St Joseph & St Teresa’s RC Primary School
Local Offer for Pupils with SEN
Identification
How do we identify pupils with special
educational needs?






Who is the best person to speak to if I am
concerned about my child’s progress in
school?



The school uses the definition of special educational needs as outlined in the new Special Educational Needs
(SEN) Code of Practice published in June 2014 to identify these pupils.
The staff and SENCO use termly data to review and identify pupils not making expected progress. This includes
pupils who are struggling in areas other than learning as well.
Concerns may be raised by parent carers with the class teacher and go on to be investigated by the school.
Pupils may have been identified with a special educational need before they start at St Joseph & St Teresa’s. We
will work with the people who already know them and use the information to provide for their special needs.
The staff and SENCO will review the progress of pupils who are not making progress after targeted interventions
to identify specific needs and plan next steps.
The school may seek advice from outside agencies in supporting the identification of a pupil’s special educational
need.
In the first instance parent carers should raise their concerns with the class teacher. They, in turn, may suggest a
meeting with themselves and the SENCO.
The SENCO, Mrs Nicola de Vine, is another point of contact or if parent carers have further concerns after
speaking to the class teacher.
If parent carers still feel matters have not been resolved they should arrange an appointment to speak to the
Head Teacher, Ms Angela Nolan.
Provision
How is the decision made about what type
and how much support is provided for pupils
with special educational needs?




The school’s annual budget includes an allocation for supporting pupils with special educational needs. At whole
school level the Head Teacher in consultation with Governors, the SENCO and teaching staff decides how to use
this allocation depending on the special educational needs within the school. They will look at information they
have about SEN including:
o Children who have been identified as having SEN
o Children who are already receiving support for SEN
o Resources and training needed by the school to support those pupils.
The SENCO and class teachers will decide on targeted interventions for groups of pupils. These will be focused on
a particular need e.g. literacy, numeracy, speech and language or social skills.
The SENCO, class teacher, parent carers and pupils will collaborate to decide individualised specialist support that
maybe required by a pupil with SEN.
Other agencies/professional may also be consulted to decide the appropriate provision for individual pupils.
Provision (cont.)
Which types of special educational needs
does the school support?
What type of provision is available for pupils
with special needs?









Speech, language and communication
Global delay
Dyslexia
Dyscalculia
Dyspraxia
Social and emotional needs
Behaviour linked to an underlying cause e.g ADD
Physical disabilities
Medical
All pupils at St Joseph & St Teresa’s receive a high standard of ‘Quality First Teaching’ through whole class or small
group teaching. Class teachers plan carefully to meet a range of needs through differentiation at this level. In addition
pupils with SEN may access the following:
Small group support
Specific interventions in small groups for Literacy/Numeracy
A key worker
Individualised Literacy Intervention (ILI)
Sound Linkage
‘Write from the Start’
A range of pencil grips
Sloping writing board, Dycem Matting
Coloured overlays, reading rulers
Cream paper
Table top tool kits
Visual timetables/other visual aids
Talking Partners
Speech and Language Programmes (as advised by Speech Therapist)
Alternative means of communication – ‘Writing with Symbols’
What support does the school offer to
parents of pupils with special educational
needs?
What specialist services are available or can
be accessed by the school for pupils with
special educational needs?
Forest School
Social skills
Social Stories
Individual work station
Individual behaviour support programme
Physiotherapy
Occupational Therapy
Health Care Plan
Medical Care Plan
A plan to meet individual pupil’s needs will be drawn up in consultation with parent carers, class teachers, pupils and
the SENCO. This will be reviewed on a termly basis and updated accordingly.
The school will support parents by sharing information about their child’s needs and the provision being made for them.
In addition parents can also communicate with school in the following ways:
 Parents are welcome to speak to class teachers. The best time to catch them is after school. If matters are urgent
a call to the office in the morning is best.
 The SENCO tries to operate an ‘open door’ policy and as long she has no meetings to attend, will meet with
parents as soon as possible. Her working day is a Tuesday.
 The Head Teacher will see parents as soon as possible. Parent carers should contact the office to arrange an
appointment in the first instance.
 Parents Evenings are held twice a year for all pupils.
 Termly and Annual Reviews are held for pupils with EHC Plans
 For pupils entering YR with special educational needs a School Entry Planning meeting will be set up in the
summer term before they start school.
 Transition planning will be offered to pupils with special educational needs KS2 – KS3
 Parent Family Support Advisors
In addition parents can ask for support from Parent Partnership and Somerset Parent Carers Forum as well as individual
organisations such as National Autistic Society, British Dyslexia Association etc.
In school:
 Specialist dyslexia teacher – Mrs Nicola de Vine
 Talking Partners
 De-escalation training
 Social Stories
 Individual Literacy Intervention

How accessible is the school environment?
Who will oversee my child’s support?
Paediatric First aid
External Services:
Educational Psychologist
Learning Support Advisor
Speech Therapist
Language and Communication Team
Autism Support service
Special Educational Needs Information Technology Advisor
Physical Impairment and Medical Support Advisor
Social, Emotional, Behaviour Support Advisor
Parent Family Support Advisor
Occupational Therapist
Physiotherapist
Specialist Diabetes Nurse
School Health Advisor
 Partly wheel chair accessible
 Assisted toilet
 Disabled parking
 Specialist IT equipment
 The class teacher will be responsible for your child’s daily support.
 The SENCO and class teacher will meet regularly to review progress.
 The Head Teacher, SENCO and class teachers will review your child’s support at least termly.
 Parent Carers and pupils will also contribute to reviews of interventions, provision and progress.
Assessment
How will school measure the progress of my
child?



Every pupil’s progress is continually monitored by the class teacher through observation and assessment of their
work in class.
Progress is also reviewed by the class teacher, SENCO and the senior leadership team at pupil progress meetings.
These are held termly.
Pupils who are in Y1 and above but not yet accessing National Curriculum levels will be monitored using a more


How will I know that my child is progressing?







sensitive assessment tool known as P Scales. This allows the school to measure progress in smaller, more detailed
steps.
Pupils who are having specific focused interventions will have their progress monitored regularly. This is usually
after a set period of time which has been designated for the intervention to run.
Pupils who have an Education, Health Care Plan (Statement) will have their progress monitored at termly reviews
and the Annual Review.
Pupils who receive SEN Support will have their progress reviewed through the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle.
All parents are invited to attend parent’s evenings which are held in the autumn and spring terms.
An individual written report, that details progress being made by a pupil, is sent to all parents in the summer term.
Parents who have a child who is receiving SEN Support will be invited to termly reviews as part of the Assess, Plan,
Do, Review cycle. Progress will be discussed at this review.
If the school feels that outside agency support is required to support a pupil, parent’s written permission will be
sought and they will be invited to meet with these agencies whenever possible. Parents will always be sent a copy
of any written reports.
Parents are also welcome to arrange additional meetings with the class teacher, SENCO or Head Teacher to
discuss progress.
On occasions it may be appropriate to set up a home/school communication book to share information regarding
progress.