At St Albert the Great, we endeavour to meet the needs of individual children, teachers and all those who are involved in our school community. All policies reflect our commitment to inclusion of all groups of children encompassing those who are able, gifted and talented, to those with special educational needs and disabilities. Many children will have additional needs at some point during their time at St Albert the Great. These may be related to health, emotions, behaviour or learning. We aim to identify and address these needs through our school’s inclusive practice. We want to encourage and develop abilities and talents so that each child leaves the school with a positive self-image and sense of personal achievement, allowing for their spiritual, emotional and intellectual growth.

Who you can speak to about SEND

If you have any questions or queries about Special Educational Needs, or are concerned that your child has special educational needs, please speak with your child’s class teacher first.  They will discuss any concerns with the members of staff responsible for SEND and ensuring that your child is able to achieve to the best of their abilities. If we identify difficulties, we will want to discuss them with you as soon as possible so that we can act together.

The Inclusion Lead is Mrs Wilson and the SENDCo is Mrs Jarvis-Cross. They can be contacted via the school office. 

Both hold the National Award for SEND Co-ordination and ensure that all staff follow the SEND Code of Practice to support the needs of every pupil. By carefully addressing individual needs, we aim to ensure that all children  will be given every opportunity to achieve their true potential.

Tel: 01442 264835                             Email: admin@albertthegreat.herts.sch.uk

The SEND Governor is Mrs Alison Spice.

How we support children with SEND at St Albert the Great

We work to support pupils in a variety of different ways.  Support may be provided through carefully differentiated work, an adult giving extra support through small groups or accessing specialist services from outside the school.

For more information on all that we offer children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, please download our School Information Report.

Access to the curriculum for pupils with SEND

We ensure that our SEND pupils have access to the curriculum by:

– ensuring constant refreshing of training for all staff, so that they have the knowledge and skills needed to support disabled pupils.

– considering best class room organisation for pupils hearing, visual, sensory, communication or other needs

– recognising the additional mental effort made by some pupils, for example those with hearing needs or processing needs and give rest breaks.

– working with parents, outside professional, curriculum advisors and the child to try to understand what is needed, and what might work best.

Further information can be found in our accessibility plan:

 

Pupils with medical conditions

We work to ensure that pupils at our school with medical conditions are properly supported so that they have full access to education, including school trips and physical education. We work with parents and health professionals to produce Individual Healthcare Plans when needed.  Please see our policy for more information.

 

Admissions

Children who have special educational needs but don’t have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan should apply for a school place in the usual way.  Please see the admission pages of the website for more information.

Children with an EHC plan are allocated school places through a separate process and applications are handled by the pupil’s allocated SEN officer from Hertfordshire’s Special Needs Team.  If you have any questions about this, please contact your child’s SEN officer.

 

Complaints

We always endeavour to work in partnership with parents, however, there is a policy and process in place should it be needed.