SEN
Assistant Headteacher (Inclusion/SENco)
Mrs. M. Cunningham
Contact: melanie.cunningham@st-james.richmond.sch.uk
We celebrate and promote neurodiversity.
Neurodiversity means that we are all different in how we think, feel, and learn, because our brains process information differently. Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one "right" way of thinking, learning, and behaving. Differences are not viewed as deficits and we recognise that there are strengths associated with interacting differently with the world .
Special Educational Needs and Disability
At St. James’s we believe that all children have the right to be happy in school and access a broad and balanced curriculum. We enable a cooperative and productive partnership with pupils, parents, carers and teachers to enable this to happen.
Definition of SEN: Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of practice, Department for Health and Education, January 2015
“A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her which is different from, or additional to, that normally available to pupils of the same age.”
Aims of SEND provision at St James’s Primary School
- The achievements of each and every child are valued.
- All children are supported to access a balanced and broadly based curriculum.
- Every child is supported to enable them to meet their full potential.
- The needs of most children will be met by high quality, differentiated teaching in the classroom.
- In some instances, carefully planned interventions will be introduced to meet specific, individual needs.
- The impact of these interventions will be measured over time.
- St James’s will always seek to work in collaboration with pupils, parents and teachers to ensure each child’s needs are met.
- Provision will be mapped to ensure that staff deployment, resource allocation and choice of intervention leads to excellent learning outcomes.
- Staff will keep up to date through well targeted, continuous professional development.
- St James’s enables a cooperative and productive partnership with the Local Authority and other outside agencies to ensure there is a multi-professional approach to meet the needs of each child.
From September 2014, all schools are required to publish details of their SEN Information Report, detailing support for pupils with special educational needs and/or a disability.
In addition, schools must provide a link to services which Richmond Local Authority offer to children with special educational needs and/or a disability.
Local Offer is the term that the Department for Education (DfE) have chosen to describe the collection of information about the support that local authorities must make available to help children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their families. The purpose of the local offer is to enable parents, carers, children and young people with SEND to see clearly, from a single and regularly updated source, the services available to local families and how to access them. The offer covers services from birth to 25, across education, health and social care. It describes state-funded, charitable and private services, and includes services outside the local area (e.g. schools) which are used by local families. Put simply, information on "Local" services and support on "Offer" is gathered together and made easy to find in a "Local Offer”.
https://www.afcinfo.org.uk/local_offer
Families with pupils in Year 5. Achieving for Children has produced a series of videos to explain how local secondary schools support pupils with special or additional educational needs. Please follow the link below to access.
Special Educational Needs & Disability Register
All local authorities must have a record or register of children with Special Educational Needs and / or Disabilities (SEND) in their area. If you live in either Kingston or Richmond, we encourage anyone whose family includes a child or young person whose has a special educational need* or disability** to register.
Everyone on the register will benefit from:
- Information about support, services, activities and events
- Information aimed at young people with disabilities
- Opportunities to have your say about the services that are important to you
- The knowledge that your anonymous statistical data is helping us to plan and improve services
Richmond Parent Carer Forum
Richmond Parent Carer Forum (PCF) is an independent group run by parents for parents or carers of children/young people (aged 0 – 25 years) who have any form of special educational need or disability. Your child does not need an official diagnosis for you to become a member and we support families of children with any type of additional need including learning difficulties like dyslexia.
We receive funding from the Department for Education and our purpose is to ensure that the voices of parents, children and young people are heard in the planning and implementation of SEND services in Richmond. We can also help you to access services and provide valuable peer support, connecting you with other parents who understand the special joys and challenges of raising a family with additional needs.
Email: Information@richmondpcf.org.uk
Website: www.richmondpcf.org.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/richmondpcf/
SEND Information, Advice and Support (SENDIASS)
The Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) in Kingston and Richmond offers advice and support across a wide range of subjects. This may include help with personal budgets and how to use the Local Offer plus:
- support with understanding reports and letters, attending meetings and preparing for assessments and reviews
- information and signposting to support services in your area
- support with Transition and Preparing for Adulthood
- support with and signposting to mediation
- advice and support on benefits
These services offer advice to children and young people as well as parents and carers.
Contact:
Phone: 020 3793 9596
Email: RichmondKingston@kids.org.uk
Website: https://www.kids.org.uk/richmond-and-kingston-sendiass