discuss their child’s progress.
Parents of children (Yrs1-6) with EHCPs are invited to attend an annual review to discuss their child’s progress towards their EHCP outcomes. Other professionals are invited to these meetings. For parents of Reception children with EHCPs, these annual reviews take place every six months. Additional meetings with parents and carers are held for pupils who are accessing support from external agencies such as Speech and Language Therapy, ASD Team and CAMHS.
If appropriate, class teachers can provide parents and carers with contact books. This enables parents/carers and staff to keep in contact on a daily or weekly basis.
We welcome information from parents about how their child learns best in order that it can be shared with the staff who work with the child. We operate an ‘open door’ policy whereby the SENCo is easily contactable via the main School Office or directly via email. (senco@parkway.bexley.sch.uk)
We understand that transition can be difficult for a child with SEND and take steps to ensure that any transition is as smooth as possible.
When moving classes in school:
When moving into Parkway during the academic year:
Transition to Secondary School:
It is in everyone’s interests for complaints to be resolved as quickly as possible. The complaint will be dealt with by the class teacher. It is important that the complainant feels listened to and that all points raised have been addressed. If the matter remains unresolved, the complaint is dealt with by the SENCo or by a Senior Leader. If there is still no resolution, the Head Teacher will become involved. If the matter is still not resolved, the complainant must write to the Chair of Governors. The Governing Body will deal with the matter through their agreed complaint resolution procedures. In the unlikely event that the matter is still not resolved, the parent can take the complaint to the Local Authority.
(Please refer to our Accessibility Plan)
Our school is accessible for wheelchair users. We have toilets for disabled persons. Teachers adapt classroom layouts and learning areas to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Alternative coloured paper is available for pupils with dyslexia. Writing slopes, writing grips and sensory seat pads are also available.
Bexley LA have provided information for parents which can be found on their website: www.bexley.gov.uk/sen
Information for parents is regularly posted on our school website (www.parkway.bexley.sch.uk) in the SEN section.
Bexley’s Local Offer can be found on the following website: Bexley Local Offer
Bexley Voice also provides information for parents. (www.bexleyvoice.org.uk)
Our SENCo is Mrs Cross.
Contacted via email: senco@parkway.bexley.sch.uk or via the main school office: 0208 310 0176