In order to fulfil our vision of ‘A Place to Become’, at St Margaret’s we recognise the critical importance of working in partnership with parents/carers.  Early nursery and reception home visits (which are also attended by the Pastoral Leader), help us work closely with parents of children with identified SEND to ensure their child has the best possible start to school life.  

Regular formal and informal opportunities are provided to meet your child’s class teacher (twice yearly parent’s evenings, termly open evening and workshop afternoons), which enable concerns to be discussed.  If you are worried about your child in any way, by speaking to their class teacher as soon as possible, we can investigate as appropriate and provide timely additional support as required.  If we are concerned about your child, we will discuss this with you in order to gather your views and ensure we take into account both how your child presents in school and at home.  

St Margaret’s is committed to person-centred ways of working which means that what is important to and important for both you and your child will be at the heart of any decisions made.  From September 2021, all staff will assess children working below subject-specific study (the old P Scales 1-4) using the Engagement Model and PIVATS which enables children to have their strengths clearly identified and areas for development prioritised.  St Margaret’s strives to provide the highest quality teaching which ensures that all children are included in the classroom and that the class environment is adapted to enable all to excel.

For children who require additional targeted work we use carefully chosen, evidence-based interventions.  Where possible interventions/extra support takes place within the classroom or just outside.  Intervention times are rotated so that your child will not miss out on the same lesson each week.  At the beginning of any support, outcomes are identified and time scales are set (usually between 6 and 20 weeks).  Progress is carefully monitored during the intervention (rather than just at the end), to enable adjustments to be made.

St Margaret’s operate an open door policy – should you ever have any queries or concerns about your child’s learning please don’t hesitate to come into school either at the beginning or end of the school day. 

At the beginning of the school year we hold an open evening which enables all parents to meet their child’s new class teacher, look at the work done so far and ask any questions.  Workshops are planned into the school year focusing on different aspects of learning, for example phonics, which enable you to see exemplar sessions, receive valuable information and ask any questions of staff.  Half-termly class newsletters are sent out to inform parents of what each class will be studying over that period to keep parents fully informed. Furthermore, guidance on expectations for year groups and links to recommended websites are available on stmargarets.oldham.sch.uk/

If your child is participating in an intervention, we will endeavour to contact you before this begins with any relevant information.  Furthermore, we will keep you informed through postcards home of your child’s progress.

 

The SENDCO began her role in September 2016 and has completed the National Award for SEN Coordination (NASENCO).  The pastoral lead has completed a range of courses to understand child development including a psychology degree and a counselling course.  She has a particular interest in developing relationships between parents and their children and securing positive relationships between home and school.

All staff have been trained in Autism (AET – Level Two) and received dyslexia friendly school training.  In addition a number of early years staff are qualified to Level One in Signalong and this is used as part of daily provision in Nursery and Reception to support all children’s early communication and language skills.  Please see below for further details about staff training undertake

Additionally, specialisms have been developed amongst Teaching Assistants in response to school’s data and support is deployed where data indicates it is needed most (as opposed to being spread evenly amongst classes).  For example, given that almost 50% of children on the SEN register have some kind of speech and language need, the school has accessed regular training opportunities provided by the Oldham Speech and Language Service. Recent training has included Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and Intensive Interaction.  

We seek support from specialist teachers for accessing the curriculum and extra work on SEND related needs (speech, language and communication; hearing impairment, visual impairment; behaviour related needs; severe learning difficulties; autism).  Furthermore, we receive support from speech and language to train our staff, advise on strategies and programmes and we refer pupils for assessment if we believe they need further assessment. In addition, we have strong links with our school nurse and community paediatrician, both of whom play an active role in supporting school life.  We also access both occupational therapy and physiotherapy for pupils who require further assessment/support. 

School have produced an accessibility plan (updated August 2019) which complies with the statutory guidance set out in the Equality Act (2010). Regular audits are undertaken which look at identifying and removing barriers in the following areas:

Physical Access

Ramps both inside and outside school coupled with a lift in the KS2 part of the building, ensure access for all. 

Further adaptations are made in accordance with pupils’ needs and advice is sought from relevant specialists as necessary.  In the last twelve months the following adaptations have been made:

- sensory tents for calming down

- handrails to support children walking on steps

- a quiet dedicated space for children who require support with their personal care

Additionally, physical aids such as writing slopes, pencil grips, cushions to support active sitting, fidget toys are also used when necessary. 

Delivery of Written Information

School are conscious of the availability of written materials in alternative formats.  We are familiar with using enhanced print for pupils with visual impairments.  Also we customized materials using dyslexia friendly fonts and coloured backgrounds to minimise visual stress for children with diagnosed and undiagnosed difficulties, where appropriate.

In addition, we are able to make available school brochures, newsletters and other information for parents in alternative formats when specifically requested. 

Curriculum Access

School is constantly seeking ways to become more inclusive and holds a number of additional accreditations in recognition of this including Achievement for All; Families and Schools together certification; dyslexia friendly status and Autism Education Level Two accreditation. Furthermore we work hard to ensure that teaching is of a high quality and is differentiated and personalised to meet the individual needs of the majority of children.  As part of our high quality teaching we aim to consistently provide.

General Provision – daily high quality teaching on offer for all children 

High quality literacy and mathematics environment

Access strategies planned and utilised to include all children (differentiated questioning; use of alternatives to questions; interactive and multi-sensory approaches)

Opportunities to address earlier linked objectives from the literacy and numeracy frameworks for children working above/below ARE

Provision of a range of alternatives to written recording

Focused group work with teacher

TA support for targeted pupils

Differentiated activities which enable all childrenn to work independently

Effective use of the plenary to assess, secure and reinforce learning

Use of key visuals, including signalong in EYFS environment;

Scaffolds and prompts to support learning

Supportive learning environment

Teaching strategies – explicit teaching and focused learning through:

Modelling; Demonstration; Discussion; Guided talk, listening, reading and writing; Joint composition; Co-operative learning techniques; Use of technology; Investigating

Classroom organisation – flexible use of space to accommodate:

A variety of tasks (provision for a quiet area); A variety of pupil groupings; A range of media including computers

Classroom management – use of TAs to assist pupils through:

1:1 support; Small group support; Scribing; Reading support

Use of other children assisting pupils through:

Peer tutoring; Buddy systems; Co-operative learning

Teacher presentation of information – use of a variety of modes and styles:

Auditory; Tactile; Visual kinaesthetic

Student display of knowledge – opportunities to respond by:

Speaking; Writing; Drawing and painting; Constructing and manipulating; Sorting and labelling; Acting and role play

Classroom scaffolds – use of:

Visual aids; Working walls; Table top prompts; Whole class word banks and dictionaries ; Concrete apparatus; Technology; Regular routines

Available equipment – access to:

Audio tape recorders/Dictaphones; Calculator; Concrete apparatus; Computers 

School will provide support to both children and their families to ensure positive transitions.  We will ensure our planning is family-centred and provides the support that the family feel is necessary to make the transition supported and successful.

We will share detailed information with the receiving school to ensure that this can be incorporated into the child’s provision in the new setting. 

We have developed close relationships with our local secondary schools and begin transition planning in Year Five for those children who require this.  One off visits to secondary schools begin in Year Five and take place weekly during the last half-term of Year Six.

Yearly audits of staff skills/expertise are undertaken and training needs identified and prioritised from these. 

Whole staff training related to SEND in last two years:

Moving and Handling and Feeding training

Autism Education Trust (AET), Level Two

Memory Training

Person-Centred Practices

REAL training

Lego therapy training

Solihull training

Signalong

In addition, all members of school staff are trained in Team Teach. 

Half termly progress reviews ensure a thorough analysis of underachieving pupils, moderation of judgements and checking that outcomes for different groups. Where interventions are used, achievement data is used rigorously and frequently to check whether these are working.  By evaluating data on a very regular basis (rather than simply at the end of the intervention), adjustments can be made quickly and success maximised. 

Engaging in the ‘Great Classrooms Project’ has enabled staff to become familiar with the Sutton Trust Toolkit (EEF, 2011).  In conjunction with evidence from teachers, this was used to devise the whole school vision of ‘A place to BECOME’ which focuses on children developing their learning and thinking skills. 

As a school we are constantly seeking ways to maximise impact for children with special needs.  TAs are deployed where data indicates they are needed most (as opposed to being spread evenly across classes).  Additionally, specialisms have been developed (for example, the school now has several Teaching Assistants trained to deliver the Nuffield Early Language Intervention).  This is in response to our national data which indicates that almost half of the children on the SEND register at St Margaret’s have some kind of Speech and Language difficulty.  Other specialisms include: literacy; guided reading and mathematics.  Regular audits of staff needs ensure training is kept up to date and that TAs are able to fulfil their roles.  Careful deployment of TAs has ensured that strengths with different subjects and age groups are maximised and built up.