Wilstead Primary School's designated Lead for Special Educational Needs and Inclusion is Mr James Walker. You may contact him by email: senco@wilstead.school or phone: 01234 302303

Useful Contacts

Special Educational Needs at Wilstead

Wilstead follows the guidance and expectations of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice. We provide for a wide range of additional needs in the following areas:

Communication and Interaction

Cognition and Learning

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties

Sensory or Physical Needs

We are experienced in supporting our children and families through the complexities of identifying and removing barriers to learning. This process is outlined fully in our SEN Policy. Parents and carers are always thoroughly consulted before a decision is made to include any pupil on our SEN Register, and throughout their time with Wilstead.

The responsibility for a child's progress lies initially with their class teacher - this is called Quality First Provision. Often, a child's individual needs can be met through reasonable adjustments - for example providing writing slopes, additional phonics practice or considering their seating position. This is not identified as having additional or special needs. 

If the class teacher is of the view that greater support is needed, they may consult with the school's SENCO and plan for a more direct intervention, or in some cases, seek referral to another agency such as Speech and Language Therapy. At this point, the child's name may be included on the school's SEN Register so that their progress can be more closely tracked through the school's Assess/Plan/Do/Review (APDR) graduated response procedure. Again, parents and carers are involved fully in this process, as are the views of the child.

Where it is determined that a child's needs are significant and lifelong, there may be a joint decision between school and family to apply for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This is usually requested when the complexities of the child's needs are such that a multi-agency approach is needed to identify and plan bespoke provision and resources, and following a series of APDR cycles. 

Your child's progress remains the responsibility of the class teacher throughout, and the SENCO's role is to oversee this and support teaching and learning through consultancy with the teacher, family, child and outside agencies where appropriate. 

If you would like to discuss your child's additional needs, please do ask your class teacher to arrange a meeting. There are also some useful links to local services and information which you may find useful.

Mr J Walker, Special Educational Needs and Disability Co-ordinator

The Assess/Plan/Do/Review cycle 

All pupils on the Wilstead SEN Register are monitored through the termly APDR cycle. This is often known as a graduated response - a series of steps taken to ensure that a pupil is offered the right support at the right time. APDRs are written by the class teacher, overseen by the SENCO, and focus on the pupil's strengths, areas of needs and identified strategies to support them. At the review stage, evidence is used to assess whether the provision has resulted in the pupil making the desired progress. A decision is then made about their next steps, whether that be to come off the SEN register, further intervention or possible consultancy with the SENCO or outside agencies.