Special Educational Needs and Disability at Gilberdyke Primary School

At Gilberdyke Primary School, we are committed to offering an inclusive curriculum to ensure the best possible outcomes for all of our pupils whatever their needs and abilities, in accordance with the SEND Code of Practice 2014.

We seek to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and disabilities are fully included in all aspects of school life. We aim to provide opportunities for pupils with SEND and their parents/carers to play an active role in planning their provision, as we believe the best outcomes are achieved when all parties work together.

Further information:

If you would like any advice/help on specific conditions or to find out what you can do at home please click the following hyperlinks:

East Riding’s Local Offer

The local authority has a legal duty to publish information about what is available in the local area to support children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families. Details of the East Riding SEND Local Offer and Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years can be found by following the link below.

Parent FAQ’s

The best thing to do is to make an appointment to have a chat with your child’s class teacher. They will listen to your concerns and talk about what your child is like at school.

Together you will decide what needs to happen next. This might simply be the case of monitoring the situation, or together you might decide to put some extra support in place. Sometimes it might be appropriate for you to have a chat with the SENCO (special educational needs co-ordinator); the class teacher will discuss this with you.

If your child’s class teacher has any concerns about progress they will arrange to meet with you to talk about what those concerns are. They will be interested in hearing your views too, and might ask you questions about what your child is like at home, what their strengths are as well as their weaknesses. They might also ask you questions about their earlier development.

Together you will decide what needs to happen next. This might be a case of monitoring the situation, or together you might decide to put some extra support in place. Sometimes it might be appropriate for you to have a chat with the SENCO (special educational needs co-ordinator); the class teacher will discuss this with you.

To decide whether or not a pupil has special educational needs we look at the legal definition of SEN in the SEND Code of Practice 2014. This says that:

“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 has a learning difficulty or disability if they;

  • Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
  • Have a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools.”

Our decision is based on lots of things. Your views are very important, as are the views of your child and the class teacher. We look at progress and the work in books. We observe pupils both inside and outside the classroom. We sometimes carry out a range of tests so that we have a better understanding of your child’s strengths and weaknesses. This helps us to target support more effectively.

The type of support your child receives will depend upon their individual needs and is tailored to help them to achieve positive outcomes. The type of support currently offered in school includes:

  • Differentiation and scaffolding – this is when the class teacher modifies work to enable pupils to do similar work to the other children in the class
  • Small group work – either in or out of the classroom with adult support
  • One to one support
  • Specialised programmes for pupils with particular learning difficulties such as reading, spelling or mathematical difficulties
  • Life skills groups
  • Social skills programmes
  • Communication programmes for pupil with interaction difficulties
  • Language enrichment groups for pupils who need to develop their vocabulary
  • Speech and language therapy programmes
  • Fine and gross motor skills programmes
  • Behaviour programmes

Many pupils with SEN have an individual education plan (IEP) which provides details about the extra support they are receiving in school, and helps parents to support their child at home. The class teacher and SENCO will also be happy to help you with ideas for home.

Most of the time your child will work with their class teacher. Whoever else works with your child, the class teacher retains responsibility for their education. Other adults who might work with your child could include:

  • An ASA (Acheivement Support Assistant)
  • The Emotional Well-Being Worker
  • Another teacher from the same year group
  • The SENCO
  • Specialists from outside the school such as the educational psychologist, teachers of children with physical and sensory difficulties, teachers of children with learning difficulties, speech and language therapists, the school nurse, family practitioners.

We will always let you know before someone from outside the school works with your child.

You will be invited to attend regular progress meetings with your child’s class teacher. At the meeting you will have the chance to discuss the progress that has been made and together you can plan what the next steps are. If you have concerns about your child’s progress, however, you don’t need to wait until the next progress meeting. Simply contact the school to make an appointment to see your child’s class teacher.

Some pupils can find it difficult when they make the move from one class to another at the start of a new school year. This can be a very worrying time for parents too, especially when pupils move from one key stage to the next or from primary to secondary school.

For pupils who would benefit from additional support we make special transition arrangements. These can include:

  • Preparation of a transition book which includes photographs of key people and places in the new classroom or setting, as well as other useful information
  • Short visits to the new classroom or setting
  • Introducing new staff to pupils in familiar surroundings
  • Communication Passports containing important information about the child to share with new staff

‘The best thing about Gilberdyke is that we accept everyone for who they are – that’s the thing I’ll miss most.’

Quotes from Year 6 pupils

‘The values the school has shine through the students.’

Quotes from parents

‘Gilberdyke is about respect and responsibility. I’ve learnt a LOT about that whilst I’ve been here and we need to. We try our hardest in everything and never give up!’

Quotes from Year 6 pupils

‘This school is a safe, educating, welcoming, accepting and all round brilliant school.’

Quotes from pupils

‘Children are given the confidence to grow and learn.’

Quotes from parents

‘All staff greet with a smile and are approachable and always there to listen.’

Quotes from parents

‘The children are happy because of the amount of effort teachers put into wellbeing.’

Quotes from parents

‘There are loads of things to do here, it’s fun in lessons and loads of other people to make friends with.’

Quotes from Year 6 pupils

‘This school is an environment where everyone has a voice.’

Quotes from pupils

‘I’ve really valued the amount of respect I’ve been shown. I know that I’m never alone. I can talk to anyone.’

Quotes from Year 6 pupils

‘Responsibility is key to having a good career, this school has taught me that.’

Quotes from Year 6 pupils

‘Gilberdyke is a kind and respectful school with trusted people to talk to. Everyone gets along with each other because of the values about respect, responsibility and resilience.’

Quotes from Year 6 pupils

‘I came from another school and I’ve met loads of new friends. This school is about friendship, respect and we always follow the expectations, it works well.’

Quotes from Year 6 pupils

‘It is a welcoming school that puts children first.’

Quotes from parents

‘I’m going to miss having fun lessons. Gilberdyke has taught me simple manners and respect and how much that is needed and necessary in life.’

Quotes from Year 6 pupils

‘The staff are kind, even when they’re tired, they keep going because we are resilient!’

Quotes from Year 6 pupils

‘Gilberdyke is a place where everyone feels welcome because we are respectful of each other and friendly.’

Quotes from Year 6 pupils