SEN Information

Mr Lord is our SENCO and can be contacting on the school number: 01254247157 or by emailing a.lord@st-marys-langho.lancs.sch.uk

At St Mary's we are inclusive and strive to meet the needs of all of our pupils, staff and families. We work closely with families to adapt our provision to meet the needs of our pupils so our children do not need to adapt for us but can access learning and socialising, discovering life without limitations, and how to overcome challenges around them every day. We strive to deliver a dyslexia friendly environment for learning, and take pride in our ASD and ADD/ADHD friendly practise also. We know that many children may have specific needs that we need to meet, and the majority will be undiagnosed when children join us. Therefore if our practise everyday is inclusive and supports all children, we are already off to a great start!

Our resources and displays should be accessible, on buff paper where necessary and in a size and type of font to be easily visible, on matt surfaces to avoid glare. Our rooms should be uncluttered, with clear displays for learning. We have working walls in every classroom with resources the children need for each lesson, that can also be used cross curricularly. Displays are on a calm background, with simple font and clear organisation to be accessible for all.

Visual timetables are accessible and daily routines in all classrooms, with individual ones provided also. 'Noisometers' - visual reminders for acceptable noise levels that children manage e.g. silent working, paired talk, group talk levels - are also everyday practise.

We have Autism Ambassadors as well as subject ambassadors, with a pupil who requested the role and develops awareness and understanding of autism. So far she has led an assembly on autism and produced information to display throughout school. She has also contributed to staff training by expressing her vision of autism and how school meets her needs.

Our staff training regularly covers the many areas of SEND as we constantly strive for better practise as research develops.

Most importantly, we ask individuals and consult with families. We are very aware that everyone is unique, and we must get to know our children and how they learn and socialise best for them. By knowing our children well, we can support them in the best ways with love and care at the heart.

Our process from starting school is to get to know our children and families, communicating regularly. We then notify our SENCO, Mr Lord, of any concerns on a Cause for Concern form with the parents and carers support. Children are monitored, with strategies used from our experience and research. With parental consent, children can be referred through us or through the GP for services such as speech and language, hearing tests, eye tests, paediatrician etc, for a number of reasons. Often referrals are to eliminate possible areas. We know that the sooner an area is diagnosed correctly at the appropriate age, the better it can be for the child to understand, and therefore for their mental health, although every child is different.

Sharing knowledge and understanding, support and advice for one another is invaluable. We know with the right care, all of our children will achieve great things. As our Vision says, Faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains! When we have faith in one another, and support each other, our children can achieve their potential and our families can feel supported.

Our children learn about the many examples of people famous or personal to us all, who have achieved great things with special educational needs. Entrepreneurs, pop stars, successful pioneers of business, professors, successful sports people, inventors, mums, dads, brothers, sisters etc - succeed with SEN as a super power. It is that super power that one of our children used recently - describing his special need as a super power - because without it, he would think differently and wouldn't be his unique self! With such positivity and support, our children can indeed see their special education needs as a super power!