Dear parents and carers,
Welcome to our first newsletter dedicated to sharing information related to supporting pupils and their families. At Abbots Farm Junior School, we are incredibly proud of the education we offer through providing an exciting and engaging curriculum for all children to access, a wide range of extra-curricular activities and a caring and skilled team of staff to support them on their educational journey.
We are equally committed to the social, emotional and pastoral development of our pupils and understand the role of our school as a community support to our pupils and their families. Based on parental feedback, we understand that it is some of these areas – such as behaviour, pupil and family welfare and special educational needs that you would like further information about.
In this newsletter, you will find information about review meetings for children with Special Educational Needs, updates from our Relationship and Behaviour Policy and further information about of Children and Families team. In order to make this newsletter as effective as possible, we would very much appreciate further feedback on what types of information or updates you would like to see included. If you have any suggestions please click the link to complete a form.
https://forms.office.com/e/ePJr7ckbde
from Mrs Watson-Tate :)
Special Educational Needs: Review Meetings
This term's IEP Meetings for children on our school's SEN Register will take place after school on Monday 2nd October. These termly meetings are an excellent opportunity to celebrate the children's successes and consider their ambitions for the coming term as well as discuss any additional support in place.
We will be organising EHC Review meetings for children with Educational Health Care Plans on a separate date and will contact parents and carers to arrange these.
Updated pupil documents will then be available to access on the Edukey Provision Map site two weeks after the date of the meeting. Parents of children with Special Educational Needs who are new to the school will be provided with log-in details for this service. The documents will include:
Pupil Passport: a one-page document that briefly details strengths and areas of need. This document includes a list of adjustments/support that pupils need within the classroom as well as additional supports such as intervention groups.
IEP (Individual Education Plan): a plan that is reviewed and updated termly. This document details the agreed learning targets and the strategies and support that will be used to enable pupils to achieve their targets.
The meetings above are for children who have already been placed on our Special Needs Register. We use a variety of assessments and monitoring to identify children with Special Needs which includes parents' concerns. If you have concerns related to your children's learning and development, please contact your child's class teacher. Questions regarding Special Educational Needs can also be sent to the dedicated SENCo email address senco2421@welearn365.com
Relationship and Behaviour Policy
Last autumn, our Relationship and Behaviour Policy was updated to reflect feedback from pupils, staff and families, updated guidance from the Department for Education and a range of training that we have completed. Thank you to all parents and carers who attended the evening workshops where we discussed the key changes and answered your questions on our approach to behaviour.
One of the key changes is the inclusion of the Restorative Approach which is used in response to behaviour. At the heart of the Restorative Approach is the intention to resolve conflict that occurs between people through a peaceful and fair process in which all parties are heard and respected. We believe all children should understand that it is the responsibility of staff, pupils and members of the school community to uphold and maintain our school rules of being safe, respectful and always trying our best. Further details of the approach and how school staff respond to behaviour is included in the Response Chart in the Relationship and Behaviour Policy (see link below).
Introducing AFJS Children and Families Team
Miss Ingle: Children and Families Champion
Lois Ingle is our Children and Families Champion. She has previously working in roles identifying and organising support for young people and their families. Lois has brought this experience to Abbots Farm and supports families through the Early Help process. Lois has a warm and empathetic approach and has a wealth of knowledge about services and support. Since joining the school, Lois has undertaken a variety of training so that she can offer a broad range of one to one support in areas such as emotional literacy and social skills. Lois is also delivering The Solihull Approach, a 10 week parenting programme to support the understanding of children's behaviour.
Mrs Smythe: Children and Families Lead
Sam Smythe is our Children and Families Lead. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise having worked in a variety of roles across schools, children's centres and family support work. Sam is a qualified counsellor and has a certificate in Play Therapy. We are extremely lucky that this means we are able to offer this therapeutic support within school. In addition to this, Sam has worked across a number of schools in Rugby offering guidance for pupils with behaviour that presents as challenging. At Abbots Farm, Sam continues to share her skills in this area with children, staff and families.
Healthy Body and Mind - Support for all of our Farmers Families
This newsletter is the new place to find links and signposting to a range of support that families can access. This will include ongoing services – such as the Family Information Service – as well as those that are most relevant to the time of year or newly released.
Warwickshire's Children and Families Team are hosting a number of workshops for parents about a range of topics such as sleep and understanding behaviour, all free of charge - click here to see if there is anything may be useful for you https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/warwickshire-children-and-families-17595309993
SearchOut Warwickshire is here to help you find and access organisations, services and events that are local to you - things that will help you stay active, healthy, happy, and well. They also provide further information about services and support available from local organisations and groups for families with children and young people aged 0 to 25, who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
If you or your child are experiencing a mental health crisis, you can contact the Rise Crisis Team by calling 08081 966796 and selecting 'option 2' at any time of the day or night. Please note that it is an advice-only service overnight from 8pm to 8am. In an emergency call 999.
The Family Information Service phone line is a freephone number to enable anyone to contact them for support. You can call them on 0800 408 1558 with anything - even if they can't help, they may be able to point you in the direction of someone who can!