Our SENCO is Miss Joanne Marshall who can be reached at senco@hertfordstandrew.herts.sch.uk

The governing body has agreed with the Hertfordshire County Admissions Criteria, which does not discriminate against pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

The school will make every effort to accommodate a pupil's particular needs and will work with external agencies to improve facilities, if needed.

Where necessary, additional preparations will be made for appropriate transition into our school, e.g. by additional nursery visits, meetings with staff members involved in the pupil's care and education, including the SENCO.

The SEND Code of Practice (July 2014) recognises four broad areas of need.

These are:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
• Sensory and/or physical needs

Adaptations to the curriculum and learning environment

Hertford St Andrew complies with the Equality Act 2010 and makes reasonable adjustments to ensure that all pupils’ needs are met, for example:

• Adapting our curriculum to ensure that all pupils are able to access it, for example, by grouping, 1:1 work, teaching style, content of the lesson, etc.
• Adapting our resources and staffing.
• Using recommended aids, such as laptops, coloured overlays, visual timetables, larger font, etc.
• Adapting our teaching, for example, giving longer processing times, pre-teaching of key vocabulary, reading instructions aloud, etc.

Additional support for learning

Teaching assistants may support pupils on a 1:1 basis within the classroom for activities where support will help children learn. Teaching assistants will also support pupils in small groups within the classroom or in separate rooms in accordance with the demands of the curriculum; the programmes they are leading are based upon the needs of the pupils. Sometimes a TA or team of TAs may work with children outside the classroom to help them learn, stay regulated and achieve goals.

We encourage the sharing of good practice and expertise; this enables us to ensure our staff have as much knowledge as possible within the field of supporting children with all types of SEND and additional needs.

Our environment is designed to support children with additional needs. The classroom environments are audited for sensory needs. Each class has a calm Reflection Area as well as carefully planned seating and organisation. All children have learning packs and accessible resources to help them learn independently. Children may have personalised resources e.g. visual timetables or individual workstations as required.

To further support SEND provision in school we work with a number of agencies to provide support for pupils with SEN including:

• Education Psychology 
• Health, including GPs, occupational health and paediatricians
• Physiotherapists
• Occupational therapists
• Speech, Language, Communication and Autism (SLCA)Team 
• NHS Speech and Language Services 
• Visual Impairment Advisor
• Hearing Impairment Advisor
• Families First
• Specialist for Sensory and Physical Needs
• Counselling in Schools
• Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
• Social Care
• EHCP Co-ordinators and Statutory SEND Team at Herts County Council

Parents will always be consulted if it is felt that a pupil would benefit from having additional support from another agency and their consent sought.

Ofsted January 2019

"Pupils with SEND make good progress as a result of well-targeted support, including from teaching assistants. Staff monitor their progress carefully and adjust provision to meet their needs. Several parents commented on the high-quality support their children receive. Consequently, pupils with SEND achieve well from their different starting points."

DSPL3

To find out about courses and support for parents of children with a special education need in East Herts, please access the following website.

http://dspl3.co.uk/

SEN Transition

How we support children/young people with SEN starting at our school 

The SENCO/teachers liaise with staff from feeder schools. Visits to the school are encouraged, so that children are familiar with our setting. If needed, meetings/extra visits can be arranged to support the transition of pupils from one setting to another.

How we support children/young people with SEN moving between classes in our school 

We have transition days to prepare pupils to meet their new teacher as they move through school. For pupils with SEND we draw up a transition passport in collaboration with the child: they can take the passport home over the summer and prepare for and remind themselves of the changes which they will face in September. We also prepare a one-page pupil profile, which details what their new teacher needs to know about them.

How we support children/young people with SEN transitioning to secondary  school 

The SENCO liaises with the SENCO from the receiving secondary schools. Meetings are held to discuss individual pupils’ needs and how the school can best support them in the next stage of their education. Mentors from the receiving secondary schools are encouraged to come into school to meet with students. Additional visits are arranged, so that children can visit their receiving school during a school day. Where possible, additional visits to the local secondary school to do some curriculum based learning, e.g. cooking, are arranged in the summer term.

SENDIASS

Hertfordshire SENDIASS provides information advice and support which is accurate and confidential in ways that is accessible for young people and parents.  We aim to promote independence and self-advocacy to enable you to participate in making informed decisions.

https://www.hertssendiass.org.uk/home.aspx

The Neurodiversity Support Hub  

The Hub offers expert support for Neurodiversity, providing answers to any questions, big or small, and offering a listening ear. No diagnosis is required to access this support, which is available to parents, carers, and professionals. 

https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/microsites/local-offer/resources-for-parents-and-professionals/the-neurodiversity-hub.aspx