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?

From time to time specialist services may be accessed to support  children’s learning. We work closely with and have access to several services/organisations including:
• Educational Psychology Service
• Language and Learning Support
• Speech and Language Therapy
• School Nurse
• Autistic Spectrum Disorder Services
• Early Years Services

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

All staff undertake Continual Professional Development (CPD) to ensure that they have the skills required to support children and equipping them with a variety of strategies and approaches to use in their everyday teaching.
Training is ongoing and is often sourced from a range of local authority specialist teachers as well as in-house training and independent trainers.
Medical training to support children with medical care plans such as epilepsy, asthma and the use of Epi-Pens is regularly undertaken

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

Children may need extra help for a variety of reasons. At St James’ we have a number of methods to help identify if a child needs extra help. These include:
• Information from a child’s nursery or previous school.
• Information obtained from Parents/Carers.
• Nursery Visits/meetings with class teachers and Nursery staff.
• Information from outside agencies.
• Concerns raised by a child’s class teacher
• Limited Progress is being made
• A change in a child’s behaviour.

There are several tests used in school in order to identify specific needs, these include Dyslexia Screening Test, Ravens, Sandwell Early Maths among others.

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?

Concerns are always taken seriously. If you have any concerns about your child, you can discuss these in the first instance with the class teacher. Should you feel the need to discuss these concerns further then please contact :
•  SENCO - James Cameron
•  Deputy Headteacher  - Vicky Moore
•  Headteacher - Philip Morgan

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

At St James’ we are committed to giving all children every opportunity to achieve.
The school ensures that gifted and talented children receive equal opportunities to develop their learning.

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

St James’ is a fully inclusive school that takes every action to ensure that each child can access all learning opportunities.
The school ensures that gifted and talented children receive equal opportunities to develop their learning.

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

Lessons are pitched appropriately so that all children can learn and progress well. Teachers take into account the needs of individual children and plan different tasks and materials appropriately.
Children work in a variety of groupings, such as small supported groups, 1:1, mixed ability and similar ability groups.

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

Monitoring progress is an important part of teaching and leadership at St James’. Progress data for all children is collated by the whole school and monitored by staff, the Headteacher and the Governors.
Working with parents is extremely important and we further support a child’s learning by:
• Parents Evenings held on a termly basis
• Termly reports detailing a child’s progress and targets.
• Class teachers’ informal discussions.
• Celebration assemblies held weekly.
• Targets set to support a child’s individual needs which are regularly updated.

How accessible is the setting/school/college enviroment?

St James’ actively invites parents to support their child’s learning The class teacher may suggest ways of how you can support your child alongside homework activities. Parents are encouraged to take part in the school community. This may include assemblies, workshops, sharing skills and school visits.

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?

The well-being of every child is central to the ethos of St James’. The school adopts a proactive approach to dealing with any concerns that children may face. This enables St James’ to provide a happy, safe and caring environment.
The Family Support Worker, provides help and support to both parents, carers and children. She can be contacted via the School office.
Other ways we offer support include:-
• Emotional Literacy Support Assistant-supporting groups of pupils in the development of self-esteem and motivation.
• Teaching Assistants supporting the development of targeted oracy, reading, writing and maths both within and outside the classroom
• Provision of homework to support home learning
• Provision of quality enrichment
• Assisting parents in providing medical care for their children. Please refer to ‘Medicines and supporting pupils in school with medical conditions policy’.

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

At St James’ we aim to ensure that activities outside the classroom are available to all.
A risk assessment is carried out for each trip and a suitable number of adults are made available to accompany the children, with 1:1 support if necessary.
Parents/Carers may be invited to accompany their child on school trips if this ensures access.
After school clubs are available to all pupils. Vulnerable pupils are sometimes given priority and adjustments are made to support their participation.
Welfare staff are employed to help children if they need any support at lunchtime.

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

At St James’ we aim to make transition of any kind as easy as possible.
Induction takes place during the summer term for all children who are joining the reception class in September.
Close liaison between the SENCO, teachers in Early years, Key Stage 3 and dual placement settings takes place, with transfer of all SEND information to new setting, and previous schools contacted for information sharing.
Transition to new classes facilitated by sessions during the summer term with new class teachers and environments.
Transition sessions for Year 6 children to High School during the summer term.
New schools are invited to attend any reviews prior to transition.
Children joining school are monitored to ensure happy transition.

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

From time to time specialist services may be accessed to support  children’s learning. We work closely with and have access to several services/organisations including:
• Educational Psychology Service
• Language and Learning Support
• Speech and Language Therapy
• School Nurse
• Autistic Spectrum Disorder Services
• Early Years Services