Special Educational Needs

 

At Chilham St Mary’s Primary School, we take great pride in our inclusive school community and our commitment to ensuring every child has equal opportunities to thrive, offering a curriculum that is accessible to all children.

We believe that all children—whatever their individual needs—should feel welcomed, valued, supported and fully included in every aspect of school life. Our aim is to help each child achieve their very best, both academically and personally, within a nurturing and welcoming environment.

Our staff are dedicated to adapting teaching, removing barriers to learning and celebrating the unique strengths that every child brings to our school community.

 

Working in Partnership with Families

We know that you understand your child better than anyone. From the moment your child joins us, we work closely with families to build a clear picture of their needs. This includes:

• Listening carefully to your views
• Gathering observations from class teachers
• Seeking guidance from our SENCO
• Using both formal and informal assessments
• Ensuring your child’s voice is heard

This collaborative approach helps us identify the right support early and tailor provision to help your child flourish.

 

Assessments

To understand how best to support each learner, we use a range of assessment tools, including:

• Star Reader (Renaissance) for reading
• Maths.co.uk assessments
• Specialist screeners such as Speech Link, Language Link, Rapid GL (dyslexia screener)
• Tools that explore phonological awareness, auditory memory, processing skills, and indicators of dyscalculia

We also track progress throughout the year using SONAR, a pupil‑progress platform from Juniper Education. This ongoing monitoring helps us identify strengths, spot emerging needs and adjust support promptly.

 

Supporting Learning

Each class has a provision map that highlights pupils who may benefit from targeted interventions. For children with more complex or specific needs, we create a Personalised Learning Plan (PLP). This is developed by the SENCO, class teacher, parents and—where appropriate—the child themselves.

We strongly believe that successful SEND support relies on teamwork. When school staff, families and pupils work together, children make the best possible progress.

 

Tiered Support Structure

We offer four levels of support to meet the diverse needs of our pupils:

Tier 1 – Whole Class Support

Teachers use adaptive teaching strategies and the Mainstream Core Standards to support all learners.

Whole Class Provision Maps help identify pupils who may benefit from additional interventions. Reviewed: 3 times a year

Tier 2 – Monitoring Register

For children with emerging or low‑level concerns. Needs are monitored closely and support is adjusted as required. Reviewed: 3 times a year

Tier 3 – SEN Support (SEN‑S Register)

For pupils with more specific or ongoing needs. A Personalised Learning Plan is created collaboratively. We follow the Graduated Approach from the SEN Code of Practice (2014):

1. Assess – Identify needs
2. Plan – Agree outcomes and support
3. Do – Put the plan into action
4. Review – Evaluate progress and refine strategies Reviewed: 3 times a year

For children with significant, complex or long‑term needs. An EHCP is issued by the Local Authority and supported by a PLP.

Tier 4 – Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

Reviewed: 3 times a year + Annual Review

 

Supporting Well‑being and Safeguarding

Your child’s well‑being is central to everything we do. All staff are trained to recognise when a child may need additional emotional or safeguarding support.

We use MyConcern, a secure online system, to record and monitor any well‑being or safeguarding concerns. This ensures that issues such as emotional difficulties, possible neglect, bullying or mental health worries are followed up quickly by our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs).

To help us monitor how settled and engaged children feel in school, we use the Leuven Scales (1–5). If a child appears less engaged or happy, we work with them—and with you—to identify what support may help.

 

 

Collaborative Support & External Expertise

As part of our Local Offer, we work closely with a range of external professionals, including:

• SEND Inclusion Advisor (SEN IA): Teresa Dowling – teresa.dowling@kent.gov.uk
• Educational Psychologist (EP): Nicki Carpenter – nicki.carpenter@kent.gov.uk
• Specialist Teaching and Learning Service (STLS): Katy Harrington – katy.harrington@kent.gov.uk
• Speech and Language Therapist (SALT): Eve Cryer – eve.cryer@nhs.net

These partnerships help us ensure that children receive high‑quality, specialist support when needed.

 

Our Team

All teachers at Chilham St Mary’s are responsible for the progress and development of every child in their class. Our SENCO, Mrs Vanessa Robinson, leads the identification of SEND needs and coordinates provision across the school.

Our experienced and skilled teaching assistants deliver targeted interventions and support learning throughout the school.

All staff take part in ongoing professional development to ensure we meet the needs of our pupils effectively.

Contact

If you have concerns about your child’s development or think they may have a special educational need, please contact our SENCO: Vanessa Robinson

senco@chilham.kent.sch.uk

 

Our SEN Policy & SEN Information Report 2025-26 can be found on the Policies page.

Please click on the link below:

Policies | Chilham St Mary's C.E Primary School