Updated: January 2024
The Local Offer
As part of the Durham County Council’s Local Offer, our SEND Information Report provides details about how we support children and young people with Special Educational Needs in our school.
From September 2014, the Government has asked all Local Authorities in the UK to publish, in one place, information about the services and provision they expect to be available in their area for children and young people from 0 to 25 who have Special Educational Needs and/or a Disability (SEND). As part of this commitment, all schools are asked to detail their approach, resources and provision for children who may have an additional SEND need. This is known as the ‘Local Offer’.
This report aims to detail our ‘Local Offer’ to children and families who have a need for SEN provision. If you require any additional information, please feel free to contact Mrs Treend, our Special Educational Needs and Disability Co-ordinator (SENDCo) – she would be more than happy to discuss any questions which you may have.
Our Ethos and Approach
At St Helen Auckland Primary School, provision for children with additional needs is at the heart of the ethos of our school. We are committed to the equal inclusion of all pupils in all areas of school life. We recognise the diverse and individual needs of all of our pupils and take into account the additional support required by those children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). We recognise that all pupils are entitled to a quality of provision that will enable them to achieve their potential. We believe in positive intervention, removing barriers to learning, raising expectations and levels of achievement and working in partnership with other agencies in order to provide a positive educational experience for all our pupils including those with a special educational need or disability.
We aim to provide a safe and caring learning environment where all of the children can enjoy learning, experience success, increase their self-respect and aspire to reach their full potential. Children are at the heart of our school and we take great pride in developing our pupils to be the best that they can be.
We aim to ensure that the children who leave St Helen Auckland Primary are independent, inquiring learners with self-belief and have an enduring respect for others. We aim to instill a lifelong love for learning and a strong grounding for future success.
To achieve our aims we focus our teaching and learning on the needs of the pupils by having knowing the children well and having the highest expectations for all our pupils. We challenge all children to strive for academic, creative, sporting and personal achievement within a broad, vibrant and enriched curriculum.
We celebrate perseverance, resilience and risk taking, ensuring children welcome challenge and are not frightened to make mistakes. We encourage children to take ownership of and responsibility for their learning, so they have the confidence and curiosity to ask questions, solve problems and respond to quality feedback. Children are praised for hard work, determination and having a positive attitude.
In order to create an inclusive school where everyone can flourish, whatever their background, we promote an ethos of respect and empathy, where diversity is valued and celebrated – both within school and the wider world. Safeguarding and welfare is extremely important and pupils are taught the virtues of kindness, appreciation and what it means to be courageous.
Care is taken to educate everyone in the St Helen Auckland community about the needs of others and how best to meet them. We foster open and honest communication with parents, carers and specialists and actively seek to engage with all members of the school community in a positive and supportive manner.
These vision and values statements were developed following pupil, parent, staff and governor questionnaires and discussions with pupils, staff and governors.
What is SEND?
Definition: A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made that is additional to or different from that made generally for other children or young people of the same age. (CoP 2015, p16)
Special Educational Needs and / or a Disability can affect many children throughout their school life and beyond. Whilst disabilities generally affect children long term, not all SEN difficulties should be seen as ‘Life Long’. SEND is seen by our school as the child requiring provision that is additional to, or different from the rest of the class. For example, they may have additional needs due to a speech and language issue, movement or co-ordination, social and emotional support – the list is endless. Every child is unique and it is paramount that we carefully plan a curriculum and use approaches which will support them in reaching their full potential.
There are four broad areas of special educational need, these are:
Communication and interaction
‘Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile for every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives. Children and young people with ASD, including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism, are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.’
– SEND Code of Practice 2014 6.28-6.29
Cognition and learning
Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment. Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.’
– SEND Code of Practice 2014 6.30-6.31
Social, Emotional and Health Difficulties
‘Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder.’
– SEND Code of Practice 2014 6.32
Sensory and/or Physical Difficulties
‘Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multisensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or habilitation support. Children and young people with an MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties. Some children and young people with a physical disability (PD) require additional ongoing support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.’
– SEND Code of Practice 2014 6.34-6.35
Our school has a variety of key policies which directly impact upon our provision for children with SEND. These can be found by following the School Policies or SEND Key Policies link or from school’s Main reception.
Key Contacts
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- Mrs Janet Elmes – Head teacher
- Mrs Naomi Treend – Deputy Headteacher and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCO)
- Ms Claire Bake – SEND Governor
If you have any questions, we would be happy to discuss these with you. Please contact us via our school email address sthelenauckland@durhamlearning.net or on 01388 604168
SEND Admissions
Children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan follow a different admission and transfer process for a new school. Please continue to complete Durham County Council’s parental preference form, as part of the admission process to a new school. You continue to have a right to request a particular school and this will be considered alongside the information that we have about your child’s special educational needs. The information would have been provided as part of the Education, Health and Care assessment or following the review meeting.
For information on the admission of pupils with a disability, please visit the School Admissions section of our website.
For Children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan the SEN team can be contacted on 03000 265878. The School Places and Admissions Team can be contacted on 03000 265 896.
If you would like to discuss your child’s SEN in more detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment with Mrs Treend.