At Wittersham Church of England Primary School, we believe that every child is unique, valued and deserving of the opportunity to flourish.

Guided by our Christian vision and our values of Courage, Compassion and Cooperation, we are committed to providing an inclusive, nurturing and ambitious education where all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), feel a strong sense of belonging and are supported to achieve their full potential.

We recognise that children develop and learn in different ways. Our approach focuses on identifying individual strengths, understanding barriers to learning and providing the right support at the right time.

We work closely with pupils, parents, carers and external professionals to ensure that our provision is responsive, purposeful and promotes confidence, resilience and increasing independence.

How We Support Pupils with SEND

1. Early Identification and Personalised Support

We believe that early identification is essential to ensuring that children receive appropriate support as soon as possible.

Class teachers closely monitor pupils' learning, progress and wellbeing, working alongside our Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) to identify any emerging needs.

Where additional support is required, we work collaboratively with families to agree personalised outcomes, identify appropriate strategies and plan targeted provision.

We follow the graduated approach of Assess, Plan, Do, Review, ensuring that support is regularly evaluated and adapted as children develop.

2. High-Quality, Inclusive Teaching

High-quality teaching is the foundation of our approach to SEND.

Our teachers use adaptive teaching strategies to ensure that all pupils can access a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum whilst being appropriately challenged.

This may include:

• Carefully planned scaffolding and additional modelling.

• Visual resources, practical equipment and multisensory approaches.

• Pre-teaching of vocabulary and additional processing time.

• Targeted questioning and guided practice.

• Adapted resources and assistive technology.

• Flexible grouping and personalised classroom strategies.

Our teaching is informed by Kent's Mainstream Core Standards, and we place particular emphasis on ensuring that adaptations develop independence rather than creating unnecessary reliance on adult support.

3. Targeted Interventions and Additional Support

Some children benefit from additional interventions to develop specific academic, communication, physical, social or emotional skills.

Depending on individual needs, these may include:

• Little Wandle phonics interventions and additional reading support.

• Precision Teaching and targeted literacy interventions.

• Reading fluency, comprehension and writing support.

• Numicon and practical mathematics interventions.

• Speech, language and communication activities, including Colourful Semantics.

• Fine and gross motor development activities.

• Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) sessions.

• Sensory and emotional regulation strategies.

• Nurture Club and targeted pastoral support.

Interventions may take place individually or in small groups and are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are making a meaningful difference.

4. The Nest – Our Dedicated Inclusion Provision

The Nest is our dedicated inclusion space, providing a calm, nurturing and structured environment for pupils who require additional support.

Working under the guidance of our SENCO, The Nest offers personalised provision to help children overcome barriers relating to learning, communication, sensory processing, emotional regulation and social development.

Our approach focuses on developing confidence, positive relationships, independence and the skills needed to participate successfully in classroom learning.

Access to The Nest is based on individual needs, with provision carefully planned and regularly reviewed.

Our aim is always to ensure that additional support complements classroom learning and helps children feel fully included within our wider school community.

5. Emotional Wellbeing and Pastoral Support

We recognise that children's emotional wellbeing is fundamental to their happiness, development and ability to learn.

Our inclusion team provides a range of nurturing and pastoral approaches, including ELSA support, Nurture Club, emotional regulation strategies and individualised support where appropriate.

Through our restorative approach to relationships and behaviour, we help children understand their emotions, develop positive relationships, build resilience and learn strategies to manage challenges.

We are committed to ensuring that every child feels safe, listened to, understood and valued.

6. Working with External Professionals

Where additional specialist advice or assessment is required, we work closely with a range of external services, including:

• Specialist Teaching and Learning Services.

• Educational Psychologists.

• Speech and Language Therapists.

• Occupational Therapists.

• School Nursing and paediatric services.

• Children and Young People's Mental Health Services.

• Other relevant health, education and social care professionals.

We work in partnership with families when considering referrals and use specialist recommendations to inform our teaching, interventions and individual support arrangements.

7. Working in Partnership with Families

We believe that parents and carers know their children best and that strong relationships between home and school are essential.

Families are actively involved in identifying needs, agreeing individual outcomes and reviewing the effectiveness of additional provision.

We provide regular opportunities to discuss progress, celebrate achievements and consider next steps.

Our Family Liaison Officer also offers additional support, guidance and signposting for families who may benefit from further assistance.

8. Supporting Successful Transitions

We recognise that moving between classes, year groups or schools can be particularly challenging for some pupils with SEND.

We provide personalised transition support where appropriate, which may include additional visits, opportunities to meet new staff, visual transition resources, enhanced communication between teachers and meetings with families.

We also work closely with receiving secondary schools to ensure that pupils' needs are understood and that appropriate support arrangements can be planned.

Throughout their time at Wittersham, we encourage pupils to develop independence, confidence, organisational skills and the ability to communicate their own needs.

Meet Our Inclusion Team

Mrs Carly Catt – Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO)

Carly leads the day-to-day coordination of SEND provision across the school. She works closely with teachers, families and external professionals to ensure that children's individual needs are identified, supported and regularly reviewed.

Email: ccatt@wittersham.kent.sch.uk

Mrs Stella Coulson – Headteacher and Qualified SENCO

As Headteacher and a qualified SENCO, Stella brings extensive experience of SEND and inclusion to the strategic leadership of the school.

Having previously served as Wittersham's SENCO and Inclusion Leader, she works closely with Carly to ensure that inclusive practice remains central to school improvement, teaching and learning, and the wider development of the school.

Mrs Claire Sterriker-Rhodes – Family Liaison Officer and ELSA

Claire supports children and families with emotional wellbeing, pastoral needs and challenges that may affect school life.

As our trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistant, she also provides targeted sessions to help children develop emotional awareness, confidence, resilience and positive relationships.

Mrs Lucy Cotton – Nurture Learning Support Assistant

Lucy leads our daily Nurture Club and provides additional support for children accessing The Nest.

She works closely with our SENCO and teaching staff to help pupils develop emotional regulation, social skills, confidence and independence.

Your Child's Class Teacher

Your child's class teacher is always the first point of contact if you have concerns about their learning, development or wellbeing.

Teachers remain responsible and accountable for the progress and development of every pupil in their class, including children receiving additional SEND support.

Our SEND Policy and Information Report

Our SEND Policy and SEND Information Report explain how we identify, assess and support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

These documents provide further information about our graduated approach, additional provision, involvement of families, accessibility, transition arrangements and how we evaluate the effectiveness of SEND support.

Our approach is informed by the SEND Code of Practice (0–25 years), the Equality Act 2010 and relevant statutory guidance.

Please see the documents available on this page for further information.

Kent's SEND Local Offer

Kent County Council's SEND Local Offer provides information, advice and guidance about services and support available to children and young people with SEND and their families.

You can explore the Local Offer here:

https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs

Contact Us

If you have any concerns about your child's learning, development or wellbeing, please contact us. We are always happy to listen, offer guidance and work with you to identify appropriate next steps.

School telephone: 01797 270329

School office: office@wittersham.kent.sch.uk

SENCO – Mrs Carly Catt: ccatt@wittersham.kent.sch.uk

You can also speak with your child's class teacher or contact the school office to arrange a meeting with a member of our inclusion team.

Our Commitment

At Wittersham Church of England Primary School, inclusion is everyone's responsibility.

We believe that every child should feel a sense of belonging, experience success and be empowered to take an active role in their own learning and development.

Through high-quality teaching, carefully planned support and strong partnerships with families, we strive to remove barriers, celebrate individual achievements and provide meaningful opportunities for every pupil.

On a voyage of discovery; learning and growing together in the light of God.