Our SENDCo, Mrs Rebecca Coleman, can be contacted via the office or at

sendco@holywell.leics.sch.co.uk

SEND at Holywell

“All children have a right to learn. For some children, this will be more difficult than for others.  At Holywell Primary School, we believe that all children have the right to a full, enriching and enjoyable curriculum, irrespective of race, belief, gender, background or ability.  We aim to meet each child’s requirements, making necessary adaptations and taking into account their needs.  We will consult with children, parents and outside agencies to help support our good practice. Strengths will be acknowledged as well as difficulties, so that adaptations may be made relevant to the individual child. We focus on individual progress as the main indicator of success. Every child is valued.  Every child is an individual with a personality, needs and interests.  We believe in the right of children to feel safe and to enjoy their school experience – thus developing the whole child, academically, socially, physically, morally, emotionally and spiritually.”

Reading and Writing support

Link to Literacy Difficulties Policy? PDF

Frequently Asked Questions from parents (drop down links?)

What can I do as a parent/carer if I am concerned about my child’s literacy skills?

It can be very worrying if your child is struggling to learn to read or write and this can sometimes lead to other difficulties such as changes in behaviour, emotional wellbeing and confidence. As a result, your child may need more reassurance than usual. We know that pupils learn best when parents/carers and school operate in partnership. It is important that this relationship is maintained and is based on mutual respect and trust so that information can be shared and your child feels supported. It will be helpful if you can continue to talk with school staff about how you can support your child’s learning at home. It is common for pupils who struggle to read to be reluctant to engage in reading activities at home. As a parent/carer, it would be beneficial if you were to regularly read to your child using books of their choice, whatever their age, to help to foster an enjoyment of reading. Staff members can help to identify the areas for your child to work on and provide ideas for activities at home (See SPLD folder for strategy sheets)

My child cannot read. What is the problem?

There are many reasons why children struggle to learn to read, but typically, these involve multiple factors that are likely to vary from one child to another and are usually impossible to fully identify in the case of a particular child. When difficulties emerge, it is important that initial checks are made to ensure that there is normal hearing and eyesight. Having ruled out a sensory problem of this kind, the primary focus in addressing the difficulty should be upon the child’s specific language and literacy skills and their attitudes and motivations to reading and schooling more generally. If your child is not progressing in reading, a detailed reading assessment is required to establish what particular skills have been learnt and where there may be gaps in knowledge and understanding. This will provide important information to enable an appropriate intervention to be put into place. Such an assessment should not be a one-off event; rather, the child’s needs should be regularly monitored and reviewed.

My child can read fluently but really struggles to spell. What can schools do?

Some children learn to read but can find spelling difficult. This is because reading and spelling involve different skills. A detailed spelling assessment will enable schools to identify the specific areas of spelling that require intervention. In school, spelling assessments are a regular part of intervention for children struggling with literacy difficulties. We use different skills to spell words: spelling by remembering the whole word and how the word looks (sight word approach), spelling by sounding out the different sounds in the word (phonemic approach), and spelling by using the meanings of different parts of the word’s structure (morphemic approach). A school-based assessment would determine whether an intervention is needed in any of these areas, or in generalising spelling skills into independent writing. These interventions would then need to be regularly reviewed and refined if necessary.

My child says that when the school uses beige coloured paper, it makes the words easier to read. Why is this?

Some children who struggle with reading report experiencing visual discomfort or distortions due to the light reflected from written materials. Children who struggle with reading may be more susceptible to visual stress as they need to focus on the text more than fluent readers. The use of coloured lenses, coloured overlays and using different coloured paper has been recommended by optometrists to reduce the visual stress and make reading words less uncomfortable. However, visual sensitivity is not the cause of severe reading difficulty, and there is no high-quality research evidence to support a relationship between the use of these visual interventions and reading gains. In order to improve reading, the focus needs to be on implementing specific reading interventions.

Does my child need extra time in SATS Tests in school?

Schools need to comply with the Joint Council for Qualifications regulations. When applying for access arrangements (e.g. extra time, a reader, a scribe), the school needs to demonstrate evidence of the 'learning difficulty' outlined in an assessment completed by a qualified assessor. The focus of evidence is on test scores meeting the threshold for specialist arrangements rather than any diagnoses. Schools also need to demonstrate that there is a history of need, including evidence of the support provided and evidence of persistent difficulty over time.

Does my child need an EHCP plan?

The majority of pupils’ literacy needs can be met within the resources and support services available to the school via SEN Support. The school SENDCO will advise you if your child is working at a level that would mean that they could apply for an EHCP.

Does my child need to be tested for dyslexia?

The most important thing is that your child’s literacy difficulties are identified and recognised as early as possible and that the school responds using a structured ‘assessment through teaching’ approach that includes effective teaching methods to improve the targeted skills. Essentially, it is about working out exactly what your child can’t yet do and helping them to learn it.

There is no scientific difference between what some people call ‘dyslexia’ and what others call ‘severe and persistent literacy difficulties’ or other such terms. There is therefore no universally agreed testing or assessment approach for identifying whether a child/young person has a condition described as dyslexia or might develop such a condition. The usefulness of dyslexia screening tests has been questioned. In general, evaluations of screening tests for dyslexia indicate that they do not predict later reading difficulties very well; other measures, such as letter-knowledge and measures of phonological processing skill, are, arguably, much better predictors. Most screening tests also produce high numbers of false positives and false negatives.  As noted above, identification of dyslexia does not provide meaningful information about the cause of the difficulty, what intervention should be used, or indicate the rate of progress that a child/young person is likely to make. In school, using assessment for intervention is the most appropriate means to identify any child who may be struggling with their reading and writing skills, and to identify the most appropriate course of action.

My child has been identified as having dyslexia. What will the school do?

Schools need to look at any reports and assessments alongside the school assessment data to identify all areas of literacy that need to be addressed. This can then inform classroom planning and teaching and indicate whether a specific intervention is needed. Professional reports that are most useful for addressing literacy difficulties are those that include a detailed assessment of literacy skills and specific evidence-based recommendations that the school can use to address the difficulties.

Does my child need to be taught by a specialist tutor?

Pupils with literacy difficulties require structured, focused and evidence-based interventions that are regularly reviewed and refined based on the pupil’s progress. These interventions are delivered in school, and if difficulties are persistent and meet the criteria, schools should consult specialist support services, such as the STS Dyslexia Forum or the Educational Psychologist. Some specialist teachers or tutors have an additional qualification in working with children experiencing literacy difficulties. These teachers typically have extra training and expertise in assessing literacy skills and planning and delivering bespoke interventions. At the same time, as noted above, the most appropriate techniques used to teach reading to children identified as having dyslexia are the same as those used to teach any other struggling reader, and can be provided by all teachers, with appropriate training.