• If your child is transferring to St Mary’s and already has a special educational need, your primary school will inform the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator at St Mary’s. These children form the majority of SEND students at the school.
• There is planning between the schools and with parents/carers in Year 6 to support the student’s move from primary to secondary school.
• On entry to the school, all students are screened on key cognitive skills, language skills and certain core academic skills. This system can pick up potential difficulties at the earliest stage.
• The school listens to parents. Sometimes, the first signs of difficulty are picked up through conversation at home so parents are always welcome to contact the school to talk about concerns.

• If you are concerned about your child’s abilities, the school will listen to your concerns, discuss them with you and agree on a plan that might only need light monitoring or might require assessment by specialist staff or external agencies.
• You can contact the school by phone, letter, or email (please see contact details on the home page of the school website or the SEN website section).
• It will be OK to contact the school through a family friend or professional translator if you feel more comfortable using a language other than English.

An EHCP is a legal document that identifies a child’s SEN needs and focusses on the support required to meet agreed outcomes. The key difference between a statement of SEN and EHCPs is that, as well as the educational elements covered in statements, EHCPs also outline the child’s health and social care needs, outcomes and support.

All students :

• The school will always send you a letter to let you know if we are proposing to offer your child support that is additional to or different from what is already in place for all mainstream students.
• Parents evenings are an opportuny to discuss your child’s progress and needs and to find out about support options.
• Parents are always welcome to contact their child’s class teacher or SENDCo at any time to discuss particular concerns as they arise.

Students with Statements and EHCPs:

• Your child will have identified needs and an education plan in place. Your child will also have an Annual Review of their progress and needs. This comes in the form of a specially arranged face to face meeting between parents and staff and appropriate external agencies. During this meeting, students, parents and staff have the chance to express their views about the progress being made and the provision they are receiving at school.

• All staff are trained, (through a yearly programme of Continuing Professional Development ), in adapting lesson plans to increase the use of elements known to support students who need extra help. For some students with lighter needs, this is all that is required to help them make progress.
• Teachers also have access to a register of students known to have specific needs and they can collaborate with the specialist staff to build adaptations to activities especially for those individual students.
• Many lessons benefit from having a teaching assistant in the class who can spot difficulties and help to give instant support
• If your child is specifically funded through their statement or EHCP, meetings with the SENDCO will include discussion and agreement about how that funding is used and monitored.