Schools Extended Local Offer Response

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

At St Thomas's Centre we have three provisions - pupils are placed in a provision depending on individual need and age.  

At St Thomas's Centre all staff support pupils with special educational needs.

St Thomas's Centre also accesses specialist services when appropriate, including:

• Advisory Teachers for Hearing Impairment, Visual Impairment,  Social, Emotional and mental health Needs, Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Speech and Language.
• Educational Psychology Service
• Engage
• Youth Offending Team
• Lifeline
• Brook
• The Wish Centre
• Family Wise
• Vulnerable families
• Princes Trust
• Blackburn College
• East Lancashire Child and Adolescent Services (ELCAS)
• Health Care Professionals
• Social Care Professionals
• NSPCC
• Barnados
• BwD Ethnic Minority and Traveller  Service
• Via service
• School nurse

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

St Thomas's Centre staff are committed to supporting young people with SEND needs.

As part of our core principle to the education of our pupils with social, emotional and metal health needs and our pupils with medical needs, we ensure that all our teachers, teaching assistants and pastoral staff have qualifications that are relevant to their role. In addition to this we make sure that our training and continued professional development is linked to the special needs of all our pupils and how what we are doing may need to be modified to meet their specific needs.

Examples of training includes:

• Nurture Training
• De-escalation Techniques - Team teach
• Child Protection and Safeguarding Training (including DCPO, safer recruitment and multiagency)
• Evolve training
• Prevent Agenda
• CSE awareness
• Specific training support to TA's - Nurture / counselling / motivational interviewing / behaviour modification and relaxation 
• Planning for outstanding lessons - effective schemes of learning
• Boxall profile
• Restorative Justice
• Literacy support
• Achievement for all
• First Aid
• Mental Health First Aid in schools
• Safe talk
• Youth mental health

Further CPD opportunities are identified through the discussion with staff.

A detailed INSET Programme is implemented with the school annually and addresses all current educational issues.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's/young person's needs?

If you consider St Thomas's Centre to be the right school for your child please speak to your child's home school or directly to the Local Authority.

Your Childs school or the Local Authority will complete our school referral form and forward to our school business manager.

St Thomas's Centre will arrange a pre-placement interview with our Headteacher. This interview will be used to gather information in order for you to decide if our school can meet your child’s needs. Your Childs current school will also attend the pre-placement interview. At this interview a decision will also be made with your child and yourself the length of time to be initially spent at St Thomas's Centre and the review date. The status of registration will also be discussed at this interview.

If your child is allocated a place at St Thomas's and prior to your child’s admission to school you will be invited to attend a transition support meeting where you will meet your Childs provision leader and other members of the provision staff team including your child’s form teacher. Any concerns you may have regarding your child can be discussed with the provision leader.

Following on from this meeting your child will be invited to take part in our baseline assessments; CAT4, spelling and reading tests, social emotional assessments. These assessments help us to identify any possible learning needs or emotional health needs. Each child will receive an implication for teaching an learning which will be distributed to teaching staff. This enables subject teachers to ensure planning meets our Childs individual needs. Each parent can also have access to this if required.

Parents/ Carers  are invited to attend Parent review days which are held at school each term. These review days  give an opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and to hear how they have settled into school. School reports are available to parents prior to the meeting, giving opportunity for parents to see what progress their child has made during the term.

If your child is in receipt of an EHCP or statement, you will be invited to attend your child’s Annual Review each academic year which will be arranged by our school SENCO and will take place at school at a pre-arranged time and date.   Your child’s Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) or Statement of Special Education Needs review will allow us to discuss personalized targets and outcomes whilst gaining up-to-date information. At St Thomas's Centre we offer child-centered Annual Reviews that take place yearly allowing you as parents/carers and any professionals who work closely to discuss plans, decisions and outcomes from the previous year and to set new ones for the year ahead. You will receive copies of the completed paperwork after the review for your own personal records.  All our discussions will continually monitor and plan appropriate provision for your child and we will discuss how we can liaise with outside agencies in order to provide the highest quality of education for your child. The information that you provide is vital to allow us to make the right decisions with you not to you or your child. 

 St Thomas's Centre actively takes part in a range of meetings, both internally with school staff or externally with a range of professionals and agencies ensuring that appropriate information is shared in order to plan the most appropriate provision for your child.  

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

If you feel your child is struggling or you have concerns please contact your child's provision leader in the first instance.

We recognize the importance of discussing how our school can support your child in gaining the very best outcomes both academically and emotionally.

Provision leaders meet daily with both our SENCo / faculty leaders, and Deputy Head any concerns raised by parents can be discussed at these meetings.

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

During your child’s placement at St Thomas's Centre you will receive regular phone calls home (at least weekly, sometimes daily) to let you know how your child is getting on with his /her work and behaviour and the progress that is being made. This gives parents/carers information and reason to praise and reward their child and provide support to school if needed.

You should expect your child to be taught in small classes of approximately 10 pupils or less with a qualified teacher and Learning Support Assistant. This will ensure your child will access to a high level of support in a curriculum that is both attainable and challenging.   

We recognize the importance of discussing how St Thomas's Centre can support your child; with the use of the individual  plans and nightly provision meetings, we continually assess these plans throughout the year to ensure that your child’s learning is personalized and tailored around their needs and aspirations. We have an additional member of staff who delivers learning interventions that include literacy catch up, math's-based learning this is also supported by our SENCo.

Behaviour intervention and modification strategies are delivered via our support staff who work with our students on a daily basis to build resilience and strategies for effective behaviour for learning.

Our multi agency team within St Thomas's Centre meet half termly to discuss each pupil within each provision ensuring all needs are fully discussed and strategies put in place.

St Thomas's Centre's Senior Leadership Team and the Management Committee closely monitor your child’s progress by monitoring teaching and learning / scrutinizing pupil books / discussions with pupils and looking at data. 

The Management Committee meets termly to scrutinize both the school safeguarding plan and Headteachers report.

What specialist services and expertise are avaliable at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

Every pupil at St Thomas’s Centre is entitled to a broad and balanced curriculum which prepares her/him for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life. A range of learning opportunities are provided, which incorporate the NC programmes of study whilst providing other opportunities within the wider curriculum.

 

The pupil is entitled to:

·         A secure, caring and supportive atmosphere which provides learning opportunities within a moral framework that encourages and supports equal and challenging opportunities for all.

 

·         A positive and ordered environment where the individual develop self-esteem and independence, but learn to respect and co-operate with others.

 

·         The highest possible achievement in all areas.

 

·         A code of behaviour that encourages individuals to take responsibility for their own actions, exercises self discipline and considers the needs of others.

 

·         Advice, guidance and counselling.

 

·         Recognition and preservation of his/her rights as an individual, thus fostering co-operation, empathy and respect.

 

CONTENT

The curriculum provides areas of experience which develop skills, knowledge, understanding and attitudes. These include:

 

·         Social skills, learning skills, analytical and decision-making skills as well as those related to particular areas of learning.

 

These areas are:

Primary

Literacy

Numeracy

ICT

Science

PE

PSHE

Thematic based learning

 

Keystage 3

English

Maths

Science

ICT

PSHE

PE

Art

Enrichment

 

Keystage 4

Core

English

Maths

Science

ICT PE

PSHE

Enrischment activities

Option based subjects

 

Curriculum will be delivered in a variety of ways which include cross curricular themes and approaches.

 

Beyond these areas the curriculum provides enriching experiences, which are valuable in their own right and are enjoyed as such.

What training have the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had? Are any being trained currently?

At St Thomas's Centre we collect a lot of information about our young people to help us to make a decision about how well your child can access the curriculum. This information is about their learning, their behaviour and their attendance. This helps us to set challenging targets.

All information is collected and shared with your child's subject teachers.

Assessment information is collated half termly for core subjects and termly for non core subjects. This information is reported to parents on a termly basis.

When assessment information is sent home, a parent/carer friendly guide accompanies this information to explain what it means. This will help you understand the progress that your child is making both academically and personally. At St Thomas's Centre all pupils are assessed throughout the year. These assessments are shared using a written report at Christmas, Easter and Summer.

At St Thomas's we use, an online assessment system to record progress against the targets and shows pupils making low progress or achieving below their level. This data is used to identify pupils needing intervention. Parents can also refer to the intervention support if they feel this is needed.

Individual subject teachers ensure schemes of learning are differentiated to meet individual needs. Marking ensure targets are set to ensure progression. Time is given to pupils to address targets and reach success.

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

The education of all pupils at St Thomas's Centre is very important to us. 

At St Thomas's Centre we value the contribution our parents make in supporting their own child’s learning and development and contributing to the life of our school. Parents are actively encouraged to support their child’s learning. 

As previously mentioned all young people are tracked both academically and socially. Support is implemented when required and monitored for its effectiveness.

Each term parents are invited to a parent review day to discuss all areas of progress at St Thomas's. These meetings are very important for all to ensure together we deliver the very best.

How accessible is the setting/school/college enviroment?

All parents and carers are invited to their child’s admissions meeting and possible re-integration strategy meeting during their child’s placement at St Thomas's.

Parents receive daily / weekly phone calls from their child’s provision team with a view to informing them on how their child’s day / week has been. Parents are given contact details of our provision leaders and they are encouraged to contact them any time if they have any queries or concerns about their child. Individual appointments at school and home visits are always facilitated if parents have any specific worries or concerns.

These phone calls are also an opportunity for parents to discuss anything that has happened at home which may impact on their child’s behaviour. We encourage open and honest dialogue, as only by working together will we be sure that your child will have the best chance to succeed.

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

CCTV is in operation throughout the building and outside areas.

Excellent attendance is crucial so that we can give a full level of support, therefore all pupils enrolled at St Thomas's are  provided with bus tokens or taxi transport both to and from school. This depends on each individual need. Staff will work closely with you and your child to overcome any difficulties which may occur e.g your child children has a history of refusing to attend school. Your child will be in an environment where staff is experienced in supporting the emotional and social needs of young people.  

St Thomas's Centre is a staff intensive environment where you’re child’s wellbeing is of paramount importance, interventions include; • Mentors • Rewards and Sanctions system • Behaviour plans • Celebration opportunities • Outside agency support • Lunch time support • IEP’s.

There are also opportunities for pupils to share their views and opinions via the Student Voice surveys which is fed back to all staff.

St Thomas's Centre is mindful of the need to safeguard the well-being of all its pupil’s and management of first aid arrangements will be undertaken in such a way as to ensure there is adequate training of staff, provision of first aid equipment and recording of first aid treatment. Pupil's requiring medication during the school day should bring their medication to there provision leader at the start of each school day.

St Thomas's Centre has a clear Behaviour Code, with rewards and sanctions, within the school which all staff and students are expected to follow. Provision Leaders provide individual support and guidance for students who may be showing behaviour of concern in order to address the issues that may be causing the behaviour.

Your child is an individual and as far as possible we will aim to meet his /her needs.

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

All pupils are entitled to take part in our PE and Enrichment programmes.

Activities include: Boccia, Orienteering, invasion games, racket games, net/wall games, fitness, pool, bowling, kick boxing, craft, climbing, ski-ing, snow boarding, Sports leadership, craft, hair and beauty.

All young people also have access to a variety of school trips both during and out of school hours. Parents will be informed of these on an individual basis.

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

Each young person is designated into a provision on entry into St Thomas's. The provision leader is responsible for the overall wellbeing of your child.

Your childs provision leader will also contact the previous school to make sure we have all the details we need. 

 Our school  curriculum is designed for pupils to progress from year 1 to year 11 developing their independence and vocational skills. The schools careers officer will meet with older pupils to plan their next stage of education. Pupils may  experience college placements, work experience and take suitable qualifications in year 11.  We have a very close relationship with  the local college, our Connexions officer will also contact the college to ensure a smooth transition.

If pupils move to a new school or is re-integrated back into their original home school, the provision leader will ensure a smooth move, and act in a supportive role if necessary. Regular reviews will take place to ensure a smooth transition. 

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

Each pupil is assessed as an individual with a personalized plan implemented.