St Chad's Catholic Primary School

We are a Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School in Bishop Auckland.

We dedicate ourselves to helping each pupil to achieve their full potential. We seek to develop confident, independent, enthusiastic and creative lifelong learners within a caring, safe and supportive environment.

Who to contact

Contact name
Jenna Ellison
Contact position
Head Teacher
Telephone
01388 603 632
E-mail
admin@stchads.bhcet.org.uk
Website
St Chad's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School

Where to go

Address
The Baltic
Witton Park
Bishop Auckland
County Durham
Postcode
DL14 0EP

Other details

Referral required?
No
Age range
5 - 11 years
Related links
Ofsted reports

Local Offer

Local Offer description

We recognise that all pupils are entitled to a quality of provision that will enable them to achieve their potential. We believe in positive intervention, removing barriers to learning, raising expectations and levels of achievement and working in partnership with other agencies in order to provide a positive educational experience for all our pupils including those with a special educational need or disability.

The following are the main contacts for Special Educational Needs and Disability at St. Chad’s School:

  • Mr Dominic Brown is the Head Teacher
  • Mrs Anne Wright is our designated SEN Governor
  • Miss Rebecca Walton is our designated Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO)

It is the SENCO’s job to:

  • Oversee the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy.
  • Liaise with the relevant Designated Teacher where a looked after pupil has SEN.
  • Advise teachers on using a graduated approach to providing SEN support.
  • Advise on the deployment of the school’s delegated budget and other resources to meet the pupil’s needs effectively.
  • Liaise with parents/carers of pupils with SEN.
  • Liaise with and be a key point of contact for external agencies.
  • Ensure that the school keeps the records of all SEN pupils up to date.
  • Work with the head teacher and school governors to ensure that the school meets its responsibilities with regard to reasonable adjustments and access arrangements.
Contact name
Rebecca Walton
Contact telephone
01388 603 632
Contact email
admin@stchads.bhcet.org.uk
Links
SEND at St Chad's

How do you identify Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)?

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

We identify needs by:

  • Key Stage 1 staff and the SENCO where necessary, liaise with nursery or the child’s previous school.
  • On entry into Early Years, we assess the children using the Speech and Language Link programme as this can be an early indicator of a child experiencing difficulties.
  • If a child is performing below age expected levels then meetings will be held with the class teacher and SENCO. Observations of the child may also take place.
  • SEND is discussed at each staff meeting so that all staff can contribute to the identification process. We have regular parent meetings and take into account any concerns raised by Parents. We pride ourselves on having an ‘open door policy’ where at any point parents can talk to staff. Concerns raised by teacher for example behaviour or self-esteem is affecting performance.
  • Liaison with external agencies we work closely with Movement Support, Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy, CAMHS, Educational Psychology, The School Nurse, Behaviour Support, PSA.
  • Health diagnosis through paediatrician.

We are committed to meeting the needs of all children including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. We would ask parents to discuss the identified needs with the school prior to starting so that appropriate intervention and support can be planned and implemented. Advice from the LA or other agencies may be requested to ensure any the school can meet any needs appropriately.

How will you support my child with their special educational needs and disability?

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?
  • We differentiate for our children in Numeracy and Literacy by giving them access to a class where the pitch of teaching is accessible to their level of capability.
  • We keep close lines of communication between families and school and operates an ‘open door policy’ should parents need to talk with staff.
  • Our Parent Support Adviser, Mrs Rachel Stevens, provides support, advice and pastoral care to both parents and children, should they require it.
  • We work closely with parents, staff and the SENCO in secondary school to enable smooth transitions.
  • We liaise with our feeder Nursery schools well before our children arrive at St. Chad’s Primary School again to facilitate smooth transition and allay parental concerns.
  • Staff meet regularly with healthcare professionals to ensure that children are receiving the best care available.
  • The school has strong links with a wide variety of medical practitioners who can give us advice and support where necessary.
  • Miss Sarah Wilkinson is our Medical Officer who oversees the dispensation of medicines and in conjunction with our SENCo; formulates Medical Care Plans with parents and carers.

How will you make sure my child's education meet their needs?

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's young person's needs?
  • Specialist group support from outside agencies e.g. Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Health.
  • Specific individual support for children whose learning needs are severe, complex and lifelong and what this means for your child e.g. Dyslexia, Dyspraxia Support.
  • A range of teaching and learning styles.
  • An innovative and supportive curriculum.
  • Mentoring and counselling.
  • A broad range of extra-curricular activities, including Homework Club and After-School Clubs.
  • Differentiated materials.

Children in Year 5/6 engage in an Anti-Bullying programme, working with Transition Workers from the local secondary school to address any relevant issues or concerns.

We recognise that pupils at school with medical conditions are properly supported so that they have full access to education, including school trips and physical education. Some children with a medical condition may be disabled therefore we comply with its duties under the Equality Act 2010.

How will we know my child is progressing?

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

The child’s progress will be reviewed each term against the new curriculum.

Progress and attainment data for our SEND children is gathered each term and studied as a whole staff.

Children and parents are informed as to whether attainment and progress are below, at or above age-related expectations.

If progress is less than expected, then we look carefully at how the child is performing in class on a day-to-day basis.

This will be in the form of SENCo observations, assessments and conversations with all relevant members of staff alongside scrutiny of work.

Once assessments have been carried out and arrangements, support and consultations have been carried out and put into place, the staff under the guidance of the SENCO do the following:

  • Discuss SEND on a weekly basis in staff meetings. Intervention and Provision are discussed alongside their impact.
  • SENCO carries out observations on children and staff.
  • Meetings are held to look at the progress and success of provision and intervention given to the children.
  • Informal discussions with pupils and parents.
  • Records are kept to support outcomes being achieved
  • Short note and support plan meetings.
  • This is a continual and active process of review, ensuring that we do our best to provide quality provision for the SEN pupils allowing barriers to be removed in order to help them achieve their outcomes.

Following assessment, we will consult with parents and decide the next course of action which may or may not involve the engagement of external support agencies.

School will follow the recommendations and programmes put forward by these agencies and will implement them alongside our own school interventions, based on the needs of the child.

The impact of these interventions are again, studied each term by the whole staff and adjusted, depending on how effective they have been. Adjustments may be in the form of raising/lowering the pupil/adult ratio, selecting new programmes and schemes of work, purchase and introduction of new equipment and software or in some cases, altering the setting of the pupil.

Involving parents and pupils are at the forefront of all our decision making.

If a child has an Education Health and Care Plan this will be reviewed by the authority every 12 months.

How will you support my child's overall wellbeing?

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall wellbeing?

We provide support for wellbeing through:

  • family groups
  • one-to one pastoral care
  • drop in sessions with Resilience Nurse
  • small group therapies

What specialist services and expertise is available at or accessed by the staff?

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

As a school we work closely with any external agencies that we feel are relevant to individual children’s needs within our school including:

  • Behaviour Intervention
  • Health staff including GPs, school nurse, clinical psychologist, paediatricians, speech and language therapists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Social services including locality teams, social workers and educational psychologists.

How are staff trained regarding SEND?

What training are the staff supporting children and young people with SEND have had or are having?

Staff undergo regular training throughout the year and this is systematically fed back to staff and practitioners through the SEN forum in weekly meetings.

All teaching and support staff are given opportunities to improve their practice and develop their understanding of SEN issues through a comprehensive system of staff training.

Staff training is driven by the particular needs of our children and this helps us to meet them as fully as possible.

Some training is carried out within school during staff meetings and Professional Development Days and other training is external. The school also accesses training provided by the Community of Learning.

The school’s SENCO regularly attends the Local Authority’s SENCO Network Meeting to keep up to date with local and national updates in SEND.

One member of staff has had training in delivering Speech & Language programmes from speech and language therapists. One of our members of staff has accessed some training specifically on Dyslexia.

All of our learning support assistants have had training in delivering reading and spelling / phonics programmes.

What activities outside the classroom will there be?

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

All children are included in all parts of the school curriculum and we aim for all children to be included on school trips. We will provide the necessary support to ensure that this is successful.

A risk assessment is carried out prior to any off site activity to ensure everyone’s health and safety will not be compromised. In the unlikely event that it is considered unsafe for a child to take part in an activity, then alternative activities which will cover the same curriculum areas will be provided in school.

How will you support my child's needs?

How accessible is the setting/school/college environment?

The school site is wheelchair accessible. The school building is all on one level with ramps at specified fire exits. Should a child have very specific needs and a changing area is required then school liaises with professionals and the authority to make any changes required.

Should English be an additional language the we can liaise with EMTAS (Ethnic Minority & Traveller Achievement Service) who assist us in supporting our families with English as an additional language.

What is available to help my child with their education?

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?
  • We ensure that all children who have Special Educational needs are met to the best of the school’s ability with the funds available.
  • We have a team of Learning Support Assistants who are partly funded from the SEN budget and deliver programmes or interventions designed to meet groups of children’s needs.
  • The budget is allocated on a needs basis. The children who have the most complex needs are given targeted support.
  • All children no matter what their needs are, receive daily Quality First Teaching.
  • At St. Chad’s we aim to keep children with SEND part of their whole class therefore support is often given in the form of an LSA working alongside the children and teacher.
  • Interventions are carried out throughout the day at times when the children do not miss their whole class teaching.

What support can I expect for my child?

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

The class teacher alongside the SENCo will discuss the child’s needs and what support would be appropriate. SEND is discussed each week at the staff meeting to allow staff to share concerns or ideas as to how we can help the child. Teacher’s assess the children on a daily basis and review and evaluate their lessons to accommodate the needs of their children.

Termly assessment is carried out and staff mark and moderate together. Levels are collected on a tracking system. These are reviewed in a specific provision mapping meeting to look at gaps in the children’s learning. We look at what we can provide to meet the child’s needs and we discuss and measure the effectiveness of the interventions the children have undertaken that term.

Different children will require different levels of support in order to bridge the gap to achieve age expected levels.

Throughout the process, we keep an on-going dialogue with yourselves as parents

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

How will I be involved in my child's education?

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

We are committed to working with parents and carers to identify their child’s needs and support.  Parents and carers will be involved throughout the process.

There is a range of ways this can be done, for example:

  • Termly parents/ carers evenings.
  • Ongoing discussions with a class teacher and/or SENCO.
  • An ‘open-door’ policy, where parents and carers are welcome to come into school to discuss any concerns they may have.
  • Through a review of a child’s SEN Support Plan or the Annual Review of their Statement of SEN or EHC Plan.

Children who are receiving short term intervention programs are invited to attend meetings with staff and parents. These involve the children in understanding the need for interventions and how they are going to support their learning to help them progress.

The school engages with parents on a daily basis. The Head and Deputy are present with parents each morning, dealing with any enquiries or concerns that there might be.

Parents are engaged through:

  • Open afternoons
  • Parent Forum Meetings
  • Parent Support Adviser
  • Drop-in Sessions
  • School-Based Community Events
  • Children's Performance Reviews
  • School Website
  • Parent Mail Facility
  • Adult Learning Sessions (School Based)
  • Facilities to monitor children's reading progress from home via Accelerated Reader Home Link
  • Facilities to monitor children's ICT development from Home via Digital Excellence Online.

My child is going to be starting or leaving soon, how will you help them?

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

We work closely with parents, staff and the SENCO in secondary school to enable smooth transitions.

We share information between schools regarding levels of need, support and intervention.

We take part in transition days with all secondary schools to ensure smooth transition.

With the secondary school, we identify where specific and additional support may be needed again, to ensure a smooth transition.

Disclaimer

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Address: The Baltic  Witton Park  Bishop Auckland  County Durham

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