St. Joseph's Catholic Primary and Nursery School (Retford)

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary is a mainstream primary school. We aim to provide every child with access to a broad and balanced education. This includes the National Curriculum in line with the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. We admit pupils to the school based upon the admissions policy and procedure, welcoming all pupils including those with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).

The person responsible for overseeing the provision for children with SEND is Mr Richard Hilton. The person co-ordinating the day to day provision of education for pupils with SEND is Mrs Chloe Lewis (SENDCO). St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School is committed to the early identification of pupils’ needs. We follow a graduated approach of quality first teaching, regularly monitored SEND support then a referral for and EHC plan if necessary. We have an open door policy where you are warmly welcomed to discuss any concerns you may have regarding your child or their needs,

We review the effectiveness of our SEND policy annually. The results of this are published on the Local offer and on the St Josephs website. 

Pupil progress will be monitored on a termly basis in line with the SEND Code of Practice. Teachers collect and record assessment information on a termly basis using appropriate assessment tools for the child. We meet with parents to SEN review meetings as well as 2 parent evenings. At this meeting targets are shared for the next academic term including deciding on appropriate strategies to support the pupil. All pupils with SEN have targets reviewed on a termly basis. Children with EHCPs may have additional review meetings planned. 

The support provided consists of a four – part process:

• Assess (identifying pupils’ needs including staff, pupil, parent and external agency views)
• Plan (in consultation with all relevant parties, appropriate provision will be planned)
• Do (the class teacher is responsible for ensuring support and intervention is carried out and will seek support and advice from the SENDCO as possible)
• Review (Termly reviews will take place to assess the effectiveness of the provision and plan the next steps for the pupil)

Pupils with SEND will be given access to the curriculum through the specialist SEND provision provided by the school as is necessary, as far as possible, in line with the wishes of their parents and the needs of the individual. We offer a range of interventions and programs to support pupils and make use of our TA’s and assist access to the curriculum.

The school curriculum is regularly reviewed by all staff to ensure that it promotes the inclusion of all pupils. This includes learning outside the classroom. We have several areas around school including: The Communication and Interaction Room, The Rainbow Room, library and study room to allow quiet working environments for groups or individuals. We have a range of assistive resources such as sloped writing desks, adapted writing equipment and Ipads.

The decisions regarding what support is appropriate and required is made in conjunction with the class teacher, SENDCO and parents. We have a wide range of intervention programs which we use as appropriate. The effectiveness of these is reviewed at pupil progress review meetings. For details on the funding of the support, please see the SEND Policy. 

All pupils are provided with equal opportunities at St Josephs. We are proud that children with SEN are represented in key roles in our school such as: The School Council and Prayer Chaplins. If additional support or arrangements need to be made to support a pupils in accessing school and out of school activities, then we work in conjunction with parents and outside agencies to make them accessible. 

Our Well-Being coordinator is Ruth Donoghue. The school has a key worker system, that is updated termly. At times, we access the services of Think Children as necessary to support pupils. We also have a wide range of programs in school such as ‘Zippy’s Friends’ and 'The Friendship Group' that is run by volunteers. We also run nurture groups as appropriate to support pupils.

We also support and signpost parents to services they can access through our school website:https://www.st-josephs.notts.sch.uk/send/ such as CAMHS and The Healthy Family Team. 

Richard Hilton (Head Teacher)

Chloe Lewis (SENCO)

Kelly McKeeman acting SENCO from January 24

office@st-josephs.notts.sch.uk

01777 702850

We aim to keep all school staff up to date with relevant training and developments in teaching practice in relation to the needs of pupils with SEND. Other training for teachers and teaching assistants will be organised as and when required. If a particular pupil’s needs require specific staff training then this will be organised. We recognise the need to train all our staff on SEND issues and we have funding available through the school budget to support this professional development.

The SENDCO, with the leadership team, ensures that training opportunities are matched to school development priorities and those identified through the use of provision management. The SENDCO organises any medical training that needs to be undertaken for staff with health professionals and parents. 

We currently work with specialist services in accordance with children's medical/ SEN needs. We do this through our close relationship with Elizabethan Family of Schools and following referral processes at Springboard. All instances of seeking additional expertise will be done in full discussion and written consent from parents. The SENCO is responsible for organising visits, observations and gaining school advice where needed. 

Funding for individual children will be organised and arranged by the SENDCO in consultation with the Senior Leadership Team. The school has a range of specialist SEND facilities in place. These are:

• Disabled Toilet 
• Quiet areas for children to work with Communication and Interaction needs
• Staff training, and CPD opportunities for staff 
• Specialist advice from services
• A foundation toilet with adaptations including handrails 
• Intimate care plans and training 
• A range of assistive resources such as sloped writing desks, adapted writing equipment, iPads etc.
• We arrange for support during examinations in line with national advice
• Accessible transport when needed, and trip adjustments such as additional staffing 
• Access ramps to classrooms and exits from the building
• Wide doors to accommodate disabled access

We operate a home-school agreement with all parents. We believe that a close working relationship with parents is vital in order to ensure:

a) early and accurate identification and assessment of SEND leading to the correct intervention and provision
b) continuing social and academic progress of children with SEND
c) personal and academic targets are set and met effectively

We value the opinions of parents and have an open door policy. Meetings regarding children with SEND are arranged as necessary or when a parent makes a request. In addition to 3 parent meetings a year in accordance to the SEN Code of Practice. 

Pupil voice is very important at St Joseph’s and all staff value the opinions of pupils. School complete a yearly pupil and parent online feedback form to drive school priorities for SEN. Target setting for all children is done in conjunction with the pupils who are encouraged to give their suggestions and ideas. Where possible, pupils with SEND are encouraged to give their thoughts regarding their education in a variety of ways including discussion, questionnaires or by drawing pictures.

Please see St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School complaints policy for full details.

If a parent or carer has any concerns or complaints regarding the care or welfare of their child, an appointment can be made by them to speak to the SEND Coordinator, who will be able to advise further on procedures for concerns or complaints.

The SENCO completes termly governor reports, that are shared with SLT and governors. The school continues to build strong working relationships and links with external support services in order to fully support our SEND pupils and aid school inclusion. Sharing knowledge and information with our support services is key to the effective and successful SEND provision within our school. Any one of the support services may raise concerns about a pupil. We seek advice from all relevant parties when planning education for pupil’s with SEND and often invite external sources to multi-agency meetings.

Parents can access SEND services through the school website: https://www.st-josephs.notts.sch.uk/send/ or through events advertised on Class Dojo. Parents should also seek advice from the school SLT or school SENCO through:

Telephone: 01777 702850

Email: office@st-josephs.notts.sch.uk

For each pupil joining St Joseph's in the Early Years, we provide a home visit from the staff working in our Foundation unit. If children are transferring from another setting, the SENCO/ Foundation lead will liase with the prior setting and parents to discuss transition needs. Additional transition sessions and activities can be provided with the support from the Family SENCO, Specialist Services and Parents. 

We have strong links with all of our feeder secondary school and operate clear and structured transitions. Where appropriate for children with SEND we include additional transition days and provide support in the form of a TA or carer. The SENCO will ensure that information and current provision is shared. In cases where the child has an EHCP, school will support parents to make applications to their preferred secondary. In school, we also have a 4 day transition period within our school to prepare pupils for their next class. 

We have a strong belief in developing independence for our pupils. We run many activities such as DARE, first aid training and bike-ability to develop awareness and safety in our pupils. We also take our year 6 pupils away on a residential holiday. If individuals required additional support to prepare them them, then this would be provided through advice of Specialist Services. 

We warmly welcome visits to our school and Mr Hilton or Mrs Lewis will answer any additional questions. More information about our school can be found on our school website.