SEND & Additional Needs
Underpinned by our school mission, Fidelis in Servitio – Faithful in Service, we are committed to educating and nurturing the whole person. At St Joseph’s, every child is known, valued and loved, and we recognise the important contribution made by our pupils, staff, families, governors and wider community in creating a truly inclusive school.
We believe that every child has the capacity to grow, develop and flourish when they are provided with the right encouragement, opportunities and support. We are ambitious for all our pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and are committed to identifying and removing barriers to learning, participation and belonging.
Our SEND Policy supports us in putting these principles into practice. It sets out our approach to the identification, assessment, provision, monitoring and review of support for pupils with SEND and explains how this provision is coordinated and managed across the school.
Central to our approach is strong partnership working. We recognise that the best outcomes are achieved when we listen carefully to the voice of the child and work collaboratively with parents and carers, school staff, external agencies and other professionals. We also work closely with other educational settings to support successful transitions and ensure appropriate continuity of provision.
Our approach reflects the principles and statutory requirements of the SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years and our wider responsibilities under relevant SEND and equality legislation. Through high-quality inclusive teaching, appropriate reasonable adjustments and carefully planned additional provision where required, we seek to ensure that every child is supported to participate fully in school life, experience success and achieve their potential.
In doing so, we live out our mission: Fidelis in Servitio – Faithful in Service, recognising the dignity, gifts and potential of every member of our school family.
ow will the school know if a child has SEND?
At St Joseph’s, identifying children’s needs early is an important part of our inclusive approach. Class teachers know their pupils well and continually monitor their learning, progress, communication, emotional wellbeing, behaviour, social development and participation in school life. This helps us to recognise both a child’s strengths and any emerging barriers to learning.
If a child is not making the progress we would expect, or if concerns arise about another aspect of their development, the class teacher will first consider what may be contributing to this. This might include gaps in previous learning, attendance, changes in circumstances, language development or other factors which do not necessarily indicate a special educational need.
The teacher will respond through high-quality, adaptive teaching, making appropriate adjustments and providing additional support or targeted intervention where needed. The impact of this support will be carefully monitored. Many children make good progress once the right teaching, intervention or adjustment is put in place.
Where concerns remain despite appropriate support, the class teacher will discuss these with the SENDCO and, importantly, with the child’s parents or carers. We believe that families know their children best and that early, open communication is essential.
As part of this process, we will build a fuller picture of the child’s strengths and needs. This may include:
- observations within the classroom and during less structured parts of the school day;
- discussions with the child, their family and the adults who work closely with them;
- consideration of progress, attainment and development over time;
- reviewing the child’s response to adaptive teaching and targeted support;
- consideration of the child’s social, emotional, communication and sensory needs; and
- where appropriate, seeking advice or assessment from external professionals, such as Speech and Language Therapy, Educational Psychology, SEND specialist services or health professionals.
We use the Oxfordshire County Council SEND Indicators as a strengths-based observation and reflection tool to help us consider a child’s profile of strengths and needs. These indicators support professional judgement and help us to identify appropriate provision; they are not used in isolation to diagnose a child or determine SEND.
Throughout this process, the voice of the child is central. We will seek to understand what the child feels is going well, what they find difficult and what they feel helps them to learn, participate and feel successful at school.
Using all of the information gathered, the SENDCO and class teacher, working in partnership with the family, will consider whether the child has a special educational need and requires SEN Support.
Where SEN Support is required, the child will be recorded on the school’s SEND Register. The class teacher and SENDCO will then work collaboratively with the child and their family to identify appropriate outcomes, provision and reasonable adjustments. These will be recorded within the child’s SEND Support Plan and regularly reviewed through the Assess – Plan – Do – Review cycle.
Our aim is always to identify and respond to need as early as possible, while recognising each child first and foremost through their strengths, gifts and potential.
How will the school measure my child’s progress?
At St Joseph’s, we recognise that progress looks different for every child. While academic attainment is important, we place equal value on the progress pupils make from their individual starting points, including progress in communication, independence, emotional regulation, social interaction, confidence and engagement with learning.
For pupils with SEND, we follow the graduated approach through the four-part cycle of:
Assess → Plan → Do → Review
This cycle is continuous and enables us to understand a child’s needs, put appropriate support in place, evaluate its impact and make changes where necessary. Formal reviews of SEND Support Plans take place three times during the academic year, although provision is monitored and adjusted throughout the year rather than waiting for a formal review point.
During the Assess stage, we consider the child’s strengths, needs, progress, views and response to previous teaching and support. Where appropriate, assessments or baseline measures may be used to establish a clear starting point.
During Plan, the class teacher, SENDCO, child and family agree meaningful and achievable outcomes and identify the teaching approaches, reasonable adjustments, interventions or additional provision required.
During Do, the class teacher remains responsible and accountable for the child’s progress. Agreed strategies and provision are implemented, with support from teaching assistants, the SENDCO and external professionals where appropriate.
During Review, we consider the progress made towards agreed outcomes and, importantly, whether the provision itself has been effective. The child’s and family’s views form an important part of this process. Provision may then be continued, adapted, increased or reduced according to the child’s changing needs.
Where a targeted intervention is used, an appropriate baseline will usually be established so that its impact can be evaluated. We do not measure success simply by whether an intervention has been completed; we consider whether the child has made progress and can increasingly apply their learning or skills independently within the classroom and wider school environment.
Where a child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), their progress towards EHCP outcomes is monitored throughout the year and formally considered through the statutory Annual Review process. Families, the child and relevant professionals are invited to contribute to this process.
The child’s voice is central to all reviews. We want our pupils to understand their strengths, recognise the support that helps them and increasingly become confident advocates for their own needs.
How will my child be involved in decisions about their education?
At St Joseph’s, we believe strongly that children should have a meaningful voice in decisions about their education and support.
How we gather a child’s views will depend upon their age, communication needs and individual preferences. We will make reasonable adjustments to ensure that every child has an accessible way of expressing what is important to them.
Children may be supported to:
- talk with a trusted member of staff about what is going well and what they find difficult;
- contribute to their SEND Support Plan and outcomes;
- attend part or all of a review meeting where appropriate;
- share their views through writing, drawing, photographs, symbols, video or other communication methods;
- complete age-appropriate questionnaires or pupil voice activities;
- identify strategies and reasonable adjustments that help them to learn;
- share their hopes, interests and aspirations for the future.
For children with EHCPs, their views, wishes and aspirations are an integral part of the Annual Review process.
Our aim is for children to develop an increasingly strong understanding of themselves as learners and, as they grow, the confidence to communicate what helps them to succeed.
How will the school adapt its teaching for my child?
The class teacher is responsible and accountable for the progress and development of every pupil in their class, including pupils with SEND.
Our first response to additional need is high-quality, inclusive and adaptive teaching.
Rather than providing a separate curriculum wherever possible, teachers carefully adapt their teaching so that pupils can access the same ambitious learning as their peers. We maintain high expectations while recognising that children may need different approaches, resources, scaffolds or levels of support to achieve success.
Adaptations will always be based upon the individual child and may include:
- breaking learning into smaller, manageable steps;
- adapting the pace or method of teaching;
- providing additional processing or thinking time;
- pre-teaching or revisiting key vocabulary and concepts;
- using visual prompts, models, worked examples and concrete resources;
- providing alternative ways for pupils to record or demonstrate their understanding;
- carefully considered adult support, with a focus on developing independence;
- adapting seating, classroom organisation or the sensory environment;
- using visual timetables, now-and-next boards or task planners;
- assistive technology or appropriate ICT;
- movement or sensory regulation opportunities;
- additional repetition, retrieval and overlearning;
- targeted individual or small-group intervention where this is appropriate.
We regularly review whether adaptations are helping the child to become more successful, confident and independent, rather than creating unnecessary dependence on adult support.
Our expectation is that adaptive teaching is visible in every classroom and is part of excellent everyday teaching at St Joseph’s.
How will additional resources and provision be secured for my child?
Most pupils’ needs can be supported through high-quality teaching, reasonable adjustments and the resources ordinarily available within school.
Some children may require additional provision. This could include:
- specialist equipment or resources;
- additional targeted adult support;
- specific intervention programmes;
- adaptations to the learning or sensory environment;
- additional staff training;
- advice or assessment from external professionals;
- specialist teaching or therapeutic input.
Where appropriate, we will work with families and relevant professionals to identify what provision is likely to have the greatest impact.
Schools are expected to meet the first element of additional SEND provision from their delegated resources in accordance with the national and local funding arrangements. Where a pupil has needs requiring provision beyond that ordinarily available, the school may work with the Local Authority to explore additional funding or statutory assessment where appropriate.
Importantly, an EHCP does not automatically mean that a child requires continuous 1:1 adult support. Provision is determined by the child’s identified needs and outcomes, with independence remaining an important consideration.
We monitor the quality and impact of SEND provision through a range of activities including learning walks, lesson observations, pupil voice, discussions with staff and families, review meetings, assessment information and scrutiny of pupils’ work and provision.
Our SEND Team
At St Joseph’s, SEND is a whole-school responsibility.
Mrs Francesca Carder – SENDCO
Mrs Carder leads and coordinates SEND provision across the school and works closely with children, families, staff, external professionals and the Local Authority.
Mrs Fiona Wickens – Inclusion Support
Mrs Wickens works closely alongside the SENDCO to support the coordination and development of inclusive provision across the school.
Mrs Tracy Cameron – Specialist Support
Mrs Cameron provides flexible specialist support across the school, particularly for pupils with more complex needs and EHCPs. She works alongside teachers and teaching assistants to help ensure that recommendations from external professionals are translated effectively into everyday classroom practice.
The Meadows
St Joseph’s also benefits from The Meadows, our enhanced learning environment. The Meadows provides a calm, sensory-considerate and flexible space which can be used to support pupils with higher or more complex levels of need.
The Meadows forms part of our wider inclusive provision and enables us to provide carefully planned support while continuing to promote belonging within the wider school community.
We firmly believe that:
“Every teacher is a teacher of SEND.”
Our teaching assistants are an important part of our inclusive practice. They support pupils academically, socially and emotionally and help deliver carefully planned interventions and provision. Adult support is deployed thoughtfully, with the ultimate aim of helping pupils to become increasingly confident and independent learners.
SEND professional development is an ongoing priority. Staff receive opportunities to strengthen their knowledge of different areas of need, adaptive teaching and evidence-informed strategies so that inclusive practice is consistent and visible across our school.
Working with External Professionals
Where appropriate, St Joseph’s works collaboratively with a range of education, health and social care professionals and services.
These may include:
- Educational Psychology;
- Speech and Language Therapy;
- SENSS Communication and Interaction;
- Early Years SEND and Inclusion services;
- Community Paediatrics and other health professionals;
- Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy where appropriate;
- Mental Health and wellbeing services (e.g CAMHS);
- Local Authority SEND Officers and Casework Teams;
- other specialist education and inclusion services.
The professionals involved will vary according to the individual needs of the child.
External professional advice forms part of our graduated response to need. Recommendations are considered carefully alongside the views of the child, family and school staff and, where appropriate, incorporated into the child’s provision.
Attainment and Progress for Pupils with SEND
At St Joseph’s, we are ambitious for every child.
For pupils with SEND, we recognise the importance of considering progress from individual starting points rather than focusing solely upon age-related attainment.
Some pupils with SEND may be working below age-related expectations or using alternative assessment frameworks appropriate to their stage of development. This does not reduce our ambition for them.
Progress may be demonstrated through academic achievement, but it may also include significant development in areas such as:
- communication and interaction;
- independence;
- attention and engagement;
- emotional regulation;
- social interaction;
- physical or sensory development;
- confidence and self-advocacy.
Pupils receiving SEN Support have an individual SEND Support Plan/Pupil Profile, which identifies their strengths, areas of need, agreed outcomes and the provision or strategies that support them.
These are formally reviewed with children and families three times each year, alongside ongoing monitoring by teachers and the SENDCO.
We encourage families to be active partners in this process. Their knowledge of their child is invaluable, and working together enables us to develop provision that is meaningful, responsive and ambitious.
Pupils with Disabilities
St Joseph’s is committed to ensuring that pupils with disabilities can participate fully in the life of our school.
Our Accessibility Plan sets out how we continue to improve access to the curriculum, physical environment and information for pupils with disabilities.
Reasonable adjustments are considered according to individual need and may relate to teaching, resources, communication, the environment, routines or participation in wider school life.
We are committed to ensuring that, wherever reasonably possible and safe to do so, pupils with SEND and disabilities can access the same wider opportunities as their peers.
This includes:
- school trips and educational visits;
- residential experiences;
- sporting opportunities;
- performances and celebrations;
- clubs and enrichment activities;
- before and after-school provision.
Where a pupil requires additional support to participate safely and successfully, we will work with the child, family and relevant professionals to consider appropriate reasonable adjustments.
Our starting point is always to ask “How can we make this accessible?”
Transition Between Schools and Settings
We recognise that transitions can be particularly significant for pupils with SEND.
St Joseph’s works closely with secondary schools and other settings to support a smooth and carefully planned transition.
For pupils moving to secondary school, this may include:
- early liaison with the receiving school SENDCO;
- sharing relevant SEND information and documentation;
- additional transition visits;
- photographs, maps, visual information or transition booklets;
- opportunities to meet key adults;
- joint meetings involving families and professionals;
- individualised transition planning where required.
Similar arrangements are made for pupils joining St Joseph’s with identified additional needs. Wherever possible, we liaise with the child’s previous setting, family and relevant professionals before admission so that appropriate provision and reasonable adjustments can be considered from the outset.
Transition planning is always tailored to the individual child.
What should I do if I have a concern or complaint about SEND provision?
We hope that concerns can usually be resolved through early and open communication.
If you have a concern about your child’s SEND provision, we encourage you to speak initially with your child’s class teacher and/or SENDCO. Many concerns can be addressed quickly through discussion and collaborative planning.
Where a concern remains unresolved, parents and carers may raise this with the Headteacher in accordance with the school’s Complaints Policy.
Families also have access to independent information, advice and support through SENDIASS Oxfordshire.
Useful sources of further information include:
Oxfordshire SEND Local Offer
The Local Offer provides information about SEND services, support and provision available to children, young people and families across Oxfordshire.
SENDIASS Oxfordshire
SENDIASS provides free, impartial information, advice and support to children and young people with SEND and their parents or carers.
Oxfordshire Ordinarily Available SEND Provision
This provides guidance about the support and provision that can ordinarily be expected within educational settings.
Oxfordshire Inclusive Support Series
This provides further guidance for educational settings in supporting children and young people with additional needs.
At St Joseph’s, we see families as essential partners in SEND provision. Through open communication, careful listening and collaborative working, we aim to ensure that every child is known, valued, included and supported to flourish.
Click here for the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Policy
Francesca Carder/SENDCO support
SEND Contact us email - click here
Useful links and documents
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-guide-for-parents-and-carers
