What is the school’s vision and mission statement?

We aim to be a family community rooted in equality where everyone feels safe, happy and valued as a cherished member of our Christian academy and create resilience, hope and aspirations for the future.

We will provide a caring environment where children and staff are given opportunities to flourish through inspirational learning, love and laughter.

Our core values:

Compassion           Friendship

Patience                 Love

Faithfulness           Courage

Justice                   Hope

Humility                Creativity 

Service                  Perseverance 

All staff at St Matthew's are committed to meeting the needs of all children with SEND and the school will make reasonable adjustments to accommodate all children where practical. St Matthew's Primary ensures that provision reflects the SEN Code of Practice 2015 and the Disability Discrimination Act 2005.

What age children does the school admit?

St Matthew's Primary Academy:

• accepts children from 3-11 years old
• is 1/2 form entry
• has an 8 place nursery (mixed age with Rec)

What is your current Ofsted rating?

The current OFSTED rating for St Matthew's Primary Academy is Good (last inspection November 2021)

How does your school ensure that children who need extra help are identified early?

At St Matthew’s Academy all children are carefully and regularly monitored:

• Concerns can be highlighted through tracking of attainment and progress and observations of social interactions. They are also raised during conversations with parents/carers, Class Teachers, Learning Support Assistants, Inclusion Leader or Achievement Leaders.
• If a Class Teacher has concerns about a child, the teacher will meet with the parent/carer in the first instance. Following this conversation, and with parents/carers consent, the SENCO will observe and further assess the needs of the child.  These areas of need are: Cognition and Learning, Communication and Interaction; Social and Emotional Needs and Physical and/or Sensory needs.
• The child will be monitored for half a term in class by the class teacher and lead professional. During this stage, classroom strategies will be implemented and reasonable adjustments made to the classroom environment. Observations and additional assessments may also take place.
• After the review period, if the child does not make progress in the areas of concern, the class teacher will meet with parents / carers to draw up a strategy of Assess, Plan, Do, Review, (APDR) with clear targets and strategies for the child; the SENCO will support this process when needed.​ If further understanding of the child’s needs is required, parents/carers will be consulted and a child may be referred to the external professionals such as the Educational Psychologist, the Behavioural Support Service or the Speech and Language Therapist via the Multi Agency/ Local Offer Referral system.
• We ensure parents/carers are informed at all stages by having regular meetings, telephoning home and having informal conversations before and after school, where necessary.
• APDR targets are reviewed with parents/carers and class teachers on a termly basis. Parents/carers can raise concerns at any time by making an appointment with the class teacher or contacting the SENCO.
• A child may have a Home/School Communication Book to aid communication between home and school.
• Any concerns around dyslexia, will be supported by our SENCO, Miss Hatch. She will support with assessments and /or referrals where needed and Quality First Teaching Support in class. 

What should a parent do if they think their child may have special educational needs?

If a parent is concerned that their child has special educational needs they should at first speak to their child’s teacher. If they are still concerned then they can arrange to discuss their concerns with our SENCO, by contacting the office to make an appointment.

What does the school do to help children/young people with special educational needs?

• Interventions are provided and closely monitored to determine suitability and impact.
• Class Teachers add to these as new children are identified or any provision changes.
• The SEN/D register is maintained and regularly updated
• APDR targets are reviewed and amended/changed termly. It is the responsibility of the Class Teacher to maintain these and ensure they are up to date.
• Admissions meetings are used to share information about the child’s previous experiences at home and at school, to ensure the school can provide for needs already identified. 

Specified Individual Support

This is usually provided via an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This means a child will have been identified by the Inclusion Team as needing a particularly high level of individual or small group teaching which cannot be provided from the budget available to the school.

How do teachers match the curriculum to an individual child’s needs?

• Know when and how to adapt learning appropriately, using approaches which enable pupils to learn effectively
• Have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit pupils’ ability to learn, and how best to overcome these.
• Demonstrate an awareness of the physical, social and intellectual development of children, and know how to adapt teaching to support pupils’ education at different stages of development. 
• Have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs; those of high ability; those with English as an additional language; those with disabilities; and be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.“

How are your school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s/young people’s special educational needs?

The school budget, received from the Local Authority, includes money for supporting children with SEND.

• The leadership team (Exec Principal, Head of School, SENCO) decides on how the budget for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities is spent in consultation with the school governors on the basis of needs across the school.
• The Leadership Team discuss the needs of children with identified SEND and allocate the budget accordingly. This is regularly reviewed.
• Updates regarding specific needs of individual children with SEND needs alongside group or whole school development of SEND provision are discussed. 
• Specific resources and strategies will be used to support children individually and in groups.
• All resources/training and support are reviewed regularly and changes made as needed.
• The SENCO is responsible for overseeing the provision to support the needs for individual children. 

Where can I find further information:

https://localoffer.stoke.gov.uk/