St Andrew the Apostle School SEND Information Report 2024
St Andrew the Apostle School is a mainstream secondary school that currently has children from Year 7 to Year 13. The school believes that all children and young people are entitled to an education that enables them to:
- Achieve their best
- Become confident individuals living fulfilling lives
- Make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training
‘I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.’ (John 10:10)
Under section 65(3)(a) of the Children and Families Act 2014 the Governing Body is required to publish information about Special Educational Needs policy and provision. This information is updated annually and was last updated in September 2024.
1. The kinds of special educational needs for which provision is made at the school:
We
currently support children with the following Special Educational Needs, and do so in line with the 2015 Code
of Practice: Specific Learning Difficulties, including dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD; Autistic Spectrum
Disorder (ASD), Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD), Speech Language and Communication Needs (SLCN); hearing
impairment (HI); and Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs (SEMH).
2. The school's policies for the identification and assessment of pupils with special
educational needs:
The school’s policy for identifying children with SEND is in line with the SEND Code of Practice 2014. The school recognises that a child or young person has SEND
if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for
them. As defined in the 2014 Code of Practice, the school accepts that a young person has a learning
difficulty or disability if they: have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of
others of the same age; or if they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of
educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or
mainstream post-16 institutions.
3. Information about the school’s policies for making provision for students with special educational
needs whether or not pupils have Education and Health Care Plans, including:
(a) how the school
evaluates the effectiveness of its provision for such pupils; The school evaluates the effectiveness of its
provision for all students, regardless of SEND, through the outcomes they achieve and their progression to
further stages of education. All students are set challenging progress targets for their learning achievements
and the impact of teaching and additional support is measured by the school through student outcomes. Children
with SEND are expected to make the same levels of progress as their peers. SEND students also receive regular
progress reviews through the monitoring of personalised provision maps. The school monitors the effectiveness
of its main and wider curriculum through the take up of and participation in additional and extra-curricular
activities. The evaluation of all aspects of provision includes input from students and parents.
(b)
the school’s arrangements for assessing and reviewing the progress of pupils with special educational needs;
Whole school assessment and monitoring procedures are in place and apply to all students at all levels. SEND
children are assessed in the same way as all other children. The school follows the Code of Practice to
assess, plan, do and review when undertaking any specific areas of support, and has structures in place to
ensure on-going regular assessment of outcomes which are discussed with the child and parents. Students are
also assessed following any periods of intensive targeted intervention. The school’s assessment procedures
ensure that all progress is closely monitored at all times and that any concerns are rapidly raised and the
necessary support made available through the class teacher to enable progress (please refer to the SEND policy
which can be found here).
Parents are informed when additional learning provision is provided for their child (as per the SEND Code of
Practice, section 6.39). The SENCO works together with the rest of SLT to ensure standards are maintained
across the school.
(c) the school’s graduated approach starts at whole school level through Wave 1
universal provision: Quality First Teaching that is inclusive for all students. Where a potential special
educational need has been identified, additional interventions may be put in place and the use of a pupil
passport may be used to increase awareness of a student's SEND needs (Wave 2). Support may become
increasingly targeted and personal (Wave 3). Please see below:
- Wave 1: inclusive quality teaching for all
- Wave 2: additional interventions
- Wave 3: highly personalised interventions
(d) how the school adapts the curriculum and learning environment for students with special educational
needs; The school would not expect to make significant adaptations to the curriculum but provides a curriculum
to enable children to succeed. Necessary adaptations to the learning environment to ensure children have
opportunity wherever possible to progress at the same level as the rest of the class.
(e) additional
support for learning that is available to pupils with special educational needs; Additional support is
provided through short term targeted interventions which may be in class or require withdrawal from some
lessons though never from core subjects. These interventions may include: numeracy, literacy, social
skills.
(f) activities that are available for students with special educational needs in addition to
those available in accordance with the curriculum; All children are expected to be involved in the full range
of school activities. Only in the case of distinct disability (e.g. wheel-chair use in sport) would any child
be unable to take part in any normal school activity and alternative activities will be put in place; and even
in that case very few activities would be inaccessible and appropriate reasonable adjustments may be
made.
(g) support that is available for improving the emotional and social development of students
with special educational needs. The school’s pastoral system supports all children with close focus on their
social, emotional moral and spiritual development. The school has an anti-bullying policy which applies to all
students and operates in line with the school’s Character Education approach to behaviour management and can
be found here.
The school has links to health bodies and social care bodies through the local authority and can draw on these
if there is a significant need.
4. In relation to mainstream schools and maintained nursery schools, the name and contact details of the SEN co-ordinator: The school’s SENCO is Mrs Bamber, who can be contacted using the main contact details for the school which are available here: sen@standrewtheapostle.org.uk
5. Information about the expertise and training of staff in relation to children and young people with special educational needs and about how specialist expertise will be secured. The school goes out of its way to employ outstanding teachers to ensure that all children receive the highest possible quality of education. All recent research has shown that progress is made in direct relationship to the quality of teaching. Qualified teachers normally work within areas where they have specific expertise to enable children to make expected levels of progress at all times and to ensure all programmes of support are tailored to specific need. All staff receive induction and regular update training on supporting children with SEND. The school employs teaching assistants for students who need one to one support in some areas of the curriculum. Our teaching assistants benefit from regular, targeted training for their support roles. Where appropriate, specialist expertise is sought through the Local Authority, Russell Education Trust and other relevant agencies
6. Information about how equipment and facilities to support children and young people. Specialist equipment to support individual needs is secured on a case by case basis with the advice, where appropriate, of external specialist agencies.
7. The arrangements for consulting parents of children with special educational needs about, and involving such parents in, the education of their child. We consult with parents of children identified as having SEND at least every term when academic assessments are made. We recognise the importance of good communication with all parents/carers of students on our SEND register. We have clear transition arrangements in place for Year 7 students: In the first term, Year 7 parents will meet with the form teacher; in the second a written report will be sent home and parents are welcome to come to the school to discuss any concerns they may have; in the third term students with EHCPs will usually have an annual review and parents of all other SEND students will be able to meet with the SENCO. We do admit students with SEND as in-year admissions where places are available and ensure that communication with parents/carers and the student's previous school is strong to enable a smooth transition.
8. The arrangements for consulting young people with special educational needs about, and involving them in, their education. Wherever possible and advisable, children are involved in the review process and that of setting targets for the next session. The school believes that young people have a right to be involved in making decisions and exercising choices. They have a right to receive and impart information, to express an opinion, and to have that opinion taken into account in any matters affecting them. Consequently, the school is committed to working in partnership with the child, parents, carers and outside agencies to identify needs.
9. Any arrangements made by the governing body or the proprietor relating to the treatment of complaints from parents of students with special educational needs concerning the provision made at the school. In the event that a parent or carer is concerned about the progress that their child is making at the school they should contact the SENCO in the first instance. If the parent or carer remains unhappy about the outcome, the Headteacher should be contacted. These are the first stages of the school’s complaints policy - which can be found here.
10. How the governing body involves other bodies, including health and social services bodies, local authority support services and voluntary organisations, in meeting the needs of pupils with special educational needs and in supporting the families of such pupils. Where a student with SEND is not making appropriate progress and we feel that they need advice and support from external professionals, we will discuss such a need with parents. If it is felt appropriate, we will then refer a student to an external agency and/or professionals for diagnosis, support or advice. Subsequent to such a referral, we will work with the external agency to support such students, using agency support and advice. We work with other external agencies such as the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Speech and Language Service, Literacy Support Service, Educational Psychologist, Counsellors and the Autism Support Service.
11. Contact details of support services for the parents of students with special educational needs:
Barnet Local Offer – Education and Skills,
Barnet with Cambridge Education,
2 Bristol
Avenue,
Colindale,
London
NW9 4EW
For queries about your individual child’s needs, including EHCPs or EHC needs assessments, please contact SENAdmin@Barnet.gov.uk
For comments, queries or feedback on this local offer website, please contact SENDLocalOffer@Barnet.gov.uk
12. The school’s arrangements for supporting students with special educational needs in transferring between phases of education or in preparing for adulthood and independent, living. The school works closely with all children as they approach times of transition. There is close co-ordination with all feeder primary schools to ensure smooth transition from KS2 to KS3, which includes visits to the primary schools concerned and a range of induction visits for new children. At the end of KS3, meetings will be focussed on transition to KS4 and ensuring the right pathways are established and clearly understood by a child and their parents/carers. Students with SEN are also supported post-18 with transition to the their next phase of education, employment or training.
13. Information on where the local authority’s local offer is published. The local authority’s local offer is published on its website: https://www.barnetlocaloffer.org.uk/
14. Relevant school policies as noted in the report:
- SEND Policy - POLICY - Special Educational Needs.pdf (russelleducationtrust.org.uk)
- Anti-Bullying - POLICY - Anti-Bullying.pdf (russelleducationtrust.org.uk)
- Complaints - PROCEDURE - Complaints.pdf (russelleducationtrust.org.uk)
- The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice 2014 -
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25