SEND
Special Educational Needs
Here at St. Patrick's;
SENDCo is Mrs Michelle Shaw
SEND Link Governor is: Yvonne Kinsley
“Every child has an entitlement to personal, social and intellectual development and must be given the opportunity to achieve his/her potential in learning”
NASEN (National Association for Special Educational Needs) Mission statement.
What does this mean for your child?
Every child develops at their own pace, academically, physically, socially and emotionally. During this development many children will experience special needs for a variety of reasons including learning difficulties, behavioural or emotional difficulties or specific medical conditions. Our admission arrangements for children with special needs are the same as for all other children, reflecting the Catholic nature of our school.
At St Patrick’s our aim is to enable each individual child to reach his or her full potential and we are fully committed to providing an inclusive education for all children. To achieve this, our objective is to identify and assess children with special educational needs as soon as possible and to use our resources to support these children as effectively as possible, seeking outside specialist help when necessary.
How do we make this happen?
The teacher responsible for special needs is called the SEND Coordinator or SENDCo. At St Patrick’s our SENDCo is Mrs Shaw.
Any concerns about your child’s progress are first identified by their class teacher and reported to the SENDCo, Mrs Shaw. Their progress will continue to be monitored and if further steps are need these will be taken.
Often learning difficulties are relatively minor and can be overcome with extra help from the child’s class teacher. A structured reading and phonics scheme is also in place and teaching assistants are trained to support individuals and groups of children.
What other services are available for my child?
At St Patrick’s our aim is to enable each individual child to reach his or her full potential and we are fully committed to providing an inclusive education for all children. To achieve this, our objective is to identify and assess children with special educational needs as soon as possible and to use our resources to support these children as effectively as possible, seeking outside specialist help when necessary.
Outside specialists are also regularly called on to support children with special needs.
These include:
- Educational Psychologist
- Occupational Therapist
- Speech and Language Therapist (SALT)
- CAHMS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
- Family Support Worker
This list is not exhaustive, if your child needs a particular resource or intervention the school will endeavour to provide to meet that need.