Phoenix Infant

Local Offer

This is Phoenix Infant Academy’s contribution to Slough Borough Council’s Local Offer which can be viewed at www.phoenixinfants.uk.  The purpose of a local offer is to enable parents and carers to see more clearly what services are available for children with SEN/D in their area and how to access them.

Phoenix Infant Academy is an infant school with 360 pupils aged 4-7 years. The school has an in-school Resource Base for 9 children aged 4-7 years with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Complex Needs (CN).  All children who are allocated to the resource base have a detailed Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Who to contact

Contact name
Kate Pelazza
Contact position
Principal
Telephone
01753 521888 01753 521888
E-mail
post@phoenixinfants.uk
Website
Phoenix Infant
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Where to go

Name
Phoenix Infant
Address
Warrington Avenue
Slough
Berkshire
Postcode

SL1 3BQ

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Time/date details

When is it on
Monday - Friday, 8:45 until 15:15
Session information
Term time only

Local Offer

Description

What is the Local Offer?  

The Children and Families Bill (April 2014) outlines the Government’s plans to require Local Authorities to publish information on services and provision across education, health and social care for children and young people aged 0-25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND June 2014). The purpose of a local offer is to enable parents and carers to see more clearly what services are available for children with SEND in their area and how to access them. The information below forms our local offer and shows how we have, for many years, provided for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Contact name
Becky Austin
Contact telephone
01753 521888
Contact email
post@phoenixinfants.uk

Schools extended Local Offer response

Special Educational Needs policy

What is the school's ethos and policy for supporting children with special needs and disabilities?

This is Phoenix Infant Academy’s contribution to Slough Borough Council’s Local Offer which can be viewed at Family Information Service website. The purpose of a local offer is to enable parents and carers to see more clearly what services are available for children with SEN/D in their area and how to access them.

Phoenix Infant Academy is an infant school with 295 pupils aged 4-7 years.

Our commitment to inclusion ensures that all children are equally valued and respected as individuals and not defined by their differences.

We believe that for all of those who are part of our school family, an appetite for learning thrives in an environment that is free from prejudice and discrimination.

Our nurturing environment provides a calm and constructive atmosphere where all children can feel safe and are motivated, challenged and encouraged to achieve their full potential.

At Phoenix Infant Academy, we recognise that the educational needs of each child is different.

Phoenix Infant Academy has an in-school Resource Base for 9 children aged 4-7 years with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Complex Needs (CN).  All children who are allocated to the resource base have a detailed Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Children in the Resource Base access their Mainstream class in the afternoon. 

The term SEN/D covers a wide range of types of need that may be experienced individually or in combination. 

These include:

  • Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD).
  • Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD).
  • Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN).
  • Social, Emotional and Mental Health difficulties (SEMH).
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
  • Visual and Hearing Impairment (VI/HI).
  • Physical Disability (PD).
  • Multi-Sensory Impairment (MSI).
  • Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD).

 

Teaching and learning

The Class Teacher

  • Is aware of the school’s Special Educational Needs and Disability policy.
  • Seeks specialist advice from the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and/or the Inclusion Manager.
  • Puts into action any support that is needed for individual children after discussion with parents (and child if appropriate) and the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and/or the Inclusion Manager.
  • Keeps detailed and up to date records on the child and their progress.
  • Informs parents about their child’s needs and gives advice on how to support learning at home.

The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (Becky Austin)

  • Work closely with class teachers and teaching assistants to discuss teaching strategies and identifying needs.
  • Co-ordinate provision for pupils with SEN/D
  • Make sure that the day to day operation of the SEN/D policy is followed.
  • Provide relevant opportunities for staff professional development.
  • Organise annual and termly reviews.
  • Meet regularly with the Principal to discuss individual children and resources.
  • Give advice on the level of support and on appropriate resources and strategies to support children with SEN/D.
  • Advise teaching and support staff on the teaching and assessment of children with SEN/D.
  • Act as a link with external agencies and other support agencies.
  • Attend inset and appropriate training.
  • Meet with parents and children to discuss needs and monitor progress.
  • Maintain the school’s Inclusion List
  • Maintain resources and a range of teaching materials to enable provision to be made.
  • Teach individuals and small groups using appropriate, multi-sensory methods.
  • Manage transition of all children with SEN/D into Junior School or other settings.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of provision for pupils with SEN/D.

The Principal (Kate Pelazza)

  • Keeps the Quality of Education Committee informed of the school’s SEN/D provision.
  • Ensures that the school’s SEN/D policy is fully implemented.
  • Ensures that an appropriate proportion of school resources and funds are allocated to SEN/D provision.

The Quality of Education Committee

  • Has strategic oversight of the SEN/D policy.
  • Ensures that the school has procedures to identify, assess, support and review the progress of children with SEN/D. 
Identifying and assessing Special Educational Needs

At Phoenix Infant Academy, children are identified as having a special need through a variety of ways. These include:

  • information gained through meetings with the child’s previous setting
  • concerns raised by a parent/carer
  • significantly lower than expected levels of achievement and/or progress
  • concerns raised by a member of staff such as unusual behaviour
  • information gained through meeting with other professionals that might be in contact with the child such as a physiotherapist, speech therapist or paediatrician.

At Phoenix Infant Academy, we measure all children’s progress in learning against the national expectations and age related expectations. For those children who learn differently, we also measure progress through outcomes of highly detailed, individual targets that reflect the small steps of progress that are made.

The class teacher will continually assess and monitor your child’s progress and note where they are improving and where further support is needed.

Termly meetings are held with the Senior Leadership Team to discuss all of our children’s academic progress. As a result of these meetings, interventions and group work can be put in place if necessary. The SENCO attends identified children's Progress Meetings with parents/carers. 

Involving parents and children/young people in planning and reviewing progress

How will the support given to my child be explained to me?

The class teacher and Miss Austin will be able to discuss support and progress on at least a termly basis.

As a parent/carer, how could I raise a concern?

Should you have any concerns regarding your child’s progress or well-being, then please speak with, initially, the class teacher and then Miss Austin. If concerns remain at this point then the school’s complaint’s policy must be adhered to. This policy is readily available on the school website or by request from the school office. This being said, we pride ourselves on working with families and as such do everything that we can to ensure that any worries are effectively dealt with before they become a large concern.

How will my child be able to contribute their views?

At our school, each child’s views are sought, valued and respected.

Children are encouraged to form their views either verbally or non-verbally, using appropriate methods that suit their communication needs.  All children have a right to receive and make known their wants, needs and opinions and to have these taken seriously

Our children are encouraged to take an active part in decision making, especially as part of their annual reviews.

Your child will be supported to be able to communicate their views through a variety of ways:

  • school council
  • personal profile page
  • annual pupil questionnaire
  • personal target setting agreed with an appropriate adult.
Additional support

Some children find it harder to learn than other children of the same age. Sometimes, it may be possible to help children by making small changes to teaching and support. The school makes all reasonable adjustments, where suitable and where compatible with the efficient education of others, to support children who learn differently through:

  • curriculum differentiation and quality, first teaching
  • specific support for behaviour
  • bespoke, individual support through specific programmes, interventions or approaches
  • support for health needs
  • small group work
  • specialist teaching groups

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school?

Our staff endeavour to keep up to date with the latest approaches and research and so a variety of expertise is available on site, such as:

  • Makaton
  • Emotional Literacy Support Assistant
  • Lego Therapy
  • Flash Academy intervention.

External services available to the school are as follows: 

  • Educational Psychology Services 
  • Autism Outreach Service 
  • Behaviour Support Service 
  • Speech Therapy Service 
  • Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Services 
  • School Nurse/Health Visitor 
  • Parent Partnership (SENDIASS)
  • Children's Services
  • Learning Difficulties and Disabilities Service
  • CAMHS.

 

Extra activities

Will my child have access to trips and extra curricular clubs?

 

Phoenix Infant Academy makes all reasonable adjustments to ensure all trips are inclusive by planning carefully in advance, taking into account every child’s needs and ensuring that locations visited are easily accessible. Risk assessments are carried out for all trips. All children are welcome at our after school activities and the school will make all reasonable adjustments to facilitate this. For those children who require additional support in order to take part in an activity, a ‘Needs Analysis’ would be completed and discussed with parents prior to a child starting that club.

 

 

 

Meeting social and emotional needs of children/young people

How is my child's overall well-being supported at school?

Our school is an inclusive school and we welcome and celebrate diversity.  We are a caring and understanding team and believe that high self-esteem is crucial to a child’s well-being.  Our school has a comprehensive behaviour policy, which aims to celebrate the positive behaviours and attitudes around school’s HEROIC values and build on its school values.

What support is there for behaviour?

After any behaviour incident, we expect our children to reflect on their behaviour with an adult and discuss ways of changing and improving their behaviour so that similar incidents to not re-occur.

Keeping up to date with knowledge and skills

How are school staff trained and supported to work with children with SEN/D?

We believe that understanding the different needs of our children is not only fundamental to providing exceptional provision but important when supporting our children and parents.  Where possible, our staff ensure that they attend relevant and current training, provided both in school on a regular basis or by making use of services outside of the school environment.

Inclusion support staff receive fortnightly CPD on identified areas of development. 

Transitions

How does the school support children with SEN/D to start school, change classes and move onto a new school when they reach the appropriate stage?

Starting School 

Initial contact is made with parents and the previous setting as soon as we are notified of the transfer.  Visits and discussions with the parents, the child and relevant professionals are arranged as appropriate to ensure a smooth transition to Phoenix Infant Academy. 

(Please, also refer to the school’s Admission Policy) 

Starting a new year group 

Children with SEN/D are prepared, in advance, through visits to the new class and teacher as well as a visual transition booklet that documents people and places in the environment that will remain the same and those that will be different. 

This booklet is written as a transition booklet that can be read over the summer break.

Starting a new school 

The school follows the Local Authority transfer arrangements to Junior School.  As such, parents of children with EHCPs are given the opportunity to discuss transition options. 

Junior School staff are invited to the final review of a child with an EHCP. 

Miss Austin meets with Junior School staff to discuss all children with SEN/D prior to transition. 

During these discussions, additional visits to the school can be arranged as appropriate. 

All documentation and information is forwarded to the receiving school as part of the transition process. 

All pupils with EHCPs have a Pupil Profile, detailing likes, dislikes and how support is best provided.

Transition to another setting throughout the school year

If a child should make transition to another setting mid-way through the year, Miss Austin make arrangements to meet with the new school’s SEN/D staff to discuss a method of transition that is appropriate to the needs of the child.  

As with transition to another setting during the natural transition period, all documentation and information is forwarded to the receiving school as part of the transition process. 

All pupils with EHCPs have a Pupil Profile, detailing likes, dislikes and how support is best provided.

Helpful contacts

How can I access support services in school and in the community?

Your dedicated contacts at the school 

Principal - Kate Pelazza  

Assistant Principal and SENCO - Becky Austin

School contact telephone number: 01753 521888, post@phoenix.uk - 01753 521888 

We take great pride in how we support our families and actively signpost them to services for further advice where possible.  

These services include: 

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Disclaimer

This information has been collected from third party providers. Slough Information and Services Guide and Slough Borough Council cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy of this information and recommend that parents, carers, young people, residents and professionals check with providers regarding DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service), OFSTED and CQC registrations.

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