Our Vision
St Joseph and St Theresa is an inclusive school that is totally committed to providing the best possible education to all of the children regardless of their gender, ethnicity, social background, physical ability or educational needs.
Our vision for SEND is that all pupils have access to a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum which provides our learners with the skills that they require to enter their next stage of their educational journey. The support that we provide is aimed at empowering children and building their resilience and independence. For children who require it, a personalised provision is provided which works towards their individual IEP targets or EHCP outcomes.
In all curriculum areas, we provide appropriate scaffolds which support children in accessing the learning which is on offer. Additional adults are used in a variety of ways across the curriculum to support, empower and enable SEND learners to achieve the objective and interventions are carefully planned to ensure children are not missing out on particular curriculum areas.
We work closely with parents and professionals to ensure additional needs are met and children enjoy their learning as well as making the academic achievements.
Further information
This information is aimed at providing you with a clear outline of how children, including those with SEND, are supported in achieving their full potential in all curriculum areas in a supportive, caring and committed environment.
It is important to note that it may not include every skill, resource and technique that we employ as these are continually being developed and modified to meet the changing requirements of individual children.
The staff and governors of St. Joseph and St Theresa’s will endeavour meet the Special Educational Needs of all pupils at the school by:
- Admitting all pupils to the school on the basis of the school’s published admissions procedures and welcoming all pupils, including those with SEND;
- Enabling all pupils to be offered access to a broad, balanced, exciting and relevant curriculum with the maximum degree of social and educational inclusion;
- Identifying SEND of its School Improvement Plan and for all staff to evaluate its implementation;
- Enabling teachers to make appropriate provision for all their pupils by providing appropriate support, information and advice;
- Developing a partnership between parents, pupils and the school, in which each has an active role to play in the education of all our children.
- Develop partnerships with outside agencies who can offer specialist advise and support to certain areas of need.
Please use the link below to access the termly SEND newsletter which is sent out to all parents. https://sway.office.com/jcHjxUDRuqownx6o?ref=Link
Below is a document outlining the support which we provide within school:
Graduated response for support this document outline possible support/intervention that may be provided to support our learners.
For our SEND information report, please click on the link below:
SEN info report template Updated 05.03.25
Special
Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Local Offer
Staffordshire’s local offer provides information and services for children and young people aged 0-25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families. The Local Offer website aims to help families by gathering the information that they need to know in order to make informed choices about the support they receive.
For more information about the Local Offer, please read the document below and watch the virtual tour of the website.
Parent Guide to Staffordshire’s Local Offer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ7B-h12tMY
Please follow link to find out more:
https://www.staffordshireconnects.info/kb5/staffordshire/directory/localoffer.page?localofferchannel=0 S
The Graduated SEND Approach outlines the support and pathway we follow to support our SEND learners.
SEND I, I, I Statements
Intent
At St Joseph & St Theresa’s our intent is for all children to achieve their potential and make progress towards their targets. We ensure that all learners receive high quality first teaching with reasonable adjustments made when necessary to ensure that children are supported in accessing the full broad and balanced curriculum which we offer. We believe that is it vital that our children are equipped with the tools to become independent, curious and active learners both in and out of the classroom and have a strong understanding of basic Mathematic, Reading and Spelling skills. At St Joseph and St Theresa’s we pride ourselves on early identification using the four broad areas of need as set out by the SEN Code of Practise, and appropriate intervention to ensure that progress and opportunities are maximized alongside developing strong relationships with outside agencies.
We provide a broad and balanced curriculum which ensures all children’s needs are catered for through appropriate differentiation, personalisation and one that continually revisits and builds upon prior learning making these links clear and apparent. At St Joseph & St Theresa, all staff are aware of the impact which Social, Emotional and Mental Health and can have on the young people we teach and have therefore developed an ethos and environment which allows learners with these needs to feel comfortable and well supported, culminating in the yearly celebration of Children’s Mental Health Week We provide nurture groups which use the theories of play and art therapy alongside ELSA resources to support self-esteem, confidence, and communication. CPD has been delivered to all staff on the use of Emotion Coaching and the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Attachment; this is evident in our whole school behaviour regulation policy.
We provide opportunities for children with SEND to access all enrichment activities such as lunchtime and after school clubs, visits and visitors as we know how important these lived experiences are to developing active and engaged learners. Parental involvement and engagement we feel, is pivotal to supporting children with SEND alongside regular monitoring of the progress that children are making to ensure that the assess, plan, do, review process is improving children’s outcomes. Our intent is that all staff are provided with regular CPD to ensure that ways of supporting children with SEND are continually revisited.
Implementation.
At St Joseph & St Theresa’s a clear and robust graduated response is followed which ensures that early identification is key to supporting children with every teacher being a teacher of SEND. As such, inclusion is a thread that runs through every area of the school enhanced by collaboration between senior leaders, teachers, support staff and the SEN link governors. All staff receive regular CPD and updates on new initiatives or ways of supporting children with SEND which ensures that all practice is current. Through observation, questioning, summative and formative assessment all staff are able to identify additional needs and/or barriers to learning which some pupils may face. The Wave One support which St Joseph and St Theresa offers, allows for reasonable adjustments to be made within all curriculum areas with progress then monitored to identify if these have impacted positively on pupil’s learning and outcomes.
After two terms, if no or very little progress has been made, Wave Two support is actioned with children being placed on the monitoring register and a Classroom Support Plan written and shared with parents – this will be written with the support of the SENCO. Sharing this with parents is a key step in supporting children with SEND, as we are then able to develop clear and honest communication and a consistent approach. The three targets set out on this document are planned for, individualised work is completed around these and children’s’ progress is then assessed against the targets. After two terms using the Classroom Support Plan, if little or no progress has been made pupils will be moved on to the SEND register, and IEP (Individual Education Plan) will be constructed with children’s barriers assessed and planned for.
Within Wave Three support, children will receive 1-1 support from support staff working on targets related to their area of need, and children will participate in intervention groups which go above and beyond reasonable adjustments. Each cycle of reviewing these targets, class teachers use the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review process and fully involve parents through termly meetings. Progress of children on the SEND register is monitored and tracked by the SENDCo with outside agencies such as an Educational Psychologist, SEND Hub, Speech and Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist, ENTRUST behaviour support Community Paediatrics, being used when necessary or when children are displaying with a clear area of need. Robust and differentiated assessments are used alongside formative assessment to ensure appropriate differentiation and personalisation is used so all pupils are able to continue to access the broad and balanced curriculum which we offer. If a child has a significant need, one which required intensive 1:1 and small group work support, advice would be sought and assessments complete by the Educational Psychologist who would identify if an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) assessment should be completed.
Impact
At St Joseph & St Theresa we pride ourselves on early identification of additional needs within the EY setting. This early identification allows for additional support to be implemented in aspects of learning that they may find difficult reducing the barriers from the start of their educational journey. We also ensure that outside agencies are involved when necessary and any recommendations are implemented and shared with parents. From pupil voice, it is evident that pupils enjoy attending school and speak highly of the curriculum journey topics that they are currently working on. Pupils have a good understanding of what they find difficult with their targets relating clearly to this, they also can discuss the support that they received and can explain why they find this useful and supportive. With lessons, clear differentiation, reasonable adjustments and personalised learning, where necessary, allow children to receive and access the broad and balanced curriculum which we offer. Pre-teaching has proven to be an asset to the way in which we teach, allowing children to receive targeted , focused support on work related to an objective but also provides the opportunity for children to complete the work independently and develop these skills which are integral to later life. Targeted support impacts children positively as they develop their confidence and build that thirst for learning.
We aim to ensure that children with SEND leave St Joseph & St Theresa with a secure understanding of basic number, reading, spelling and writing skills and have a clear understanding of strategies which they can use to help support and continue their learning. Through data analysis of whole school SEND tracking, the majority of pupils are making progress within the assessments that they are completing and any children who are not, targets have been reviewed and amended to focus on any barriers to learning which have become evident.