SEND Information Report
In compliance with section 69(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014 and Regulation 51 and schedule 1 of The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, the governing body must publish a report on the school’s policy for pupils with SEND. This report should also be read in conjunction with the following policies:
Accessibility Policy, Behaviour Policy, Medical Conditions Policy, Assessment Policy, Equalities Policy, Safeguarding Policy, Homework Policy and Complaints Policy
Please see the questions below for more information about SEND at St Joseph’s School and how we can support your child. This SEND information report was last updated July 2021 and will be reviewed in July 2022.
Please also refer to the Kingston and Richmond Local Offer for SEND support (see poster above).
What does it mean if my child has Special Educational Needs?
The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice 2014 states that a child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty if they:
(a) Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
(b) Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
High quality teaching that is differentiated and personalised will meet the individual needs of the majority of children and young people. Some children and young people need educational provision that is additional to or different from this. This is special educational provision under Section 21 of the Children and Families Act 2014. We will use our best endeavours to ensure that such provision is made for those who need it.
What provision is there at St Joseph's for different kinds of special educational need? What are the admission arrangements for SEND children?
At St Joseph’s, we can make provision for every kind of more frequently occurring special educational need, for instance: dyslexia; speech and language needs; autistic spectrum disorders; learning difficulties and social, emotional difficulties. There are other kinds of special educational need which do not occur as frequently and with which the school is less familiar, but we can access training and advice so that these kinds of needs can be met.
Decisions on the admission of pupils with a statement of special educational need / EHCP are made by the Governors. The admission arrangements for pupils without a statement of special educational needs / EHCP do not discriminate against or disadvantage disabled children or those with special educational needs and will follow the usual school admissions procedures.
How does the school identify and assess pupils with SEND?
Class teachers monitor the progress of children at all the times and formally at the end of every term. As well as classroom-based assessment, we also use a range of external assessments such as Year 1 phonics screening, CATs tests and speech and language assessments.
The principle of early identification and intervention underpins our approach to identifying those pupils who need extra help. If a child is not making expected progress or has difficulties in a particular area of learning, interventions are put in place in order to help the child catch up; this does not imply that the pupil has a special educational need.
At times it may be necessary to consult with outside agencies to receive more specialised expertise. The purpose of this more detailed assessment and review is to understand what additional resources and different approaches are required to enable the pupil to make better progress. In some cases, underlying needs may explain inadequate progress or challenging behaviour. Parents will be consulted prior to contacting an outside agency and the results of any assessments will be shared with parents. Where necessary, a meeting will be arranged to agree a support plan.
Pupils who require additional and different support and who would not be able to make progress without it are identified as having a special educational need, (see above definition of SEND,) and are recorded as SEND on the school provision map.
The school works closely with families of SEND children to build an understanding of the child’s needs and put in place strategies to support the child. Parents and children help write a ‘learning passport’ that outlines the child’s strengths, their goals and strategies for support. The class teacher will meet termly with parents to review provision and, where necessary, these meetings also involve the SENDCO and professionals from any outside agencies that are working with the child.
We will ensure that all teachers and support staff who work with the pupil are aware of the support to be provided and the teaching approaches to be used. The school has in place a comprehensive provision map to help track the interventions in place and the impact. We use the “Assess, Plan, Do, Review” model outlined in the Code of Practice. Additional targets are set for any intervention that takes place outside quality whole-class teaching and progress towards targets will be reviewed at least termly. Baseline assessments are completed at the beginning and end of certain interventions to assess smaller steps of progress. These are recorded on intervention group target sheets along with a termly review of the pupil's progress, what worked well with the intervention and what may need to be done differently next time. These intervention group sheets are agreed and completed by the class teacher and the teaching assistant working with the group.
All staff have regular training on strategies used to support children with SEND through staff/TA meetings, Inset days and Twilight sessions led by in-house staff or by external agencies. Professional development at St Joseph's is encouraged and supported by the SLT and all new staff have an induction when starting work, where appropriate policies and guidelines are discussed.
What are the different types of support available to children with special educational needs?
Schools receive funding for all SEND pupils. This funding is used to support and enhance high quality of teaching in the school. It helps to ensure there are sufficient resources for pupils requiring special educational provision. The support offered is matched to the needs of individual pupils with SEND and evidenced based. The amount of support required for each pupil to make good progress will be different in each case. The different types of support are outlined below:
High quality teaching from the class teacher, including targeted support and differentiation for individual children, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEND.
‘Special educational provision is underpinned by high quality teaching and is compromised by anything less’ (SEND CoP, 2014)
This means that:
Specific group work with in a smaller group of children.
This work, known as intervention groups, may take place in the classroom or outside and may be led by a teacher or, most often, a teaching assistant who has had training to run these groups. This means that:
Specialist groups or individual support to deliver a programme recommended by an outside agencies e.g. Speech and Language therapy
This type of support is available for children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through high quality teaching and intervention groups. This means that:
- Making changes to the way the child is supported in class e.g. some individual support or changing some aspects of teaching to support them better
- Support to set better targets which will include their specific expertise
- A group run by school staff under the guidance of the outside professional e.g a social skills group
- The class teacher will remain responsible for working with the pupil on a daily basis.
Specified Individual support
This is usually provided via a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).This means:
How will the curriculum be adapted for a child with SEN?
Class teachers plan lessons according to the specific needs of all groups of children in their class, and will ensure that every child’s needs are met.
How does the school monitor the progress of children with special educational needs?
The SEND Code of Practice (2014) describes adequate progress as:
At St Joseph’s, the following systems are in place:
Who are the best people to talk to about my child’s Special Education Needs?
Class Teachers
Class teachers are responsible for:
The SEND Co-Ordinator (SENDCO)
The SENCO at St Joseph’s is Helen Mayhew. She is responsible for:
Helen is available on 020 8546 7178 or e-mail: office@stjosephs.rbksch.org. She works Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
SEND Governor
Governors are responsible for making sure that the necessary support is made for any child who attends the school who has SEND. The designated governor for SEND is Penny Rickard who can be contacted via the school office.
How are teachers in the school helped to work with children with SEND and what training do they have?
All teachers and teaching assistants have regular training to support them in meeting the needs of children with special educational needs. We also offer specific training to teaching staff providing personalised support programmes for individual children. Training providers we can approach include the Educational Psychologist, Speech and language therapist, occupational therapists and Teaching and Learning Advisors.
What can I do if I am concerned about my child’s progress?
How do we ensure that the views of your child (and other children with SEND in the school) are used to plan for them and for SEND within our school?
There will be regular discussions between the child and their teacher about their learning, progress and feelings about school. We will always take the child’s views into account when holding review meetings. We will gather their views in a variety of ways: for example, for younger children, we might video them engaged in an activity they enjoy; for older children, we might sit with them and ask them some open ended questions about their experiences or encourage them to make their own presentation about what they enjoy.
How is the school accessible for children with SEND?
The school is housed in a two-storey Victorian building. There are also two temporary classrooms that are accessible by ramps. Access to the ground floor is good and we have a disabled toilet that is wheelchair accessible in the main building. We would make any necessary changes to the building or placement of a classroom to accommodate children with mobility and physical disabilities good.
We ensure that equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs and extra-curricular activities are accessible for children with SEND. For further details, please see the Accessibility Policy
Who should I contact if I want to make a complaint?
The same arrangements for the treatment of complaints at St Joseph’s are used for complaints about provision made for special educational needs and disabilities. We encourage parents to first discuss their concerns with the class teacher and SENDCO to resolve the issue. If necessary, parents can then contact the Headteacher or refer the matter to the Chair of Governors (see the Complaints Policy on the school website)
Who are the external agencies providing support to SEND children and their teachers?
The governing body have engaged the following services:-
What support is there for parents / carers of children with SEND?
How does the school support children with SEND when they are moving to another school or moving to another class?
At St Joseph’s, we work closely other educational settings to help ensure the transfer between schools is as seamless as possible. We recognise that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEND and take steps to ensure that any transition is a smooth as possible.
If a child is moving to or from another school:
When moving classes in school:
In Year 6:
Where can I find information about Local Authority provision for children and young people with SEND?
Kingston Local Authority schools have a similar approach to meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and / or Disabilities (SEND). All schools are supported by the Local Authority to be as inclusive as possible, with the needs of pupils with SEND being met in a mainstream setting wherever possible, where families want this to happen.
The LA Local Offer
Local Offer is the term that the Department for Education (DfE) have chosen to describe the collection of information about the support that local authorities must make available to help children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their families. The purpose of the local offer is to enable parents, carers, children and young people with SEND to see clearly, from a single and regularly updated source, the services available to local families and how to access them. The offer covers services from birth to 25, across education, health and social care. It describes state-funded, charitable and private services, and includes services outside the local area (e.g. schools) which are used by local families: https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/
The Local Offer is part of several key changes introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014.
The Local Offer includes information about:
Parents without internet access should make an appointment with the SENDCO for support to gain the information they require.