Inclusion and Deaf Provision

Our SEND and Inclusion Policy provides a detailed overview of how we support every child in our school.

We look forward to welcoming you to our school – please call 020 8471 6173 or contact us by email to arrange a personalised tour using our Contact Us page.

Our offer for deaf children in Newham – watch our video:

We are proud of the fact that our school is Newham’s deaf provision for primary aged children. Deaf children have a high profile within our school and are involved in all areas of school life. Our vision for deaf children at our school can be summarised as follows: To provide all children with a safe, healthy and inclusive environment; To deliver enjoyable and challenging personalised learning opportunities; To provide high-level, individualised specialist support to empower all children to fully develop their language and communication skills, and To enable children to contribute positively to the school and wider community. To deliver a bespoke PUD (Personal Understanding of Deafness) curriculum which enables awareness and autonomy within our deaf pupils.

Deaf provision map - and our Deaf Provision Map. A place alongside their peers in a language-rich mainstream classroom; A total communication approach to learning; Acoustically treated classrooms fitted with Soundfield Systems and access to an FM radio aid A family-centred approach, where parents play an integral role in their child’s education; An Audiology team to support pupils with any issues with their technology Individualised support in order to access the curriculum; Early Riser – pre-teach & language sessions at 08:00 each day; Specialised support from a Teacher of the Deaf; Teachers and staff who are Deaf aware and receive regular training Regular, intensive support from a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) or Auditory-Verbal Therapist; In-class support from a Communication Support Worker (CSW) or a Teaching Assistant with a BSL qualification; Bespoke family support from the school’s Assistant SENDCo & Family Support Worker (FSW); Annual meetings with parents and staff to discuss the progress of their child.

At our Deaf Resource Provision, every child receives dedicated one-to-one speech and language sessions tailored to their individual strengths, needs, and communication style. We adopt a Total Communication approach—using a combination of speech, sign language, gestures, visual aids, and technology to support each child’s unique way of understanding and expressing themselves. This flexible approach ensures that all children can access language in a way that works best for them and change and develop as they do. Speech and language support is offered across three levels: universal, targeted, and specialist. This tiered model ensures the right level of support is provided for each child, while helping staff and families understand how to effectively communicate with and support the child in various environments. Our experienced speech and language therapist uses well-established, evidence-based approaches, alongside sensory-based activities, to improve attention, listening, receptive and expressive language development. Sessions are highly individualised and designed to be fun, motivating, and meaningful. Each session centres around the child—building on their interests, personality, and strengths—because when children feel seen, heard, and understood, they thrive.

Our Deaf Resource Provision Student Council

Our Deaf Resource Provision comprises of children from Nursery all the way up to Year Six. Whilst they are a fully integrated part of the school body as a whole, there are some key areas of responsibility children from the DRP have taken on to ensure their voices are represented within the wider school.

British Sign Language Ambassadors

Deaf Awareness Week

What additional support do we provide to children with specific educational needs?

Our school’s Accessiblity Plan describes how we ensure that our school is a welcoming and inclusive environment for all our children, and is regularly reviewed.

Our Whole School Provision Map provides a brief overview of the various additionality we offer to support all learners, as and where appropriate. If you wish to discuss your child’s support, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our SENDCo. Details of all staff are available on the website.

Our School SEN Information Report provides detailed information about our school and our provision, and is available as a document to download on this page.

Additional needs are identified before, on entry or at any point during your child’s time at Selwyn. The appropriate additionality, referral or support is then put in place – as per our Whole School Provision Map, and our Deaf Provision Map. You will find further information regarding our school offer here.

Moving to secondary school

Our school is part of Newham Community Learning, a family of two primary and four secondary schools in the west of the borough of Newham.  Lister Community School is a co-educational secondary provision, which is part of our Trust – and which is also the borough’s resourced secondary provision for deaf and hearing students.  Staff at Selwyn and Lister work closely together to support students moving from primary to secondary school

Our school is part of Newham Community Learning, a family of two primary and four secondary schools in the west of the borough of Newham. Lister Community School is a co-educational secondary provision, which is part of our Trust – and which is also the borough’s resourced secondary provision for deaf and hearing students. Staff at Selwyn and Lister work closely together to support students moving from primary to secondary school.

Core subject additionality

Additionality in core subjects is delivered by class teachers and members of the school’s leadership team each morning. Children are identified for core additionality throughout the year which focuses on supporting children to meet age related expectations.

Wider additionality

Throughout the school day, support staff members run additionality sessions to support children to develop a wide range of skills. These include Attention Autism, Nessy (dyslexia support), ELSA & LEGO therapy.

SENDCo Assistant

Selwyn employs a SENDCo assistant who is available to support our families of children with SEND. The Assistant is available throughout the week to any parents who may require it. This may be to organise appointments with professional networks; to signpost families to the most appropriate support or just to sit and listen when parents may need this time.

Family Support Worker

We have a Family Support Worker who supports our children and families at Selwyn. They are a member of both the Safeguarding and Behaviour Support teams.

Our Family Support Worker is available three days a week to meet with parents to discuss any issues that they may be having. This could be behaviour management, employment, benefits or housing. They are able to sign-post parents to other organisations that offer support to families.

Early Riser sessions

We offer Early Riser sessions every day from 08:00 for targeted children. These sessions are in place to support children to develop their language skills, phonics knowledge and to provide opportunities for pre-teaching.

Additional reading

We have allocated a number of our support staff members to read with the children in Reception & KS1 each week. This time is spent reading the phonics phase books allocated to each child to ensure that they have the opportunity to develop their blending, segmenting and fluency.

Children from Y1 – Y6 who are currently working below the standard in reading for the age range are also targeted each week by in-class support staff to develop their fluency and comprehension.

The aim is that these sessions will develop each child’s love of reading as well as using and applying reading skills taught in class. We encourage all of our families to read at home with their children.