Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Our SENCo:
Our federation SENCo is Jess Knight. Her SENCo days are Thursday and Friday. On most Thursdays she will be at Mells and on most Fridays she will be at Beckington.
Federation SENCo email: senco@beckingtonmellsfed.co.uk
Please email the school offices or the above email address if you need to make contact.
The following document details the SEN process in our school as a quick reference for parents. Please contact your child's class teacher in the first instance if you have any initial concerns.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Policy
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities - Information Report
Social, Emotional and Mental Health
Admissions:
A place will be provided for any child who has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in place at the time of application, which names Beckington First School or Mells First School as the education provider. This place will be allocated within the Published Admission Number (PAN) before the consideration of any other applications, or above the PAN if places have already been offered up to this limit at that time. These are usually dealt with through early consultations, applied for through Somerset County Council.
For children with SEN without an EHCP, a discussion with the SENCo is advised before starting or applying to enable appropriate provision can be put into place to ensure children with SEN have a successful and positive education at our schools. For children starting in Reception, this is often supported through conversations with previous settings if appropriate. Often, school entry planning meetings are held for pupils joining our schools with SEND.
Support for Parents of children with SEND:
Children's Autism Outreach Team (CAOT) coffee mornings:
You are very welcome join CAOT at several of our coffee mornings, they start at 10am until 12pm.
This is an opportunity to catch up with the team and meet other families. Refreshments are available to purchase. The coffee mornings will be open to everyone known to the team.
If you would like to attend, could you please let us know so we have an idea on numbers and know to update you about any last-minute changes here are our mobile numbers.
Barbara Mills 07584 175262 Kate Standen-Scott 07920 211167
Dawn Thake 07973 686350 Kate Letten 07977 412499
The Mendip School, Prestleigh, Shepton Mallet, BA4 4NJ
Dates:
15th January, 19th February, 18th March, 15th April, 20th May, 17th June, 15th July, 16th September, 21st October, 18th November and 16th December.
Support for Children with SEND
Makaton
Makaton uses speech with signs (gestures) and symbols (pictures) to help people communicate. We also use facial expression, eye contact and body language to give as much information as possible. With Makaton, signs are used with speech in spoken word order. Using signs can help people who have no speech or whose speech is unclear.
View the video below to help with signing our sign of the week:
