Category Archives: Uncategorized
Sensory & Physical Needs
Children with a physical or sensory impairment may experience visual or hearing difficulties, multi-sensory impairments or a physical disability. At Castlechurch, we work with a range of agencies including Occupational Therapy, the Hearing Impairment Specialist Support Team and the School Nursing Service to support pupils with these specific needs. Reasonable adjustments in the classroom may include:
- Writing slopes
- Pencil grips
- Ipads/Laptops
- Medical care plans
- Specialist equipment such as radio-aids
- Motor interventions
- Additional rest breaks
You may find the following websites useful if you have concerns regarding a sensory or physical need in your child:
Hearing Impairment
Staffordshire Connects | Deaf/Hearing Inclusion Team
Vision Impairment
Staffordshire Connects | Vision Inclusion Team
VICTA | Children and young adults who are blind or partially sighted
Blindness and vision loss – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Physical Difficulties
Support groups for parents | Disability charity Scope UK
Help if you have a disabled child: Overview – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
How to care for children with complex needs – Social care and support guide – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Acceptance – Tips for Parents of Child| CerebralPalsy.orgCerebralPalsy.org
Living With Spina Bifida (Infants) | CDC
Dyspraxia
Developmental co-ordination disorder (dyspraxia) in children – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Staffordshire Connects | Listings in Dyslexia, dyspraxia, specific learning difficulties
Social, Emotional & Mental Health
At Castlechurch, looking after our children’s mental health and emotional well-being is a key priority. Social and Emotional Mental Health (SEMH) includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. If you feel your child requires support with their mental health, please speak to your child’s class teacher.
At Castlechurch, we take a ‘graduated response’ to supporting your child in managing their SEMH needs. Please click the link below to view our SEMH graduated response.
Graduated Response SEMH NEW CC
MHST
The Mental Health Support Team from North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust is working within our school. This team consists of Educational Mental Health Practitioners and Mental Health Practitioners with a variety of qualifications such as school nurses, social workers and mental health nurses. This team aims to work with our school promoting positive well-being, preventing poor mental health and raising awareness of mental health.
The team offers one to one interventions or group work with children and young people over a short period of time, these sessions are aimed to equip children and young people with the tools to effectively maintain positive well-being. The team will work with children and young people around topics such as; worry management, low mood, exam stress, anxiety, difficulties with emotions, panic management, coping strategies, sleep, behavioural difficulties and problem solving.
The team will also be supporting parents/ carers so that children and young people feel able to talk to adults about how they are feeling, normalising discussions around mental health and reducing stigma. The team will also offer parent workshops, parent drop in’s and support to implement strategies in the home environment.
MHST leaflet for parents – new (2)
You may also find the following links and resources useful to support mental health and emotional wellbeing:
https://parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk/
childrens-mental-health-a-parents-guide
Interactive-Parents-leaflet-online-version
0children_s_mental_health_support_north_staffs_latest
-cyp-manage-anxiety-apr2020-v4
CAMHS South Staffordshire :: Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Useful information to support children’s transition to their next phase of learning:
Transitions handout primary to secondary/middle
ADHD
ADHD behaviours are also categorised under this broad area of need. The following websites may be useful if you would like to find out more:
https://www.autismcentral.org.uk/events
ADHD and Mental Health | Signs and Symptoms of ADHD | YoungMinds
ADHD in Children | Nip in the Bud | Free Downloadable Fact Sheet
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) | Info & support | Contact
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Communication & Interaction
At Castlechurch, we recognise the importance of speech, language and communication as an essential skill for learning and building friendships. While all children develop and different rates, some will require additional support to boost their language and communication skills.
We work closely with Debbie Willshaw from SpeakWrite to ensure our staff are able to identify those children who may require clinical assessment for Speech and Language, whether it be difficulties with articulation, receptive language, expressive language or social use of language. Non-diagnostic Language Progression Assessments are used to help us establish any areas that may need additional school-based intervention. These also help us identify any children who we feel would benefit from further clinical assessment with our local NHS team. We also provide a range of additional intervention groups or 1:1 support to work on strategies such as:
- Cued Articulation
- Attention and Listening Groups
- Attention Autism Groups
- Colourful Semantics
The resources below indicate how you could help your child at home and provide links to useful websites you may wish to explore.
GeneralLeaflet for parents 4-5
Useful websites to support home learning
Stoke Speaks Out Staged Pathway
Autism
Autism Spectrum difficulties are also included in this area of need. You can find further details regarding this condition on the links below: (NB live links can be found in the ‘Self-help’ tab)
Where to get autism support – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Surviving School On The Autistic Spectrum | Blog | YoungMinds
National Autistic Society (autism.org.uk)
Ambitious about Autism | National charity for autistic children and young people
Cognition & Learning
At Castlechurch Primary School, we are committed to meeting the needs of all pupils to ensure that they make the best possible progress. As all children progress at different rates, there may be times when a teacher feels a child would benefit from an intervention group, which would be in addition to every day quality teaching. Learning may also be specifically tailored to your child’s needs to ensure they are able to engage, develop independence and make progress at their own rate. Personal Learning Plans (PLPs) or Targeted Strategy Plans (TSP) will be devised in conjunction with parents/carers and any involved agencies which outline supportive strategies. These adjustments may be made across all subject areas or specific to:
- Reading
- Phonics
- Writing
- Number skills
- Working memory
- Concentration and engagement
- Organisation
At Castlechurch, we take a ‘graduated response’ to identifying and addressing cognition and learning needs. Please click on the link below to view our cognition and learning graduated response document.
CFLP-Graduated-Response-for-C-and-L-Master
Cognition and learning needs may include specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyscalculia, moderate learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties. You may find the links below useful if you have concerns regarding these specific needs:
Dyslexia
Dyslexia – Management – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
British Dyslexia Association (bdadyslexia.org.uk)
The Dyslexia-SpLD Trust – Home
Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia – British Dyslexia Association (bdadyslexia.org.uk)
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