The following document is the SEN Information Report for Sacred Heart RC Primary School. It is in keeping with the requirements which can be found in the Code of Practice on page 106, section 6.79.
Sacred Heart RC Primary School is a mainstream primary school and has an annual intake of 30 children. Sacred Heart RC Primary School is an inclusive school and we ensure that all children regardless of race, gender or ability are catered for within the life of the school. The school’s mission statement reflects this commitment:
‘Love one another as I have loved you.’
During the past and current academic year, the school has catered for children who have specific SEND needs including:
• Speech and language needs,
• Physical needs,
• Dyslexia,
• Emotional and behavioural needs,
• Complex medical needs.
Prior to this, the school have also supported children with visual impairments, hearing impairments, dyscalculia and autism.
Sacred Heart RC Primary School is fully accessible to wheelchair users. The main school is all on one level and where necessary, ramps have been installed as opposed to steps for accessibility. Accessible toilet facilities are available. The school also has one disabled parking space.
The staff at Sacred Heart RC Primary School work very hard to ensure that all children receive a smooth transition into school. Upon arrival, the relevant staff are fully aware of any needs a child may have, either from previous settings (previous school or early years setting), medical professionals or parents. The school also ensures that they are in receipt of any important documents linked to a child as quickly as possible. Staff are happy to attend transition meetings were ever possible to aid this transition.
Sacred Heart RC Primary School has a robust tracking system in place. Each child is closely monitored throughout their time at the school. Staff use a range of different assessment tools to assess, including published assessment tasks, (testbase, previous SATs papers), the Lancashire KLIPs, more informal observations and their own professional judgement. It is through these assessments that staff are quickly able to identify those children who either need extra support or more targeted intervention. The school employs a graduated response in ensuring that children with specific SEN achieve their full potential. The school also employs a Family Learning Mentor (FLM) to support children who may have any social, emotional, or behavioural barriers to learning.
Sacred Heart RC Primary School has a strong monitoring system in place to evaluate the effectiveness of any SEN provision. Staff are expected to write termly IEPs for any identified children and write their own provision map for their cohort. At the end of every term, staff evaluate both documents and write new targets accordingly. If any child causes concern, they are quickly highlighted to the school SENCo and the wider senior management team.
Class teachers are expected to cater for all children in their class through quality first teaching, regardless of any SEND. If it is deemed that a child would benefit from extra intervention, the class teacher will put the child in the appropriate intervention group. As children start an intervention programme, a baseline assessment is made and then again following the completion of the programme. All intervention taking place, is recorded by staff taking the groups. This information is used to help evaluate any IEPs and to also monitor the impact of the various groups. The SMT regularly make observations of the planned intervention taking place throughout school. These observations are discussed as part of SMT meetings and appropriate actions are then taken to take the children’s learning and the SEND provision of the school forward. Children’s work books and planning are also regularly monitored. The school uses many intervention programmes including:
As well as designated teaching staff, support staff throughout the school support the various intervention groups.
Some children within school will need a more tailored, personalised curriculum to meet their individual needs. In these cases, individual education plans (IEPs) will be put into place. After evaluation, if it is thought that the child has struggled to meet the specific, personalised targets, advice from outside agencies and / or an educational psychologist may be sought. This advice will be sought in accordance with a graduated response. All children with SEND are also actively encouraged to participate in wider school life including after school clubs and school trips.
All class teachers have a set level of children who are expected to achieve in line with expectations. This is linked to performance management. School data is rigorously analysed by the SMT and any children giving cause for concern are quickly highlighted and the appropriate cause of action is taken.
The staff at Sacred Heart RC Primary School appreciate that parents have a key role to play in their child’s education and therefore, seek to engage them as much as possible in helping their child achieve their maximum potential. The school holds regular parent’s evenings where children’s’ attainment and progress is discussed. Parents are also aware of the school’s open door policy at the beginning and end of the school day when they can speak to the class teacher about any concerns they may have (See section 7). The school also regularly seeks the voice of the child. Sacred Heart RC Primary School has a well-established school council. All pupils are encouraged to give their opinions and ideas to the council representatives.
As well as catering for children who have academic SEN, the school also supports children who have social and emotional difficulties. The school employs a family learning mentor who works with children to overcome any barriers to learning. The school is always alert to such events as bereavement and loss and seeks to support children in such circumstances by providing pastoral support with the FLM or through other groups who can come into school e.g. hospice groups. The school has experience of working with short stay behaviour schools and in such circumstances regular meetings are set up with all parties to achieve the best possible outcome for the child.
The schools’ SEND and anti-bullying policy is regularly reviewed by the appropriate member of staff.
The SENCo at Sacred Heart RC Primary School is Mrs. Helen Bowden. She is available all day Monday to Wednesday and Thursday morning.
Email: bowden.h@sacredheart-thornton.lancs.sch.uk
The Head teacher, Mr Paul Eaton, is available if an urgent response is needed.
As mentioned before, the school has had experience of working with children with a range of special educational needs. The school has one experienced teaching assistant who regularly works with children across the school with speech and language difficulties. Speech and language therapists regularly make appointments to come into school to update teaching staff in relation to any child’s speech and language care plan.
Staff work closely with other professionals, including Educational Psychologists, CAMHS, visual impairment specialists and other medical professionals e.g. paediatricians.
Sacred Heart RC Primary School regularly ensures that staff training is up-to-date. During the last academic year, the staff have had
All staff have a current first aid certificate and 3 members of staff have a paediatric first aid certificate.
During transition, the school based SENCo and the wider senior management team, seek to ensure that teachers feel fully equipped to teach children with any additional needs. Any relevant training and/or development is quickly sought.
Sacred Heart RC Primary School is fully accessible to all including wheelchair users. The school has one disabled parking space.
All equipment in classrooms are at the appropriate height for the children. Some tables in the small group rooms have adjustable legs. Disabled toilet facilities are available.
Where a child has specific needs and requires the use of additional resources e.g. a raised writing platform due to a visual impairment, it would be expected that the authority whom the child is under would provide these resources in order to support the pupil in school.
Where a child is on an EHCP, depending on the banding of the EHCP, money allocated to the EHCP would be used to equip the school with the relevant resources.
The school allocates an annual budget to the development of SEN. The SENCo, along with the wider SMT make decisions about how best to use the budget in accordance with the needs of any SEND children throughout the school at that present time.
Sacred Heart RC Primary School actively seeks to involve parents in the education of their child. Parents are aware of the school’s open door policy should they have any concerns about their child. Parents are notified of their child’s progress and attainment at 2 parent’s evenings during the year and through the annual school report.
Where a child is in receipt of an IEP, parents are invited to discuss this with the child’s class teacher. Parents are given a copy of the IEP so that they can work at home on the same targets.
Where a child has a medical condition that dictates that they need a care plan, parents are asked to come into the school so that the child’s needs can be discussed. Sacred Heart RC Primary School also asks parents to invite any health / medical professional along to the meeting in order to formulate the best care plan for the child.
In the event that the class teacher, SENCo and/or wider SMT deem it necessary to seek advice from other professionals including educational psychologists, the SENCo and class teacher will invite the parent’s of the child to an informal meeting in the first instance to discuss the relevant matters and ask for permission to proceed with the next course of action.
For parents of children who are going through the process of applying for an EHCP, the school seek to ensure that they are kept up to date with any developments. Once an EHCP has been issued, parents are invited to attend their child’s annual review.
Staff seek to consult children at all levels if they are placed on the SEN register, however consultation with children will very much depend upon their age. The school currently has no children on an EHCP, however, the staff at Sacred Heart RC Primary School in the past have encouraged children to be involved in their Annual Reviews. Where it is deemed appropriate for a child to have an ‘All About Me Profile,’ staff seek to encourage children to contribute towards the document.
The school makes use of IEPs across the school. The targets on these are shared with children and their parents too.
The school has adopted the LCC Complaints procedures. In the first instance the parents should speak to the class teacher and/or SENCo. If the situation is not resolved it should be referred to the Head teacher and if it is still not resolved to the governing body of the school (Chair of Governors is Mr. R. Clegg). A full copy of the complaints procedure is available in school.
The school SENCo (Mrs. H. Bowden) and the FLM (Miss. K. Fagioli) are happy to discuss any issues relating to their child at a mutually convenient time. If appropriate, the SENCo and FLM are able to signpost parents to the relevant agency or service.
The school SENCo and the FLM have had experience of working with, amongst others:
The staff at Sacred Heart RC Primary School seek to ensure that all children have a smooth transition into school, whether that be transferring into Sacred Heart (i.e. in Reception class) or transferring to a local high school.
Staff in the Foundation Stage seek to visit any nurseries children attend before they formally start school. The aim of these visits is to gather as much information about the child as possible and to highlight any additional training needs or issues.
Once children receive their high school places, all children’s files are forwarded onto the relevant school. If a child has SEND, the SENCo will contact the relevant school to discuss the child’s needs.
At Foundation Stage level, on transition to Key Stage 3, and if children transfer into Sacred Heart RC Primary School during their primary school career, the SENCo is happy to set up any transition meetings which may be needed to aid the child’s journey into the relevant school.
The school’s local offer can be found on the school’s website:
www.sacredheart-primary.co.uk/docs/Sacred_Heart_Local_Offer.docx
Lancashire County Council’s local offer can be found on the authority’s website.
http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/special-educational-needs-and-disabilities.aspx