SEND
Guide us O God to be the best we can be; in every thought, in every word and every deed
"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid". (Albert Einstein)
Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCo) is Mrs K Jones. You can contact her on the school number 01772 862335, or by email to deputy@st-mary-st-andrews.lancs.sch.uk.
At St Mary & St Andrew’s we believe that we are all made in the image and likeness of God, each with our unique talents and gifts. We recognise and celebrate the fact that all children learn differently, in a variety of ways and at their own speeds. We are very proud of our inclusivity at SMSA and work tirelessly to ensure that children receive the highest quality of teaching, in the classroom with their class teacher and their peers. Therefore, teachers meticulously plan to include the personalised needs of all the children in their classes, including our SEN children. We provide challenge and opportunity for success for each and every child we teach and our curriculum has been designed to enable all children to flourish and shine in their own way.
Special Educational Needs (SEND): What Does It Mean?
The term special educational needs has a legal definition: children with special educational needs have learning difficulties and/or disabilities which make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same chronological age. Children with special educational needs may need extra help or different support from that given to other children of the same chronological age. It is widely acknowledged that many children may have special educational needs at some time in their educational career. At St Mary and St Andrew’s we seek to help all our pupils to overcome the barriers to learning that their additional needs may present.
What can you do if are you are worried that your child may have additional needs?
Please talk to us. If you think your child may have additional needs that have not been identified or you are concerned about your child’s development and progress, it is best to begin by talking to your child’s class teacher. You can also make an appointment to see the school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCO) or the Headteacher. Remember – you know your child better than anyone! We want to work with you in order to resolve any worries or concerns that you may have. The closer the partnership between home and school, the more successful any interventions/support for your child will be.
Who’s Who?
All primary schools are required to have a person who is responsible for coordinating the day-to-day provision for pupils with special educational needs. This person is known as the Special Educational Needs Coordinator or, for short, the SENDCO. At St Mary and St Andrew’s, this person is Mrs. Katie Jones. If you would like to contact Mrs. Jones, please make an appointment through the office or email her at: deputy@st-mary-st-andrews.lancs.sch.uk
A member of the school’s governing body is appointed to have particular oversight of special educational needs provision within school. At St Mary and St Andrew’s this person is Mrs Audrey Swann. She liaises closely with the school’s SENCO.
What will happen if my child needs extra support?
Where further support is identified, careful planning with the teachers and SENDCo ensures that children are receiving the right support at the right time. This could be in a variety of ways, such as: a structured intervention run outside of the classroom, differentiated work, scaffolding within the lesson, peer support, guided learning with the teacher or TA or specific targeted learning recorded on an IEP.
We follow a Graduated Response to all concerns from both school at home which you can view here:
Find out more about the assessment tools and interventions we use in school:
SNAP Assessment Tool: SNAP - Special Needs Assessment Profile (rsassessment.com)
IDL Literacy and Numeracy Interventions: Videos | IDL (idlsgroup.com)
Mighty Writers: Mighty Writer | Teaching Children to Write
ELSA: About Us - ELSA Support (elsa-support.co.uk)
Useful website links:
SENDIAS Home - Lancashire SEND (lancssendias.org.uk)
Family Information Network Directory (FIND) newsletter - Lancashire County Council