At North Petherton Community Primary School we welcome everybody into our community. The Staff, Governors, pupils and parents work together to make North Petherton Community Primary School a happy, welcoming place where all children can achieve their full potential and develop as confident individuals. 

Our practices and procedures are embedded into school life to ensure pupils’ special educational needs are identified swiftly. We consider each of the pupils when planning and provide a curriculum which is accessible to all, whatever their individual needs. We acknowledge that some pupils require additional support to ensure access to a full curriculum and, where appropriate, a range of support strategies, including personalised curriculums, are implemented.

If additional specialist advice and support is necessary, we seek external agency support such as speech and language, Physio and Educational Psychologists. We are committed to effective collaboration between all agencies working with a child and a multi-disciplinary approach to meeting pupils’ special educational needs. All staff at North Petherton are provided with training, coaching and support to develop and refine good practice when working with SEND pupils. We are pleased to be in the second year of the Partnership in Neurodiversity (PINs) project, continuing our commitment to supporting all children through inclusive and innovative practice. We currently have a sensory room in school and run a successful nurture group 5 afternoons a week. 

What should I do if I think my child has Special Educational Needs?

If you have any concerns about the learning or development of your child you should speak to their class teacher in the first instance. They will meet with you to discuss your concerns. They may decide to go through 'Quick Checkers' from the Somerset Graduated Response Toolkit. This will help to gather your views about any challenges your child may be having. Nic can Cole is our Assistant Head and Inclusion Lead. She is also the SENDCo and works Mon-Fri for North Petherton School. 

The following may help to gain an understand of your thoughts and concerns regarding your child. Do you have concerns with any of the following?

Cognition and Learning

• Do you feel that your child is not making progress?

• Are they really difficult to engage with homework or reading at home?

• Are they showing similar (or different) difficulties to other siblings that have had been identified as having SEN?

• Do they appear to find retaining information problematic?

Health and Wellbeing

• Does your child have any new health issues that we are not aware of?

• Have you noticed any problems with vision or hearing?

• Have their hearing and/or sight been checked recently?

• Does your child have a regular sleep pattern?

• Does your child have a healthy appetite?

• Does your child have a lot of energy, always on the go — or are they more passive?

• Do they struggle with hobbies, interests and leisure time?

• Do they find maintaining friendships difficult?

• Do you feel they lack resilience or have low self-esteem?

• Do they struggle with their behaviour at home or at school?

Sensory and Physical

• Does your child have issues with the following:

Hand dryers, loud noises, crowds…?

• Do they bite/chew clothes or objects?

• Have you noticed any problems with coordination and balance?

• Do they find writing with a pencil difficult?

Communication and Interaction

• Does your child still have difficulties pronouncing words/sounds?

• Is following an instruction a challenge for them?

• Do they find social situations difficult to read?

• Do they find changes to a routine stressful?