Special Education Needs at St Joseph & St Theresa
Do you think your child might have additional needs but you aren’t sure? Support is always available from every member of staff at St Joseph and St Theresa’s. You can speak to your child’s teacher’s, Mrs Schneider (SENCO) or Mrs Roden (Early Years SENCO.) You are not alone.
Below are some links to support within the community of Staffordshire.
- Staffordshire connects offers support to all parents within the local area, they offer a ‘Local Offer’ which provides information and services for children and young people aged 0-25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families.
- Family Action works to tackle some of the most complex and difficult issues facing families today – including financial hardship, mental health problems, social isolation, learning disabilities, domestic abuse, or substance misuse and alcohol problems.
https://entrust.education/Services/2797
- Direct Gov have a support document called – SEND support: easy-read guide for parents which helps support parents of children with learning disabilities, explaining changes to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-support-easy-read-guide-for-parents
- Mencap offer support in explaining SEN and the steps in support which is available. Everything they do is about valuing and supporting people with a learning disability, and their families and carers. Their vision is a world where people with a learning disability are valued equally, listened to and included.
https://www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support/children-and-young-people/send-system
What is SEND
SEND stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Some children and young people may require more help to learn and develop than children and young people of the same age. If this is the case they may be classed as having special educational needs (SEN), allowing them to get the extra support they need to reach their full potential. This could include anything from more accessible information to one-to-one support at school.
Some children and young people with SEN may also have a disability which does not affect their ability to learn but might stop them from being able to do certain day-to-day things.
Underpinning SEND
Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can affect a child or young person’s ability to learn. It can affect their:
- Behaviour or ability to socialise, for example they struggle to make friends
- Reading and writing, number work or understanding information; for example, because they have dyslexia
- Ability to understand things
- Concentration levels, for example because they have ADHD
- Physical ability
- Organising themselves;
- Sensory or physical needs which may affect them in school.
How is SEND identified?
Every local area must identify which children and young people have SEND so that it can plan how it will go about meeting their needs.
Children and young people with SEND will be identified in many different ways. Some may have their SEND need identified by a health worker or a paediatrician in their early life, and some children and young people’s needs may become evident later on in life, for example when they enter a certain stage of education.
If a member of staff feels support is required for your child, they will discuss this with both the primary caregiver and the in school SENCO (Mrs Schneider) where a support plan will be put in place and achievements towards this monitored. Parents will be invited into school (where possible) to discuss any support plans once per term in addition to Meet the Teacher and parent/teacher meetings.
Some examples of SEN are
- Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH);
- Autism, including Asperger Syndrome;
- Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder (ADHD/ADD);
- Specific learning difficulties such as Dyslexia;
- Communication and Language difficulties;
- Medical needs such as Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy;
- Mobility difficulties.
At St Joseph St Theresa we support every child to reach their full potential in a caring and supportive way. Children can often mask their needs within school so if you have any concerns or questions please come and speak to your class teacher or SENCO by making an appointment through the office.
Parent and pupil voice
Both teachers and parents can raise a concern with the SENCo and they are then actively involved in subsequent discussions and decisions
Parents concerns are always listened to
We work in partnership with parents to set and share Individual Education Plan targets and then meet to review them
Interventions are discussed and agreed – time limits are set and reviews take place termly
Opportunities are provided for parents to meet with outside agencies e.g. AOT team, Educational Psychologist
Parents have access to the SENCo to discuss concerns they have via phone calls, email and meetings
Annual parent questionnaires are sent out and responses are analysed to inform the school improvement plan
At St Joseph & St Theresa’s, we feel that the young persons views and opinions should be at the heart of each decision. To ensure that pupils have joint ownership of their education and curriculum we:
- Set the IEP targets alongside the child whose views are then recorded
- Frequent pupil voice questionnaires are carried out
- During book monitoring, pupil work is discussed with the pupil
- Pupil’s voice is always collated during EHCP reviews.