All children are fully included in school life at Hill Mead and all members of staff are responsible for the teaching and learning of all of the children including those with SEND. 

SENCO team: 

Megan Watkins

Anna Coverdale

Dee Williams (mental health lead)

Matilda Ffrench (currently on maternity leave)

At Hill Mead there are a high proportion of children with additional needs, significantly higher than the national average. We work closely with external professionals, parents and specialist organisations to deliver appropriate intervention to meet their needs so they can be fully immersed in school life. 

Evelina award: We have a high number of children on our speech and language caseload, particularly in the early years and Key Stage 1. Our committed early years team have taken part in specialist training to promote communication in the early years and have recently been awarded the Evelina award. 

Play based curriculum: We have developed an extended play based provision in KS1. Children with additional needs have daily access to play based learning linked to the class topic. This is planned to meet their specific needs with a focus on communication and interaction. 

Dyslexia: From year 3 onwards we provide additional support for those children with dyslexia, delivered by specialist teachers and trained staff. 

Resource Base: For many years we have been a resource base for children with a primary need in Social, emotional and mental health. Children who have been at risk of exclusion or found it difficult to integrate in the mainstream have joined our resource base.

ELSA: We have 2 fully trained Emotional literacy support assistants to work closely with children who have SEMH needs and need ongoing support to regulate and talk about their emotions.  

More information about our provision can be found in the SEND report below.

Mental health and Wellbeing

At Hill Mead Primary School, we aim to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for our whole school community (children, staff, parents and carers), and recognise how important mental health and emotional wellbeing is to our lives in just the same way as physical health. We recognise that children’s mental health is a crucial factor in their overall wellbeing and can affect their learning and achievement. This is why we take a whole school approach to promoting positive mental health, aiming to help children become more resilient, happy and successful.

To develop and maintain positive mental health in our school:

- The mental health lead works with other members of staff to coordinate whole school activities that promote positive mental health and wellbeing.

- Workshops are organised to raise awareness of support available to children and parents/carers.

- Aspects of our school curriculum provide opportunities to all children to develop their understanding of positive mental health.

- Key class texts allow children to explore themes and learn about emotions, difference, loss, bullying, change, resilience, etc.

- Training and support are provided to staff to increase confidence in recognising and responding to mental health needs in school.

- Parents and carers are signposted to relevant mental health support.

- Individual referrals are made to mentoring and mental health services for children who have been identified as needing the support.

- We have an open-door policy.

Partnerships and sources of relevant support

As part of our targeted provision, we work with other agencies to support children’s emotional health and wellbeing. Children may be referred to one of the following services for additional support.

MHST - Mental Health Support team Lambeth. The team provides 1:1 and group interventions for anxiety and behavioural concerns. Monthly meetings are scheduled to discuss support plans, referrals and organise workshops for groups.

CHIPS  – STEP mentoring programme. https://chipspeace.org/projects/brixton-project/ Focus on group and 1:1 mentoring for children with emotional needs and facing the likelihood of exclusion. They also support parents and carers.

The Kids Network –https://www.thekidsnetwork.org.uk/  The Kids Network partners with primary schools to support children during a crucial stage in their lives in the lead up to their transition into secondary school.

Lambeth SAFE Taskforce - They provide 1:1 mentoring and primary to secondary transition support.