St Joseph's Catholic Academy

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At St Joseph's, our mission statement is

"With God, all things are possible!" 

From the moment our children begin their Pre School journey aged 2 years old, we open their eyes to the world of possibilities which surround them, showing them the best so that they can be the best.  We teach children that they can achieve amazing things if they trust in God, be brave and work hard.  Regardless of age, ability, race or religion, the children of St Joseph's are enabled to grow into their very best self. Nothing is off limits or impossible for our children but they learn that in order to achieve they must work hard, be determined and bounce back from setbacks.  Our curriculum content, teaching strategies and personal development opportunities inspire and nurture our children to be the very best that they can be, trusting God and asking Him to show the way.

St Joseph’s is a happy and caring community where we aim to provide the best possible standards of education in a supportive Catholic environment with school, home and parish working closely together. Our children enjoy learning and are encouraged to strive for excellence in all that they do. In return, our dedicated team of staff are committed to doing all they can to enable each and every child to achieve their full potential.  Whilst we value and celebrate academic progress and achievement, we place great emphasis on the development of the whole child.  St Joseph's offers a broad and balanced curriculum and a wide range of enrichment opportunities which equip all children to be successful learners and active members of society both during their time here and in the future.  

What kinds of SEND does the school provide for?

At Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy, we are an inclusive school and we strive to support and include all children who can access mainstream provision.

The school accommodates all SEND in line with the Equality Act 2010 and provision is available for all four areas of need as outlined in the 2014 SEND Code of Practice.

1.  Social Emotional and Mental Health     
2. Communication and Interaction  
3. Cognition and Learning  
4. Sensory and/or Physical Needs.

How does this setting know if their children/young person needs extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

Children with SEN are identified as early as possible within our setting. Our initial identification is usually through assessment or observation by school staff working directly with the child combined with concerns expressed by parents. This may be based on the pupil’s general wellbeing, their emotional or behavioural needs, their progress in comparison to their peers, or their profile against recognised characteristics of specific forms of SEND. We consider a child to have special educational needs if they score less than 80 on a standardised test, they struggle to access age related expectations even with quality first teaching and classroom support or if they are working with an outside agency to help meet their needs.

All of the staff at St Joseph’s receive regular and updated training to support them in the identification of SEND. If a concern is identified by class teachers they complete a Causing Concern form which is handed to the SENCO. A meeting will then be held between the SENCO, class teacher and, if necessary at this stage, the child’s parents. A plan will be made surrounding the concern(s) identified. If the decision is made to place the child on the school SEN Register, the child’s parents will always be informed of this and invited to contribute to their child’s individual education plan (Pupil Passport).

As a school, we rigorously monitor children’s progress and attainment on a half termly basis. We do this through regular pupil progress meetings, subject monitoring, lesson observations and learning walks. The SENCO collects data about the progress of children with SEN on a half-termly basis to monitor the impact of interventions and, when necessary, the SENCO meets with class teachers and parents to analyse individual pupils’ progress and discuss any concerns. We make sure that the pupil, the pupil’s family, any additional adults who work with the pupil and the school SENCO are involved in on-going discussions relating to identification and provision for the child’s needs. Depending upon the level of the child’s individual needs, we look at what level of support needs to be put into place. This could be implementing class-based support and adapting teaching to meet the needs of individual pupils. For some children, in addition to the class-based adaptations, we may need to implement out of class support and interventions. For pupils with the highest levels of need we will refer the pupils, with their parents’ permission, to outside agencies for further advice and support. The SENCO keeps a register of all pupils requiring additional support in order to monitor the progress of these pupils, and to plan for provision across the school.

We operate an open door policy within school so class teachers are usually available at the end of the school day and are happy to make appointments if you require a longer discussion. The class teacher may then seek the involvement of the school SENCO.

Alternatively, the school SENCO can be contacted directly, either at the end of the school day, via the school email (stjoseph@sjnewman.co.uk) or via telephone through the school office. The SENCO at our school is Miss McGough. 

How will the setting support my child/young person?

We are a fully inclusive school. It is our aim that all children in our school are able to access appropriate and challenging learning opportunities as part of their class. Our priority is the provision of high-quality class teaching which is adapted to meet the needs of all of our learners. In our school, class-based approaches might include alternative forms of recording work, visual prompts, task breakdown boards or scaffolding support. Class teachers and support staff are given regular professional development opportunities to support them in adapting learning opportunities for the learners in their class.

We have experience of using a wide range of evidence-based intervention programmes to support children who require support that goes beyond high quality class-based approaches. Some of these intervention approaches are published or commercially available packages of support which include but are not limited to: Talking Partners, The Social Use of Language Programme, Nessy Reading and Spelling, Toe by Toe, Plus 1 and Beat Dyslexia.  We also employ bespoke and personalised approaches based on best practice guidance.

For children with significant or complex needs, the school seeks the advice of specialists, for example Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists and the Autism Team. These specialists may work in school with the child or school staff might attend therapy sessions out of school with the pupil. Before we contact an outside agency for support, we ensure that parents/carers have given their consent as it is very important to use that parents and carers are fully involved with decisions regarding support for their children. 

All of our children with SEN have personalised support plans. We call these Pupil Passports. These documents outline the provision available to each child. These are written in collaboration with the pupil, the class teacher and parents. It is important to us that parents are fully involved in the planning and implementation of support for their child and have the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress regularly. The pupil passports are reviewed each term and re-drafted whenever pupils meet their targets. Our school SENCO - Miss McGough - is available to discuss any questions or concerns via email (stjosephs@sjnewman.co.uk) or in person to discuss pupils’ needs in more detail.

How will teaching approaches and the curriculum be matched to my child or young person's needs?

We know that all children are unique.  All of our teachers take responsibility for meeting the needs of all learners in their class by adapting their teaching. Our teachers plan to meet children’s individual needs through detailed planning. This is done in an engaging and interactive learning environment. Where pupils have SEND, class teachers will be aware of the pupil’s strengths and needs, and will plan personalised support accordingly.

Where learners are working below age related expectations, class teachers adapt teaching to ensure that gaps in learners’ knowledge are covered and they can secure foundations to build upon. We aim to encourage independence in all learners and this is promoted by ensuring that independent work tasks are matched as far as possible to the strengths of the learners. For those learners who require a more specialist approach to learning, class teachers are encouraged to discuss approaches for adaptation with the SENCO. All additional provision for pupils with SEND is overseen by the school SENCO, and monitoring of these pupils’ progress and any interventions they are accessing takes place on a half-termly basis.

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support their learning?

All of our school staff have high expectations for all learners. We make sure that monitoring of progress takes place on a day-to-day basis by class teachers and they are often best placed to identify where progress is falling or excelling.

For our learners with the most significant needs, daily contact with families takes place, either through informal conversations at the end of the school day or in a home-school book.  We strive to ensure that a key person or your child’s class teacher can be spoken to at the beginning or end of the day. You are always welcome to make an appointment through the school office. Our school SENCO will happily meet with parents/carers. Our Parents Evenings are held three times a year and passport review meetings once a term. These are opportunities for sharing progress and discussing the appropriate next steps for your child.

We have a rigorous tracking system in place to monitor children’s progress and attainment. With regard to children with SEN, monitoring of their progress during interventions will take place on a six-weekly cycle and the SENCO will oversee the impact of interventions to ensure that each programme is well suited to the child’s needs. If a child is not making progress in an intervention, another programme will be used and monitored in the same way until we find a strategy which works best for the individual child.

For children with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP), an annual review of the plan will be held. This is additional to the termly pupil passport reviews.

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall wellbeing?

In our school, we know that children need supporting both in the classroom and outside. We make sure that all children’s needs are catered for and supported and are lucky to have the support and expertise of our ELSA trained Family Support Worker, Mrs Hudson to support in meeting children’s social and emotional needs. We look at this in four main areas of support.

PASTORAL

We recognise that pupils with SEND can experience a range of social and emotional issues. As well as a whole school focus on social and emotional wellbeing through our PSHE and Religious Education teaching, we offer a range of interventions, both commercially published and bespoke, to address specific issues as they arise. We recognise that for some pupils, social and emotional factors can be complex, and therefore we seek to ensure that the provision we offer in this regard is highly personalised, and is generated through discussion with pupils and their families.

FRIENDSHIPS

All children in school are supported to develop relationships with their peers. For those pupils who find this most difficult there are alternative arrangements at play and lunchtime where play skills can be actively taught or modelled by staff. WA range of support on the playground and a variety of activities are provided to make sure we encourage children to play together and build firm friendships.  We have playground leaders within school in KS1 and KS2 who support on the playground every lunchtime.

PEER/SIBLING SUPPORT

It is sometimes appropriate for us to offer support to the peer groups/siblings of pupils with SEND. Sometimes this takes place in an open manner, enabling peers to ask questions and learn about the needs of their class mates. At other times, this takes a more general form such as working with the class on celebrating diversity. We make sure that all children are included in our school.

BULLYING

The school holds a clear position on bullying, and all pupils are taught to distinguish bullying from isolated acts of unkindness. There are a range of assemblies and whole school events linked to anti bullying, and class teachers are vigilant in monitoring the children’s behaviour for indications of bullying. Where bullying is suspected, personalised support measures are put in place for both victims and perpetrators which take into account the needs of all the pupils involved. As a school we hold a firm stance of anti-bullying.

In our school, the safety of all pupils is paramount. Therefore, information about pupils with SEND is communicated to relevant school staff. Where risks are identified measures are taken to limit these, for example supervising a child more closely during the transition between class and care-giver at the end of the day.

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the setting?

SEND has a high priority in our school. We make sure that all school staff have a good awareness of SEND through regular staff meetings and training sessions. Regular meetings are held to enable staff to work with the SENCO to develop their practice in relation to the specific needs of the pupils in their classes. Many of our members of staff have experience of working with children with a range of needs, and expertise is regularly shared through staff training. As a school, we work closely with external agencies to gain advice relevant to individual children’s needs and individual staff attend training courses as appropriate. We also share and further develop best practice through partnership work with other schools in our collegiate.

Our SENCO and teachers work closely with our local SEND services, educational psychologists, speech and language teams, CAMHS, School Nurses and other external agencies to make sure we support all the children and meet their needs.

What training are the staff supporting children and young people with SEND have had or are having?

In our school, training is specifically tailored to the needs of the pupils and is undertaken to equip staff with the necessary knowledge as the need arises. We make sure all staff receive regular updates from the SENCO and arrange external training to match the picture of need across our school. We have regular relevant training to support interventions and the delivery of specific programs to support children. All staff work closely with parents and outside agencies to learn specific skills to support children with additional needs. In school, we hold a list of training opportunities which our staff members have had.

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

As an inclusive school setting, we seek to ensure that all pupils, regardless of need, are able to attend enrichment opportunities such as after school clubs and school trips. We work creatively and flexibly to make relevant adaptations to enable pupils with SEND to have these opportunities. For example, this might mean offering support to pupils attending after school clubs, booking accessible accommodation for residential trips etc. We have a range of out of school clubs and activities which change regularly and are available to every pupil regardless of need. For those pupils whose very high levels of need mean that the standard out of school activities on offer are inappropriate, we seek to liaise with families about suitable alternatives (for example a day trip in place of an overnight residential). We make sure that any place we visit as a school is suitable for all of our children and the staff make sure they pre visit the site and complete a risk assessment before we take the children.

How accessible is the environment?

In school, we are consistently improving to make sure we are fully inclusive and accessible. Our school is fully wheelchair accessible. We have disabled car parking and a large accessible toilet. We make sure that all of our policies and practices are in line with the Equality Act 2010. We produce an accessibility plan that is available within school and this is re written on a three year rolling program. If needed guidance from specialists would need to be sought if specialist equipment is required.

How will the setting prepare and support my child/young person to join the next stage of education and life?

Entry into our school

Prior to entry to our school, it is usual for families of all pupils, including those with SEND, to visit for an informal tour of the school, usually with the head teacher. This meeting is an opportunity for families and professionals to share information about the pupil and for actions to be set to ensure the pupil is appropriately included.. Prior to entry to school, a range of transition measures are in place. This is personalised to meet the needs of the pupil but may include visits to the setting, visits by school staff to the pupil’s home or current setting, a transition pack containing photos etc.

Transition into new settings.

Wherever possible, we prepare pupils for transition to new settings in a manner most appropriate to the individual. For some pupils this takes the form of additional visits to the new setting. For others, this might be working through materials which address key aspects of the new setting. Some of our pupils benefit from lengthy transition work whereas others find an extended transition stressful, and require a shorter introduction. We work closely with families at this time to ensure consistency of information. We have good links with our local high schools and work closely with the staff from those settings.

How are the setting's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

In order to ensure that quality first teaching approaches are used fully in each classroom, a proportion of the budget is used towards class-based provision. This might take the form of additional physical resources in classrooms e.g. writing slopes, concentration aids, alternative seating etc. For those requiring provision additional to class-based approaches, funding facilitates the school’s “menu” of intervention programmes. In some cases, it might also be used to provide additional human resource. Funding is matched to the provision required to enable pupils to achieve specified outcomes (i.e. outcome identified in discussion with teachers and parents or on EHC Plans). Regular discussion and monitoring takes place to ensure that resources are allocated appropriately and cost efficiently.

If your child has a birth- to-25 Education, Health and Care Plan our school will receive additional funding for their needs and they will have access to all facilities provided by the school. This funding is allocated to enable the child to achieve their full potential. This could be used in a variety of ways including one to one support, specialist equipment, and appropriate toys to aid development or the creation of pictorial support aids.

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

When children’s needs are initially identified, a discussion takes place between teachers, parents and pupils. At this meeting, desired outcomes for the pupil will be discussed and the provision or support the pupil needs to meet those outcomes will be agreed. School staff are usually best placed to advise on the nature of the support/provision needed, but occasionally the school seeks the support of other agencies to advise on this. We make sure that parents and pupils will be fully involved in decisions about support and provision, and any decisions to implement provision which is different from or additional to that received by the majority of children are made in conjunction with parents and pupils. On occasion, the school may seek the advice of external agencies to support the decision-making process.

How will our child and young person be involved in the decisions about their learning?

We believe that it is very important that the children’s views are taken in to consideration and that they are as involved as possible when decisions are been made about their learning. We make sure that we offer a broad and balanced curriculum. At our school, all children are encouraged to reflect upon their own learning and self -assessments are carried out. We use assessment for learning daily as we feel the children need to feel a sense of ownership over their learning and progress.  As a result, children are encouraged to talk about the progress made towards their learning targets. If children are on the SEN register, they are invited to their pupil passport review discussions with parents. Each child’s views form an important part of their pupil passport.

How will we be involved in the decisions about the learning of our children and young people?

We know that the people who understand and know the children best are the parents and guardians of the child. Therefore, we think it is vitally important that you are involved every step of the way.

We conduct a parent voice and operate an open door policy. We ask parents to be involved in termly reviews and help to write the pupil passport for the child.

How are parents involved in the setting? How can I be involved?

Parents are encouraged to take an active role in the setting. We warmly encourage parents to volunteer in school for example by hearing readers, accompanying us on trips etc. There is a termly SENCO coffee morning which is an opportunity for parents to meet with the SENCO and with other parents of children with SEN to share ideas and build a community of support. We have parent academy committee members who sit on the schools academy committee and when their term of office expires, details of how to stand are explained in a letter. We operate an open door policy and encourage parents to come into school if they have any questions or queries. We are always happy to listen and support.

What do I do if I want to make a complaint?

Catholic schools are staffed by teachers who are not only qualified and expert in their own field but who also, having freely chosen to become teachers in a Catholic institution, commit themselves to care for and help children in every way possible consistent with Catholic doctrine, principles and the Catholic ethos of the school.

Nevertheless, as in any organisation, parents may, from time to time, raise a concern. In this instance, please request a copy of the school ‘Complaints Policy.’ This is available from the school office.

What other support Is available to parents and how can I contact them?

SEND Code of Practice.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25

SEND Code of Practice; Guide for Parents.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-guide-for-parents-and-carers

Stoke on Trent Safeguarding Board

http://www.safeguardingchildren.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/portal/

Stoke on Trent Local Offer.

Stoke on Trent Council has to produce a Local Offer for parents and carers of children with Special Educational Needs or a Disability (SEND). The purpose of the Local Offer is to `offer' information for parents and young people, in a single place, which helps them to understand what services they and their family can expect from a range of local agencies.

http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/education/special-educational-needs/local-offer/