Important SEND Documentation & Links

 

SEND Code of Practice

Statutory Guidance on the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system for children and young people aged 0 to 25, from 1 September 2014 can be found by following the link below:

The Local Offer

Information about Oxfordshire’s Local Offer including support services, activities for young people with SEN/Disabilities, healthcare, resources and more can be found in the SEN section of the Oxfordshire Family Directory below

SEND & Inclusion Policy

Our SEND and Inclusion Policy can be found on our School Policies & Procedures page.

 

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Information Report Updated September 2020

This report sets out information about our provision for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and is updated annually.  Further information can be found in our SEND Policy which can be found on the School Policies & Procedures page.  Please click on this link for a print-friendly version SEN Annual Information Report 2020 or read the report below:

 

About our school

St Thomas More Catholic Primary School is a mainstream primary school which provides for children with a wide range of special educational needs including those with:

  • Communication and Interaction needs (this includes speech, language and communication difficulties including autistic spectrum conditions)
  • Cognition and Learning needs (this includes children who have learning difficulties and specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia)
  • Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs
  • Sensory and/or Physical Needs (this includes children who have visual or hearing needs, or a physical disability that affects their learning)

Our Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) is Mrs Helen Skertchly who can be contacted through the School office on Tel: 01865 373674 or stthomasmore@dbmac.org.uk

The School governor with a responsibility for SEND is Mr John Bellasis who can also be contacted through the school office.  The SEND Governor regularly meets with the SENCO and feeds back information to the rest of the school’s governing body.  It is our aim that the SEN governor and SENCo take part in SEN learning walks throughout the year to consider and develop the provision for SEND pupils across the school.

Our school SEND policy, Equality and Accessibility Plan can be found on School Policies & Procedures page.

 

What is ‘Special Educational Needs’?

A child or young person has a special educational need if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child or young person is considered to have a learning difficulty or disability if they:

  • ‘have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
  • have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age’.

(Code of Practice 2014)

 

How do we identify and support children with SEN?

The school uses Oxfordshire County Council’s guidance “Identifying and Supporting Special Educational Needs in Oxfordshire Schools and Settings”.  The guidance sets out:

  • How we identify if a child has a special educational need.
  • How we assess children and plan for their special educational needs, and how we adapt our teaching.
  • Ways in which we can adapt our school environment to meet each child’s needs.
  • How we review progress and agree outcomes and involve you and your child in this.

For pupils that need SEN provision, the school operates a graduated response to their needs.  This acknowledges that some children will benefit from specific support from school or external agencies and as such will be identified as requiring SEN support.  They will be placed on the school’s SEN register which is monitored centrally by the local authority.  Other children will require an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) to support them in their learning.

 

How do we work with parents and children?

We contact parents if we have a concern that a child may have a special educational need and would also encourage parents to contact us if you are concerned about your child.  We work closely with children with SEND and their parents to agree outcomes and how we will all work towards these, and then to review progress.  We do this by:

  • Pupil Profile review meetings 3x per year
  • Using home/school diaries where appropriate
  • Keeping in regular contact by making informal contact at the beginning and end of the day.

 

What support is available for a child that requires SEN?

This will vary depending on the child’s needs but can include:

  • Appropriately differentiated teaching which enables the child to access the curriculum of their year group where possible
  • Use of individual, pair and small group activities to teach specific skills
  • Access to suitable individual or small group intervention programmes
  • Models, images and multisensory resources to promote understanding
  • Any adaptions needed to the physical environment to help with access to learning.

 

What specific support does this school offer?

We offer a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils, including those with SEND.  Details of our curriculum are published on the school website.  If a child is still experiencing difficulties despite high quality appropriately differentiated teaching then we offer some interventions which are targeted at developing specific skills.  A range of provision is available to support pupils make progress in their learning:

Cognition and Learning

Literacy:

– Letters and Sounds Phonics (group)

– Talkboost

– 1:1 or Paired reading

– Language For Thinking

– Acceleread & Accelewrite

Maths:

– Catch up skills sessions closing the gaps

Social, Emotional and Mental Health

– Individual Behaviour Plan or a Pastoral Support Plan

– Risk assessments

– Zones of Regulation

– Rainbows (bereavement and loss support program)

– Planning for transition times

– Individual visual timetable

Communication and Interaction:

– Teddy Talk Time

– Talkboost

– Spirals

– Individual support for targets from Speech and Language Therapist

– Individual social stories

Sensory and/or physical:

-Disabled toilet and changing facility

-Alternatives to traditional written formats considered, i.e. typing up work or Clicker

 

What specialist expertise does the school have access to?

There are members of staff within the school who have completed specific training in SEN as well the ability to call on external experts:

Internally:

– Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo)

– Trained teachers and Teaching Assistants who can deliver specific interventions

– Staff regularly attend training on Special Educational Needs and feedback to other colleagues.

Externally:

– Educational Psychologist (a traded service which school can buy into it, if required).

– Special Educational Needs Support Service (SENSS): who support children with communication and language needs, sensory needs and physical needs

-The Integrated Therapies Team (Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy)

-School Health Nurse

– Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

– Early Years SEN Inclusion Team (EYSENIT) Advisory teachers who support our youngest children and their families

Information about these services and what they offer can be found on the Oxfordshire County Council SEND web pages.

We discuss the involvement of specialist SEND services with parents first.

 

How is a pupil with SEND monitored to ensure they are making progress?

The progress of all children is tracked throughout the school during assessment weeks three times a year.  This progress is then discussed as part of Pupil Progress meetings with teaching staff and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

All pupils on the SEN register will have an Individual Pupil Profile that clearly states strengths and areas to develop and the relevant strategies and interventions required to work towards achieving personal outcomes. These pupil profiles are reviewed and updated with parents and pupils three times a year and the rates of progress made will inform what the next steps will be in their learning.

The school also monitors the equality of individual and group interventions by scrutinising practice through lesson observations and provision management of support plans.

 

Joining the school and Moving on

Applications for pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, to join the nursery and school are processed in line with Oxfordshire County Council’s published School Admissions rules and policies which can be seen on their website.

We encourage all new children to visit the school before starting.  If children join the school in year, we liaise with the former school concerning any special educational needs and disabilities.  Similarly, if a pupil leaves our school in the year, we will liaise with the new school.

We begin to prepare pupils for transition into the next stage of their education by liaising with the secondary school, and sharing information about special educational needs and disabilities.

 

What do we do to support the wellbeing of children with SEND?

Pupils with special educational needs or disabilities have the right to be treated with respect, and no less favourably than other pupils.  Issues of equality are addressed in the school’s Equality Plan and Behaviour Policy.  All pupils have the opportunity to share their view through their School Council Representatives and are regularly encouraged to share any concerns about school or home with a member of staff.

We take bullying very seriously for all children including those with SEN.  Please see our Anti-Bullying Policy for further details.

 

How are pupils with SEND helped to access activities outside the classroom?

All pupils are included in activities and trips, following risk assessments, where needed, and in accordance with duties under the Equalities Act 2010.  We communicate with parents and pupils when planning trips so that everyone is clear about what will happen.

 

If I have a concern regarding SEN, who do I go to?

In the first instance it is always best to discuss any concerns you have about your child with their class teacher. If those issues are not resolved then please get in touch with the school SENCo.