SEND
Here at Eastchurch Primary School, we strive to create an environment in which all pupils - regardless of their individual needs - are provided with inclusive teaching, enabling them to make the best possible progress. We want them all to know that they are a valued member of the wider school community. We expect that all our pupils with SEND will meet or exceed the high expectations we set for them based on their age and starting points. We use our best endeavours to give all our pupils the support they need, whilst continuing to provide access to a broad and balanced curriculum. We work closely in partnership with families, with the aim that pupils will become confident individuals who are enabled to reach their full potential through adaptive teaching and learning approaches.
Each and every child has an individual range of abilities and strengths which mean they progress at an individual rate. Some children may require additional support to enable them to make more progress or allow them to consolidate their existing skills and knowledge. This support can range from individual support, small group work within or outside the classroom, the following of a specific programme or receiving specialist support from external agencies. These groups are designed to support any child with an additional need such as Special Educational Needs, English as an Additional Language, Medical Needs or a physical disability. On identification of these needs, targets are set between home and school and shared with the child. Following on from this, interventions are put in place and progress is monitored and reviewed regularly. The school is committed to meeting the needs of every child and we maintain high expectations of what all our children can achieve.
If you would like to talk to us about your child, please contact our SENDCo, Kirsty Pout on sendco@eastchurch.school or call the school office on: 01795 880279
Our SEND Governor is: Clare Burgess and may be contacted on: burgessc@eastchurch.school
Our SEND and Inclusion Policy may be found here: Policies | Eastchurch CofE Primary School
Our Complaints Policy may be found here: Policies | Eastchurch CofE Primary School
KENT MAINSTREAM CORE STANDARDS
In 2021, the Local Authority published a document called the ‘Mainstream Core Standards’ providing guidance around provision that should be made available to all children in schools, using their best endeavours. This document is a collaborative piece of work between education settings, specialist teachers, education psychologists, colleagues from health and parents, to ensure the recommendations are appropriate and supportive of all individuals.
The main aims of the document are to ensure that children with a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND) are given the appropriate tools and strategies to ensure they are able to access education and be fully involved in the school community; however, we have found it to be a useful tool in developing a much more inclusive approach beyond SEND.
Broken down into two main sections; Expectations of all Schools and Additional Support, the Mainstream Core Standards provides a framework for schools to follow to support their inclusive practice.
Section one references recommendations for all schools under the following headings:
- Working with children and young people, their families and carers
- Pastoral
- Assessment
- Teaching and Learning
- The physical and sensory environment
- Resources
- Staff skills and training
- Transition and transfer
Section two is broken down into four areas of need:
- Communication and Interaction (including Speech, Language and Communication Needs and Autism)
- Cognition and Learning
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Sensory and/or Physical Disability (including visual and auditory impairment)
Under each area of need, the document describes behaviours that may be seen and makes suggestions around how a child can be supported. Let’s take a look:
As a school we have spent a lot of time trying to embed some of the recommendations within the Mainstream Core Standards into our day-to-day teaching and running of the school. With such a skilled and passionate team of staff, we are fortunate to have seen the benefits of these standards in, not only individuals, or even groups but at a whole class level as they continue to create a welcoming and inclusive environment.
You can find both the Mainstream Core Standards document and a Parent guide to the standards by following the link below:
The Mainstream Core Standards - KELSI
Useful websites
Kent County Council SEND strategy
Kent County Council Special educational needs and disability (SEND local offer)
https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/
Kent SEND Strategy 2025-2028 | Let’s Talk Kent
Kent SEND Strategy 2025-2028
Have your say on a new proposed SEND Strategy for Kent (2025-2028)
We believe every child and young person deserves the best education and care, and we are committed to making this a reality in Kent.
Our new draft strategy has been developed with input from many people, including health and social care professionals, educators, parents, carers, and the young people themselves. We have listened to your experiences and ideas, and they have shaped our plan.
PINs Project
We are all very excited to be a part of the PINS project this year. PINS stands for ‘Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools’.
Please see these FAQs about the pilot.
Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) is a collaborative project led by NHS Kent and Medway, Kent County Council (KCC), and Medway Council. The initiative is designed to enhance knowledge, build skills, and improve school environments to better support neurodiverse children in mainstream primary education.
PINS brings together health and education specialists, alongside expert parent carers, to work directly with schools. The programme supports schools to:
- Strengthen whole-school SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) provision
- Deliver early interventions across the whole school
- Upskill teaching and support staff
- Build stronger partnerships between schools and parent carers
Participating schools can choose from a tailored menu of support options to develop their staff's understanding and capacity. This includes training in key areas such as:
- Supporting mental health in neurodivergent pupils
- Speech, language and communication needs
- Adapting the physical and sensory environment
Collaboration with parents and carers is central to the success of PINS. As the Parent Carer Forum for Kent, Kent Parents and Carers Together (PACT) is working closely with schools to establish individual parent carer forums. These forums aim to strengthen relationships between schools and families, ensuring that the voices of parent carers are heard and valued in shaping inclusive education.
Follow the link below to find out more about the courses that you could access as parents and carers.
PINS-Calendar-of-Events-Parents-and-Carers.pdf
Key websites for support and information
- Kent SEND Information Hub (Local Offer)
Information about support and services within Kent. - Information Advice and Support Kent
Give free, impartial and confidential information, advice and support about special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) for children, young people up to age 25, parents and carers. - Kent PACT – Parents and Carers Together
Work to make sure that services provided by education, health and care in Kent meet the needs of children who have special educational needs and disabilities, and their families.
- We are Beams
Local support for children and their families. - National Autistic Society – NAS
- British Dyslexia Association – BDA
- Kent Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services
Also known as CAHMS or CYPMHS - The Pod – Children’s Therapies
Information, resources and support for speech and language, occupational and physio therapies.
Cognition and learning links:
Where children are still struggling with handwriting, click on the links below for information which further outlines different strategies to support handwriting at home. These resources, created by Occupational Therapists to support handwriting at home, are progressive and outline the various stages of handwriting starting with 'Tummy Time'.
Five essential motor skills for handwriting success - GriffinOT
Handwriting hints and tips (wsh.nhs.uk)
You may also find the following link useful for children who wish to further develop their typing skills:
Dance Mat Typing for 7 - 11 year olds - BBC Bitesize
Mapping tools
‘Map-it’ and ‘Ordering’
Below you will find two documents that can be used to support your child with structuring and sequencing their ideas. These tools are great for writing activities as children can record all their thoughts on the ‘Map-it’ document without having to consider the sequence of these. Once these have been recorded, they can use the ‘Ordering’ sheet to sequence their ideas then use this to support their writing, referring to one section at a time.
Active Listening Resources
See below for a selection of resources aimed at developing children’s communication skills through Active Listening. The resources below can be used as reminders of how to show good listening and prompts to encourage them to seek further information, and or clarification, if they have not heard or understood. You will also find below a social story ‘How to be a good listener’ which explains each of the 6 steps they need to take to be an active listener.
Active Listening Fans
Active Listening Games
Active Listening Request Fans
Active Listening Table Top
How to be a good listener Social Story
Language Through Colour Resources
Language through colour uses colours to help children categorise words, securing their understanding of language.
Language through colour can be used in many different ways to help children learn. Below you will find a selection of resources to support children’s understanding and use of language following this approach. You will also find a guide for parents which provides a more detailed explanation of Language Through Colour.
A guide for Parents - Language Through Colour Resources
Language Through Colour Dice
Language Through Colour Fans
Language Through Colour Story Plan
Language Through Colour Vocabulary
Story Plan 1
Story Plan 2
Due to the benefits observed when using Language Through Colour, and in line with the Mainstream Core Standards, we have adopted this strategy as the basis of our Whole School Writing policy.
Switch on words
Introduce new vocabulary through a kinaesthetic approach using the ‘Switch on words’ word mat. This is a great resource to use when learning new spelling words.
Social, Emotional, Mental Health Resources
The Incredible Five-point Scale Resources
Below you will find examples of the incredible 5-point scale which are aimed at supporting children in recognising, managing and regulating different emotions. It helps them measure how they are feeling and provides strategies to support the return to ‘calm’ through a personalised approach. These scales can be personalised and adapted to support in a variety of different scenarios and contexts. You will find a combination of complete, partially complete and blank scales so that you can personalise as required.
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Emotion Cards
These cards focus on basic emotions and can be used in a variety of ways to support children’s understanding and recognition of different emotions. These can be used in many ways such as flash cards, snap, pairs, memory, discussion cards or however you choose. There are three blank cards which can be used to personalise if there are particular emotions you wish to focus on.
Social Stories
Below you will find a small selection of social stories that have been selected to support at home. Social stories are a supportive way of sharing expectations whilst acknowledging and reassuring how an individual feels in a variety of different situations and scenarios. You will find a Social Story guide for parents which explains the development of social stories and how they should be used to have the greatest effect. School are fortunate to have a social story library so please get in touch if you think there is one your child may benefit from that is not available on this page.
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Lego Play Resources
Below you will find a basic PowerPoint which introduces and explains the principles of Lego Play and how this can be used to develop social, communication skills. The short PowerPoint outlines the three main roles within a Lego Play session. You will also find resources to support this below, including Job descriptions, group rules, word cards and challenge cards.
Communication & Interaction Resources
Communication Activities
See below for suggested activities aimed at supporting and developing your child’s communication skills.
Communication activitites 5-11
Communication activitites 0-5
Lego Play Resources
Below you will find a basic PowerPoint which introduces and explains the principles of Lego Play and how this can be used to develop social, communication skills. The short PowerPoint outlines the three main roles within a Lego Play session. You will also find resources to support this below, including Job descriptions, group rules, word cards and challenge cards.
Active Listening Resources
See below for a selection of resources aimed at developing children’s communication skills through Active Listening. The resources below can be used as reminders of how to show good listening and prompts to encourage them to seek further information and or clarification if they have not heard or understood. You will also find below a social story ‘How to be a good listener’ which explains each of the 6 steps they need to take to be an active listener.
Active Listening Fans
Active Listening Games
Active Listening Request Fans
Active Listening Table Top
How to be a good listener Social Story
Language Through Colour Resources
Language through colour uses colours to help children categorise words, securing their understanding of language.
Language through colour can be used in many different ways to help children learn. Below you will find a selection of resources to support children’s understanding and use of language following this approach. You will also find a guide for parents which provides a more detailed explanation of Language Through Colour.
A guide for Parents - Language Through Colour Resources
Language Through Colour Dice
Language Through Colour Fans
Language Through Colour Story Plan
Language Through Colour Vocabulary
Switch on Words
Introduce new vocabulary through a kinaesthetic approach using the ‘Switch on words’ word mat.
Speech and Language
At Eastchurch, we work alongside our NHS speech & language therapy team, our Aquila Trust Speech and Language Therapist and specialist teachers to support speech, language and communication. Support could occur within their classroom or around school. Regular communication between families, therapists, teachers, and our SENDCo ensures that we constantly review our provision and strive to meet the needs of the children, who are at the core of our offer.
If you have any concerns about your child’s speech, language or communication skills, please speak to your child’s class teacher in the first instance. We will decide together of the next steps, and you will be kept informed of any plans to support your child.
Please see below for links to sites that provide support for families whose children may have Speech, Language and Communication Needs.
BBC Tiny Happy People Tips and advice - BBC Tiny Happy People - Experts and parents give advice on language learning and development.
Speech & Language UK Resource library for families (speechandlanguage.org.uk) - A charity that helps children and young people with their speech and language difficulties.
Ideas for future family support Words for Life | National Literacy Trust | Words for Life - Support your young child as they practise their literacy and reading skills.
Speech Link Parental portal Information - provides ideas & advice, information & activities for developing your child’s understanding, talking and listening in a way that works for the whole family.