Special Educational Needs
" I just wanted to say what AMAZING teachers. My child has had a few issues that have come up the past couple of months and it’s been so hard to come to terms with possibly having Autism, (still trying to come to terms with it myself). The teachers have gone above and beyond to help her and me and without the help of them I don’t even know where we’d be. They really are outstanding and I am so so grateful. Thankyou really doesn’t seem enough. Nothing is ever too much for them.
St Mary’s truly is an amazing school and I’m so glad my youngest will be starting with you in September." Parent July 2022
Miss Claire Johnson is our school SENDco. She supports children & families, advises staff & liaises with outside agencies.
Contact: SENDco@smfr.co.uk
SEN at SMFR
SEN is broadly grouped into 4 areas :
Communication and Interaction ( Speech and Language needs, children with ASD e.g. Asperger’s / Austism)
Cognition and Learning (Where the child is experiencing difficulties in their learning either generally or because of a specific condition such as dyslexia or dyspraxia)
Social, emotional and mental health difficulties (For example, challenging or disruptive behaviour, anxiety, depression or conditions such as Attention Deficit Disorder [ADD] or attention deficit hyperactive disorder [AHDH])
Sensory and/or physical needs (E.g. Visual impairment, hearing impairment, certain medical conditions)
SEN at SMFR
As a school, we are constantly monitoring the children’s progress. Where children are experiencing difficulties, the following action will be taken. Some children may work their way through all the steps, where others may only need the first 3 or 4.
1) In the first instance, the class teacher will adapt the curriculum to make it accessible to the child – this could take the form of extra adult support from either the teacher or another adult or providing equipment such as numberlines or wordbanks to support the child.
2) If the child continues to experience difficulties, the teacher will discuss their concern with the child’s parent / carer and arrange for the SENDCo to come and observe the child so that a support plan can be put in place.
3) The SENDCo will work together with the class teacher to provide an Individual Provision Map (IPM) to provide extra support in the child’s area of need. This may take the form of individual or group work outside of normal lessons to help the child. These will be reviewed termly in conjunction with the parent / carer
4) If required, the SENDCo will talk to professionals such as Speech Therapists, Occupation Therapists (in the case of physical needs) or the Educational Psychologist to provide additional assessment / support
5) If none of the above steps seem to be providing the necessary support for the child, the school, with the parent / carer’s permission will apply to the Local Education Authority for an Educational Health Care needs assessment (EHC) (Formally known as “Statementing)
6) The Local Education Authority will assess the request for an Educational Health Care needs assessment and either agree to or decline the request. If the request is agreed, the Local Education Authority have 20 weeks to complete the request and issue its decision (either granting or declining an EHC Plan)
7) If the Local Education Authority do not grant an Educational Health Care Plan or agree to an Educational Health Care needs assessment, they must give their reasons for doing so. At this point, the parent has the right to appeal the decision.
Facilities for the Disabled
All schools are required to provide information about the arrangements for taking disabled pupils into the school, the steps taken to ensure they are treated on equal terms with other pupils and the facilities provided to help them with access to the school.
As a Faith School, we are bound by the County's Admissions Policy, which ensures that there is no discrimination against pupils with disabilities.
All disabled pupils are fully integrated into the school. The children with Statements of Special Educational Needs are only withdrawn for separate support when the lesson is of such a nature that they would not be able to access the learning.
The main entrance of the school is accessible for someone in a wheelchair. As the school is on one level, it is easy to negotiate in a wheelchair. Access to the school hall can be obtained from the outside area by use of a ramp directing into the hall. We also have a toilet suitable for wheelchair bound visitors.