Special Educational Needs

Vision

St. Mary’s believes in including all members of the school community regardless of whether they have a disability or learning difficulty. We provide a secure and safe environment where all children are able to learn and achieve their full ensuring that their individual needs are met.  All children are given every opportunity to participate in all aspects of school life and are encouraged to take part in extra-curricular clubs, residential trips and all sporting activities.

We strongly believe that ‘Every teacher is a teacher of SEND’ and this belief enables all staff to support those children with SEND.

Intent

It is our belief that all children have an equal right to an inclusive, broad and balanced curriculum which will enable them to achieve their full potential.

Some of our pupils may need a little extra help and this is where our Special Educational and Disability (SEND) support comes in. Each child with additional needs is offered different support tailored to meet their needs. Staff at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School work closely with our children, their parents and, where appropriate, outside agencies, to develop each child’s individual support package.

Identification

St Mary’s follows a graduated approach to meeting each child’s individual special educational needs. A process of on-going teacher assessments and termly pupil progress meetings with the leadership team identifies those children making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances. The school’s first response is always high-quality targeted teaching by the class teacher.

Where progress continues to be less than expected, the class teacher will discuss their concerns with the SENCo. In deciding whether to make special educational provision, the teacher and SENCo will consider all of the information gathered from within the school about the child’s progress, alongside the views of parents/carers as well as the child.

Parental Involvement

We operate an ‘open door’ policy for all parents if they should have any concerns
about their children and they are able to see their class teacher and members of
the Senior Leadership Team upon request. Parents are fully involved in any
decision making process and meet regularly (at least three times a year) with
class teachers and the school SENDCO to discuss the provision their child is
accessing.

“My children struggle with phonics in particular and they bend over backwards to help both of them get on track with their peers (at the same time not singling them out or allowing other peers to see they are behind). They have done this by fast tracking and communicating with me so we can work together at home. As soon as the school realises my children struggle with their learning they have put in place relevant SEND plans which seem to be working and results in better homelife as one child isn’t displaying challenging behaviours at home anymore as his needs are being met constantly. The school is amazing at communicating concerns and are approachable when I as a parent have concerns. ” Parent Voice 2024

Provision, Resources and Services

St Mary’s is a fully inclusive school which supports the needs of all children. The
SEND provision is reasonably adapted and carefully developed in response to
the needs of our children. We have a nurture room, quiet break out spaces
within school and a Forest School area. All staff work together to ensure our
children’s learning, social, emotional and mental health needs are met whilst
removing the barriers to learning and building a child’s resilience and self
confidence. The school has access to a wide range of professionals and outside
agencies that we can contact for further support and advice. If we feel that
outside agency input would benefit your child then we will have a meeting in
school to discuss this with you.

We have access to:
 Speech and language therapists
 Wellbeing in Mind Team
 Educational Psychologists
 Parent Support Advisers
 Inclusion Support service
 Occupational Therapists
 Physiotherapists
 Special Educational Needs Hub
 Play therapists

Impact

Our children are happy, safe and have their needs met, in safe learning
environments, supporting our children to achieve their full potential.
Children at St Mary’s have a voice and feel heard – they are involved in all
aspects of school life. Staff are supportive and compassionate and create
positive learning opportunities for all children.

Our parents are supported and play an important role in decision making about
their child.

Contact details

SENDCo – Mrs G Lee

Email – [email protected]

Telephone – 01653 692274

Our SEND Information Report outlines how we identify support and monitor the progress of our children with additional needs.

Please click here to view our SEND information report and Accessibility plan as well as our SEND policy located in the polices section

NYCC Local Offer to children with SEN

Background

The local offer provides useful information for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families. It is here to help families, individuals, groups and organisations find information so you have more choice and control over what support is right

The local offer covers services available within:

• education;
• health and social care; and
• support and services in the voluntary and private sector across North Yorkshire.

The local offer is now on-line and can be accessed via the following link:

https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/about-local-offer-north-yorkshire

Local offer Contact

Local Offer
Children and Young People’s Service
North Yorkshire County Council
County Hall
Northallerton
DL7 8AD

Email: [email protected]

Inclusive education service

Email: [email protected]

Further information

SENDIASS:

http://sendiassnorthyorkshire.co.uk/

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service, North Yorkshire (SENDIASS North Yorkshire) works with parents, carers children or young people that live within the county. A Parent Partnership Co-ordinator can be contacted through North Yorkshire on tel:01609 536923 or [email protected]

SEND Code of Practice:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25

Additional Websites

http://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/

http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/

https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/

https://relaxkids.com/

https://youngminds.org.uk/

https://www.compass-uk.org/services/compass-phoenix/

https://whitbyinteractive.co.uk/

https://localgiving.org/charity/whish/

Acronyms you may come across in SEND documents