SEND

My name is Emma Cox and I am the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) at St Michael’s RC Primary School. I completed the National SENCO award at Christchurch University and I have over 16 years of experience as a class teacher.

 

My role in school involves working directly as the SENCO with children with Special Educational Needs and their families/carers in a ‘lead professional’ role. I also work closely with the Pastoral Manager to support children with their wellbeing as well.

 

In my role I check and implement provision for all children with SEN in all classes in school. I co-ordinate intervention programmes, make referrals and liaise with Outside Agencies as necessary. I also support our pupil’s individual needs to enable them to make progress and also access the curriculum at their own pace.

 

As the school SENCO, I also work in partnership with parents/carers to help to support both the child and their family. I am able to provide information about different Special Educational Needs and I also direct families to outside support agencies that can help them.

 

If you would like to book an appointment to see me please ask at the school office.

 

Mrs E Cox

What is SEND?

Children and young people with Special Education Needs (SEN) have learning difficulties make it harder for them to learn than most children and young people of the same age. These children and young people may need extra or different help from that given to others.

 

Many children and young people who have SEN may also have a disability. A disability is described in law (the Equality Act 2010) as ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term (a year or more) and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.’ This includes, for example, sensory impairments such as those that affect sight and hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes or epilepsy.

Medway Council Local Offer

The Local Offer is a Local Authority’s publication of all the provision they expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people in their area who have SEN or are disabled, including those who do not have Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans.

 

It has two key purposes: to provide clear, comprehensive, accessible and up to date information about the available provision and how to access it and to make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving disabled children and those with SEN and their parents, and disabled young people and those with SEN, and service providers in its development and review.

 

Medway’s Local Offer gives you greater control over how your children are supported.

Parent Forum

The school runs an SEND Parent Forum. This is a vehicle for parents and carers of children in the school with Special educational needs and disabilities ( SEND) to have a voice and  to express their views  ideas about our school SEND provision and discuss issues that are relevant to them.  It also offers parents to see how the school supports their child’s needs, and share experiences and tips to help one another. An opportunity to represent views to the overall running of the school in its quest to provide the best possible outcomes for our children. It is not an opportunity for parents/carers to air personal grievances on behalf of their children or to make a complaint about a member of staff. There are procedures in place to do this in a confidential and professional manner. The minutes from each meeting are posted on this page.

 

To enhance communication between the school and parents and develop an effective partnership by:

• Providing a voice for parents of children with SEND on issues that are relevant to them.
• Sharing experiences and meeting parents in a similar situation, swapping tips and helping one another.
• Giving parents a chance to see how teachers help children with SEND in school, using various strategies and resources.
• Providing valuable parental feedback to the school about a variety of issues that are important to them.
• Providing support for our school and a sense of ownership for our parents.