St Edward’s Catholic First School
Information about Special
Educational Needs
For Parents & Carers
Head Teacher: Mrs Sarah Matthews
Deputy Head: Miss Emma Turver
SENCo: Mrs Emma Hargreaves
Contact details:
St Edward's Catholic First School
Parsonage Lane
Windsor
Berkshire
SL4 5EN
Email: office@secfs.org.uk
Telephone: 01753 860607
An Introduction to Special Educational Needs at St Edward’s Catholic First School, Windsor
What do we offer at St Edward’s Catholic First School?
At our school we offer a rich and varied curriculum that meets the needs of all the
children. For most children Quality First Teaching is able to support the children in
their learning. If this is not the case, we are able to offer a range of support.
Quality First Teaching is high-quality, everyday personalised teaching. All our
teaching is based on clear objectives and carefully explained vocabulary. Lessons
are lively, interactive and make maximum use of visual and kinaesthetic, as well as
auditory/verbal, learning. Teaching is child-led and meets the children’s interests; it
is pitched at the differing needs of the children, with extension opportunities so that
each child can reach their full potential.
What is offered to your child?
Your child may access some of the following provisions:
 Quality First Teaching
 A curriculum to match needs based on first hand experiences
 Enhanced access to ICT
 In-class support from trained teaching assistants
 Catch-up programmes in literacy and maths
 One-to-one or small group work with a teaching assistant
 Differentiated homework
 Play therapy with our play therapist
 Extra help from other outside services
An Introduction to Special Educational Needs at St Edward’s Catholic First School, Windsor
What are Educational Special Needs?
A special educational need can include a number of different things. For example,
your child may be having problems with reading, writing, maths, behaviour or
emotional needs, with which our school can help by putting extra support in place
and by working in partnership with you. It may also be due to a disability that
makes it harder for a child to use the same educational facilities that the school
provides for the majority of children. For some children this may be a temporary
difficulty, while others may have a long term need for special help.
Types of special educational needs can include:
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General Learning – children whose learning progresses at a slower pace
Speech and Language
Behaviour and emotional needs
Dyslexia (difficulties with reading, writing and spelling)
Dyspraxia (problems with motor skills and organisation)
Dyscalculia (difficulties with number work)
Autism
ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder)
 Downs Syndrome
 Cerebral Palsy
 Other Physical / Medical Needs (Epilepsy)
An Introduction to Special Educational Needs at St Edward’s Catholic First School, Windsor
How do we help children with Educational Special Needs?
Children learn and develop in different ways. Teachers recognise this and use
different teaching styles and resources, and plan different levels of work in the
classroom to cater for the various ways children learn. This is called Quality First
Teaching and is something schools must provide for all children. However, many
children, at some time in their school life, may need extra help.
Because of this, we:
 Talk to parents/carers if they think their child has a special educational
need to let them know what special help the school is giving
 Appoint a member of staff as the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator
(SENCO)
 Have a written Special Educational Needs policy – a copy is on our
website
 Take account of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2014).
This is advice given to schools by the government, outlining what schools
should do to support pupils with SEN and giving recommendations for
good practice.
An Introduction to Special Educational Needs at St Edward’s Catholic First School, Windsor
How are Educational Special Needs Identified?
The first person to identify that a child has special educational needs may be:
 You, as parent or carer
 The class teacher
 A health visitor
 The school SENCo
 Another medical professional
If it seems that your child may have special educational needs, your child’s class
teacher or the Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) will assess:
 What your child is good at and what they need help with
 What your child would benefit from learning or what skills are lacking
 What they are finding difficult to grasp
 What is your child’s learning style
 How best to help your child learn
Information about your child’s targets and any extra support they receive at
school may be recorded in an IEP (Individual Education Plan).
Children thought to have special educational needs will be placed on the school’s
special educational needs register and receive one of two levels of support:
 SEN support
 EHCP
The level of support received may change throughout their time at school.
Teachers will speak to you if they think this should happen and will ask you for
your opinion.
An Introduction to Special Educational Needs at St Edward’s Catholic First School, Windsor
What is an IEP? (Individual Educational Plan)
An Individual Education Plan (IEP) says what the school, the class teacher and
the SENCo plan to do to help your child learn. All teachers know that children
learn in different ways. Some need to work at a slower pace to ensure they fully
understand one thing before they move on to something new.
An Individual Education Plan will be written especially for your child. It will
include:
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Short-term targets for your child which are linked to their needs
Details of any extra support your child will get
Who will give your child help
How often your child will get help
How and when the school will look at your child’s progress (usually at least
three times a year).
The school will review any previous targets and share copies of Individual
Education Plans with parents at Parents' Evenings.
An Introduction to Special Educational Needs at St Edward’s First Catholic School, Windsor
What is SEN Support?
If your child is on the School Action level of support, these are some of the
things you can expect from our school:
 Your child’s class teachers will find ways to support them in class such as:
• changing the way lessons are planned and delivered
• matching activities to the ability / need of your child (differentiation)
• adapting learning materials such as worksheets, books and ICT
activities to suit your child’s needs.
 Small group support:
The teacher will work in partnership with you and the SENCO to find ways to
support your child with their needs, including giving you ideas on how you can
help your child at home.
 School staff will set targets for your child that will be shared with you, either
during Parents’ Evening or a Review Meeting.
If your child is receiving School Action Plus level of support these are some of
the things you can expect from our school (please note that from September
2014 this will be called SEN support):
 Continuation of all help your child receives at SEN Support; teachers,
teaching assistants and the SENCo will continue to work together to find
ways to support your child in school.
This extra support may be enough to support your child sufficiently to ensure that
progress can be made in school.
A very small number of children (about 2%) may need further support and the
school may suggest applying for a Statutory Assessment. From September
2014 this has been changed to an EHCP (Educational Health Care Plan).
An Introduction to Special Educational Needs at St Edward’s Catholic First School, Windsor
The school may need to seek additional advice from outside specialists such as
health professionals, specialist teachers or educational psychologists who
would:
 Carry out further assessment of your child’s needs
 Provide advice to schools on how to best support your child
 Suggest resources that would help your child make progress.
You should receive copies of any plans to meet your child’s needs (Individual
Education Plan). This will include targets your child is working towards, resources
used and when progress will be reviewed.
Your views will be important in planning your child’s education. Progress will be
reviewed regularly either at Parents’ Evenings or during review meetings with the
school SENCo.
An Introduction to Special Educational Needs at St Edward’s Catholic First School, Windsor
What is an EHCP (Educational Health Care Plan)?
In September 2014 the Statuary Statement process was replaced with EHCP (Education, Health and
Care Plans). This will provide statutory protection for children and young people. Proposals
include integrating the many services and sectors that work to meet the child's needs. Under the
previous system it wasn’t always clear what constitutes curriculum/education, health or social care.
The integrated plan should enable services to work together to meet the child's needs, and remove
conflict and contradiction.
If your child’s needs are very complex and/or severe, the school may ask the Local Authority
to carry out a EHCP (Educational Health Care Plan). These have replaced Statements.
This is a very detailed assessment of your child’s needs. Parents or carers, the school and a range
of professionals will all be asked to provide written reports.
At the end of the assessment phase the Local Authority will consider these reports to help decide
whether or not to issue an Educational Health Care Plan for your child.
An Educational Health Care Plan is appropriate for only a small number of children. Your school
SENCo or the Parent Partnership Service will be able to advise you about this.
If your child needs an Educational Health Care Plan, you, the school and the Local Authority will
make a detailed individual plan that is carried out at school and outlines how they will support your
child.
If your child has an Educational Health Care Plan, we will: hold an Annual Review Meeting to
which you and other professionals will be invited and provide your child with the full range of
support specified in their EHCP. This usually equates to additional support for at least 50% of the
school day and may be group or individual support.
We hope this information has helped you to understand how schools support children with Special
Educational Needs.
If you are concerned that your child’s Special Educational Needs aren’t being met or your child
isn’t making progress, please talk to Mrs Emma Hargreaves about the support for your child.
Useful Links:
Parent Partnership: parent.partnership@rbwm.gov.uk TEL: 01628 683182
Confidential and impartial advice for parents or carers of children being assessed for special needs.
CYPIT: http://berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/page_sa.asp?fldKey=304
CYPIT (Children and Young People’s Integrated Therapies) is made up of occupational therapists,
physiotherapists and speech and language therapists working together to provide an integrated
therapy service to children and young people with developmental needs within Berkshire.
Sensory Consortium: http://berkshirescs.btck.co.uk/
Supporting children with any hearing or visual needs.
Berkshire Autistic Society: contact@autismberkshire.org.uk TEL: 0118 959 4594
Free confidential home visit service for parents who have a child who has recently been
diagnosed with autism. We run support groups in both Windsor and Maidenhead for parents of
children on the spectrum and offer social and leisure opportunities for children on the autistic
spectrum.
Child Bereavement UK: Enquiries@childbereavement.org.uk TEL: 01494 568 900
Bereavement support to parents and children from 3 years old where a baby or child has died or
where children and young people are bereaved, including telephone support, individual couple and
family support session, and child/parent group sessions.
Family Friends: info@family-friends.org.uk
TEL: 0300 800 1005
Short term support for families with children aged 0 – 13 years:
1:1 or group parenting support (Triple P programme)
1:1 support for children affected by difficulties such as divorce/separation, bereavement,
low self-esteem etc.
Practical and emotional support from our trained volunteers.