How do you identify Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)?

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

We keep in regular contact with parents/carers, and if they think a child has a particular need we will explain what help we can offer.

We encourage parents who have any concerns to approach their child's class teacher or the school's SENCo to discuss these.

How will you support my child with their special educational needs and disability?

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

The different needs of pupils are usually accommodated through Quality First Teaching (QFT) with teachers using different approaches, resources and activities to support these.  

However where a child has a particular or more complex need, ie a special educational need or disability; then we will work with parents/carers and where appropriate other SEND agencies in order to plan the right amount and type of support. Where a child is recognised as having a special need, their name is added to our SEND Register. 

How will you make sure my child's education meet their needs?

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's young person's needs?

All pupils receive their entitlement of access to the National Curriculum at a pace and level appropriate to their needs and stage of development.

Teachers monitor progress and attainment carefully and also make observations regarding interests, in order to shape the curriculum to meet the needs of pupils.

Where reasonable adjustments and/or additional resources are needed, these are planned for. Where pupils have a high level of need that the school cannot fully meet out of its allocated budget, additional support may be sought from the council's high needs block of funding.

How will we know my child is progressing?

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

We carefully track the progress of all pupils. Pupils are monitored closely, on a regular basis, to ensure they make the progress they should.

Parents will have regular meetings with their child's class teacher in order to discuss progress, to plan future targets and discuss ways both school and home can support the child.

Where other agencies are involved in giving advice, parents will receive a copy of the advice given and will attend meetings with other professionals as appropriate.

How will you support my child's overall wellbeing?

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall wellbeing?

A child's class teacher is responsible for ensuring their overall wellbeing. Parent's who have concerns are encouraged to speak to the class teacher and the school's SENCo in order to address these.

Where appropriate, the support and advice of outside agencies is sought in order to ensure a child's wellbeing.

What specialist services and expertise is available at or accessed by the staff?

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

We have delivered a range of interventions in order to support pupils with SEND. We work closely with a number of agencies and other professionals to ensure the high levels of care. 

These include:

•     Behaviour Support Services
•     One Point Children's Service
•     School Educational Psychologist
•     Durham Movement Difficulties Service
•     CAMHS Assessment Team
•     Educational Social Workers
•     School Nurse Service
•     Learning Difficulties and Disability Support Service
•     Special Educational Needs - Inclusion Team
•     Looked After Children Team
•     Medical Practitioners
•     Occupational Therapy
•     Speech and Language Therapy

Staff also work closely with colleagues in the school’s Community of Learning, for example sharing training on SEND. 

How are staff trained regarding SEND?

What training are the staff supporting children and young people with SEND have had or are having?

Staff have worked alongside colleagues specialising in motor difficulties, speech and language, nursing and educational psychology in order to understand how best to support pupils with needs in areas such as these.

Support staff have implemented a range of interventions which have been suggested by these service providers.

We are committed to the professional development of all staff and where the needs of pupils require it, we endeavour to access relevant training.

What activities outside the classroom will there be?

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

All pupils access all school visits and enrichment activities (with additional reasonable support or adjustments being made where necessary). 
 

How will you support my child's needs?

How accessible is the setting/school/college environment?

While the school is over three floors, we are continually improving accessibility through the Accessibility Plan and will make all reasonable adjustments necessary to ensure inclusion.

What is available to help my child with their education?

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

Our budget includes funds to support pupils’ individual special needs.

Budget allocations are made to ensure that all groups of learners are able to make progress in line with expectations.

Where a pupil has a high level of need that the school cannot fully meet out of its allocated budget, an application for additional funding is made to the council and where needed, Costed Provision Maps are used to support this application. These show how current funding is being used to support the needs of the child.

What support can I expect for my child?

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

Initially we will have discussions with parents about what type and level of support would be appropriate to meet the needs of a child with SEND.

This may be support that can be provided from within the school's own resources, or it may be that support or advice from outside an outside agency is appropriate.

Careful monitoring of a child's progress, through tracking, observations and discussions with parents and where appropriate other professionals, will shape future types and levels of support.

How will I be involved in my child's education?

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

Parents are involved in the life of the school in a variety of ways.

Feedback from parents helps us evaluate our performance and feeds into school improvement.  Parents can give their views in a number of ways, informally through comments both verbal and in writing, (comments book, notes, letters and cards), through the annual parent questionnaire, through the termly Parents' Evenings and through the website using either the general comments form or feedback form relating to SEND. Parents can also give their views through Parent View on the Ofsted website.

Parents are involved in the life of the school through the parent group FOSPA (Friends of St. Patrick's Association) which aims to organise fund raising and social events. 

We are always happy for parents to support the work of the school in class, on educational visits and by helping at the daily breakfast club.  Parents interested in this are asked to leave their name with the school office.  (All adults interested in working in school either voluntarily or in paid employment will initially have a meeting with the Head, but will not be unsupervised without DBS clearance).

There are two parent governors on the governing body who look at the strategic development of the school through the eyes of a parent.  

If you are interested in becoming involved in any way, or have other ideas about how parents can become more involved in the life of the school, please contact the school. 

My child is going to be starting or leaving soon, how will you help them?

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

We have very good transition arrangements in place to support transition into school and also to the main feeder secondary school. (St Leonard's Catholic School)

We recognise how important a successful transition is to pupils with additional needs.

We work in partnership with our main feeder secondary school to provide an enhanced level of transition for those who would benefit from this. This may take the form of additional visits from their transition worker, one to one/small group working with secondary school staff or pupil mentoring from secondary schools.

Where Annual Reviews are appropriate (for those pupils with an EHC plan), secondary school colleagues will attend meetings.

Transition into the school and between classes will be enhanced where appropriate, for example extra visits, advice from other agencies or extra meetings with parents or between class teachers.