KINGSDOWN OUTREACH SERVICE
At Kingsdown School, we are proud to share our specialist expertise with mainstream schools, academies and early years settings across Southend and Essex. Our Outreach Service supports professionals working with children and young people who have identified Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), as well as those who may be awaiting assessment. Learners do not need an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) to be referred for support. Our outreach provision is available for children in EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Our dedicated outreach service was established in 2022, and has provided enhanced support to mainstream settings to develop their SEND knowledge, confidence and inclusive practice.
Our Aim
We strongly believe that every child deserves fair and equal access to learning, regardless of their needs or educational setting. We are passionate about empowering school and nursery staff to deliver innovative, inclusive and personalised support. By sharing the expertise developed within our specialist setting, we can offer practical advice, recommendations and strategies tailored to the individual child within their current placement.
What We Can Offer
Our outreach support is flexible and tailored to the needs of the child, staff team and setting. Support may include:
· Observation of the child within their educational environment
· Professional discussions with staff and SENCOs
· Practical strategies and recommendations
· Written reports and action plans
· Follow-up visits and ongoing support where appropriate
· Opportunities to visit Kingsdown School and observe specialist teaching approaches and interventions in practice
Supporting Inclusion Hubs
Kingsdown School is committed to promoting inclusive practice across the region. As part of our outreach offer, we can provide support and guidance to mainstream schools that are developing or strengthening Inclusion Hubs. Drawing upon our specialist expertise and experience of supporting pupils with complex learning needs, we can work alongside school leaders and staff to help shape provision, develop inclusive practice, review curriculum approaches, and create environments that enable pupils with SEND to thrive within their local community schools. This support can be tailored to the specific vision and needs of each setting.
“I just wanted to email to thank you for taking the time to support my colleague and I during our recent visit. The knowledge we gained during our visit is proving invaluable
whilst we are expanding our existing provision to cater for our ever growing cohort of complex needs children within our mainstream school. Please pass on our thanks to the classes who also allowed us to visit. It was helpful to meet the children, they truly were delightful! As a result of our visit we are establishing two curriculum pathways for the children who attend our in-house provisions too.
The knowledge and expertise gained was truly invaluable, thank you.”
Charlotte Darby and Sophie Jones
Millhouse Primary School and Nursery, Basildon
Training and Professional Development
Kingsdown School Outreach Service also provides training and professional development opportunities for staff. We can deliver bespoke training tailored to the needs of your setting, as well as sessions on a range of SEND-related topics, including:
· Curriculum development and adaptation
· Meeting individual learning needs
· Sensory approaches to learning
· Communication strategies, including Makaton
· Supporting children with complex SEND
· Managing behaviour that challenges
· Promoting inclusion and engagement
We are also pleased to offer visits for mainstream colleagues who would like to observe specialist teaching strategies and approaches within our school.
“Thank you so much for accommodating us all yesterday, I wanted to share feedback from staff:
Sophie was very welcoming to us all, and explained everything we were seeing very clearly.
She provided us with a helpful handout about the nature of intensive interaction. We all went with children in mind and Sophie answered all of our questions very clearly. She also gave us a tour of their wonderful school, and showed us all the amazing facilities they have, and how they use them to support the needs of their children.
Sophie said that if we had any further questions / or needed more guidance with any particular areas, that we were welcome to liaise with you and possibly return on a later date for more chances to observe. I did say I think we would be very interested in this!
It was so helpful and nice to know that I am doing everything correctly. Sophie was very welcoming and friendly and I have to say wow what a wonderful school, I was amazed at what the school has to offer for all its pupils.
Please pass on a great big thank you to Sophie and Kingsdown staff who made us feel welcome. It was amazing to see all the wonderful rooms and see how they are used.
It was amazing to be able to observe intensive interaction to experience what can be achieved. The hand out was Brilliant.
It was lovely to see [Pupil M] who recognized us.
Sophie was so we welcoming and informative. It was so helpful to see intensive interaction in practice and not just to hear the theory. It would be great to visit again and do more observations, I think we can learn so much from Kingsdown.”
Eastwood Primary School
Bespoke Support
Every setting is unique, and we are happy to discuss your individual requirements. Whether you are seeking support for a particular pupil, advice for your wider provision, support with developing an Inclusion Hub, or specialist staff training, we will work with you to create a package that meets your needs.
Referrals
Please complete the Outreach Referral Form and return to our Outreach Lead, Sophie Harris (sharris@kingsdown.sentrustsouthend.co.uk)
We look forward to working in partnership with you to support inclusive practice, build staff confidence and expertise, and ensure that all children