SEND - A guide for parents
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS - A DEFINITION
Children have a special educational need if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made. Children have a learning difficulty if they:
a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children the same age
b) have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children in schools
c) are under compulsory school age and fall within the definition of a or b
A child MUST NOT be regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because the language of their home is different from the language in which they will be taught.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU FEEL YOUR CHILD IS HAVING DIFFICULTIES
Speak to your child’s class Teacher. The Teacher may then refer you to the SENCO who will explain the procedures in place in school to address your child’s needs.
DESIGNATED PERSONS FOR SEN
Miss C Moore – SENDCO
Mrs J Heyes - SENDCO
TEL: 01706 378032
Special Educational Needs
At St. Mary’s we are working in line with the new SEN Code of Practice, 2014. The school has a special needs register which records children who receive SEN Support and children who may require an EHC Plan (Education, Health and Care Plan). In addition, the school has a focus group of children who receive additional support to enable them to ‘catch up’.
Catch Up Programs
A child may access Catch Up interventions if evidence collected by the class Teacher suggests that the pupil is not making progress and additional provision is needed. Interventions are reviewed termly and progress measured. All classes have a Provision Grid that is reviewed termly. This will detail what provision is to be made, the time taken to carry it out and the person responsible for managing the programme.
SEN Support
If the child is placed in SEN Support, following discussion with parents after Catch Up interventions have been accessed, and it is felt that further provision is needed (over and above that of the Quality First Teaching taking place in each class) this will often include the involvement of outside specialists e.g. Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapist or Child Psychologist.
Education, Health and Care Plan (My Plan) previously known as Statements
A Statutory Assessment can only be requested if the child demonstrates a significant cause for concern eg exceptionality or complex needs and if Quality First Teaching and SEN Support does not meet their needs. This would be in agreement between outside agencies involved as well as parents and School. If you would like any further information about Statutory Assessment, please do not hesitate to contact our SENDCOs, Miss Moore or Mrs Heyes.
At all stages, the SENCO will discuss the individual needs of the child with the parents.
What the school may do to support and help your child
There are many Intervention Programmes that the school can put in place to help your child. The interventions fall into 3 Waves.
WAVE ONE – Quality First Teaching
Pupils are offered an inclusive and differentiated experience in everyday lessons, with the majority of pupils making good progress without additional support.
WAVE TWO – ‘Catch up’ or Booster Programmes
Pupils are offered additional help to accelerate learning. This may be a small group, targeted intervention, timetabled to ensure children benefit from the experience.
WAVE THREE - Intensive Targeted Support
Individual support, linked to specific personal targets. Pupils receiving this level of support will often require additional input/advice from outside agencies. Care Plans can be implemented for intervention for specific/medical needs.
‘Local Offer from Rochdale’
https://rochdale.fsd.org.uk/kb5/rochdale/fsd/localoffer.page?localofferchannel=0