SEND

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities at St Paul’s C of E Combined School

St Paul’s C of E Combined School is an inclusive school and all staff:

Do everything they can to meet the pupils’ special educational needs
Ensure the pupils with SEND engage in learning and activities alongside their peers
Provide high-quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils

At St Paul’s we operate as a team to support all children to achieve both academically and in terms of personal development. Quality teaching is an essential element to this, along with the recognition that some children will require additional or adapted provision to minimise barriers to learning and maximise progress. Some of those children would benefit from individualised learning programme and we will monitor the progress of all children including the most able. This team consists of a Special Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCo), all class teachers and a team of Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) and Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs). The team is trained to work with all the children.

Additional support can come in many forms. This can be from extra support through a difficulty, for example, a problem with coping with a new area in Maths, to regular daily or weekly support. Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) support either in a single class or across classes as directed. Special Support Assistants (SSAs) support individual children for whom an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) is in place. Higher Level Teaching Assistants are qualified to teach a whole class.

All support assistants are trained to use a wide range of resources to support pupil learning.

In Reception we carry out a Baseline assessment to identify strengths and weaknesses and allow us to set targets for every child which we share with parents. It also identifies children who need additional support in order to make progress in achieving their targets. These children will be given one to one or small group support. As children move through the school their progress is carefully monitored and where necessary additional support is given. The SENDCo will discuss strategies with the class teacher and plan interventions. Sometimes this will be a short programme to overcome a specific problem; other children may need a level of support throughout their time at school.

Each child who is on SEND support has a Pupil Passport and relevant targets (Individual Educational Plan) and parents are invited to meet with the class teacher/SENDCo to discuss this at the outset and to monitor progress.

Our aim is for children who experience learning difficulties to access the curriculum suited to their learning style and needs. We aim to support the children but without overreliance on that support. We are aiming for our children to develop confidence, independence and resilience in all areas of their life, not just education.

Our school supports children with SEND by developing relationships and knowing the children well; providing an inclusive learning environment; providing a relevant and engaging curriculum and keeping expectations high.

Where parents have any concerns about their child’s progress we hope that they will inform us as soon as possible so we can ascertain the nature and level of the problem and implement an appropriate programme. Teachers plan learning to ensure that all children are challenged regardless of where their attainment is within the class or nationally.

In line with the Special Needs Code of Practice we use a graduated approach of action and intervention:-

· Wave 1: Universal support — Personalised and differentiated approaches available to all children.

· Wave 2: Early SEND support — Some children will require more focussed and targeted support or intervention.

· Wave 3: Continuing SEND support — Relatively few children will need a much higher level of support and intervention.

A Local Offer gives children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities and their family’s information about what support services the local authority think will be available in their local area.

St Paul's C of E Combined School Local Offer

SEND Useful websites:

BBC Bitesize SEND Toolkit

SEND Resource Source

British Dyslexia Association

National Autistic Society

National Deaf Children's Society

Council for Disabled Children