Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School
SEND
SEND - Special Educational Needs and Disability
Welcome to SEND at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School & Little Acorns Nursery.
At our school we strive to support all children to enable them to achieve their potential. In order to do this many steps are taken to help all children through their learning journey.
High quality teaching is vital; however, for some pupils there are occasions when additional support may be needed.
The school has a named Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo), Mrs Liz Kendall, who has the National Professional Qualification in Special Educational Needs and we are fortunate to have two named link Governors responsible for SEND, Mrs Jose Bates and Mrs Colette Senar.
Roles & Responsibilities of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCo).
Our SENDCo is responsible for the operation of the Special Educational Needs Policy and co-ordination of specific provision made to support individual children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Children's progress is monitored on a regular basis and further interventions are planned for children when there are concerns over their progress.
We regularly have contact with a wide range of external agencies that are able to give more specialised advice.
If you have any concerns regarding SEND matters, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Statutory Guidance
On September 1st 2014, a revised Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice was introduced. The reforms aim to implement a new approach which seeks to join up help across education, health and care, from birth to 25.
The revised Code of Practice introduces reforms which will affect how children with SEND are provided for at Our Lady of Lourdes and within Little Acorns Nursery.
Under Section 65 (3) (a) of the Code of Practice, all schools are required to publish a SEND Information Report on their school website.
This report must contain SEND information as is set out in the Schedule, as well as utilising the Local Authority (LA) Local Offer. Consequently, the report should outline how the school will meet the needs of SEND pupils.
Children and Families Act 2014
The Children and Families Act (2014) lays out that local government needs to pay attention to the wishes and feelings of those being worked with, allow for participation on processes and offer support so that can happen, and work to achieve the best possible educational outcomes. The Government has listened to what parents say their experience of services is like and have put in place a number of things to bring about improvements. One of these is the ‘Local Offer’.
What is the SEND Local Offer?
- Local Authorities must publish a ‘Local Offer’ setting out the provision they expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people who have special educational needs and / or disabilities. Please click here to access Lancashire's Local Offer.
- All schools must publish information on their websites about their policies for pupils with SEND.
- There are a set of questions, devised in consultation with parents/carers and other agencies, which reflect their concerns and interests. These will be answered by agencies, schools and colleges to provide information to parents and carers to enable them to make decisions about how to best support their child’s needs.
- St Richard's answers to these questions can be found in the SEND Information Report which can be accessed below or at this link:SEND Information Report
SEND and Safeguarding
We are aware at Our Lady of Lourdes and Little Acorns Nursery that children with SEND are more vulnerable to abuse and unable and / or less able to speak out if something isn't right.
Some children may be vulnerable because:
- they have additional communication needs
- they do not understand that what is happening to them is abuse
- they need intimate care or are isolated from others
- they are dependent on others for care.
Please see the link for the statutory guidance that schools must have regard to when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026
Lancashire SENDIAS - Information, advice and Support for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Lancashire SEND Information, Advice and Support Service is a statutory service which is run at ‘arm’s length’ from the Local Authority and provides free, confidential, impartial advice, guidance and support to parents of children with special educational needs and children and young people with SEND.