Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

At St Joseph's, we believe that each and every child is unique and important: a gift from God. Our mission statement is

"With God, all things are possible!"

and this inspires us to ensure that each and every child receives the very best personalised learning programme that we can provide so that they achieve amazing things from their starting point. Children are considered to have a Special Educational Need if they require something which is additional to or different from most of their peers in order to make progress. This can  refer to making progress in terms of an area of learning, communicating with children or adults or playing and interacting with others using age appropriate social and emotional skills.  Children who have a Special Educational Need will have a personal Pupil Passport which is reviewed each term.

Miss McGough is the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo). The SENCo is responsible for overseeing the provision made for pupils with Special Educational Needs and for ensuring that each child receives the very best support and provision for them.

Further information about Special Educational Needs and disabilities at St Joseph's can be found in the links below within:

• our SEN and Inclusion Policy ,
• our Accessibility Plan,
• our SEN and Disability Information Report
• and our Parent Information Leaflet.   

For further support with the abbreviations and terms used in discussions around Special Educational Needs, please view a glossary of terms below. 

If you would like to talk to someone about Special Educational Needs, you can talk to any member of staff in school, Miss McGough the SENCo or Mrs Hussey, the Academy Committee representative with responsibility for Special Educational Needs. If you wish to make a complaint about SEND provision, please contact Miss Mcgough in the first instance or follow the procedures set out in our Complaints Policy.

You can contact them by telephoning 01782 235393, emailing: stjoseph@sjnewman.co.uk or by calling into the school office. Additionally, we have a SENCO coffee morning each term which all parents are welcome to attend. 

What is the SEND Local Offer?

Local authorities, schools and other services will set out a local offer of all services available to support children who are disabled or who have Special Educational Needs and their families. The local offer will enable families to understand what services they can access and what support they can expect from a range of local agencies, including from the local authority, health services, schools, leisure services and the voluntary sector. The offer will include provision from birth to 25, across education, health and social care.   

What will it do?

• The Local Offer will provide parents/carers with information about how to access services in their area, and what they can expect from those services. With regard to Education, it will let parents/ carers and young people know how school and colleges will support them, and what they can expect across the local settings. 

There are 18 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.  You can read our school responses in the SEND Information Policy below.

Click below to view the Stoke-on-Trent Local Offer. 

• Stoke-on-Trent Local Offer