SEN

SEND at St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School & Pre School, Droitwich

All children at St Joseph's Catholic Primary school receive high quality teaching. Teachers plan carefully, providing lessons that suit the range of needs and abilities in their class because children learn at different speeds and in different ways.  We ensure that all children are given the help and support they need to learn. The help given will vary depending on the individual needs of each child. It may be support to develop academically, emotionally, socially or physically. Most of this support will happen naturally in the classroom environment and will be organised by the class teacher.

Sometimes children may have more specific or complex needs and need a little more support or something more personalised to help their learning. In this case a child will be identified as having a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND).

Slow progress and low attainment do not necessarily mean that a child has SEN and should not automatically lead to a pupil being recorded as having SEN. However, they may be an indicator of a range of learning difficulties or disabilities. Equally, it should not be assumed that attainment in line with chronological age means that there is no learning difficulty or disability. Some learning difficulties and disabilities occur across the range of cognitive ability and, left unaddressed may lead to frustration, which may manifest itself as disaffection, emotional or behavioural difficulties.

Identifying and assessing SEN for children or young people whose first language is not English requires particular care. The school will look carefully at all aspects of a child or young person’s performance in different areas of learning and development to establish whether lack of progress is due to limitations in their command of English or if it arises from SEN or a disability. Difficulties related solely to limitations in English as an additional language are not SEN.

The SEN and Disability Code of Practice name four broad areas that give an overview of the range of needs that should be planned for within school. These are identified to help schools provide a range of actions, not to put children into categories.

These areas are:

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

“A pupil has SEND where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision, namely provision different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age”  
(SEND Code of Practice p.82)

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he/she:
•    has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
•    has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

A physical or mental impairment includes: learning difficulties including specific learning difficulties; medical conditions including epilepsy, diabetes, more severe forms of asthma and eczema; autism; speech, language and communication impairments.

If the impairment has a substantial and long-term effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities it may amount to a disability.

It is important to understand that it is not for this school to decide if your child has a disability. This will be determined by medical or other professionals.

At St Joseph’s school the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) is Mrs Leech. She works with children, parents/carers, school staff and outside agencies to ensure that all our pupils’ special educational needs are met. Mrs Leech has the NASENCo Award awarded by Worcester University.

Our Governor with responsibility for SEND is Mrs Amy Key. It is the responsibility of the SEN Governor to feedback relevant SEND information to the full Governing Body.

All our very experienced teachers are involved in the delivery of our SEND provision through high quality teaching and by enabling any specifically designed programmes or 1-1 sessions to be delivered effectively. The teachers and teaching assistants are the primary deliverers of the SEND provision.

When the SENDCo has identified a specific need within a graduated program of intervention our experienced and well qualified Teaching Assistants (TAs) help to deliver small group or 1-1 sessions.

The SENCO’s role is identified clearly in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (2015)

Ref: Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (2015)

6.89 The SENCO provides professional guidance to colleagues and will work closely with staff, parents and other agencies. The SENCO should be aware of the provision in the Local Offer and be able to work with professionals providing a support role to families to ensure that pupils with SEN receive appropriate support and high quality teaching.

6.90 The key responsibilities of the SENCO may include:

• overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy

• co-ordinating provision for children with SEN

• liaising with the relevant Designated Teacher where a looked after pupil has SEN

• advising on the graduated approach to providing SEN support  

• advising on the deployment of the school’s delegated budget and other resources to meet pupils’ needs effectively

• liaising with parents of pupils with SEN

• liaising with early years providers, other schools, educational psychologists, health and social care professionals, and independent or voluntary bodies

• being a key point of contact with external agencies, especially the local authority and its support services

• liaising with potential next providers of education to ensure a pupil and their parents are informed about options and a smooth transition is planned

• working with the headteacher and school governors to ensure that the school meets its responsibilities under the Equality Act (2010) with regard to reasonable adjustments and access arrangements

• ensuring that the school keeps the records of all pupils with SEN up to date.

Should you have any concerns about special educational needs you can contact Mrs Leech through the school office on 01905 773572 or email office@st-josephs-droitwich.worcs.sch.uk 
Please read our Policy and Special Educational Needs Information Report to find out what our school can offer if your child has special educational needs.

Children and parents are able to access the school via ramps and there is a Disabled parking space in the car park.  There are two disabled toilets located by the main reception area and there is a designated room providing changing facilities.
 

EEF – Guidance

When considering how best to adapt our curriculum to meet the needs of all our learners, we referenced the EEF for research findings and guidance.

The following best illustrates our philosophy:

The ‘5 a day’ principle is particularly well-evidenced as having a positive impact. Harnessing these evidence-informed strategies positively supports all learners, including those with SEND.

Teachers have developed a repertoire of these strategies, which they use daily and flexibly in response to individual needs, using them as the starting point for their classroom teaching.

SEN Complaints

At St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School we operate an ‘open door’ policy. In the first instance, parents and carers are encouraged to speak with the class teacher about any concerns they may have. They will be able to discuss any additional support children are receiving. If this does not resolve the issue, parents and carers can discuss their child’s needs further with the SENDCo or Headteacher who will be able to talk about how St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School can support children with SEND. The School’s complaints policy is on our school website. (See link below)

This includes complaints around SEND and Looked after children. The policy can also be obtained through request of a paper copy from the school office. Please follow this policy if you would like to make a formal complaint. In the first instance discussions would be encouraged by the class teacher, SENDCo and Headteacher to try and resolve any issues.