SEND

What is SEND?

A Child or young person aged from 0 to 25 years has special educational needs or disability (SEND) if they: 

• have a learning difficulty or disability which makes it much harder for them to learn than other pupils of the same age
• they require special educational provision to be made for them

The 4 areas of need according to the SEND Code of Practice. If your child has a SEND, their needs will fall into one or more of the  following 4 areas:

Communication & interaction 
Cognition & learning
Social, emotional and mental health difficulty
Sensory and/or physical needs

Special Educational Needs and Difficulties can affect a child’s ability to learn.

They can affect their:

• Behaviour or ability to socialise.
• Reading and writing.
• Ability to understand things.
• Concentration levels.
• Physical ability.

It is the role of the SENDCO to ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities receive the support that they need.

Our SENDCO in school is Helen Hall, who can be contacted via the school office or email at enquiries@stp.dsat.education

Some of the responsibilities of a SENDCO include:

• Overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEND policy.
• Supporting the identification of children with special educational needs.
• Co-ordinating provision for children with SEND.
• Liaising with parents of children with SEND.
• Liaising with other providers, outside agencies, educational psychologists, and external agencies.
• Ensuring that the school keeps the records of all pupils with SEND up to date.

SEND Curriculum Intent: 

Code of practice:  Some children and young people need educational provision that is additional to or different from their peers. This is special educational provision under Section 21 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to ensure that such provision is made for those who need it. Special educational provision is underpinned by high quality teaching and is compromised by anything less. 
 
Excellence and enjoyment: Great teaching is about sensitivity and adaptation, about a warm interaction between a teacher and a student, and about adjusting to the here-and-now circumstances of the classroom & child’s needs.  

What SEND teaching means at St Thomas: 

Children with SEND will be identified quickly, supported fully, and access lessons that are differentiated to enable and challenge each child to meet their potential in their progression to adulthood. We want children to experience 'Life in all its fullness' John 10:10. 

The Hive

What is 'The Hive'?

The Hive at Kilnhurst St Thomas Primary Academy is a specialist enhanced provision (SEP) for young people who attend the school and have been identified with a high level of need in the area of Communication and interaction, including children with ASD and those who may be non-speaking.  

Our Hive Learners...

Our Hive pupils have complex learning needs and barriers to learning.  Whole class learning is inappropriate for this group of pupils and initial work is centred around developing relationships with staff members and trying to understand a pupil’s learning profile. The Hive curriculum is unique and bespoke to the individual. 

For learners with complex needs life can become a fragmented series of events with little order. Without structure, learners may struggle to develop ways to communicate, anticipate and long term memory. Therefore, it is essential to provide a simple, structured environment with ordered activities and routines.  Our practitioners will use their best judgement to design a timetable to best suit the needs of the individual learners, working with specialist teachers and other agencies as appropriate.  Daily and weekly consistency is important and will be reflected on the timetable that will include interventions and activities such as Musical Interaction, Bucket Time, Fun with Food PE and outdoor learning.

Accessibility Plan can be found on the school policies web page.