| SEND | SEND Specialist Expertise

SEND Specialist Expertise

SENDCO and SEND Staff

It is the SENDCO’s job to:

  1. Oversee the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEND policy
  2. Liaise with the relevant Designated Teacher where a looked after pupil has SEND
  3. Advise teachers on using a graduated approach to providing SEND support
  4. Advise on the deployment of the school’s delegated budget and other resources to meet the pupil’s needs effectively
  5. Liaise with parents/carers of pupils with SEND
  6. Liaise with and be a key point of contact for external agencies
  7. Ensure that the school keeps the records of all SEND pupils up to date
  8. Work with the school governors to ensure that the school meets its responsibilities with regard to reasonable adjustments and access arrangements by phoning the school on 0191 3710272 or sending an email to  stbs@stbs.bwcet.com

Mrs Luke (Teaching Assistant) has also been trained in Connecting with Children.
Mrs Maitland (HLTA), Miss Armstrong  (Teaching Assistant) have been trained in precision teaching.
Mrs Ord (Teaching Assistant) has been trained in ‘Time to Talk’ and Zippy’s Friends.

More details of the SENDCO’s role can be found in the SEND Policy which you can find in the School Policies section of our website.

External Specialists and Other Bodies

The school enjoys good working relationships with a wide range of people who provide services to children with SEND and their families.

The external specialists may:

  • Act in an advisory capacity
  • Extend expertise of school staff
  • Provide additional assessment
  • Support a child directly
  • Suggest statutory assessment is advisable
  • Consult with all parties involved with the child

These include:

  • Durham SEND Information,  Advice and Support Service
  • Education Psychology Service
  • Speech and Language Service
  • Cognition and Learning Team
  • ASC Team
  • Occupational Therapy Service
  • Education Psychology Consultants
  • SALSP team
  • Mable Speech and Language Service
  • Emotional Wellbeing Team
  • CAMHS

How We Secure Specialist Expertise

Our Additional Needs Budget is used to support children and young people with SEND. In 2018/19 this amount is £22,636.90.

This is used to support children and young people with SEND by:

  • All children, no matter what their needs are, receive daily Quality First Teaching. At St Bede’s all children are withdrawn, individually or in small groups, for targeted support, intervention, booster or extension work at some point in the Key Stage. SEND children are an integral part of the class and regularly receive support out of the classroom as well as within it.
  • Teaching Assistants are partly funded from the SEND budget and deliver programmes or interventions designed to meet the needs of individuals.
  • Service Level Agreements are in place with a wide range of Local Authority SEND services to provide specialist support.
  • A wide range of training is purchased to ensure staff are appropriately skilled in all areas of SEND.
  • Specialist equipment is purchased to provide for SEND such as sensory equipment, speech and language resources and specialist intervention resources.
  • The budget is allocated on a needs basis with those who have the most complex needs receiving the most targeted support.

If a child has complex special educational needs, we could also receive additional funding from the Local Authority to meet the agreed outcomes.

If a child has complex special educational needs, we could also receive additional funding from the Local Authority to meet the agreed outcomes.

A Costed Provision Map will be developed in liaison with the child, young person, parent or carer.   An example of a costed provision map can be found here:

If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.