SEN

Miss Carman

Assistant Head, SENDCo

Our Approach to Special Educational Needs at Brill

At Brill School we believe that the best support we can provide for all children, including those with additional needs, is to prepare them for life beyond Brill C of E School. All children face challenges of varying kinds whether they be as a direct result of learning needs, processing difficulties, emotional needs or other high incidence SEN needs that may have a 'label' or a diagnosis. Our approach is a holistic one where we aim to help the children to understand any particular barriers they may have and then focus on strategies to support them with these additional difficulties.

We believe that there is a fine balance between supporting our children with identified needs and ensuring that children receive the important message that they can achieve their best whatever their needs. We aim to recognise what are genuine difficulties for our children but we also have the intent to enable our children to feel positive about themselves. We believe that no one is defined by their 'need'. Everyone is an individual. As far as is possible, support is discrete and aims to boost confidence and promote a positive mindset. Our greatest successes have been when children have grown in confidence about themselves and have developed (with support) their own strategies to cope with particular difficulties they encounter as a result of their additional needs. We also recognise that areas of 'additional need' may also result in other particular areas of strength for those children. We celebrate our differences and recognise all of our children are individuals and at Brill are treated as such.

SEN Information sessions

Over the course of the year, we hold SEN information sessions.

We have had a range of sessions over the past year covering Dyslexia, ADHD, Ordinarily Available Provision and Interoception.

All the sessions have been well-attended and encouraged some thought-provoking and engaging conversation!

All of the slides for the sessions can be found below.

Primrose, our school therapy dog

Primrose

Our School Therapy Dog

At our school, we are proud to work in partnership with Pets As Therapy to provide children with regular access to a trained therapy dog. Our visiting PAT dog, Primrose, offers calm, comfort, and emotional support to pupils, especially those with additional needs. The children who work with Primrose look forward to her visit each week and love giving her lots of belly rubs and a good old brush!

The presence of a therapy dog can help children feel more relaxed, build confidence, and develop positive relationships. Sessions may include quiet reading time, emotional regulation support, or simply enjoying gentle interaction. These moments can reduce anxiety, improve focus, and encourage communication

Primrose the therapy dog, is a valued part of our SEND provision, helping to create a nurturing, inclusive environment where every child can thrive and live life to the fullest. 

Link Table block is missing information

Link Table block is missing information

The Local Offer

The Buckinghamshire SEND Local Offer is a network of services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. The SEND Local Offer provides clear, detailed and accessible information about the services and support available, and works to ensure that young people with SEND and their parents and carers are listened to when local services are developed and reviewed.  Use the link below to explore the Local Offer in more detail.

Specific information can be found here:

SEND in Education is continuously being reviewed and changes are being made throughout the Country to ensure provision for those with Special Educational Needs are being appropriately supported and challenged in Schools. The most recent review can be found below. 

More recently, Buckinghamshire conducted an Education Sufficiency Strategy Survey to ensure that the Specialist offer is fairly accessible to all who need it and that provision is made available where there may be a high need with a low level of provision available. The Draft report from this Survery can also be found below. 

Policies