We believe that every learner has a right to education that supports and develops their personality, talents and abilities to their fullest potential (UNCRC Articles 28 and 29). Some learners have additional learning needs (ALN) and so require us to provide additional support.

We meet needs flexibly using the continuum of support described in the ALN Code of Practice:

• High Quality Inclusive Practice (HQIP) - this is the universal level of provision which is in place for all learners. Specific strategies are implemented to meet the individual needs of some learners.
• Targeted Support - this is the first level of additional provision which is put in place when a learner is identified with ALN.
• Specialist Support - when there is involvement from a specialist service such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, educational psychology, CIAS (Communication, Interaction and Autism Service) or Les Voies Outreach.
• Determination - At this level, the learner’s ALN will have been carefully profiled during a ‘Formal Assessment’ process.

What to do if you think your child might have additional learning needs

At St Martin’s Primary School we believe in early identification and support. We work closely with parents and carers to identify additional learning needs.

Class teachers and/or the ALNCo invite parents/carers into school to discuss any concerns in a timely manner.

Parents/carers are encouraged to share their views or raise concerns at any time; this does not need to wait for formal parent/carer appointments which are offered twice yearly. The class teacher is usually the most appropriate person to speak to initially, but any parent/carer can request a meeting with the ALNCo at any time.

What to do if you think your child should be referred for an assessment or requires support from a specialist service

Please make an appointment to speak to the ALNCo, Miss Jo Horsepool. She can refer children to the Autism Diagnostic Service and support families if they feel a referral for an ADHD assessment is appropriate.

The ALNCo can also refer to services including the School Nursing Team, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy and signpost families to organisations including Autism Guernsey, Wigwam, the Youth Commission and the Sports Commission.

What is an IEP (Individual Education Plan)?

Learners receiving targeted or specialist support will have an Individual Education Plan (IEP). An IEP is a document which identifies a learner’s strengths, areas of difficulty and appropriate high quality inclusive practice strategies. It is written by your child’s class teacher with input from any other members of staff or outside services involved in supporting your child. The IEP contains individual targets for your child and details what is expected of them, what is going to be provided to support them to achieve the target and who is going to support them to achieve the target. Targets are set and reviewed termly and shared with parents/carers during the Autumn and Spring term parent/carer appointments and are included with the end of year written reports in July.

What additional support can be offered?

Class teachers use flexible groupings within a lesson to provide additional support and scaffolding for some learners. Class teachers and LSAs also work with individuals or small groups either in or out of the classroom to provide additional practice of key learning such as phonics, reading, spelling, mental maths or vocabulary to improve a learner’s access to the curriculum. These are not interventions, but examples of how learning in the classroom can be adapted to meet the needs of all learners.

Any additional intervention offered is in addition to high quality inclusive practice and does not replace it.

Interventions are put in place to meet a learner’s identified needs and have a specific focus. The impact of any intervention is reviewed regularly. Some learners receive intervention for a short block of 6-8 weeks to address a specific need, whereas some learners will require longer term support.

Intervention programmes run at St Martin’s Primary School include:

My child has a diagnosis of autism and/or ADHD. How will their needs be met?

At St Martin’s Primary School, some learners have specific, diagnosed needs such as autism, ADHD or Developmental Language Disorder. These learners do not always need targeted or specialist level support as their needs may be met appropriately by their class teacher through high quality inclusive practice and the use of reasonable adjustments.

Reasonable adjustments are always individual to a child, but can include:

• Movement breaks
• Heavy work activities
• Access to sensory resources
• Use of visual supports including communication cards
• A flexible approach to uniform (including PE kit)
• The use of a wobble cushion, footboard, fiddle toy, doodle book etc
• Quiet, reflection time before the end of the school day
• ‘Soft start’ at the beginning of the school day

Some learners with autism and/or ADHD have needs associated with their diagnosis such as motor skills difficulties or language needs. Some learners have needs in additional areas as well such as literacy or maths. These will be considered and appropriate provision will be put in place.

States of Guernsey Links:

ALN Code of Practice

Please visit these useful links below:

Autism Guernsey

The ADHD Foundation

Wigwam Guernsey (Support, advice and friendship for families with children with additional needs)

Speech and Language UK

The Sleep Charity

ERIC: The children’s bowel and bladder charity