At Thomas Hickman School we believe that quality first teaching is the key to pupil progress.  Our Contagious and Courageous curriculum ensures that children are engaged in exciting learning opportunities, are challenged and encouraged to ‘grow their brains’ and make progress.    

However, some children need more than what quality first teaching alone can provide. In these cases, children are supported through a range of reasonable adjustments from the Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP) document provided by Bucks SEN. This provision may be a combination of individual or small group work or specific focused interventions and will focus on a range of subjects and skill that the child needs support with. These provisions may run for a few weeks or possibly longer depending on the needs of the child and the progress they make. No child is taken out of English or Maths lessons, and staff are careful to ensure that children are not missing the same lessons each week or missing too much of our wider curriculum coverage. 

Children on the SEN register who are receiving more than quality first teaching have a learning plan. Parents are invited to come in and meet with teachers to discuss needs, progress and the type of support and reasonable adjustments that are needed to enable the children to thrive at school. Progress is then monitored carefully on a daily, weekly and more long-term basis.

To support all our BIRDS, each class has a teaching assistant (TA) in the mornings, and in Foundation Stage and Year 1 teaching Assistants work full time.  Each year group also has an attached Higher-Level Teaching Assistant where possible ensuring that all children receive the best support.

Some children may require input from external experts and we have a close working relationship with many other professionals and agencies. We use them to assess pupils and provide additional support and ideas for staff in their management of specific children. These include, but are not limited to;

• Speech and Language therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Specialist Teaching Service teachers
• Community Paediatrics professionals
• Educational Psychologists.

For children who struggle with social skills or regulating their behaviour, we have a number of systems in place to support them.  We use a range of positive and restorative behaviour management techniques which run alongside our BIRDS values and our Hand on Heart approach. We have a committed pastoral team who can support children and families in a variety of ways. The team consists of Family Support Workers and a Welfare Lead (who is a trained child therapist) who support our children and their families. They are able to offer 1:1 and group sessions to support children’s social, emotional and behaviour and also parent workshops to help support behaviour at home.

Please find below our Special Educational Needs Policy and Annual Report, an example of our SEN Learning plan and a quick contact form to get in touch, ask questions or discuss the needs of your child.

 

Buckinghamshire Family Information Service have created the Pinpoint register for people with SEN or disabilities. This is to help them better understand the needs in the county and plan services appropriately. If you wish to add your child onto the register use the web address below. Once registered you will receive a Max card which gives you discounts on family days out.

Bucks Family Information - Pinpoint

Autism Early Support is a specialist setting and advice centre based in Buckinghamshire for children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs, including ASD. We use their school support service to assess children and to provide advice for staff.

They have just launched a Parent Portal where for £10 a month parents can access a wealth of information to help parents support their children at home. This includes a community of parents, workshops, webinars, forums and reading rooms.

Parent Portal Platform