How We Support SEND

St Wilfrid’s RCVA Primary School, prides itself in being very inclusive and will endeavour to support every child regardless of their level of need.  All pupils follow the National Curriculum at a level and a pace that is appropriate to their abilities. At times and when it is felt appropriate, modifications to the curriculum may be implemented.
To successfully match pupil ability to the curriculum there are some actions we may take to achieve this:

  • Ensure that all pupils have access to the school curriculum and all school activities.
  • Help all pupils achieve to the best of their abilities, despite any difficulty or disability they may have.
  • Ensure that teaching staff are aware of and sensitive to the needs of all pupils, teaching pupils in a way that is more appropriate to their needs.
  • Pupils to gain in confidence and improve their self-esteem.
  • To work in partnership with parents/ carers, pupils and relevant external agencies in order to provide for children’s special educational needs and disabilities.
  • To identify at the earliest opportunity, all children that need special consideration to support their needs (whether these are educational, social, physical or emotional)
  • To make suitable provision for children with SEND to fully develop their abilities, interests and aptitudes and gain maximum access to the curriculum.
  • Ensure that all children with SEND are fully included in all activities of the school in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.
  • To promote self worth and enthusiasm by encouraging independence at all age and ability levels.
  • To give every child the entitlement to a sense of achievement.
  • To regularly review the policy and practice in order to achieve best practice.

At St. Wilfrid’s, we understand that children all learn at a different pace and many often require extra support at some point in their school life. We are dedicated to helping all children, at an appropriate level, through carefully differentiated work and adult led activities to ensure they meet their targets.
When children have Special Educational Needs, they often require activities to be tailored carefully to meet their needs.

Class teachers work daily to ensure that:

  • Activities and tasks are planned and delivered carefully so that all children will understand them (differentiated.)
  • They choose appropriate equipment and activities to suit each child’s needs.
  • They plan lessons carefully to include small group support.
  • They regularly work towards and update targets on Children’s IEPs (Individual Educational Plans.)

When children need further support, the school will (with permission from the child’s parents or carers) seek additional advice from outside agencies such as health professionals and Educational Psychologists. They will carry out further
assessments, provide advice to the school and suggest resources to help the child make progress.

Our school will set targets for children with SEND in the form of an SEN Support Plan.  Mrs Roxborough is the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator) at St. Wilfrid’s and works with all staff to ensure that:

  • Children are receiving appropriate support.
  • Staff receive up to date training so they understand each child’s needs.
  • Parents are given feedback regarding their child’s progress and are able to discuss any concerns they might have.
  • Any advice from outside agencies is used effectively in school to benefit the child.

When a child’s needs are very complex or severe, we may ask the Local Authority to carry out an Educational Health Plan:

  • This is a very detailed assessment of each child’s needs. Parents or carers, the school and a range of professionals will all be asked to provide written reports.
  • At the end of the assessment phase the Local Authority will consider these reports to help decide whether or not to issue an Education, Health and Care Plan for the child.
  • Parents/carers also have the right to ask the Local Authority to carry out this assessment although it is usually best if you can do this with the support of the school.
  • Education, Health and Care Assessment is only appropriate for a small number of children. Your school SENCO or the Parent Partnership Service will be able to advise you about this.

Types of SEND

At St Wilfrid’s RCVA Primary School, we have experience of supporting children and young people with a wide range of need including:

  • Memory difficulties
  • Organizational difficulties
  • Writing difficulties
  • Visual processing difficulties
  • Reading difficulties
  • Spelling difficulties
  • Manipulating numbers
  • Auditory processing difficulties
  • Visual stress
  • Time management difficulties
  • Sensory distraction
  • Sensory overload
  • Social Emotional and Mental Health
  • Attention Deficit Disorder
  • ADHD
  • Attachment Disorder
  • Autism
  • Disruptive, antisocial and uncooperative behavior
  • Temper tantrums
  • Frustration, anger and verbal threats/aggression
  • Displaying anxiety or self-harming
  • Truancy
  • Sensory or Physical
  • Vision impairment
  • Hearing impairment
  • Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (DCD)
  • Communication and Interaction
  • Autism
  • Speech and language communication needs

The school provides data on the levels and types of need to the Local Authority.  This is collected through the school census.

Need                      KS1                        KS2
Cognition and Learning 1 12
Social Emotional 2 5
Sensory and Physical 0 3
Communication and interaction 10 10

Teaching, Learning and the Curriculum

At St Wilfrid’s RCVA Primary School, we believe that inclusive education means providing all pupils with appropriate education and support alongside their peers. The Curriculum is all the planned activities that the school organises in order to promote learning, personal growth and development.

It includes not only the formal requirements of the National Curriculum, but also the range of additional opportunities that the school organises in order to enrich the experiences of our children. Our curriculum also includes the social aspects that are essential for life-long learning.

For further information you can view the Teaching & Learning Policy in the School Policies section of our website.

How we identify and assess children with special educational needs

A special educational need can be a number of different things. For example, a child may be having problems with reading, number work or behaviour, which can be helped by putting extra support in at school and by working in partnership with parents. It may also be due to a disability which makes it harder for a child to use the same educational facilities that the school provides for the majority of children. For some children this may be a temporary difficulty, while others may have a long term need for special help.

To identify children with special educational needs in our school, all children’s learning is tracked carefully and any concerns are discussed between the class teacher, parent and SENCO. Once a need is identified, strategies are implemented which are carefully monitored and assessed to ensure they impact on the child’s achievement.

Most children and young people will have their special educational needs met in mainstream schools through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching.

At St Wilfrid’s RCVA Primary School, we follow a graduated support approach which is called “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.

This means that we will:

  • Assess a child’s special educational needs
  • Plan the provision to meet your child’s aspirations and agreed outcomes
  • Do put the provision in place to meet those outcomes
  • Review the support and progress

As part of this approach, we will produce a SEN Support Plan that describes the provision that we will make to meet a child’s special educational needs and agreed outcomes.  Parents and carers will be fully involved in this process.

A small percentage of children and young people with significant learning difficulties might need an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan.

Full details can be found on the Local Offer website.

You can find details of how we adapt the curriculum and make it more accessible for pupils here.

Staffing and any Specialist Qualifications/Expertise

Details of staff qualifications can be found here.

If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.