SEND Information Report

Our School Vision

To build a spiritual community, secure in its love of God and its respect for itself and each other; a dynamic community which is enthusiastic for learning and which embraces the achievement of potential for all.

Visit Derbyshire Local Offer for information for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and their families. Have a look at our SEND Policy.

Key SEND Staff:

Headteacher – Mrs Nicola Brown

Deputy Headteacher – Mr Alex Downing

SENDCo – Mrs Adele Price

SEND Governor – Mr Ryan Dias

Our Approach to Teaching Learners with SEND

At St Mary’s Catholic Primary School we ensure that all pupils in our school are equally valued by having equal access to a broad and balanced curriculum which meets individual needs and abilities.

  • We have effective management systems and procedures in place for SEND, taking into account the current Code of Practice (2014)
  • We have successful communication between teachers, children with SEND, parents of SEN children, Teaching Assistants who run groups and outside agencies
  • We acknowledge and draw on parents’ knowledge and expertise in relation to their own child
  • We are committed to developing the knowledge and skills of all the staff to manage the challenges of the range of needs in the school, and to ensure that all support is of high quality
  • We have an effective Individual Education Plan review cycle that allows us to monitor, review and plan for the next steps of development based on the ASSESS PLAN DO REVIEW cycle
  • We ensure that consideration for SEN crosses all curriculum areas and all aspects of teaching and learning

The Code of Practice 2024 Identifies 4 Key Areas of SEND

  • Communication and Interaction
  • Cognition and Learning
  • Social, Mental, and Emotional Health
  • Sensory and /or Physical

We embrace the fact that every child is different, and, therefore, the educational needs of every child is different; this is certainly the case for children with Special Educational Needs.

Identifying the Special Educational Needs of Pupils

  • Pupils can be identified as having SEND in a variety of ways:

    • Parents may inform the school prior to or during admission.
    • Outside agencies may contact the school prior to / during admission or whilst the child is a pupil at the school.
    • Class teachers may identify concerns around progress or behaviour and the Senior Leadership Team, SENDCo and Learning Support Assistants may become involved in a school based programme.

     

    It maybe that the school seeks additional information from a screening by a specialist teacher e.g. a dyslexia assessment or assessments completed by outside agencies e.g. Educational Psychology, Behaviour Support Service, CAMHS, School Health, Paediatricians, Speech and Language Therapists.

    At different times in their school life, a child or young person may have a special educational need. The Code of Practice 2014 defines SEND as follows:

    ‘A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special education provision to be made for him or her. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty if he or she:

    A) Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others the same age, or

    B) Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided.

Frequently Asked Questions:

The Class Teacher

Responsible for
•  Checking on the progress of your child and identifying, planning and delivering any additional help your child may need (this could be targeted work or additional support) and letting the Special Education Needs/Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENCo) know as necessary.
•  Writing Pupil Progress targets/Individual Education Plans (IEPs), based on the smaller steps to help your child make progress, and sharing and reviewing these with parents at least once each term and planning for the next term.
•   Personalised teaching and learning for your child as identified on the school’s provision map.
•   Ensuring that the school’s SEN Policy is followed in their classroom and for all the pupils they teach with any SEN.

 

The SENCo – Mrs A Price

Responsible for
• Developing and reviewing the school’s SEND policy.
• Co-ordinating all the support for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)
• Ensuring that you are
i) involved in supporting your child’s learning
ii) kept informed about the support your child is getting
iii) involved in reviewing how they are doing – 3 review meetings per year.
• Liaising with all the other people who may be coming in to school to help support your child’s learning, e.g. Speech and Language Therapy, Educational Psychology.
• Updating the school’s SEN register (a system for ensuring that all the SEND needs of pupils in this school are known) and making sure that records of your child’s progress and needs are kept.
• Providing specialist support for teachers and support staff in the school, so that they can help children with SEND in the school to achieve the best progress possible.

 

The Headteacher – Mrs. N Brown

Responsible for
• The day-to-day management of all aspects of the school; this includes the support for children with SEND.
• The Head teacher will give responsibility to the SENCo and class teachers, but is still responsible for ensuring that your child’s needs are met.
• The Head teacher must make sure that the Governing Body is kept up to date about issues relating to SEND.

 

The SEN Governor: Mrs Loizou

Responsible for
• Making sure that the necessary support is given for any child with SEND who attends the school.

A) Class teacher input, via excellent targeted classroom teaching (Quality First Teaching).

For your child this would mean
• That the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class.
• That all teaching is built on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
• That different ways of teaching are in place, so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning.
• That specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENCo) are in place to support your child to learn.
• Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided that your child has a gap or gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.

Specific group work

Intervention which may be
• Run in the classroom or a group room.
• Run by a teacher or a teaching assistant (TA).

B) Specialist groups run by outside agencies, e.g. Speech and Language therapy, Behaviour Support (Circle of Friends)

SEN Code of Practice 2014: School Support (SS)

This means a pupil has been identified by the SENCo/class teacher as needing some extra specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from
• Local Authority central services, such as the ASD Outreach Team, Behaviour Support Team or Sensory Service (for students with a hearing or visual need).
• Outside agencies such as the Education Psychology Service (EPS).
• School Health

What could happen:

  •  You may be asked to give your permission for the school to refer your child to a specialist professional, e.g. a Speech and Language Therapist or Educational Psychologist. This will help the school and you to understand your child’s particular needs better and be able to support them more effectively in school.
  • The specialist professional will work with your child to understand their needs and make recommendations as to the ways your child is given support.
  • Graduated Response for Individual Pupil funding (GRIP funding) can be accessed if your child continues to experience significant barriers  to their learning. This will provide school with additional funding to support your chid and give access to specialist services such as SSSEN (Support Service for Special Educational Needs).

C) Specified Individual support- Education Care and Health Plans
This type of support is available for children whose learning needs are severe, complex and lifelong.

This type of support is available for children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through Quality First Teaching and intervention groups.
Your child will also need specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from
• Local Authority central services such as the Autism Outreach Team, Behaviour Support or Sensory Service (for students with a hearing or visual need).
• Outside agencies such as the Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) Service.

For your child this would mean

  • The school (or you) can request that Local Authority Services carry out a statutory assessment of your child’s needs. This is a legal process which sets out the amount of support that will be provided for your child.
  •  If this is the case, they will ask you and all professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining your child’s needs.
  • After the reports have all been sent in, the Panel of Professionals will decide if your child’s needs are severe, complex and lifelong. If this is the case, they will provide your child with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP). If this is not the case, they will ask the school to continue with the current level of support and also set up a meeting in school to ensure a plan is in place to ensure your child makes as much progress as possible-GRIP funding maybe also be applied at this point. (See above)
  • The EHC Plan will outline the number of hours of individual/small group support your child will receive from the LA and how the support should be used, and what strategies must be put in place. It will also have long- and short-term goals for your child.
    • The additional adult may be used to support your child with whole class learning, run individual programmes or run small groups including your child.
    • Click here to see the different interventions which are used at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School.

If you have concerns about your child’s progress, you should speak to your child’s class teacher initially.

• If you continue to be concerned that your child is not making progress, please contact Adele Price our Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo).
• The school SEN Governor can also be contacted for support.

If your child is identified as not making progress, the school will set up a meeting to discuss this with you in more detail and to;

• Listen to any concerns you may have.
• Plan any additional support your child may need.
• Discuss with you any referrals to outside professionals to support your child.

The school budget, received from Derbyshire LA, includes money for supporting children with SEN.
The SENCo with the support of the teaching staff will both identify and track children who require additional support. Staff will complete a Record of Concern and speak to the SENco if they feel a child is not making as much progress as would be expected. From this information and further discussions and assessments, if necessary, the SENCo will decide what resources/training and support is needed.
The SENCo identifies the needs of SEN pupils on a provision map. This identifies all support given within school and is reviewed regularly and changes made as needed, so that the needs of children are met, and resources are deployed as effectively as possible.
All children with SEND are identified on the provision map as well as the school SEND register.

School provision

  • Teachers are responsible for planning differentiated sessions to meet the needs of all pupils within the class setting
  • Teaching Assistants mainly working with either individual children or small groups under the direction of the teacher
  • Small groups for reading interventions, writing support, fine motor skills and maths programmes

 

Local Authority Provision delivered in school

  • Support Service for Special Educational Needs
  • Autism Outreach Service
  •  Educational Psychology Service
  • Sensory Service for children with visual or hearing needs
  • Parent Partnership Service
  • Support Service for Physical Impairment
  • Behaviour Support Service

 

Health Provision

  •  Speech and Language Therapy
  • School Nurse
  • School Doctor
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Physiotherapy
  • Child and Adolescence Mental Health Service (CAMHs)

The SENCo’s job is to support the class teacher in planning for children with SEND.
• The school provides training and support to enable all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children, including those with SEN. This includes whole school training on SEN issues, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and speech and language difficulties.
• Individual teachers and support staff attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class, e.g. from Support Service for Special Educational Needs (SSSEN) or Autism Outreach Service.

Class teachers plan lessons according to the specific needs of all groups of children in their class and will ensure that your child’s needs are met.
• Support staff, under the direction of the class teacher, can adapt planning to support the needs of your child where necessary.
• Specific resources and strategies will be used to support your child individually and in groups.
• Planning and teaching will be adapted, on a daily basis if needed, to meet your child’s learning needs.
• Teachers will also follow the advice from the Support Service for Special Educational Needs and the SENCo. Parents will have the opportunity to discuss how their child’s needs are being met in the classroom when their child’s progress is reviewed in Individual Education Plan review meetings 3 times per year.

• Your child’s progress will be continually monitored by his/her class teacher.
• His/her progress will be reviewed formally with the SENCo and Senior Leadership Team every term in reading, writing and numeracy.
• At the end of each key stage (i.e. at the end of year 2 and year 6), all children are required to be formally assessed using Standard Assessment Tests (SATS). This is something the government requires all schools to do and the results are published nationally.
• Where necessary, children will have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) based on specific targets which will outline teaching strategies which will better enable teachers to meet their individual needs, outside agencies will also contribute to a child’s IEP when appropriate e.g. Speech and Language Service. Progress against these targets will be reviewed regularly, evidence for judgments assessed and a future plan made. This is done 3 times a year at Individual Education Plan meetings in October, February and June.
• The progress of children with a statement/EHC Plan of SEND will be formally reviewed at an Annual Review with all adults involved with the child’s education.
• Regular book scrutinies and lesson observations will be carried out by the SENCo and other members of the Senior Leadership Team to ensure that the needs of all children are met and that the quality of teaching and learning is high.

• The school is fully compliant with DDA requirements.
• The school is on a split-level with easy access there is a wheel chair lift to access the hall and ramps to help access most parts of the building.
• The front desk has a wheel-chair height section and is DDA compliant.
• There is a disabled toilet, shower area and changing facilities in the infant building.
• We ensure where ever possible that equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs.
• After-school provision is accessible to all children, including those with SEND.
• Extra-curricular activities are accessible for children with SEND.
• The school will do everything possible to ensure school trips are accessible to all children, the Health and Safety of all children is a priority.

The class teacher is regularly available to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have and to share information about what is working well at home and school, so that similar strategies can be used.
• The SENCo is available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns/worries you may have.
• All information from outside professionals will be discussed with you with the person involved directly, or where this is not possible, in a report.
• Personal progress targets on Individual Education Plans (IEPs) will be reviewed with your involvement every term in October, February and June.
• Homework will be adjusted as needed to meet your child’s individual requirements.
• A home-school contact book may be used to support communication with you when this has been agreed to be useful for you and your child.

We recognise that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEN, and we take steps to ensure that any transition is as smooth as possible.

If your child is joining us from another school:

• The SENCo and Foundation 2 staff will visit nurseries and also carryout home visits when appropriate.
• If your child would be helped by a passport to support them in understanding moving on, then one will be made for them.
• Your child will be able to visit our school and taster sessions over a period of a few weeks can be arranged to help them with their transition if necessary.

If your child is moving to another school:

• We will contact the school SENCo and ensure he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child. Where possible, a planning meeting will take place with the SENCo from the new school.
• We will make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible.
• If your child would be helped by a passport to support them in understanding moving on, then one will be made for them.

When moving classes in school:

• Information will be passed on to the new class teacher in advance and in most cases a planning meeting will take place with the new teacher. Individual Education Plans IEPs will be shared with the new teacher.
• Parents meetings can also be arranged for the parent to share their concerns with the child’s new class teacher; these take place before the child starts any taster sessions with their new class teacher.
• If your child would be helped by a passport to support them in understanding moving on, then one will be made for them.

In Year 6:

• The SENCo will discuss the specific needs of your child with the SENCo of the child’s secondary school. In some cases, a transition review meeting to which you will be invited will take place with the SENCo from the new school.
• The  SENCo at St Mary’s Catholic High school always tries to attend both the February and June IEP meetings so parents can discuss any concerns regarding transition.

• Your child will participate in focused learning relating to aspects of transition, to support their understanding of the changes ahead.
• Where possible, your child will visit their new school on several occasions.
• If your child would be helped by a passport to support them in understanding moving on, then one will be made for them.

We recognise that some children have extra emotional and social needs that need to be developed and nurtured. These needs can manifest themselves in a number of ways, including behavioural difficulties, anxiousness, and being uncommunicative.
For those children who have difficulties in this area we offer:
The opportunity to take part in our Positive Play Programme which is supported by the Positive Play team at Sharley Park Community Primary School in Danesmoor, see link for additional information. Staff who work with the children have been fully trained in delivering the programme.

http://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/education/schools/attendance_behaviour_welfare/support/positive_play/default.asp

  • We have a programme in place for children who have experienced bereavement and loss.
  • Our Chaplaincy team provide children with emotional support and guidance, spending time with children in our Sacred Place, an area designated for children to have quiet time and time to reflect.
  • A councillor from Hallam Diocese has also delivered support for children with long term issues.

If your child still needs extra support, with your permission the SENCo will access further support through other outside agencies, via Multi Agency Teams, the Child and Adolescence Mental Health Service (CAMHS), School nurse or doctor.

Complaints Procedure

If you have any concerns or complaints regarding the care or welfare of your child, an appointment can be made with the Head Teacher or SENDCo, who will be able to advise on formal procedures for complaint. A copy of the policy can be found on the school’s website.