SEND at St Mark’s CE Primary School, Swanage

Our school is an inclusive school where every child matters; we aim to address children’s needs and support their development in the most appropriate way possible and celebrate effort as much as achievement. At St Mark’s we firmly believe in a whole school/community approach and believe that it is everyone’s collective responsibility to teach and prepare children for the world they will step out into in the years to come.

Providing for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) is a key part of any successful inclusive school. We aim to promote a shared expectation that all pupils regardless of their specific needs should be offered inclusive quality teaching which will enable them to make the best possible progress and feel that they are a valued member of the wider school community.

Additional and/or different provision is currently being made in school for children with a range of needs, including:

1. Cognition and Learning – Moderate learning difficulties; Specific learning difficulties – dyslexia, dyspraxia.
2. Sensory, Medical and Physical – hearing and sight impairment and sensory processing difficulties
3. Communication and Interaction – autistic spectrum condition, Asperger’s Syndrome, selective mutism, speech and language difficulties.
4. Social, Emotional and Mental Health – attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Details of support available and processes relating to this can be found in the St Mark’s SEND Information Report (School Offer). Additional information can be found in our Special Education Needs Policy which is designed to promote pupils towards becoming independent and resilient learners and should not be seen in isolation.

Our Team Provision:

• Our Inclusion Leader has a broad experience in the field of SEND. The members of the Inclusion Team all specialise in different areas: Pastoral, Nurture, Specific Learning Difficulties.
• Our team of Teaching Assistants have extensive experience and training in planning, delivering and assessing intervention programmes.
• All our staff are trained each year on the needs of new pupils joining the school – this can include training from specialist agencies or consultants, as well as from our Inclusion Leader or other staff with relevant expertise.
• SEND training forms part of the continuing professional development of all teachers and teaching assistants and is organised in accordance with the needs of our children.
• The school works closely with other local schools, sharing training opportunities including INSET days and outside experts.
• The Inclusion Leader meets with the senior leadership team once per half term to review and plan the training, guidance and advice that staff across the school need to ensure they meet the additional learning requirements of our children.

At St Mark’s, our inclusion team consists of:

Mrs S Reddyhoff - SENCo

Mrs S Burton – Interventions Manager and ELSA
Mrs A Stephens - Nurture Provision and ELSA

Email: stmarksswanage.office@coastalpartnership.co.uk
Telephone: 01929 422949

How do we support children with special educational needs and disabilities?