Inclusion & SEND at St Mary Magdalen’s
Zoe Rodway
Assistant Head & SENDCo.
AIMS
At St Mary Magdalen’s Primary School & Nursery our aim is to ensure every child is able to explore and build upon their learning through meaningful, inclusive and engaging experiences. We believe in ensuring that our pupils social, pastoral and academic needs are met through equal access to, and the delivery of, a broad, balanced and inviting curriculum. In doing so, children’s individual talents can be identified and nurtured, to ensure that all children experience success, develop confidence and are challenged to achieve their full potential. We strive to help our children become lifelong learners and to foster a passion for learning and curiosity that will enable them to develop high aspirations and a lifetime of memories and achievements. We aim to support all our children to achieve this through appropriate planning, support, provision and by working closely with children, parents/carers and the wider school community.
Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND)
What is SEND?
The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice (2014) came in to force on the 1st September 2014. It covers the 0-25 age range and includes guidance relating to disabled children and young people, as well as those with SEND.
The definition of SEND taken from the Code of Practice (2014) is:
A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
- has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age,
or
- has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
Special educational needs and provision can be considered as falling under four broad areas:
- Communication and interaction
- Cognition and learning
- Social, emotional and mental health
- Sensory and/or physical
Special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to or different from that made generally for others of the same age. This means provision that goes beyond the differentiated approaches and learning arrangements normally provided as part of high quality, personalised teaching (NASEN, 2014).
SEND: At St Mary Magdalen’s:
- Early identification and monitoring: We ensure all children’s needs and progress are carefully monitored, and additional needs are recognised as early as possible, to enable necessary targeted intervention and possible placement of the schools SEND register. This will include gathering information from parents, school, health and care services and from early years’ settings.
- Every member of staff at our school is an inclusive teacher: We ensure a high level of staff expertise to meet individual needs through targeted continuing professional development. At St Mary Magdalen’s we have a team of staff that have received high quality training linked to a full range of special educational needs and disabilities. Teachers and learning support staff work with the children in groups, either in class or running specific intervention groups.
- All pupils have full access to the curriculum: With very few exceptions, the needs of the pupils will be met primarily in the mainstream classroom (i.e. alongside their peers in their usual teaching groups) with the addition of some specific withdrawal times, set aside, for focused support where necessary. Reasonable adjustments will be made to enable pupils to participate in all class and school activities.
- Work with Parents and Carers: We work closely with parents or carers and involve them in all stages of their child’s education. This includes supporting them in understanding SEND procedures and practices and providing regular feedback on their child’s progress.
- Work with and support from outside agencies: We ensure there is a multi-agency approach to meeting the identified needs of individuals through cooperation and productive partnership with the Local Education Authority and other outside agencies.
- Pupils contribute to their own learning: We create a school environment where pupils can voice their own opinions. This is achieved by encouraging positive relationships with adults in school and carefully monitoring the progress of all pupils at regular intervals.
SEND: The Local Offer:
Local Authorities and schools are required to publish and keep, under review, information about services they expect to be available for the children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) aged 0-25. This is the ‘Local Offer’.
The intention of the Local Offer is to improve choice and transparency for families. It is also an important resource for parents in understanding the range of services and provision in the local area.
For further information and support about Special Educational Needs and Disabilities from Brighton & Hove’s Local Offer, please visit:
Special educational needs and disabilities (brighton-hove.gov.uk)
SEND: AMAZE
Amaze gives information, advice and support to parents of children with special needs and disabilities in Brighton & Hove.
They work to empower parents to help their children live fully socially included lives.
SEND: Keeping you informed
We work closely in partnership with pupils, parents, carers and families, to take the time to discuss and listen to concerns. We put the child at the centre of our work and consider this when planning ways forward. We use our assessments and knowledge of each child to create an Individual Education Plan (IEP). Individual Education Plans (IEPs) offer bespoke, targeted provision to meet the pastoral, social, academic and physical needs of your child. IEP targets are reviewed termly, with targets being adapted, new targets being set and provision amended, where necessary. We encourage parent, carers and children to actively take part in their IEP provision, targets and plan reviews; keeping you and your child involved throughout your child’s learning journey here at St Mary Magdalen’s.
At St Mary Magdalen’s we have an ‘open door’ policy, and welcome you in school to talk to us about any issues or concerns, whenever you need to.
Key information relating to different specialist outside agencies that work at St Mary Magdalen’s, will be shared in the newsletter.
The SENDCo holds termly coffee mornings to discuss any concerns that parents and carers have.
The SENDCo is available at Parent Consultation Evenings.
If you wish to make an appointment at any other time with our SENDCo, Ms Zoe Rodway, please email: zoerodway@stmarymags.brighton-hove.sch.uk
Our Policies:
Supporting children with English as an Additional Language (EAL)
Living within a culturally diverse city, like Brighton & Hove, means that as a school, our community is enriched, with many of our families for whom English is an additional language. We want our whole school community to feel supported and represented, creating a community of togetherness through the celebration of all languages spoken and all diversity in our school. For children with English as an additional language, we can offer support with language acquisition and learning. We achieve this through our approaches to teaching and access to bespoke EAL programmes and small group interventions. St Mary Magdalen’s is fortunate to work collaboratively with a broad range of bilingual/multilingual teachers and assistants from the Local Authorities EMAS service.
School Nurse Health Advice
At St Mary Magdalen’s we work closely with the School Nursing team. The School Nurse attached to our school is Niki Perretta. The service can provide advice on Healthy Eating, Dental Hygiene, Continence (including day and night wetting) and Sleep. Please contact the schools SENDCo, Ms Rodway, who can put you in touch with this service.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Support for Children and Families
At St Mary Magdalen’s, we work closely with our Primary Mental Health Worker Debra Lloyd. Primary Mental Health Workers in schools in Brighton and Hove offer a ‘whole school’ approach to mental health and emotional wellbeing. They are part of the pastoral welfare team within the school supporting pupils (with one-to-one sessions or group work), staff and parents/carers to build mental health resilience through short term interventions, training and support. The team will work closely with the Brighton & Hove Wellbeing Service to ensure children and young people access the right support and are fast-tracked to the specialist mental health service, if required.
For further information and advice on mental health and wellbeing services in Brighton & Hove please read: Mental Health & Wellbeing Support
Additional family support & guidance
Follow the links below for advice and strategies to support your child at home with: