Junior School Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
St Chris takes a graduated approach to SEND support.
Throughout our entire SEND provision, we take a graduated approach to SEND support. This follows a continuous four-step process, as follows:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
Assess |
Plan |
Do |
Review |
The basis of this framework starts with inclusive high-quality teaching. In the St Chris Junior School, our teachers build unparalleled working relationships with our students and youngest learners.
Our student-teacher ratio means that students have access to individualised support in our standard classroom setting. Because of this close-knit working relationship, our teachers and teaching assistants can easily identify if a child is not making expected progress either in lessons or overall. From this point, the four-step graduated approach starts until the child progresses and SEND support is no longer needed.
How do we monitor SEND at St Chris?
| Early Years |
|---|
|
In our Early Years provision, WellCom Speech and Language baseline assessments are administered to students to ensure their speech and language abilities are age-appropriate. Where a child does not meet their expected speech and language ability, this is flagged to the SEND team to investigate further. We aim for an inclusive approach to education, so never let a child who is struggling or need further support feel excluded from their classroom and peers. Initially, our SEND team recommend in-class strategies to aid speech and language as well as intervention and 1:1 with Speech and Language Therapy if required. If a child requires additional SEND support that was not flagged upon entry, there may be an additional charge. |
| Year 1+ |
|
We benchmark students’ individual learning progress from Year 1 via reports from the class teacher. Progress is measured by formative assessment and the results are linked to reading bands and comprehension levels and allows us to understand a child’s individual learning patterns and progression rates. Teachers then meet termly with the Head of Junior School, Katie Wright, and a member of the SEND team, to discuss individual student progress. This is an opportunity for teachers to flag up any recent concerns or developments recognised by themselves or another member of the Junior School faculty. These meetings aim to ensure we offer consistent and proactive support to all students regardless of their level of ability, measuring on progress. The Junior School also screens our Junior School students by undertaking regular spelling tests which help us to identify any learning difficulties including SpLD Dyslexia. Writing assessments are always aligned with the topic of study and are therefore seen as a natural part of the curriculum. Students do not feel the pressure of being tested, nor feel competitive about this. |
| Years 5 and 6 |
| In the final years of the Junior School, students are assessed yearly in October for single word reading and spelling and are given a standard score. |
