About us
At Chattenden Primary School, we have high expectations of achievement for all children including those with SEN and are committed to providing effective provision so that pupils are appropriately supported to access learning and make progress, regardless of their starting point or area of difficulty. The school welcomes pupils with SEND; their provision is met according to their needs and through discussion with parents or carers. We are proud of the SEN provision at our school and believe that it models creativity, flexibility and a willingness to go the extra mile for children who need additional support. The school is small and semi-rural and due to its layout, can be challenging to anyone with a significant physical disability: there are a number of steps and slopes throughout the site. However, every reasonable effort is made to accommodate the needs of all including those with reduced mobility.
The school identifies pupils as having SEN using the following government guidance from the SEND Code of Practice (2014:4) suggests that a child of compulsory school age can be considered to have a learning difficulty if he or she; a. has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or b. has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools. The SEND Code of Practice (2014:5) gives a definition of disability as many children who have SEN may also have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 – that is “… a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. This definition provides a relatively low threshold and includes more children than many realise.
“Long term” is defined as “a year or more” and “substantial” is defined as “more than minor or trivial’. The provision of all children with SEND is monitored using class-based provision maps and for children with a higher level of support, Medway’s costed provision maps are also used.
Our Inclusion Team
Mrs Davies –
Mrs Davies is our school Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), one of our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) and a member of our Senior Leadership Team (SLT). She has a wealth of experience across key stage 1 and 2 as a class teacher, ahead of embarking on her SENCO qualification. Mrs Davies holds a postgraduate degree in Special Educational Coordination, she is also our Senior Mental Health Lead within the school, alongside this Mrs Davies is currently undertaking her Adult Mental Health training and holds her Youth Mental Health First Aid qualification.
If you wish to contact Mrs Davies, please contact the main school office or email inclusions@chattenden.medway.sch.uk
Mrs Carpenter –
Mrs Carpenter is our Home School Inclusion Officer and Deputy DSL. She is experienced in working with children from across both Key Stages and supporting families with a variety of issues.
Mrs Carpenter is trained in delivering:
Play Therapy
Lego Therapy
Level 1 Counselling
Drawing and Talking Therapy
Sensory Circuits
Hopscotch Core Standards
She also holds qualifications in Dyslexia Awareness and working with children on the Autism spectrum, as well as supporting children with a variety of mental health issues, including anxiety and wellbeing. Mrs Carpenter is also fully trained as an ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant).
Please contact Mrs Carpenter on 07759960811 if you wish to discuss anything
Mrs Chandler –
Mrs Chandler is our speech and language teaching assistant who works closely with our outside speech and language therapy team from Medway Community Healthcare team.
The Medway SEND Local Offer Website
The SEND Local Offer is a resource which is designed to support children and young people with special educational needs and / or disabilities and their families. It describes the services and provision that are available both to those families in Medway that have an Education, Health and Care Plan and those who do not have a plan, but still experience some form of educational need. The SEND Local Offer includes information about public services across education, health and social care, as well as those provided by the private, voluntary and community sectors.
The SEND Local Offer website: www.medway.gov.uk/localoffer
The SEND Local Offer email: localoffer@medway.gov.uk
‘Useful website links for parents/carers’
BDA dyslexia - https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/children/guidance-for-parents
Support for Medway families with ADHD/ASC - https://www.medway.gov.uk/news/article/891/help_for_medway_families_affected_by_autism_and_adhd
Medway Young People and Carers Forum - https://medwaypcf.org.uk/
Family Action - https://www.family-action.org.uk/