Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Contact:

foxm@deal-parochial.kent.sch.uk

 

Role of the SENCO

At Deal Parochial, the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) plays a key role in ensuring every child receives the support they need to thrive. The SENCO is responsible for identifying special educational needs early and working closely with staff, families, and external professionals to remove barriers to learning.

 

Key Responsibilities

Early Identification and Assessment

• Identifies possible needs and barriers to learning at the earliest opportunity.
• Works with teachers to review progress, monitor concerns, and gather evidence to fully understand each child’s needs.

 

Provision and Support

• Ensures children identified with special educational needs or disabilities receive appropriate, personalised support.
• Adds children to the SEN Support Register when their level of need requires intervention beyond high‑quality teaching and everyday classroom practice.
• Oversees ongoing review and monitoring of support to ensure it remains effective and responsive.

 

Supporting Teachers and Support Staff

• Advises and equips teachers with strategies to help every child reach their full individual potential.
• Supports teaching assistants and other support staff to deliver intervention programmes confidently and effectively.
• Ensures all staff receive relevant, up‑to‑date SEND training.

 

Working with External Agencies

• Liaises with a range of outside professionals—such as educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, and health specialists—to ensure children receive the right assessments and expert guidance.
• Supports families with referrals for further assessment when needed.

 

Family Partnership

• Works closely with parents and carers to ensure they feel informed, involved, and supported throughout their child’s journey.
• Signposts families to relevant support groups, services, and community organisations.

 

Meet the SENCo at Deal Parochial 

Our Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo), Mel Fox, works full-time and is committed to ensuring every child receives the support they need to thrive. Mel is also our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead and the Designated Teacher for children in the care system. She is available for arranged meetings and can be contacted via email or telephone.

Mel works closely with the EYFS SENCo, our nurture and assessment teams, the senior leadership team, teachers, support staff, and SENCOs across the DEALT Academy to provide high-quality, joined-up support. She will always make time to listen to any queries or worries you may have.

Outside of school, Mel enjoys spending time with her busy family of five children, three step-children, two grandchildren, and her two dogs. She is a passionate football supporter and proudly admits to being slightly Disney-obsessed.

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Nurture and Wellbeing

Special Educational Needs Policy 2023

Special Educational Needs Governors Report

Single Equality and Accessibility Plan 2023

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

Demand Reducing Strategies 

SEND areas of need: 

• Cognition and Learning
• Communication and Interaction
• Social Emotional and Mental Health 
• Sensory and/or Physical Needs

SEND levels of support at school 

School support: area of need being supported by Quality First Teaching, meeting the Mainstream Core Standards www.kelsi.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/117256/Special-educational-needs-mainstream-core-standards.pdf

SEN support: areas of need that require more than the above and possibly outside agency involvement

EHCP – Education Health Care Plan: statutory assessment by the local authority has taken place to ensure specific level of provision 

Outside agencies we regularly work with: 

• Early help
• Social services 
• STLS – Specialist Teaching and Learning Service
• Speech and language therapist 
• Play therapist
• Counsellor
• School nurse
• Occupational therapist
• Educational psychologist 
• NELFT – Emotional wellbeing team
• Kent PACT (Parents and Carers Together)  https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs/listening-to-your-voice-and-taking-action/kent-pact
• Virtual schools 

Strategies and provision provided regularly

• Quality First Teaching
• Mainstream Core Standards
• Curriculum interventions such as:
• Little Wandle – phonics
• Reading, writing, maths catch up groups
• Reading Recovery 
• Building Reading Stamina
• Speechlink
• Junior Language Link (KS2) 
• NELI (EYFs, KS1) 
• Pre-teach learning
• Revisit learning
• Fizzy – gross motor skills
• Cleverhands – fine motor skills
• Handwriting
• Touch typing 
• Clicker 7
• Social skills
• Lego therapy
• Boxall profile – Nurture UK
• Nurture time
• Time to talk
• Draw and talk
• Colour monsters (EYFS, KS1)
• Zones of regulation (KS2)
• Horse riding
• Mini Police cadets
• Listening skills
• TRG mentors – Transferring Lives for Good
• Tar

SEND 

Mel Fox, full-time SENCo – Inclusion manager 

We work as a team to best support all children in our school and their individual needs.

Please feel free to make contact with any concerns: Senco@deal-parochial.kent.sch.uk

Each class has a teacher and teaching assistant. Some may also have learning support assistants with a child that needs a more focused level of provision and intervention to meet their needs.

Another source of support for families impacted by SEND is the Local Offer

https://local.kent.gov.uk/kb5/kent/directory/results.action?localofferchannel=0

SEND areas of need:

• Cognition and Learning
• Communication and Interaction 
• Social Emotional and Mental Health
• Sensory and/or Physical Needs

SEND levels of support at school 

School support: area of need being supported by Quality First Teaching, meeting the Mainstream Core Standards www.kelsi.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/117256/Special-educational-needs-mainstream-core-standards.pdf

SEN support: areas of need that require more than the above and possibly outside agency involvement 

EHCP – Education Health Care Plan: statutory assessment by the local authority has taken place to ensure specific level of provision

Outside agencies we regularly work with:

Early help /  Social services / STLS – Specialist Teaching and Learning Service / Speech and language therapist / Play therapist / Counsellor / School nurse / Occupational therapist / Educational psychologist 

NELFT – Emotional wellbeing team

Kent PACT (Parents and Carers Together)  https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs/listening-to-your-voice-and-taking-action/kent-pact

Virtual schools 

Strategies and provision provided regularly

Quality First Teaching / Mainstream Core Standards

Curriculum interventions such as: 

• Little Wandle – phonics
• Reading, writing, maths catch up groups
• Reading Recovery
• Building Reading Stamina
• Speechlink
• Junior Language Link (KS2)
• NELI (EYFs, KS1)
• Pre-teach learning 
• Revisit learning
• Fizzy – gross motor skills
• Cleverhands – fine motor skills
• Handwriting
• Touch typing
• Clicker 7
• Social skills
• Lego therapy
• Boxall profile – Nurture UK 
• Nurture time
• Time to talk
• Draw and talk
• Colour monsters (EYFS, KS1)
• Zones of regulation (KS2) 
• Horse riding
• Mini Police cadets
• Listening skills
• TRG mentors – Transferring Lives for Good
• Targets/programmes from outside agencies
• Gets/programmes from outside agencies