Areas of need

All pupils with Special Needs

For all children at St Alban’s RC Primary School who have an additional need we:

  • Recognise the contributions families can provide and work in partnership with them to best support our pupils.
  • Deliver high quality teaching, adapting the curriculum and our resources to ensure children can access the learning.
  • Employ a fully qualified Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) to lead on SEN provision across the school.
  • Assess and review the learning of our SEN children, using that information to inform future planning and teaching.
  • Provide teaching assistants in class who work with SEN children and also, importantly, support other children so that the teacher has more opportunities to work with the SEN children.
  • Hold regular meetings for teaching assistants with the SENCO, to review children, interventions and resources and to adapt provision where necessary.
  • Support our families with children with SEN, formally through review meetings and informally through direct conversations and information sharing. Families are also advised of other services and organisations which may offer further advice and support.
  • Seek advice from outside agencies to ensure each child’s needs are fully identified and understood and to learn from specialists how best to support our SEN children.
  • We evaluate intervention groups and strategies on a termly basis.
  • Regularly evaluate our teaching resources to ensure they are accessible to all SEN children.
  • Ensure our school activities and trips, as far as is possible, are accessible to all our SEN children.
  • Hold planning and review meetings with families for children with a higher level of SEN.
  • Provide on-going SEN training and information for teachers and teaching assistants
  • Liaise closely with secondary schools at transition times to ensure SEN pupil information is clearly communicated and recommendations heard so that the move to secondary school is as smooth as possible.

Communication and Interaction

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Speech, Language and Communication Needs

Support provided in school:

  • We use visual timetables when needed to support children to understand what will happen and when.
  • We provide areas with reduced distractions and low stimulus- breakout rooms and quiet areas to enable pupils to concentrate
  • We offer additional support in class, during break and lunch time when appropriate.
  • We have a variety of resources available to use, depending on a child’s sensory difficulties.
  • Time is spent with children helping them to identify situations that cause anxiety and finding ways to relieve that anxiety.
  • We run small group speech and language sessions.
  • We access the expertise and advice of the local authority Speech, Language and Social Communication team.

Cognition and Learning Needs

Children in need of additional support with Knowledge and Understanding

Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)

We access the expertise and advice of the Special Educational Needs Teaching and Support Service (SENTASS) to ensure the needs of children are clearly identified.

We have member of staff trained in supporting pupils with Dyslexia offering advice and support to staff and parents.

We have generous levels of support to provide effective pupil teacher ratios.

  • We provide small group support with a focus on literacy or numeracy skills, depending on need.
  • We use intervention programmes to improve literacy or numeracy skills- e.g. Lexia Rapid Reading; Read, Write Inc, Fresh Start, Numicon. Many of these programmes are also available at home.
  • We use Ipad technology extensively to support all aspects of learning. This stimulates and invigorates learning for pupils.
  • We provide resources to support children with specific needs- e.g. coloured overlays and reading rulers to help with reading for our dyslexic children.

Social and Emotional

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs

Mental Health Condition

Social Difficulties

Emotional Difficulties

  • We provide excellent pastoral care for our children. When required we offer individual and small group sessions focusing on emotional understanding and expression.
  • We create a positive behaviour environment following our school’s catholic ethos.
  • We strive to encourage the children to show care, respect and consideration for all through the promotion of positive values.
  • We organise behaviour management plans where necessary, to ensure children can access the curriculum and all children remain safe.
  • We complete risk assessments and then take action to ensure the safety and inclusion of all children, whenever possible, in all activities
  • We provide one to one nurture sessions for vulnerable children.
  • We put in place short term support for children  with a specific emotional need, for example, bereavement.
  • We run small group sessions with a focus on social skills.
  • We seek the expert advice and support of outside agencies, including the School Health Advisor and the Children and Young People’s Service (CYPS)

Sensory and Physical Needs

Hearing/Visual Impairment

Physical Disabilities

Multi- Sensory Impairment

Medical Needs

Staff and our parent Support Adviser offer guidance and support and seek advice and guidance from school health for pupils with significant medical needs:

  • We provide support and practical aids where appropriate to ensure pupils can access the curriculum.
  • We run intervention sessions to improve pupil skills, e.g. gross and fine motor skills
  • We request and act upon advice and guidance from the Newcastle Children’s Vision Team and Hearing Impairment Team.
  • When it is appropriate we use ICT to enhance pupil’s access to the curriculum.
  • When required staff receive training in understanding the impact of a physical or sensory need on the teaching of learning of the child.
  • The main entrance to school has a ramp fitted to allow wheelchair and a lift provides access to all floors.
  • Our school has a disabled toilet.
  • We have four staff trained in Pediatric First Aid and other staff have the relevant First Aid certificates. Four of the staff have had training in managing medication in school.
  • Our staff understand and apply the Medicine Policy