SEND

“For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made

(Psalm 139:13-14).

Welcome to Our Special Educational Needs and Disability Page (SEND)

SENCO: Mr M Cordes

You can contact us at: admin@sacredheart.notts.sch.uk

At Sacred Heart we believe that every pupil is made in the image of God, are wonderfully made and that every pupil should be celebrated for their needs and individuality.

Every child is uniquely different and not all children learn at the same rate, some children find it much harder to learn than others. They may need extra help in school to flourish and meet their full potential. These children are said to have special educational needs. About 1 in 5 children will need extra help at school at some time in their education.

We aim to provide an inclusive education for all pupils no matter their need or disability enabling each pupil to meet their own potential. We do this through targeted support in the classroom using scaffolded resources, in an intervention group, 1:1 tutoring, ELSA and nurture group sessions. Pupils with SEND have their own pupil passport that sets long term and short-term targets which is evaluated every term with parents, pupils and teachers in partnership.

Special Educational Needs and provision can be considered as falling under four broad areas, as identified in the SEN Code of Practice.

Children with speech, language and communication needs have difficulty with communicating with others. This may be because they have difficultly saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives.

Cognition refers to the thinking skills and thought processes that a child has acquired through their prior experience. Learning needs are on a continuum and can vary across subjects and situations. Children with learning needs may learn at a slower pace than their peers despite appropriate scaffolding. Learning difficulties can be general or specific and related to one or more areas of the curriculum.

SEMH needs are a type of special educational need where a child communicates through behaviour in response to unmet social, emotional or mental health needs.

Children with SEMH needs often have difficulties in managing their emotions or their behaviour. They can show inappropriate responses to their emotions. They can feel scared, anxious and misunderstood

Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning.

Some children and young people with a physical disability (PD) require additional ongoing support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.

“Remember, popcorn is prepared in the same pot, in the same heat, in the same oil, but the kernels do not pop at the same time. Don’t compare your child to other children, their turn to pop is coming.”

The Waves of intervention Model

We are a Catholic mainstream, inclusive school that fully complies with the requirements outlined in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2014). We recognise that the quality of teaching within the classroom has the greatest influence over children’s progress. We therefore invest in training, resources and monitoring to ensure our classrooms are an inclusive place for all children. This is known as the ‘Wave 1’ or ‘Quality First Teaching’ level.

Additional interventions at ‘Wave 2’ are planned to enable children to accelerate their progress and work at, or above the expectations for their age. These are generally taught in a small group and sometimes a 1:1 situation. They can also be strategies used with the children to help them be successful in the classroom.

A child identified as having SEND also receives ‘Wave 3’ interventions. These may be provided individually or in a small group, and the support provided is personalised to enable the child to achieve his/her potential. This support is additional to or different from the everyday curriculum for that class and is detailed in an Individual Provision Map (IPM). This plan is prepared by the class teacher, overseen by the SENDCO and is reviewed regularly. It may also include provision/ advice from an external agency or professional, such as a Speech and Language therapist. Pupils with an Individual Provision Map may also be eligible for HLN(Higher Level Needs) Funding which will be bid for by the school. If a child’s needs cannot be met by the support identified in Wave 3, parents and school may decide to apply for an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP). It is school policy that children will take part in at least two termly cycles of SEND support before making an application for an EHCP.