SEN information report – September 2014
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the kinds of special educational needs that are provided for :
At St Mary’s we cater for a wide range of special educational needs and disabilities.
Some of these may include speech, language and communication needs, autistic
spectrum conditions, attention deficit disorder, dyslexia, working memory and
processing difficulties and emotional, social and mental health needs.
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policies for identifying children with SEN and assessing their needs, including the
name and contact details of the SENCO:
The SEND policy (June 2014) can be found on the school website and is regularly
reviewed and updated. At St Mary’s we follow the Code of Practice and use the
graduated response of assess, plan, do and review. Early identification enables us to
assess the needs of a pupil and take the appropriate action in providing additional
support. The SENCo for Reception and Key Stage 1 is Rachel Robinson and can be
contacted on rrobinson@st-marys.richmond.sch.uk. The SENCo for Key Stage 2 is
Ruth Knight and can be contacted on rknight@st-marys.richmond.sch.uk.
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arrangements for consulting parents of children with SEN and involving them in their
child’s education:
Parents are formally notified once a decision to provide SEN support is made. The
parents are invited to meet with the class teacher and SENCo at least three times a
year to discuss and review targets outlined in the child’s individual education plan
(IEP). These meetings are longer and give parents the opportunity to review their
child’s progress in depth. Parents are encouraged to share any queries at any point
during the year with the SENCo and class teacher.
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arrangements for assessing and reviewing children’s progress towards outcomes,
including the opportunities available to work with parents as part of this assessment
and review
Each term the class teacher together with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and the
SENCo meet to review pupil progress. Children with SEND are closely monitored
and the impact of interventions are reviewed and adjusted accordingly. The SENCo
liaises with the class teacher to review current IEPs and assess progress against the
outcomes. New targets are set and shared during extended parent consultation
meetings. The SENCo is available to meet with parents as and when it is required.
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arrangements for supporting children in moving between phases of education.
Children identified as having SEN are visited in their nursery settings by the SENCo
and class teacher in order to support a smooth transition. Parents of these children
are invited to meet with the SENCo before they begin in Reception and have the
opportunity to visit their new class at the end of the summer term prior to September
entry. All pupils receive a home visit by the class teacher and teaching assistant in
order to prepare for school entry.
Children moving from Reception to Year 1 have the opportunity to visit their new
classes for a morning and spend time with their new class teacher on ‘moving up’
day. This enables them to feel prepared and secure for the next phase of their
education. Children with SEND may also receive a transition book and further visits if
necessary. This approach continues up through the school across the different
phases and sites.
Children with Statements in Year 5 have an early annual review in the summer term
and a transition plan is given to the local authority. This transition plan details
parental choice for secondary school and outlines the support and provision that is in
place for the pupils. This will help to ensure a smooth transition into secondary
education and help the child and family to feel involved and prepared for secondary
school application.
Upon confirmation of a secondary school placement in Year 6, the SENCo arranges
further visits in liaison with Secondary SENCos to the school of choice and a
thorough handover meeting is arranged between the primary and secondary school
SENCos. Parents are kept updated and informed throughout the process.
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the approach to teaching children with SEN
All teachers set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils. This
teaching promotes good pupil progress and outcomes. Lessons are well structured
and respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils. Teachers engage pupils in
challenging and motivating lessons and make effective use of knowledge about
pupil’s attainments. Systematic and effective ongoing assessment and evaluation
informs teaching and improves learning of SEN pupils.
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how adaptations are made to the curriculum and the learning environment of children
with SEN
High quality teaching is differentiated for individual pupils to enable full access to all
areas of the curriculum that meet the needs, aptitudes and interests of pupils.
Teachers set high expectations for all of their pupils whatever their prior attainments.
The curriculum promotes a love of learning and contributes very positively to
academic achievement, physical well-being and spiritual, moral, social and cultural
development. Teacher’s planning reflects individual needs through differentiation
which may take the form of scaffolds, prompts and guides, multi sensory resources,
adult support and a range of specialist interventions. Some pupils may require
adaptations to their learning environments which may include working in quiet
spaces, smaller groups or 1:1 sessions.
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the expertise and training of staff to support children with SEN, including how
specialist expertise will be secured
The SENCo shares good practice and expertise for whole school training by
delivering INSET and planning continuing professional development (CPD)
opportunities for the staff, team teaching, pupil observations, informal consultations,
delivering intervention groups and involving outside agencies for support. Where the
SENCo feels the school requires additional support to meet the pupil’s needs, a
referral with parental consent will be made to the relevant external agencies.
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evaluating the effectiveness of the provision made for children with SEND
Accurate assessments and early identification for pupils with SEND are implemented
in close liaison with class teachers, SENCos and parents. We use the model of
assess, plan, do and review to monitor the impact of any additional support on the
pupils’ educational progress. Regular monitoring and review will focus on the extent
to which planned outcomes have been achieved. The views of the pupil, parents
and class teachers will be taken into account. The assessment information from
teachers will show whether adequate progress is being made. For pupils with a
Statement of Special Educational Needs / Education, Health and Care Plan there will
be an annual review of the provision made for the child, which will enable an
evaluation of the effectiveness of the special provision to be made. Every pupil in the
school has their progress tracked termly. In addition to this, pupils with special
educational needs will have more frequent and detailed assessments to inform
targets and to measure small steps of progress. If these assessments do not show
adequate progress is being made the support plan and planned outcomes will be
reviewed and adjusted.
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how children with SEN are enabled to engage in activities available with children in
the school who do not have SEN
St Mary’s use their best endeavours to ensure that the necessary provision is made
for any individual pupil that has SEND and ensure that all pupils engage in activities
alongside their peers. All clubs, trips and activities offered to pupils at St Mary’s are
available to pupils with special educational needs. For some pupils ‘reasonable
adjustments’ may need to be made. This is always done in partnership with families
and carers. A wide range of extracurricular activities are available to all pupils at St
Mary’s including running club, cooking club, gardening club, singing club, athletics,
dance club, sports clubs etc.
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support for improving emotional and social development. This should include extra
pastoral support arrangements for listening to the views of children with SEN and
measures to prevent bullying
At St Mary’s we understand that an important feature of the school is to enable all
pupils to develop emotional resilience and social skills, both through direct teaching
for instance e.g. PSHE, circle time and collective worship and indirectly with every
conversation adults have with pupils throughout the day.
For some pupils with the most need for help in this area we also can provide the
following e.g. access to counsellor, mentor time with member of senior leadership
team, external referral to CAMHs, time-out space for pupil to use when upset or
agitated, art therapy, circle of friends etc
Pupils with emotional and social needs because of their special educational needs
will be supported to enable them to develop and mature appropriately.
Children with SEN are more likely to be the victims of bullying, so it is important to
ensure that they report any behaviour that concerns them. They will be provided with
safe, supervised places that they can go to during social time. Peer support systems
are in place in addressing bullying behaviour, as well as raising awareness of SEN
for everyone in the school community. Parents are immediately informed should a
bullying incident occur.
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how the school involves other bodies, including health and social care bodies, local
authority support services and voluntary sector organisations, in meeting children’s
SEN and supporting their families
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A Service Level Agreement with Educational Psychology service for a set number of
days per year
Access to local authority SLA with Speech and Language Therapy Services /
Occupational Therapy Services / Physiotherapy Services for pupil with requirement
for direct therapy or advice
Ability to make ad hoc requests for advice from the Education Inclusion Service
School Nurse
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Arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with SEN about the
provision made at school
The same arrangements for the treatment of complaints at St Mary’s are used for
complaints about provision made for special educational needs and disabilities. We
encourage parents to discuss their concerns with class teacher, SENCO or
Headteacher to resolve the issue before making the complaint formal to the Clerk of
the GB. (See the Complaints Policy on the school website)
St Mary’s also has a ten-pupil Unit for children who have received a Statement of Special
Educational Needs. The Unit’s designation is for “communication and interaction”. The Unit
is staffed by two teachers and a small number of Teaching Assistants. A Speech and
Language Therapist is assigned to the provision for 2 ½ days a week and an Occupational
Therapist for 1 day a fortnight. The pupils in the provision range from Reception to Year 6.
Admission to the Unit is handled by the Local Authority SEN department.