SEND

Inclusion and Special Needs

SENCO: Mrs Sarah Gardner

Every member of teaching staff at Gateway Primary School supports inclusion both inside and out of the classroom.

If you have queries or concerns about special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), these should be discussed with your child’s class teacher in the first instance. Teachers may seek advice from our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo), Mrs Sarah Gardner. She works full time and can be contacted via the school office on 01993 842189. 

The school governor with responsibility for SEND is Kevin Moyes.

What Is Inclusion?

At Gateway Primary School, we all work to create an environment where all children feel welcome, accepted, valued, safe and confident that they will get the right support to help develop their talent and achieve their goals. We work hard to help remove barriers to learning, to give each children the chance to reach their full potential. Successful inclusive provision is seen as the responsibility of the whole school community and applicable to all pupils.

Outside Agencies Working With Us and Our Children

The school works closely with outside agencies to gain additional support and advice for children who may need it. When staff and/or parents raise concerns, it may be necessary to consult specific agencies.

• Educational Psychology
• SENSS, who support children with communication and language, sensory needs and physical needs
• Behaviour Support
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
• Oxfordshire School Inclusion Team
• Therapy services
• Early Intervention
• Children’s Social Care

Please find below some relevant documents and links:

Oxfordshire Family Information https://fisd.oxfordshire.gov.uk/kb5/oxfordshire/directory/home.page

Autism Family Support Oxfordshire http://www.afso.org.uk/

https://www.yellowsubmarine.org.uk/ 

Special Educational Needs and Disability: Local Offer https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/children-education-and-families/education-and-learning/special-educational-needs-and-disability-local-offer

Zones of Regulation

One of the approaches we use across the whole school is to use the language of the Zones of Regulation. The Zones of Regulation was created by Leah Kuypers and is a framework designed to foster emotional regulation and emotional control. She writes, “We all encounter trying circumstances that test our limits from time to time. If we are able to recognize when we are becoming less regulated, we are able to do something about it to manage our feelings and get ourselves to a healthy place. This is the goal of the Zones of Regulation”. 

Some important things to remember are: No zone is good, or bad, we all feel emotions. We just feel happier when we are in the green zone so we are learning how to get ourselves back in to the green zone using our tools. 

• How to use the zones language to support your child at home:
• Identify your own feelings using zones ‘I’m feeling frustrated because….so I am in the yellow zone’  Talk about which tool you will use to help you get to green ‘I’m in the blue zone, so I’m going to go for a walk’.
• Praise your child when they make effort to get into the green zone.
• Label which zone your child is in throughout the day.
• Watch movies such as ‘Inside Out’.
• Discuss the feelings/ zones of characters in TV shows and movies.

EHCP information for parents