St Helen Auckland Community Primary School

We are a primary and nursery school located in St Helen Auckland, Bishop Auckland.

When is it on?

Time of day
Morning
Afternoon

Who to contact

Contact name
Mrs M Mackenzie
Contact position
Headteacher
Telephone
01388 604 168
E-mail
sthelenauckland@durhamlearning.net
Website
St Helen Auckland Community Primary School

Where to go

Address
Manor Road
St Helen Auckland
Bishop Auckland
County Durham
Postcode
DL14 9EN

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.

We recognise there are particular groups of pupils whose circumstances require additional consideration by those who work with them to support their SEN.

We have appointed a Designated Teacher for Looked after Children who works closely with the SENCO to ensure all teachers in school understand the implications for those children who are looked after and have SEN.

St Helen Auckland Community Primary School, they ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs make the best possible progress.

Contact name
Mrs N Treend
Contact telephone
01388 604 168
Contact email
sthelenauckland@durhamlearning.net
Links
SEND at St Helen Auckland Community Primary School

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?

Most children and young people will have their special educational needs met in mainstream schools through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching.

We follow a graduated support approach which is called “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.  This means that the school will:

  • Assess a child’s special educational needs.
  • Plan the provision to meet your child’s aspirations and agreed outcomes.
  • Do put the provision in place to meet those outcomes.
  • Review the support and progress.
  • As part of this approach, we produce a SEN Support Plan that describes the provision that we will make to meet a child’s special educational needs and agreed outcomes. Parents and carers will be fully involved in this process.

A small percentage of children and young people with significant learning difficulties might need an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan.

All children with additional needs with have a support plan in place, personalised to their individuals needs. Children’s progress is closely monitored, moving them on to the next step when appropriate. Staff meet regularly with parents to provide information of their progress during parents meetings and TAF meetings. For children with Education Health and Care Plans, an Annual Review will take place each year, involving the pupil, parents, staff from school and any external agencies working with them.

Each child’s teacher will be finding ways to support them such as:

  • Changing the way activities are planned and delivered.
  • Matching activities to the ability / need of each child (differentiation).
    Adapting learning materials such as equipment and activities to suit each child’s needs.
  • Offering small group support to promote skills identified in the child’s SEN Support Plan.

Teachers/SENCO and Support Staff will work with children and young people to identify the support needed to meet agreed outcomes. The provision is planned and interventions are allocated to individual needs. The children take an active role with setting their targets, discussing them with the class teacher/SENCO. 

Staff regularly track the progress of children with SEN through school tracking systems, review meetings, lesson observations and provision maps and support plans.

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?

Staff hold a wealth of experience to help support children with SEND. All staff receive regular training on working with children with Autism, English as an Additional Language, ADHD and behavioural, social and emotional difficulties.

Two members of the team are trained in delivering Speech and Language programmes.

There's also a Learning Mentor who is accessible to the children whenever required and provides support to individuals and groups on social, emotional and behavioural issues they are experiencing.

The Parent Support Advisors work closely with the SENCo and parents to listen to and act upon any concerns, providing a supportive and nurturing team where the child’s needs are at the centre.

Within each class, teachers use a range of strategies to support children, depending on their needs, such as:

  • Differentiating working to match the activity to the ability and need of the child.
  • Changing the way lessons are planned and delivered.
  • Using and adapting equipment and activities to suit each child’s need.
  • Offer small group support to promote skills identified in the child’s SEN support plan.

The Learning Support Assistants work closely with the class teachers to ensure the correct support and interventions are in place to enable the pupil to move forward in their learning.

With parental permission, the school may seek advice from outside agencies.

They will:

  • Carry out further assessment of the child’s needs.
  • Provide advice to school and home on how to best support the child.
  • Suggest resources that would help the child make progress.

If your child has Special Educational Needs the school SENCO will:

  • Work closely with parents on a regular basis to talk with them about their child’s needs and listen to any ideas or concerns they might have.
  • Work with other professionals who may be able to help individual children
  • Ensure the right support is put in place for each child.
  • Advise other teachers and teaching assistants on how to help each child and ensure they have an up to date Individual Education Plan detailing how their needs will be met in school.
  • Arrange training for staff so they understand each child’s needs.

If a child’s needs are very complex and/or severe, the school may ask the Local Authority to carry out an Education, Health and Care Assessment:

  • This is a very detailed assessment of each child’s needs. Parents or carers will all be asked to provide their views and the school and a range of professionals will provide written reports.
  • At the end of the assessment phase the Local Authority will consider these reports to help decide whether or not to issue an Education, Health and Care Plan for the child.
  • Education, Health and Care Assessment is only appropriate for a small number of children. Your school SENCO or the Parent Partnership Service will be able to advise you about this.

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?

Within each class, teachers use a range of strategies to support children, depending on their needs, such as:

  • Differentiating working to match the activity to the ability and need of the child.
  • Changing the way lessons are planned and delivered.
  • Using and adapting equipment and activities to suit each child’s need.
  • Offering small group support to promote skills identified in the child’s SEN support plan.
  • Our Learning Support Assistants work closely with the class teachers to ensure the correct support and interventions are in place to enable the pupil to move forward in their learning.

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?

We believe the partnership between school and parents is crucial to ensure children are receiving the best possible learning experiences. We pride ourselves on involving parents at every stage of a child’s school life. There are termly parents meetings for all children and additional meetings where appropriate for children with additional needs.

If parents have any concerns, they can contact the child’s class teacher or the SENCO to discuss these. Following these discussions, support is put in place or referrals made to external agencies for more advice. Progress and any assessment feedback is regularly shared with parents.

We have a part time Parent Support Advisor (PSA) who is available to discuss with any concerns parents may have and provide support where necessary.

How will you support my child's overall wellbeing?

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

We consult with a wide range of agencies and partnerships to ensure the pastoral, medical and social needs of SEND children are met.

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?

We enjoy good working relationships with a wide range of people who provide services to children with SEND and their families, particularly when a child is demonstrating further cause for concern, or their learning need is more complex and persistent. The external specialists may:

  • Act in an advisory capacity
  • Extend expertise of school staff
  • Provide additional assessment
  • Support a child directly
  • Suggest statutory assessment is advisable
  • Consult with all parties involved with the child

We are part of the Bishop Auckland Leaders in Excellence (BALE). Within this, we work together and buy into additional support, such as:

  • The BALE Centre providing proactive mentoring programmes focusing on behaviour, social and emotional needs
  • Counselling service
  • Inclusions
  • Additional Educational Psychologist support provided by Madeleine Portwood’s Team
  • Strong links to the One Point Hub and family workers
  • Additional Speech and Language support to assess children and train staff in relevant programmes
  • Strong partnership between schools

In addition to this, we works closely with the following professionals to provide the highest level of support for pupils with SEND:

  • SEND team – learning support
  • South Durham Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS)
  • Movement Difficulties Service
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Durham Educational Psychology Service
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Durham Autistic Spectrum Team
  • Bishop Auckland One Point Hub
  • Health agencies – including the school nurse
  • Crisis Response
  • Looked After Children Team
  • Educational Social Workers
  • Medical Practitioners

How are staff trained regarding SEND?

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

Staff hold a wealth of experience to help support children with SEND. All staff receive regular training on working with children with Autism, English as an Additional Language, ADHD and behavioural, social and emotional difficulties.

Two members of the team are trained in delivering Speech and Language programmes.

There is also a Learning Mentor who is accessible to the children whenever required and provides support to individuals and groups on social, emotional and behavioural issues they are experiencing.

The Parent Support Advisor works closely with the SENCO and parents to listen to and act upon any concerns, providing a supportive and nurturing team where the child’s needs are at the centre.

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?

To successfully match pupil ability to the curriculum there are some actions we may take to achieve this:

  • Ensure that all pupils have access to the school curriculum and all school activities.
  • Help all pupils achieve to the best of their abilities, despite any difficulty or disability they may have.
  • Ensure that teaching staff are aware of and sensitive to the needs of all pupils, teaching pupils in a way that is more appropriate to their needs.
  • Pupils to gain in confidence and improve their self-esteem. 
  • To work in partnership with parents/ carers, pupils and relevant external agencies in order to provide for children’s special educational needs and disabilities.
  • To identify at the earliest opportunity, all children that need special consideration to support their needs (whether these are educational, social, physical or emotional)
  • To make suitable provision for children with SEND to fully develop their abilities, interests and aptitudes and gain maximum access to the curriculum.
  • Ensure that all children with SEND are fully included in all activities of the school in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.
  • To promote self worth and enthusiasm by encouraging independence at all age and ability levels.
  • To give every child the entitlement to a sense of achievement
  • To regularly review the policy and practice in order to achieve best practice

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. We believe the partnership between school and parents is crucial to ensure children are receiving the best possible learning experiences. We pride ourselves on involving parents at every stage of a child’s school life. 

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

  • Termly pupil progress meetings.
  • 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.

We hold termly parents meetings for all children and additional meetings where appropriate for children with additional needs. If parents have any concerns, they can contact the child’s class teacher or the SENCo to discuss these. Following these discussions, support is put in place or referrals made to external agencies for more advice. Progress and any assessment feedback is regularly shared with parents.

There is a Parent Support Advisor (PSA) at the school who is available to discuss any concerns parents may have and provide support where necessary.

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 recognise that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEND and take steps to ensure that any transition is as smooth as possible.

We recognise how important transition is to pupils with additional needs and work closely with the secondary schools to share information and ease concerns of the parents or pupils. Where appropriate, staff from the secondary school would be invited to annual reviews to meet the parents, pupil and gain a greater understanding of their needs.

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  • St Helen Auckland Community Primary School

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Address: Manor Road  St Helen Auckland  Bishop Auckland  County Durham

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