Teaching and Learning

Staff training:

At Pentland Infant and Nursery we hold weekly Staff Meetings. These are used to make sure that all staff have up to date knowledge to teach children of all abilities.

Sometimes the training is run by specialists who make sure that the staff have expert knowledge.

Recent training sessions have included:

Online EPI pen and managing asthma training

Pre- verbal training (Locala- Speech and Language Team)

AET Making Sense of Autism Training (run by the CCI Outreach Team)

Introduction to Makaton

In addition to our weekly meetings our support staff also receive regular bespoke training sessions. These are led by members of our Senior Leadership Team or outside agencies and ensure that all our support staff have up to date knowledge of the curriculum, teaching approaches and strategies to support learners with special educational needs.

Our SENCO offers on -going support and advice for all staff and can provide up to date teaching approaches and resources for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

In addition to school based training, staff also attend training events offered by the Local Authority and outside agencies. Examples of recent events attended by staff include:

Making Sense of Autism (Autism Outreach Team)

Supporting Social Partners (Speech and Language Team)

Our SENCO, Heather Child, is undertaking the NPQSENCo Award.

Inclusive Classrooms:

At Pentland Infant and Nursery School every classroom is an inclusive classroom that can meet the needs of all children in the class. Each classroom provides a range of resources and teaching strategies designed to support children with a range of special needs. In some classes there may also be specialist equipment such as writing slopes, modified scissors.

Our inclusive classrooms provide:

Learning resources that are clearly displayed around the classroom to aid independent learning.
Pictures alongside writing to aid understanding.
Visual timetables so children know what is going to happen next.
Teaching resources that make good use of pictures, colour and are simple and clear.
Talk and writing frames and talk partners to support language development.
Well organized table boxes to aid independent learning.
A bank of accessible literacy and numeracy resources to support independent learning, such as alphabet arcs, number lines, sentence starters.
Well organized, inviting and appropriately stocked book corners.
A range of inclusive images in books, labelling and display.

Inclusive teaching:

At Pentland Infant and Nursery we work hard to ensure that all our children receive good teaching and make good progress helping them to successfully achieve their learning outcomes.

Classteachers plan lessons to meet the needs of all children and differentiate each lesson to ensure that there is the right level of support and challenge for each child in their class. Classteachers also ensure that support staff are targeted to support the children who need additional help and guidance in each lesson. The role of support staff is central in developing independent learners.

Some children may take part in small group teaching led by a member of the support staff or an Intervention/ class teacher. These groups are carefully monitored to ensure they offer the best possible support.

We ensure that all our children with additional needs are provided for, to the best of school’s ability, making best use of funds available.

We use a range of strategies to monitor the quality of teaching and learning in all of our classrooms.

These include:

Tracking your child’s progress and holding discussions with teachers in our tracking meetings with a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Regular monitoring of children’s work in books and teacher’s planning.
Termly lesson observations in all classrooms.
Regular learning walks around school focussing on particular areas, such as the quality of marking and feedback.
Children with special educational needs may also have additional targets to support their development. These targets are recorded on their Individual Education Plan (IEP) which teachers review every half term in partnership with parents/ carers and the children, where appropriate.

Inclusive curriculum:

Our teachers set high expectations for every child and aim to teach them the full curriculum.

We use appropriate assessments to set targets which are deliberately ambitious. Lessons are planned carefully to address any potential areas of difficulty and to eliminate any barriers to learning. We ensure that all our children with SEND are fully engaged in all activities with their peers including After school clubs.

Inclusive Building:

We are very proud of our accessible school building- it provides a clean, tidy and well resourced learning environment that meets the needs of all of our children.

We are fully accessible and have ramp access for most steps. In addition we have 2 disabled toilets .

Our Accessibility Plan helps to continually develop the school environment and make any changes that are necessary.

Assessment and Review:

We use a range of assessment strategies to ensure that all children’s work is well matched to their needs and helps them to make good progress.

All staff talk to the children during lesson time to make sure they understand the lesson and know what to do next.
Children are given verbal feedback about their work during the lesson.
Work is marked by a teacher or a member or support staff who has worked with the child. Staff make a note of what they have done well and record a next step to help them improve their work and make progress.
Formal End of Unit Assessments are carried out which help classteachers assess learning outcomes and plan next steps in learning.
Children with special educational needs may also take part in a range of other assessments to help staff gain a good understanding of their particular needs and plan effective support and interventions.

These assessments may include:

Phonics, reading and spelling assessments
Informal dyslexia and dyscalculia screening
Observations in class and at playtime
Speaking and listening observations
Fine and gross motor checklists
Social and emotional assessments – the Leuven Scale for Well-being.

Evaluating the provision for children with SEND:

School regularly monitors the provision for children with SEND. Good practice is shared across classrooms and Year group and staff work collaboratively to personalise provision for individual children and their specific needs.

Provision is monitored in a number of ways including:

Observations of Teaching and learning.
Children’s work
Discussions with children and staff
Termly learning walks.
SEND reviews