At Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic School and St Joseph’s Catholic School we consult with a wide range of external agencies and we maintain close partnerships in order to access the best professional advice and to ensure the emotional and social development needs of SEN children are met. Our well trained staff are up-to-date with many aspects of well-being, and as such are able to support children with complex needs or in vulnerable circumstances. At Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic School and St Joseph’s Catholic School, we believe it is important to develop the whole child, not just their academic ability. We are inclusive schools; we welcome and celebrate diversity. All staff believe that children having high self-esteem is crucial to a child’s well-being. We have a caring, understanding team looking after our children. The class teacher has overall responsibility for the pastoral and social care of every child in their class, therefore this would be the parents’ first point of contact.
All of our pupils, regardless of their learning needs, are given a high level of pastoral, emotional and social support from the moment they enter school right through to when they leave.
Our pastoral system consists of school houses, which are made up of children of all ages from Reception through to Year 6. Each house works closely together on school based projects and regularly buddy up when on school trips etc. When children enter reception, they are buddied up with a year 6 child and this friendship continues throughout the year.
As a school we have a very positive approach to all types of behaviour with a clear reward system that distributes House Points by adults to children. These are cumulative across the week and cannot be revoked. At the end of the week an Awards Assembly is held during which the House Captains announce the individual winners for each class that week. The whole House Point total is then declared and a House Winner for the Week applauded. The children look forward to the Assembly and the feeling of pride in the results. When arguments and falling-out occurs we employ restorative approaches to the situation. This is a series of questions based upon a set of principles and practice that encourages children to take responsibility for their behaviour by thinking through what actually happened and the consequences of negative behaviour. This helps to identify why the incident happened and what the child needs to do differently next time to change and improve their behaviour. At St Joseph’s a ‘Good To Be Green’ scheme is also in place which gives a visual prompt for children regarding their behaviour. Cards may be turned to amber or red for negative behaviour. Children who stay on green all week are entered into a termly raffle for a small prize.
Attendance of every child is monitored on a daily basis. Lateness and absence are recorded and reported upon to the Head Teacher. Support is given through an incentive scheme where good attendance is actively encouraged throughout the school. We award the class with the best attendance rate. Where attendance becomes an issue we seek support from the Education Welfare service.
We believe that parents are entitled to;
- Be consulted about their child’s personal care, to ensure that it is sensitive to the families culture and reflects their child’s needs
- The reassurance that children will, whenever possible, receive personal care from the staff that know him/her best
We also:
- Have trained lunchtime supervisors (and, at St Joseph’s, a play leader) who know the school well
• Ensure all of our staff and visitors are DBS checked and fully trained in all aspects of their role.
• Carry out social development programmes when appropriate for those children who require extra support - Use playground leaders to support children at playtimes
- Have a range of after school activities which promote healthy and safer lifestyles
Medical Support
Children with medical needs are catered for in the same way with, if necessary, designated people to deal with any physical or emotional difficulty that we can.
We also endeavour to:
- meet with parents/carers to discuss any concerns within a confidential and supportive environment
- produce Individual Health Care plans for each child with a medical need
- ensure staff receive up to date training. We seek advice from the relevant professionals to meet families’ needs. All staff have some form of First Aid training, from basic to enhanced. Our Staff also follow procedures regarding the administrations of medicines in school
- arrange school nurse involvement and drop in sessions for parents/carers
- produce Care Plans for those children who have complex additional needs
- work closely with other professionals, both in-school staff, the school nurse, outside agencies and parents/carers to support all public health and medical needs within the school
Social Support
Socially we do much to develop our children’s skills. Children within our schools support and care for each other to a very high degree. They are also expected to demonstrate high levels of responsibility and pupil involvement which fosters greater self-esteem and confidence. The care, guidance and support in our school is excellent and we pride ourselves in knowing every child’s abilities and needs.
When children are in Year 6 they receive workshops and Resilience training to support them through SATs and Transition. We also work closely with the Local Authority and Private Providers of additional services, such as Educational Psychologists, Occupational Therapy, CAHMS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) School Nursing Service, Social Services and Medical Professionals. We also work closely with the transition worker from St Leonard’s, our main feeder school.
We often hold multi-professional meetings in school and as such have a designated family room within each school so that parents are comfortable in the school environment and the child can join us easily, if it is appropriate.
Our school playground leaders support children during playtimes, encouraging positive behaviour and making sure everyone has someone to play with.
We hold regular parents evenings and provide tours of the school.
If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
