Special Educational Needs and Disability
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil. 4:13
The SEND Policy
Underpinned by our mission policy, we value the education of the whole person. We value the children, staff, parents and governors and the role they play in helping us be an inclusive school. We recognise the capacity for personal growth, development and change when each individual is given encouragement and support they need. Our SEND policy helps us to achieve this. The SEND policy outlines our aims and all our arrangements for its co-ordination and management. It is in place to make sure we are working in partnership with the pupil, the parents/carers, other agencies and professionals and other schools to which our pupils transfer. The policy is in line with new recommendations from the SEND Code of Practice 0-25 (DfE/DoH 2014).
What types of SEND does the school provide for?
Our school provides for pupils with the following needs:
How will the school know if a child has SEND?
All our class teachers are aware of SEND and are on the lookout for any pupils who aren’t making the expected level of progress in their schoolwork or socially.
If the teacher notices that a pupil is falling behind, they try to find out if the pupil has any gaps in their learning. If they can find a gap, they will give the pupil extra tuition to try to fill it. Pupils who don’t have SEND usually make progress quickly once the gap in their learning has been filled.
If the pupil is still struggling to make the expected progress, the teacher will talk to the SENDCO, and will contact the family to discuss their concerns. We will use the Oxfordshire County Council descriptors as observation tools to inform our decision about which need the child may have.
The SENDCO will observe the pupil in the classroom and in the playground to see what their strengths and difficulties are. They will have discussions with the child’s teacher/s, to see if there have been any issues with, or changes in, their progress, attainment or behaviour. They will also compare the child's progress and development with their peers and available national data.
The SENDCO will ask for the parent’s/ carer’s opinion and speak to your child to get their input as well. They may also, where appropriate, ask for the opinion of external experts such as a speech and language therapist, an educational psychologist, or a paediatrician.
Based on all of this information, the SENDCO will decide whether the child needs SEND support.
If the child does need SEND support, their name will be added to the school’s SEND register, and the SENDCO/ Class Teacher will work with the family to create a SEND support plan for them.
How will the school measure a child’s progress?
We will follow the ‘graduated approach’ to meeting your child’s SEN needs.
The graduated approach is a 4-part cycle of assess, plan, do, review. This takes place three times throughout the year.
As a part of the planning stage of the graduated approach, we will set outcomes that we want to see the child achieve.
Whenever we run an intervention with the child, we will assess them before the intervention begins. This is known as a ‘baseline assessment’. We do this so we can see how much impact the intervention has on the child’s progress. We will track the child’s progress towards the outcomes we set over time and adapt our offer as we learn what the child responds to best.
This process will be continual. If the review shows a pupil has made progress, they may no longer need the additional provision made through SEN support. For others, the cycle will continue and the school's targets, strategies and provisions will be revisited and refined.
The Headteacher and school SENDCO lead the overall monitoring and progress of pupils with special educational needs. The outside agencies listed above further support school provision. Good liaison between the SENDCO, other professionals, class teachers and parents ensure the provision of well-constructed Pupil Profiles for pupils with SEND support and those with an EHCP.
Pupil progress is monitored through termly reviews, annual reviews and regular assessments. Families whose children have an EHCP are invited to be part of the annual review process, whereby the children’s outcomes and provision are assessed and discussed in detail alongside the outside agencies involved with the child. The child’s views are integral to this process, and we ensure that they, alongside their families, are at the centre of the annual review.
As always, we strive to continue to sustain and improve the provision for learners with difficulties and disabilities and we feel that this is not possible without the support and co-operation from the families of pupils with SEND.
How will my child be involved in decisions made about their education?
The level of involvement will depend on your child’s age, and level of competence. We recognise that no two children are the same, so we will decide on a case-by-case basis, with your input.
We may seek your child’s views by asking them to:
Attend meetings to discuss their progress and outcomes
Prepare a presentation, written statement, video, drawing, etc.
Discuss their views with a member of staff who can act as a representative during the meeting
Complete a survey
How will the school adapt its teaching for my child?
The child’s teacher is responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the pupils in their class. High-quality teaching is our first step in responding to the child’s needs. We will make sure that the child has access to a broad and balanced curriculum in every year they are at our school. We will adapt how we teach to suit the way the pupil works best. There is no '1 size fits all’ approach to adapting the curriculum, we work on a case-by case basis to make sure the adaptations we make are meaningful to the child.
These adaptations include:
Differentiating our curriculum to make sure all pupils are able to access it, for example, by grouping, 1-to-1 work, adapting the teaching style or content of the lesson.
Differentiating our teaching, for example, giving longer processing times, pre-teaching of key vocabulary, reading instructions aloud.
Adapting our resources and staffing.
Using recommended aids, such as laptops, coloured overlays, visual timetables, larger font, ICT adjustments
We may also provide the following interventions through our St Joseph’s Offer:
How will the school resources be secured for my child?
It may be that your child’s needs mean we need to secure:
Extra equipment or facilities
More teaching assistant hours
Further training for our staff
External specialist expertise
If that’s the case, we will consult with external agencies to get recommendations on what will best help your child access their learning.
We monitored the quality of this provision through learning walks, pupil interviews, book trawls and observations.
The school will cover up to £6,000 of any necessary costs. If funding is needed beyond this, we will seek it from our local authority.
The Staff
Mrs Francesca Carder (SENDCO) is supported by Ms Wendy Fowler (SEND Teacher), Ms Lizzy Preece (SEND Teacher) and specialist SEND Teaching Assistants. Ms Fowler and Miss Preece act as specialist ‘roving’ support, enhancing the provision for children EHCPs and working alongside teachers to ensure that recommended strategies from outside agencies (e.g SALT, SENSS C&I) are in place. We offer a specialist environment – The Pod- which provides high need children with a sensory-friendly learning space.
The school values the statement that ‘all teachers are teachers of SEND.’. The support provided by our well-trained and experienced TAs in school is of a high quality and in some cases very high quality, both in terms of working with children with SEND on a 1:1 basis and when carrying out intervention programmes with groups of pupils. The TAs support the children with their academic progress, but they are also highly valued in that they support children with emotional needs, as pastoral care is very much an integral part of our school’s ethos. SEND meetings are held for children with an Education Health Care Plan and with SEND support on a weekly basis. This is an opportunity for all the staff working with a child to share good practice and discuss areas of development. Staff are encouraged to further their training and knowledge of SEND with opportunities through CPD. Teaching staff have been given time during staff meetings to reflect upon their own knowledge and understanding of SEND in order for Quality First Teaching Strategies to become consistent and visible across the school.
All staff are aware of the SEND strand in the School Development Plan, and together during staff meetings, PPAs, and weekly SEND meetings, we revisit, reflect upon and discuss how we can achieve the goal.
We are supported by Kathy Hodder-Williams from OXSIT.
External Agencies
The school has continued to work with a range of outside agencies throughout the academic year, including:
Community Paediatric Consultants JR Hospital
SENSS Communication and Interaction Team
Lindsey Smedley is our SEN Officer
Teacher of the Deaf
Education Behaviour Support Worker
SENSS Advisory Teacher (Downs and Complex Needs)
Speech and Language Therapist
EYSENIT (Early Years Special Educational Need Inclusion Team)
Nurse Practitioners / Dieticians
OXSIT Advisory
Arch Readers
Pets as Therapy
Thomley Hall
Educational Psychologists
Many of the services above were provided for free; however, the school was required to ‘buy in’ support from the Educational Psychology Service to support vulnerable learners.
Attainment and Progress for SEND pupils
The data will not be ready for analysis until the end of the summer term; however, we would like to emphasise the importance of progress, rather than purely attainment for all pupils, particularly those with SEND. Their progress is tracked closely throughout the year and helps to inform and amend the 1:1 provision and intervention programmes within every year group. High importance is placed on children’s mental health and well-being. Some pupils with SEND are working on P Scales across English, Maths and Science and some are working on Pre Key Stage Assessments.
While it is not a statutory requirement, all SEND children have a Pupil Profile with SMART outcomes. The Pupil Profile is reviewed along with parents and pupils three times a year in order to assess the progress that a child is making and to identify the next steps in their learning. This is also accompanied with a pupil tracker which records intervention programmes and support received by individual children. This is updated by the class teacher and monitored by the SENDCO. We encourage the child and their parents/carers to take an active part in the review process; few families do not attend review meetings.
Pupils with disabilities
We continue to endeavour to meet the needs of our pupils with disabilities within the school environment through our school Access Plan and Equalities Scheme. All facilities at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School are accessible through the main door, which does not need a ramp. The school has a toilet for the disabled off the main spine corridor in UKS2.
All of our extra-curricular activities and school visits are available to all our pupils, including our before and after-school clubs.
All pupils are encouraged to go on our school trips, including our residential trips.
No pupil is ever excluded from taking part in these activities because of their SEN or disability and we will make whatever reasonable adjustments are needed to make sure that they can be included.
Liaison with Secondary School Partners
St Josephs’ continues to create strong links with Secondary Schools. Close liaison takes place to ensure accurate and efficient transfer of records and information to minimise the disruption of change for pupils transferring to the secondary sector. Separate transition arrangements and induction visits are arranged for SEND pupils where required. For pupils moving into the school that have an identified Special Educational Need, similar liaison meetings take place prior to entry, where possible, to ensure appropriate levels of support are in place.
Our complaints procedure
Anyone wishing to make a complaint with regard to SEND support and provision should contact the headteacher in the first instance. We aim to respond to any complaints as soon as possible.
Please find details of the Oxfordshire Local SEND offer here: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/children-education-and-families/education-and-learning/special-educational-needs-and-disability-local-offer
SENDIASS is a resource for parents, providing advice and promoting partnerships between parent and carers, Children, Education and Families Services, schools and other agencies.
https://sendiass-oxfordshire.org.uk/
Mrs Carder is the SENDCO at St Joseph's.
SENDCO email address: sendco.3838@st-josephs-pri.oxon.sch.uk
Contacting our SEND team: 01865 763357
