Introduction
SEND Policies
Our SEN Information Report – which is part of Hartlepool County Council’s Local Offer – provides details about how we support children and young people with Special Educational Needs in our school.
At St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School 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.
This SEND Information Report should be read alongside the school’s SEND Policy, the Equalities Information and Objectives and the Accessibility Plan.
Key Contacts
- Head Teacher: Mrs. Jo Bruton
- SENDCO: Mrs. Lori Gate
- SEN Governor: Mrs. Jane Jennings
To speak to either of the above, please call the school on 01429 274936 to arrange an appointment or alternatively, email send@stteresashartlepool.bhcet.org.uk
SEND Admissions
For information on the admission of pupils with a disability, please visit the School Admissions section of our website and view the Accessibility Plan in our School Policies section.
If you would like to discuss your child’s special educational needs in more detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
The full range of local support available for children/ young people with SEND and their families within and outside of school can be found in the Hartlepool LA local offer
Disability & Accessibility
We are committed to providing a fully accessible environment which values and includes all pupils, staff, parents and visitors regardless of their education, physical, sensory, social, spiritual and emotional needs. We are committed to challenging negative attitudes about disability and accessibility and to developing a culture of awareness, tolerance and inclusion.
What we do to prevent pupils with disabilities from being treated less favourably:
Our School is committed to anti-discriminatory practice to promote equality of opportunity, prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably and valuing diversity for all children and families.
We aim to:
- Provide a safe, stimulating and accessible curriculum and environment in which all our children can flourish and in which all contributions are considered and valued.
- Include and value the contribution of all families to our understanding of equality and diversity
- Celebrate the achievements of all our children, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or disability
- Consult with our children, parents and the School Council to ensure that the needs of all our children are being met
- Ensure that children with SEND can engage in activities with all children and are offered the opportunity to participate with activities in and outside of the classroom by making reasonable adjustments to the organisation of these
The facilities to assist access are outlined in our Accessibility Plan which you can find in the School Policies section of our website.
Our Accessibility Plan and the short, medium and long term actions, will be reviewed and adjusted on an annual basis and a new Accessibility Plan will be produced every three years.
The Accessibility Plan contains relevant actions to:
- Improve access to the physical environment of the school, adding specialist facilities as necessary.
- Increase access to the curriculum for pupils with a disability. This covers reasonable adjustments within teaching and learning, specialist aids and equipment and the wider curriculum of the school, such as after school clubs, visits etc,
- Improve the provision of information to pupils, staff, parents and visitors with disabilities. All information will be made available in various formats within a reasonable time frame.
Alliance Counselling Services
At St Teresa's School we work with Alliance Psychological Services who are able to provide support and counselling to individual children, families, groups and classes.
In partnership with Tees, Esk & Wear NHS Foundation Trust and Changing Futures North East, Alliance Psychological Services leads on the delivery of 3 Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) supporting 60 educational settings across Stockton and Hartlepool.
The Mental Health Support Teams have 3 core functions
- To deliver evidence-based interventions for mild-to-moderate mental health issues;
- To support the senior mental health lead (where established) in each school or college to introduce or develop a whole-school or college approach and;
- To give timely advice to school and college staff, and liaise with external specialist services to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education.
Alliance have developed models of working to support local transformation of Children & Young People’s Mental Health Services, developing and delivering services in line with the I-Thrive Framework
For more information visit the website for more information www.alliancepsychology.com/young-people/ or speak to Mrs Elliott our Parent Support Advisor.