At St Mary’s C of E Primary and Nursery Academy inclusion is at the heart of what we do as a School. We are a fully inclusive mainstream primary school whose aim is to meet the learning and developmental needs of all children, including our SEND learners.  We make every effort to make sure our school community live in harmony and take pride in helping our children to be the best that they can be through our Christian values of love, hope and peace. 

We are determined to make sure that our SEND children feel fully included in school life, regardless of their specific needs, so that they make the best possible progress in school. Our curriculum model ensures that learning is accessible for those with disabilities or special educational needs. Lessons are made accessible to all through teacher's understanding of individual need and skilful delivery to ensure children's learning needs are met, in line with our duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.

The arrangements for the admission of disabled pupils is considered under section 69 of the Children and Families act 2014

If you would like to discuss any matters concerning your child, please come into school or telephone the school office on 0121 554 3751 or email Mr Taylor: 

m.taylor@stmryb20.bham.sch.uk

Inclusion Team

Strategic Lead for SEND/SENDCo: Mr Taylor

Pastoral and Learning Mentors: Mrs Bains, Mr Sturridge, Mr Berry

Intervention Leads

What are Special Educational Needs?

Special Educational Needs or SEN means that a child has needs that are different from or additional to the majority of children of their age and that they may need extra help at school to achieve their full potential.  This could be for a number of reasons and we will support these needs in a variety of ways.

What is a Disability?

Under the ‘Equality Act 2010’ a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. At St. Mary's we aim to consider the individual needs of each child and work together to provide the correct support.

The Four Main Areas of SEND

If your child has been identified as SEND, it will be determined which of the four areas, will be their main area of need. We promote the ethos of Quality First Teaching within school, to adapt and meet learning needs. We will then follow the process of Assess-plan-do-review alongside parents/carers, to determine the next steps for your child.

Communication & Interaction

• ASC (Autism Spectrum Condition)
• Speech, learning and communication (SLCN)

Cognition & Learning 

• Specific learning difficulty (SpLD)
• Mild to moderate learning difficulty (MLD)
• Severe learning difficulty (SLD)
• Profound multiple learning difficulty (PMLD)

Social, Emotional & Mental Health

• Children and young people with SEMH may have the following mental health difficulties: anxiety, withdrawn or feeling isolated, having challenging and disturbing behaviour, self-harming, depression, eating disorder, and substance misuse.

Sensory and/or Physical

• Visual impairment (VI)
• Hearing impairment (HI)
• Multi-sensory impairment (MSI)
• Physical disability (PD)

Local Offer Birmingham | SEND Advice and Information

Birmingham's Local Offer is an online resource where you will find help, advice and information about the services available for your child or young person from birth to 25 years with a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND). To find out more about the Local Offer, please click here:

Birmingham Local Offer

The Birmingham SEND Services alongside other key SEND partners regularly deliver webinars covering a range of subjects. You can find the Webinars on the Birmingham Local Offer Webinar page here.

Access to Education consists of four specialist services: Communication & Autism Team (CAT), Pupil and School Support (PSS), Sensory Support (SS) and Physical Difficulties Support Service (PDSS), who work to ensure children and young people with additional educational needs are supported in their school or setting. The site has a lot of helpful information. resources and support for parents, please follow the link:

https://accesstoeducation.birmingham.gov.uk/

For more information on the new SEN Code of Practice please see:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25

Please see the DfE publication “Special Educational Needs and Disability a Guide for Parents and Carers, August 2014”:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-guide-for-parents-and-carers

The NASEN website also has many useful publications:

http://www.nasen.org.uk/ 

Who should parents/carers speak to if they have a concern or complaint to do with SEND?

In the first instance, please discuss any concerns or complaints you may have regarding SEND and your child with: Mr Taylor 

How do we support parents of SEND?

SENCO Drop-in Sessions:

On a Monday, between the times of 9.05 a.m. - 10.00 p.m. Mr. Taylor (SENCo) is available for drop-in sessions for any parents with questions or concern; this may be for a child who is already on our SEND register or a child that may need additional support. Please do pop into the office at these times! 

SEND Parent Committee:

Our SEND Parent Committee was set up in 2023 to build stronger communication and relationships between our parents and staff. The committee's main aim is to be the voice our SEND parents and to help organise themes of our coffee morning and workshops that other parents might find useful.

SEND Parent Coffee Mornings:

Once a half term, St. Mary's host a coffee morning for parents of children with SEND. Each coffee morning has a different themed based on feedback from the SEND Parent Committee. The aim is to not only to help support our parents but to also build a strong community and connection between our staff, parents, pupils and outside agencies.

Keep an eye out for our next Coffee Morning! We'd love to see you there!

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