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SEND

Our SENDCo: Mrs Louise Brown

Louise

At St Matthew’s C of E Primary and Nursery School, we are committed to ensuring that all children are supported to “let their light shine” and achieve their full potential. We recognise that every child is unique, and we are proud to be an inclusive school where pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are valued and supported to thrive.

We take a graduated approach to support, identifying needs early and putting in place appropriate provision that is carefully planned, monitored and reviewed. This may include adapted teaching in the classroom, targeted interventions or more personalised support where needed.

We place great importance on building strong, trusting relationships with pupils and their families. We work in close partnership with parents and carers and, where appropriate, external professionals to ensure that support is joined up and effective.

Our provision is responsive to the needs of our pupils and supports both learning and wellbeing, so that all children feel safe, confident and able to succeed.

What this looks like at St Matthew’s:

  • Consistent classroom routines and high expectations that support all pupils to feel safe, ready and able to learn
  • High-quality teaching with careful adaptation and in-the-moment support to address misconceptions and remove barriers
  • Targeted support and small group work to address specific learning needs
  • Additional support for pupils who need help with emotional regulation and engagement in school life
  • Flexible provision for a small number of pupils with more complex needs, with a focus on inclusion and successful participation in the wider school
  • Regular review of support, with clear communication between school and home
  • Collaboration with external professionals to ensure the right support is in place when needed

Further information about how we identify and support pupils with SEND can be found in our SEND Information Report below. If you would like to discuss your child’s needs, please contact our SENCo.

SEND Local Offer

All local authorities must publish in one place information about the services they expect to be available in their area for children and young people 0 – 25 who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This is known as the local offer.

The development of a local offer is one of the ways children and young people with SEND are supported that is part of the Children and Families Act. Schools will also publish an annual Special Educational Needs Information Report, which will outline what individual schools are able to offer in order to support children and families with SEND.

The local offer includes information about health and social care services, education, leisure activities and support groups in the area for children and young people aged 0 – 25 with SEND and their families.

This includes:

  • services and support available
  • how children and young people’s needs are identified and assessed
  • the way schools, colleges and maintained nurseries support children and young people with SEND
  • how to access services and how decisions are made
  • preparation for adulthood and independence
  • arrangements for making a complaint and mediation
  • how to comment on the local offer

The Department for Education’s SEN Code of Practice and regulations outlines the range of information to be included in the local offer.

Why is the local offer important?

The local offer helps parents, carers and young people to see clearly the range of services and support that are available in their local area and understand how to access them.

You can find out more about the Plymouth Local Offer here: https://www.plymouthonlinedirectory.com/article/182/SEND-Local-Offer

The Accessibility Plan 

The SEN and Disability Act 2001 extended the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) to cover education. Since September 2002, the Governing Body has had three key duties towards disabled pupils, under Part 4 of the DDA: 

  1. Not to treat disabled pupils less favourably for a reason related to their disability; 
  2. To make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils, so that they are not at a substantial disadvantage;
  3. To plan to increase access to education for disabled pupils.

This plan sets out the proposals of the Proprietor/Governing Body of the school to increase access to education for disabled pupils in the three areas required by the planning duties in the DDA:

  1. Increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school curriculum;
  2. Improving the environment of the school to increase the extent to which disabled pupils can take advantage of education and associated services; 
  3. Improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information, which is provided in writing for pupils who are not disabled.

    It is a requirement that the school’s accessibility plan is resourced, implemented, reviewed and revised as necessary and reported on annually. Attached is a set of action plans showing how the school will address the priorities identified in the plan. 

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