At St Edward's Catholic Primary and Nursery School, it is our belief that all children have an equal right to a full and rounded education, which will enable them to achieve their full potential. At St Edwards, we identify the needs of pupils by considering the needs of the whole child, which will include not just the special educational needs of the child or young person but also areas such as:

• Disability
• Attendance and Punctuality
• Health and Welfare
• EAL
• Being in receipt of Pupil Premium Grant
• Being a Looked After Child
• Being a child of Serviceman/woman

Occasionally some children experience greater difficulties in aspects of their learning than others. These children may be identified as having Special Educational Needs. In line with the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice (2015), these children are placed on the School's SEND register. Their progress is closely monitored and reviewed regualrly to allow for effective provision to be maintained.

We use our expertise and endeavour to secure special educational provision for pupils for whom this is required, that is ‘additional to and different from’ that provided within the differentiated curriculum to better respond to the four areas of need identified in the new SEND Code of Practice i.e.

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, mental and emotional health
• Sensory/physical

At all stages of the special needs process, we will keep you fully informed and involved. We take account of the wishes, feelings and knowledge of parents at all stages. We encourage parents to make an active contribution to their child’s education and have regular meetings each term to share the progress of special needs children with their parents. We will inform you of any outside intervention, and share the process of decision-making by providing clear information relating to the education of your child.

St Edward's Catholic Primary and Nursery School SEND Information Report

Changes in the Children and Families Bill affect the way children with special educational needs (SEN) are supported in schools. The new approach began in September 2014 and places pupils at the centre of planning. The key principles of the new legislation are:

1. Young people and their families should be involved in discussions about the support they need, so they can share their knowledge and feed back to the school on the young person’s progress.
2. Education, health and care plans (EHCP) will replace statements of special educational needs. New assessments for additional educational needs will follow the EHCP guidelines from September 2014. (Existing statements will remain in force until all children and young people have completed the transition, which will be within three years).
3. School Action and School Action Plus will cease and be replaced by a single school-based category for children who need extra specialist support. This will be known as additional needs.

St Edwards is well placed to adopt these changes and looks forward to working with pupils and parents/carers to ensure fully inclusive access to our education. At St Edwards we strive to support all children to enable them to achieve at school. In order to do this, many steps are taken to support them through their learning journey. Quality teaching is vital; however,for some children there are occasions when further additional support may be needed to help them achieve their targets.

St Edward's Catholic Primary and Nursery School Local Offer

St Edwards is a mainstream primary school, catering for children from Nursery to Year 6. We provide schooling for any pupil for whom main stream education is suitable. We are an inclusive school and provide equal opportunities for all. We celebrate the uniqueness of each individual and all children are encouraged to learn independently and co-operatively.

Our Commitment to Equality

Equality and inclusion are at the heart of St Edwards. We have a passion to include everyone and a deep desire to treat everyone equally. We accept others for who they are and respect differences. The School's aim is to ensure that all its students achieve their full potential, regardless of differentiating needs. If a student has special educational needs or disability needs (SEND), the School will take every reasonable step to identify and meet them. Further information on the policy and provision for SEND can be obtained from the School. Students with SEND who do not have statements of special educational needs or an Educational Health Care Plan will be admitted on an equal basis with others in accordance with the School's admissions policy.
 

How will school staff support my child?

In the first instance your child’s class teacher gives excellent targeted classroom teaching.

Your child’s class teacher will:

• have high expectations for your child and all pupils in their class;
• base their teaching on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand;
• adapt their teaching so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning;
• have carefully checked on your child’s progress and decided if your child has gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress;
• write your child’s Individual Learning Plan (ILP) and share and review these at least once a term with parents.
• have specific strategies in place to support your child to learn.
• use additional or different strategies for motivation and management of your child’s behaviour (if appropriate).

Your child’s SENDCO will:

• ensure your child receives a consistent, high quality response to meeting their needs in school;
• liaise with other people who may come into school to support your child’s learning, such as an Educational Psychologist or Therapist such as a Speech and Language Therapist;
• ensure that you are involved in your child’s learning, kept informed about the support being received and involved in reviewing their progress;
• recommend interventions to match your child’s needs and the subsequent targets;
• make sure there are excellent records of your child’s progress and needs;
• provide specialist support for teachers and support staff in the school so they can help children with SEND in the school achieve the best progress possible.

Teaching Assistants in school will:

• support other children’s learning in the class allowing your child’s class teacher to focus on them;
• support your child’s learning by means such as further questioning, modelling the learning and use of practical equipment to aid understanding.
• inform the class teacher (and SENDCO) of your child’s progress and further areas requiring support. run specific group work which is overseen by the class teacher or SENDCO;
• provide one to one intervention work.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?

The class teacher ensures all children have access to good to outstanding teaching and that the curriculum is adapted to meet your child’s needs. After checking on the progress of your child, resources may be adapted and particular aspects of work be targeted. Nearly all children with special educational needs will follow the main curriculum.

In Maths and English, sometimes a child has an aspect of knowledge and understanding that is very significantly behind where the expectation is for their age. Other children have gaps in their understanding which are a barrier to their progress with the rest of their class. Where this is the case these children may have concentrated learning to address these specific needs for as long as is necessary.

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

If your child continues to make inadequate progress, despite high-quality teaching targeted at their areas of weakness, the class teacher, working with the SENDCO, will assess whether the child has a significant learning difficulty. Where this is the case, in consultation with you, the agreement about the SEND support that is required to support the child will take place. If your child has been given an Educational and Health Care Plan (previously known as a statement.) expectations of the nature of support and how much support they receive will be stated within it and reviewed annually with school staff, parents, the child and any relevant outside agencies.
From September 2014 SEND was placed under a single category. The types of SEND that your child may be registered as having difficulty with from September will be:
1. Communication and interaction
2. Cognition and learning
3. Social, mental and emotional health
4. Sensory and/or physical
Please note that some children’s needs are temporary in nature.

What wellbeing offer will be made for my Child?

The emotional and social development of all children is as important to St Edwards as academic progress. Unless children are happy, learning does not take place as well as it could. Class Teachers communicate to parents and carers by phoning home and are ready to meet you to discuss children’s needs. We have an open-door policy. Our school has a good history of helping children who are struggling with emotional difficulties settle in school and a significant part of this success is working closely with home.

How are Parents involved in the process?

If your child has been identified as having a special educational need or disability you will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss your child’s progress and help plan possible ways forward. In our experience, the closer home and school work together, the better the outcomes are for your child.

If we consider we need to refer your child to a specialist professional, such as an Educational Psychologist, you will be asked to give your permission. All information from professionals will be discussed with you with the person involved directly, or where this is not possible, in a report.
Individual Education Plans will be reviewed with your involvement each term.
Where it has been agreed as being useful for you and your child, a home/school contact book may be used to support communication with you.
If you are able to give any of your time to help in school, class teachers will be pleased to match your time and abilities to children’s needs. Other ways to become involved in the school are to become a School Governor.

What is the complaints procedure regarding an SEND concern?

If you want to complain about the School’s SEN support, you should do it while your child is still registered at the school. This includes complaints that the school has not provided the support required by your child’s SEN statement or education, health and care (EHC) plan.

When complaining the following process should be followed:

1. Talk to the school’s special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO).

2. Follow the school’s complaints procedure. (Please link at the bottom of the page)

3. Complain to your local authority.

Who are the best people at the School to talk to about my child’s Special Educational Need?

Our SENDCo is Mrs Collette Butcher and Our SENDCo Assistant is Mrs Denise Jeffery. You can contact them either via the School address or by telephone or email.

Tel: 01675 463249
Email: butcher.c@welearn365.com