Agenda item

Special Educational Needs Coordinator Update

To hear from school SENCos about current levels on return and next steps.

Minutes:

Carey Kelly, from South Ascot Village School, gave an update. She said that children were able to swim twice a week and additional PE lessons had been provided to help with wellbeing. In September 2022, a new SEN unit would be opened at the school for children who struggled in a mainstream school, this would allow them to be integrated into mainstream subjects at foundation level. The school currently had 5 children with an EHCP. During lockdown, the school was in constant contact with parents with Microsoft Teams being utilised for lessons during the most recent lockdown. All but one child was able to use Teams, but staff had discovered that it was difficult for the children to get the most out of learning virtually. Therefore, work was delivered to homes and this helped to build confidence with parents as a result. The anxiety amongst parents had been high, with a different environment to normal for the children.

 

Carey Kelly had set up a risk assessment with each individual child. The teachers needed to be comfortable with the progress that had been made by children over lockdown and embraced where the children were in their learning. Recently, the school has made good use of its grounds and encouraged the children to play games and activities. A baseline assessment was completed in March, which showed that younger year groups had been most affected by being out of school. Some parents were low skilled themselves so were unable to help their children with home learning. Mental health was an important focus, with surveys being conducted to ensure that it was prioritised and adequate. There was one EHCP child who had not been in school pre lockdown but the school had experimented with a robot in the classroom that was able to link with the child and let them feel like they were in the same room as their teachers and friends. Looking towards the future, Carey Kelly felt that the school and children were in a good place and that more would be done with parents going forward.

 

The Chairman said it was reassuring to hear the huge effort that was going in to make sure that children were receiving support and that their mental health was being looked after. He thanked Carey Kelly for her passion and enthusiasm.

 

Councillor Del Campo commented that the increase in safeguarding referrals was a concern and asked if MASH was able to cope with the increased workload.

 

Kevin McDaniel, Executive Director of Children’s Services, said that three additional staff members had been brought in to keep up with the level of demand. There had been a positive response to additional staff being brought in last year to the family resilience service.

 

The Chairman said that if additional resources were needed for safeguarding then they would be found.

 

Councillor Del Campo asked if there was anything that Members or officers could do more of to help teachers.

 

The Chairman said that if anyone had any suggestions then they were welcome to contact him. He thanked Clive Haines for all his work.

 

Kevin McDaniel said that solutions were different for all schools.