School Ethos and approach

St Francis’ is a school where Christian Values underpin all interactions between stakeholders. We value all learners and promote inclusivity so all members of our St Francis’ family can be the best they can be. Our ethos is one of compassion and responsibility to everyone in the community.

Within St Francis’, we encourage all children to show humility and endurance in lifelong learning. We recognise the diverse and individual needs of all of our pupils and take into account the additional support required by those children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Our School is committed to anti-discriminatory practice to promote equality of opportunity, prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably and valuing diversity for all children and families.

St Francis’ prides itself in being very inclusive and will endeavour to support every child regardless of their level of need.  All pupils follow the National Curriculum at a level and a pace that is appropriate to their abilities. At times and when it is felt appropriate, modifications to the curriculum may be implemented and for most children and young people in a mainstream school their needs can be met through Quality First Teaching and good classroom practice.

Key Contacts

If you would like to discuss your child’s SEND in more detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
Telephone: 01325 300236
Email:  stfrancis@durhamlearning.net

Mrs Lakey is our designated Special Educational Needs Coordinator

The full range of local support available for children/ young people with SEND and their families within and outside of school can be found in the County Durham Local Offer

SEND Provision

How we support pupils with SEND?

St Francis’ prides itself in being very inclusive and will endeavour to support every child regardless of their level of need.  All pupils follow the National Curriculum at a level and a pace that is appropriate to their abilities. At times and when it is felt appropriate, modifications to the curriculum may be implemented and for most children and young people in a mainstream school their needs can be met through Quality First Teaching and good classroom practice.

How would my child be assessed and would we be informed?

Early Identification of need

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. As a school, we assess all children continuously. We carry out formal assessments once a term in ‘showy off week’ to measure their progress and identify the next steps in their learning.

We work in partnership with parents/carers and pupils to build working relationships. If there is an identification of need then a class teacher will meet with parents/carers to complete a ‘Short Note’. The Short Note outlines areas of strength and difficulty and sets agreed outcomes and next steps. We may begin to consider the involvement of relevant, external agencies or use assessment tools, classroom observations and materials to support the early identification of SEND status for a pupil.

Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need school will follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.

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 will produce an individualised SEND 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.

The purpose of an EHC Plan is to make special educational provision to meet the special educational needs of the child or young person, to secure the best possible outcomes for them across education, health and social care and, as they get older, prepare them for adult hood. (Ref CoP p142)

Details of identification and assessment of pupils with SEN

If your child has SEN, it is important for us to carry out formal assessments to identify their strengths and identify their needs accurately. To do this, we will use a range of methods depending upon their needs. When your child enters our school, their current attainment is assessed to give us a ‘baseline’ from where they will progress.

Your child’s school achievements may be assessed against the levels expected for children who are working on the National Curriculum (i.e. the same as the majority of other children in their year group), or they may be assessed against other measures for children who are not ready to work on National Curriculum Levels (i.e. the steps before the National Curriculum).

These smaller steps are called ‘P-Levels’ and they are measured in our school using a system called PIVATS. Aspirational targets are set for all children assessed against ‘P Levels’ using the updated 2017 Guidance – a document for schools to use to ensure that all children are expected to make good progress, including those not ready to access the National Curriculum.

At St Francis’, we have experience of supporting children with a wide range of needs. We currently have children with a variety of needs in school including:

Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Communication and Interaction difficulties

Medical conditions

Speech and language difficulties

General learning difficulties

Gross motor and fine motor difficulties (including balance, coordination and handwriting)

Difficulties with literacy skills (including reading, writing and spelling)

Difficulties with maths skill

Depending upon their needs, other professional assessments may be needed. These could include:

Speech and Language Therapy Assessments – which may focus on sound production, language understanding, or other relevant assessments to your child’s needs

Education Psychology Assessments – which may include memory, understanding, reasoning, logic, and general skills assessments

Specialist advice from the County Learning Support, Autism, Behaviour Support Teams.

Paediatric Reports

A referral to CAMHS for further advice.

If other agencies are invited to work with your child, you will be invited to attend a meeting where the outcomes of these assessments and the suggested next steps will be shared with you.

How are resources made available to support children with SEN?

The resources we use to support children with SEND depend upon their needs and they are allocated on an individual basis, as agreed with you on their SEND Support / Education Health Care Plan.  It is the responsibility of the SENCO to ensure that the resources that are required, are made available and that staff are aware of their individual needs.

We are very flexible in our approach and we constantly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of our interventions and the provision that we provide. At the beginning of a ‘block’ of intervention work the member of staff will undertake a baseline assessment to check that the work planned for the intervention matches the gap in learning. This will be repeated again at the end of the intervention to ensure that each child has made progress.

All staff receive training on writing SEND Support plans and ensuring the children are given SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound) targets. Staff work as a team to evaluate and write SEND support plans to ensure continuity in provision for all children. Other staff training varies each year and is responsive to the needs of the children as they arise.  

The kinds of SEND that are currently provided for:

At St Francis’ CofE (Aided) Junior School, we have experience of supporting children and young people with a wide range of needs including:

Communication and Interaction

Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)

Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC)

Cognition and Learning

Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD)

Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs

Mental Health Difficulties

Social and Emotional Needs

Sensory and/or Physical needs

Gross and Fine Motor Needs

Sensory Processing Needs

Hearing Impairments

Visual Impairments

Physical Disability

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

The school provides data on the levels and types of need to the Local Authority. This is collected through the school census.

Our approach to teaching children & young people with SEND

St Francis’ prides itself in being inclusive and will endeavour to support every child regardless of their level of need.  All pupils follow the National Curriculum at a level and a pace that is appropriate to their abilities. At times and when it is felt appropriate, modifications to the curriculum may be implemented.

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.
• Growth mind-set is part of the whole school ethos to help pupils to gain 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, procedures and practice in order to achieve best practice.

How we support SEN?

Special Educational Needs and/or a disability can affect many children throughout their school career and beyond. Whilst disabilities generally affect children long term, not all SEND difficulties should be seen as life-long. SEND is seen by our school as the child requiring provision that is additional to or different from the rest of the class. Here at St Francis’ we understand that every child is unique and a carefully planned approach is needed.

Our school recognises there are particular groups of pupils whose circumstances require additional consideration by those who work with them to support their SEN. Some children, at some time in their school life might have additional or different needs and it may be that they will be on our SEND register for a short period or a long period of time. However, children’s needs will be frequently reassessed in order to ensure that the provision is suitable and supports every child’s development.

Our SENCO, oversees the operation of the SEND Policy and works alongside the class teachers and support staff to coordinate provision for children with SEN.  The class teacher will plan for the child and use regular assessment to ensure that progress in every area is made. This is Quality First Teaching and is where the work is highly differentiated and suits the needs of all children, it comes in the form of a lesson rather than an intervention programme.

Alongside Quality First Teaching, that your child will receive in lessons, there may be a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) working with your child, either individually or as part of a group, if this is seen as necessary by the class teacher. Children may be taken out of the classroom for additional teaching sessions or intervention.

Who will explain this to me?

Children at St Francis’ that are receiving additional support and intervention programmes have a Support Plan. Parents are invited into school to review and discuss support and progress with staff every term around the same time as Parent Consultations. The children also meet with their teacher or the SENCO to discuss their Support Plan to work on a ‘My Views’. This allows the children to share their views and opinions and gives them ownership of their Support Plan.

For further information the SENCO is available to discuss support in more detail.

How are the Governors involved and what is their responsibility?

Governors are kept up to date on the progress of SEND pupils; the SENCO meets with the Governing Body termly. Confidentiality is maintained and individual pupils are not named however, data is shared to support discussions around funding arrangements and the SEND Notional Budget. The Governors agree priorities for spending and evaluate the impact of previous funding allocations.

If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail, please contact the SENCO or the Head Teacher to arrange an appointment.

How we adapt the curriculum and learning environment for children & young people with SEN?

We believe that inclusive education means supporting all pupils to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of school life alongside their peers. Our curriculum includes, not only the formal requirements of the National Curriculum, but also a range of additional opportunities to enrich the experiences of our children. Our curriculum also includes the social aspects that are essential for life-long learning, personal growth and development of independence.

Some of the actions we may take to achieve this are:

• Help all pupils achieve to the best of their abilities, despite any difficulty or disability they may have by having a caring and supportive ethos of Christian Values and Growth mind-set throughout the school.
• Modify the curriculum to meet individual needs.
• 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.
• To make suitable provision for children with SEND to fully develop their abilities, interests and aptitudes and gain maximum access to the curriculum.

More details on how we adapt information, our environment and curriculum can be found in the Accessibility Plan and our Accessibility Action Plan which can be found in the school policies section of our website.

At St Francis’ we do our best to ensure that all children are offered the opportunity to participate in activities outside the classroom and extra-curricular activities. We ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to enable children with SEND to access a full curriculum and to enrich the experiences of all pupils. We are prepared to seek advice, resources, equipment and training in order to provide high quality experiences for our children. Many settings offer support and advice in meeting the needs of children with SEND and offer specific risk assessments which are sent to the school prior to school outings or visits. As a school we ensure that suitable and accessible transport is provided and that comprehensive risk assessments cover travel arrangements to ensure that all children are safe during educational visits.

How we identify, assess and review children with special educational needs?

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

Early Identification of Need

In deciding whether to make special education provision to support educational, social, physical or emotional needs, we:

• Work in partnership with parents/carers, pupils
• Use assessment tools & materials
• Use observations
• Use Short Notes to provide a time bound catch-up intervention
• Consult with relevant external agencies if needed

SEND Support

Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need we follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.

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

At St Francis’ termly formal assessment are carried out as well as ongoing assessments throughout the lessons. Staff work together to moderate children’s work and identify barriers to learning. This moderation is supported by the Local Authority on a regular basis. The school uses a tracking system to analyse data and to identify gaps in children’s learning and to plan appropriate catch-up / intervention when required. Different children require different levels of support to diminish the difference and to achieve age related expectations.

Children/young people may join St Francis’ with parents having a clear understanding of their child’s needs and as a school we see parents as partners in their child’s educational journey. In this case we work together with parents/carers and young children/person and education, health and social care professionals to design an individualised SEND Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes & provision to meet those needs.  Parents/carers and child/young person views are integral to this process.

School staff may initially identify a concern.  The class teacher, alongside the SENCO, will discuss the child’s needs and a meeting with parents/carers and/or the child/young person would be arranged at the earliest opportunity. During this meeting a Short Note would be completed with agreed outcomes for the child/young person and next steps. The next steps may require the involvement of specialist support or advice for example, Educational Psychology, SENDIASS (Parents Advice and Support Service) or another of education health and social care professional. It is important to understand that the involvement of professionals does not always seek to label or diagnose but to seek advice and strategies to enable a child/young person to reach their full potential.

For some concerns, we may discuss the involvement of specialist support, for example, Education Psychology, SENDIASS (support for families) or Occupational Therapy. It is important to understand that the involvement of professionals does not always seek to ‘label’ or ‘diagnose’ children but to seek advice or strategies to help them to reach their full potential. As part of this approach every child with SEND will have an individualised SEND Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes and provision to meet those needs. Parents/carers and child/young person views are integral to this process.

A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

The purpose of an EHCP is to make special educational provision to meet special educational needs of the child or young person, to secure the best possible outcomes for them across education (SEND Code of Practice p.142). It is a legal document that describes a child or young person’s special educational, health and social care needs. We currently have two EHC Plans.

How do you enable children with SEND to engage in activities with children without SEND?

We do our best to ensure that all children can access all things as best as we can. We do not see SEND as a barrier to accessing the full curriculum and ensure that children with SEND are fully included in all activities in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.

For example, if a child had a physical disability, they can always be incorporated in to a PE lesson with adaptation and effort; we make that effort. We are prepared to seek advice, resources, equipment and training when needed in order to provide quality-learning experiences for our children.

How we evaluate the effectiveness of SEND Provision?

We continuously ensure the provision has a positive impact on the outcomes for all of our children/young people. We do this in a variety of ways, including:

• Robust evaluation of policy and practice
• Book scrutinies
• SENCO/SLT/Governor monitoring
• Learning walks
• Performance management
• Analysis of intervention group attainment to ensure that the sessions match the children’s needs

Consulting with our SEND Pupils, Parents & Carers

Consultation with Children and Young People with SEND

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 outcomes and discussing them with the class teacher/SENCO.  The children have regular meetings with staff to discuss their progress and support.

Consultation with parents and carers of children and young people with SEND

We are committed to working with parents and carers to identify their child’s needs and support. Parents and carers will be involved throughout the process.

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

• Termly parents/ carers evenings;
• 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 regular reviews of their child’s SEND Support Plan/ EHC Plan