Supporting SEND at La Retraite

La Retraite School is an inclusive school where staff are committed to supporting the needs and aspirations of all our pupils. We believe that all children have the right to a broad and balanced education, one which allows them to flourish and grow as an individual. Ensuring equality of opportunity and equity requires more than simply treating everybody in the same way, our aim and vision is understanding and tackling the different individual barriers and challenges a pupil may face.

As a school, we recognise the importance of not only supporting children’s academic progress but also developing their behavioural, emotional and social skills to enable them to become confident, independent learners.

I invite you to read our school Information report and policy which describes in detail how we identify pupils who have special educational needs and our use of the graduated approach to support their progress and development.

https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/media/922347/chapter-3-the-graduated-approach.pdf

We support children and young people with a range of special educational needs that fall under each of the four broad categories of need.

• Communication and interaction: e.g. Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Asperger’s Syndrome
• Cognition and learning: e.g. Specific Learning difficulties (SpLD) which includes Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and Dyspraxia, Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD), Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) global developmental delay.
• Social, emotional and mental health difficulties (SEMH): e.g. Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Depression, Anorexia, Anxiety.
• Sensory and/or physical needs: e.g. Vision Impairment (VI), Hearing Impairment (HI), Medical needs

If a pupil is identified as having special educational needs, we will consider everything we know about the pupil to determine the support that they need. The support the school provides is then offered in the following steps:

1. Inclusive quality first teaching

This is the quality first teaching your child will receive from their subject teachers and may include some minor adaptations and differentiation to match your child’s learning needs.

All teachers and support staff hold relevant knowledge and experience to meet the needs of your child. All pupils who are on the additional needs register have a learning profile which is shared with the staff that teach and support them. This profile outlines their individual needs and the specific strategies that must be used to support their progress in and outside of the classroom.

2. Targeted, catch up provision

Specific targeted one to one or small group interventions may be run outside the classroom. These will be limited to a set period of time to minimise disruption to the regular curriculum. You and their class teachers will be kept informed of your child’s progress towards the learning outcomes of the interventions they participate in.

3.  Specialist intervention

It may be necessary to seek specialist advice and regular long-term support from a specialist professional outside the school in order to plan for the best possible learning outcomes for your child. This may include for example educational psychology, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and sensory advisory teachers. The school may need to prioritise referrals to these services. However, for a small number of pupil’s access to these specialists may be guaranteed through an Educational Health Care plan.

Please click here to view our SEND Information Report and Policy for 2023-2024 

To contact Lambeth Council's SEND team, attend events and join the Lambeth Parent Forum, please click here.