Special Educational Needs
LOCAL OFFER LANCASHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
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SENCO-Mrs N Wood is the school SENCO responsible for SEND. If you would like to contact her please arrange via the school office.
St. Joseph’s is an inclusive school and we seek to meet the needs of every child. We operate within the Special Needs Code of Practice when carrying out our duties to all pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. At St. Joseph’s we define special educational needs in terms of a learning difficulty, which requires special educational provision. A child may have a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of our educational facilities. We will support these children physically, pastorally, and academically whenever necessary to enable them to develop to their full potential.
When a child has been identified as needing additional support, parents will be asked to talk to the SEND Co-ordinator, prior to inclusion on the SEND register. Pupils are identified at the earliest possible stage and benefit from termly reviews of their progress and updated Individual Education Plans. These plans set out specific achievable targets within a set timescale. Teachers take responsibility for providing realistic learning targets and an appropriate curriculum within their classes whilst high staffing levels are funded to provide non-teaching support. Teachers consult with the Headteacher who is the SEND Co-ordinator when pinpointing the precise needs of the affected children who are continually assessed to ensure they are making good progress.
Some children receive additional support in class from teaching assistants, whilst others are withdrawn for 1:1 or small group sessions for short periods of time.
Advice may be sought from outside specialists to support the school and children. These include our Educational Psychologist, personnel from Lancashire Education Inclusion Service, Speech Therapy Department, School Nurse, Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health Services etc.
Children may be referred to the local authority for an assessment, which may result in an EHC (Educational Health Care) plan with appropriate provision. Parents are fully informed of their child’s progress and we involve parents in discussions at each stage following the identification of special educational needs.
We also recognise that gifted and talented children can have special needs in that they may require work which is significantly more advanced than that required by other children in their age group. We aim to provide access to the full curriculum and everyday activities for all children.
The Governors have developed the front entrance of the school to improve wheelchair access by providing a ramp entrance from the car park and disabled toilet facilities are available within the school. Recent decorating and refurbishments have taken in to account the needs of the visually impaired in line with good practice guidelines. Wherever possible, and within financial constraints, adjustments to the school environment, resources and teaching are made to cater for the needs of children and adults with disabilities.
For school policies relating to SEND including Accessibility Plan please see policies tab under Key Information section
Dear Parents,
Please read the latest news from across the SEND Partnership:
In this edition, we share the new vision, values and strategy for the SEND Partnership. There's also an update from the Parent Carer Forum and reports from recent engagement events. Parents can also access the Local Offer facebook page for more helpful SEND information.
Equal Opportunities
We are sensitive and appreciative of the needs of all of our children and we aim to provide each pupil with an education that increases their awareness and understanding of a diverse society. We promote positive images of all groups of society regardless of race, creed and gender and we encourage mutual respect for everyone. Our teaching includes looking at the multi-cultural society in which we live and recognizing the rights and needs of people. We have been awarded the Race Equality Mark in recognition of our schools good practice in this area.
Single Equalities Policy & Disability Discrimination Scheme
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Promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people.
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Eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as subsequently amended).
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Eliminate harassment of disabled people that is related to their disability.
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Promote positive attitudes towards disabled people.
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Encourage participation by disabled people in public life.
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Take steps to meet disabled people’s needs, even if this requires more favourable treatment.
The Governors are firmly committed to promoting equal opportunities within school at all levels. A copy of the Single Equalities Policy is available upon request.
SEND Code of Practice
The Code of Practice can be found here
For more information explaining the SEND Code of Practice please click here
LCC SEND HELPLINE – 01772 533900
The SEND Helpline has now gone live for parent carers and anyone who supports CYP with SEND. Lines are open 9:00-5:00 Mon-Fri.
