“Staff work hard to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities learn well across the curriculum. Any additional support is carefully structured to help all pupils succeed.”
— Ofsted Inspection Report
Inclusion at Thatcham Park
At Thatcham Park, inclusion is central to who we are. Rooted in our vision, “Encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11), we are committed to ensuring that every child is known, valued and supported to flourish.
“Pupils are proud advocates for their inclusive school.”
— Ofsted Inspection Report
We believe every child is unique and valued. At Thatcham Park, we celebrate each child’s strengths, understand their individual needs, and ensure everyone is treated with dignity, respect and care.
Our Christian values—community, compassion, respect, wisdom, thankfulness and endurance—shape a culture where differences are welcomed and every member of our school family feels they belong.
We are passionate about supporting children to learn from their experiences and grow in confidence. Inspired by the example of St Barnabas, the “great encourager,” we believe in second chances. Our calm, restorative approach helps children reflect, make things right and move forward positively.
We work closely with families to remove barriers to learning, making sure that support is carefully tailored so every child can feel safe, included and able to succeed.
In our school, inclusion isn’t something extra—it is part of everything we do. As a result, our children show kindness, respect and understanding towards others, and develop into confident individuals who know they belong and can thrive.
Thatcham Park School Inclusion Team
Rhiannon Dargan (Assistant Headteacher)
Rhiannon Dargan (SENCO)
Sarah Goode (Family School Support Worker)
Sabina Ricardo-Batty (Family School Support Worker)
Theresa Booth (ELSA)
Nadine Summers (ELSA)
“Pupils are proud advocates for their inclusive school.” — Latest Ofsted Inspection Report
Family School Support Worker Role
- Work with and support families within the school community – achieved with home visits and meetings in school with parents/carers
- Parenting – routines, behaviour in the home, toileting, feeding,
- Sign posting – Home Start (for families with under 5 year olds), GP, Talking Therapies, Adult Social Care, Children’s Centre, Housing, Help For Families
- Assistance/support for parents/carers in attending groups, meetings with solicitors, court appearances, housing etc
- Working with professionals – CAMHs, Children’s Services, Police, A2 Dominion (Domestic Abuse Service), Swanswell (Alcohol and Drug Abuse), West Berks Council and many more
- Strive to bring it all together to set the family up to succeed in the future
- Individual work with children
- Liaison with other educational establishments
- Attendance at professional meetings – Child Protection Conferences, Signs of Safety meetings, Team around the child meetings
- Referrals to ELSA, CAMHs, School Nurse, Young Carers
Emotional Literacy Support Role
Provides Emotional Literacy to identified children either on a 1 to 1 basis or within small groups for a limited 6 week period. Areas covered include:
- Basic emotional literacy and awareness
- Self esteem
- Self confidence
- Loss/bereavement
- Anger management
- Anxiety and worries
- Social skills
- Friendships
ELSA support is not intended to address behavioural issues however the work completed with the child should deal with the underlying reasons for the behaviour.
With the pressures young children are subjected to we are also dealing with issues such as self-harm, eating disorders and mental health.
Berkshire Emotional Health Academy
The Emotional Health Academy is a new initiative that's part of the Brilliant West Berkshire: Building Community Together project.
A network of qualified psychology graduates. These professionals work with young people and families to provide early, quick, responsive support. They also work closely with schools, GPs, children's centres, the police and other organisations.
Many of the existing ways to get help with issues around emotional health are under pressure, and services are understandably slow to respond as a result. The Emotional Health Academy helps to join people up with the things they need more quickly and at an earlier stage, before problems get worse. It's not designed to replace existing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), but to work alongside them.
The kind of help they can give includes:
- One to one support
- Group sessions
- Arranging specific types of therapy
The graduates are supervised by educational and clinical psychologists to make sure that the help they're giving is appropriate. They also get ongoing support to learn on-the-job skills to help tackle problems with emotional health.