Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
We are proud of our work with our Children with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND). Our practice is in line with the new national Code of Practice and SEND reforms, which came into effect in September 2014.
Please click on the following documents to download copies of
Our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities coordinator in Miss Katie Hancock. You can contact her by emailing khancock@sma.dsat.education or by making an appointment at the school office.
How do I know if my child has Special Educational Needs or a Disability?
A child has special educational needs if he or she has either a learning difficulty, a disability or physical, behavioural or emotional needs which call for special educational provision to be made. Special educational provision means educational provision which is additional to, or different from, the educational provision made generally for children of your child’s age, other than special school.
What happens if my child has Special Educational Needs or a Disability?
At St Mary's, we want every child to do well & to reach their full potential. As a result, every child’s progress is monitored carefully by the class teacher & where a teacher has concerns in one or more aspects of the curriculum, we first initiate early intervention actions which are generally class based support strategies. If the teacher continues to have concerns, the child’s name will be placed on the Special Educational Needs Register at the informal stage. If the child is not able to make progress, s/he may be moved to the Formal stage of the SEND procedure, where the advice and involvement of specialist agencies such as the Learning Support Service or Educational Psychology Service may be requested. Parents are of course kept informed and involved throughout. The next step, where necessary, would be to request that the Local Education Authority assesses the pupil with a view to issuing an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHC), formally known as a Statement of Special Educational Needs. Education, Health & Care Plans have the aim of implementing a new approach to SEND which seeks to join up help across the different sectors of education, health & care, from birth to the age of 25.
For more information & support on Special Educational Needs & Disabilities, the following websites will be helpful:
Department for Education Guide to Parents regarding the new SEND Code of Practice.