SEND
School offer for Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities
Our Vision
We aim to be a flourishing learning community, which celebrates all possibilities through a journey of exploration, engagement and enrichment, enabling all to take risks, build resilience and grow together in God’s love. Jesus said ‘I have come that you may have life in all its fullness’. We hold this at the heart of all we do.
At St. Catherine's, we believe that supporting disability and difficulties in learning is part of our high quality mainstream education service. Tackling the full range of pupil needs improves learning and the learning environment not only for SEND pupils but for everyone.
Mrs English-Mather, our Deputy headteacher, is our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCo)
SEND provision at St. Catherine's
Our school is an inclusive school where every child matters; we aim to address children’s needs and support their development in the most appropriate way possible and celebrate effort as much as achievement. Additional and/or different provision is currently being made in school for children with a range of needs, including:
- Cognition and Learning – moderate learning difficulties; specific learning difficulties – dyslexia, dyspraxia.
- Sensory, Medical and Physical – hearing impairment, sensory processing difficulties, epilepsy.
- Communication and Interaction – Autistic Spectrum Disorder, speech and language difficulties.
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health – attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety.
Our team has extensive experience and training in planning, delivering and assessing intervention programmes. Three Teaching Assistants are experienced Special Needs Assistants who have a range of skills and are deployed around school to fit the needs of children.
All staff are trained on the needs of new children joining the school – this can include training from specialist agencies or consultants, as well as from our SENDCo or other staff with relevant expertise. SEND training forms part of the continuing professional development of all teachers and Teaching Assistants and is organised in accordance with the needs of the children.
The school works closely with other local schools. The SENDCo meets with other SENDCos in the local area of Horwich and Blackrod cluster group once per half term to review and plan the training, guidance and advice that staff across the cluster.
How we identify individual SEND needs at St. Catherine's CE Primary School
- When pupils have an identified SEND before they start at St Catherine's, we work with the people who already know them and use the information already available to identify what their needs will be in our school setting.
- If parents or carers tell school that they think their child has SEND we will discuss this with them.
- If a teacher thinks that a child has SEND this maybe because the child may not be making expected progress academically or socially. If this is the case we will contact parents first and then carry out the necessary observations and assessments to pinpoint difficulties the child maybe experiencing.
How we adapt the curriculum so that that we meet the needs of all pupils
- Visual timetables are used across school to help all pupils.
- Staff are trained and supported to ensure all pupils are able to learn at their level.
- School uses a variety of resources, outside agencies and experts to support the needs of pupils who require specialised support.
- Pupils have the opportunity to access the curriculum through a variety of teaching and learning strategies.
- For children with specific identified or diagnosed needs, we work closely with external agencies to ensure that the best possible support is in place (e.g. educational psychologist, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, specialist teachers from Woodbridge Trust). Meetings are often held in school involving specialists (as noted above) and/or parents to set targets, evaluate progress and ensure consistency of approach in addressing needs in school and at home.
Transition to Secondary School
- If a child has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) then the chosen secondary school representative is always invited to the review.
- The secondary school representative is always invited into school in the summer term and work is undertaken depending on need to ensure a smooth transition. This can be supported by outside agencies such as Behaviour Support Service and Woodbridge Trust.
How we assess pupil progress
- Class teachers have half termly meetings with senior leaders to ensure that every pupil is monitored regularly and support is put in place as needed.
- Teachers check pupils understanding in all lessons.
- Teachers work collaboratively to ensure judgements on progress are accurate. These judgements are moderated at school, cluster and LA level.
- The Headteacher, senior leadership team and subject leaders all monitor lessons and pupil progress to ensure every pupil makes progress in all areas of the curriculum. This is carried out through a cycle of monitoring.
How we ensure the effectiveness of provision
- There is a designated governor who has meetings with the SENDCo. During that meeting an evaluation of provision across school is completed, this is then fedback to governors in the form of a SEND report.
- Learning walks and work scrutiny are completed by the SENDCo to ensure children are achieving their potential.
- The assessment co-ordinator completes termly data collection of all children
How we ensure equal opportunities
- There is full disabled access to the building.
- There is a disabled toilet facility.
- There is disabled access to all parts of the building.
- When planning visits out of school, companies with accessible vehicles are hired if necessary.
- All letters sent home are available in large print format.
- Children’s learning is designed to accommodate any disabilities.
- St. Catherine's is an autistic friendly and dyslexic friendly school and specialist support services are employed to support children’s Special Educational Needs.
- The PSHE curriculum teaches children about disability from emotional, physical and personal perspectives.
- When appointing staff and governors all applicants are treated equally regardless of disability, race or gender in line with all other school policies.
Agencies who support school
- Woodbridge Trust outreach service
- Behaviour Support Service
- Educational Psychologist
- Speech and Language Therapy
- School Nurse
- 0-19 Health and Wellbeing Team
- Children’s Opportunity Group (COG)
- Schools Advisory Service (SENDAS)
- CAMHS
- Visual Impairment Team
The SEND Report & Policy
Read more about how we support children who have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities and their families.