Our school SENCOs are Mrs J. Ward and Miss R. Collier

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School is committed to ensuring that all our children succeed and reach their full potential. All our children are treated as individuals. We work with children, parents/carers and other agencies to provide the best possible educational outcomes. We have high expectations for all our children and put support in place at the earliest possible stage where needed.

Our Catholic Compass Partnership works together on a regular basis to share good practice and keep up to date with changes to legislation. This ensures we fulfil our mission statement of the partnership:

Jesus Christ is at the centre of the life of the Partnership. We work together to ensure that all children reach their full potential by striving to offer the highest possible standards of education. We recognise that every child is unique, created in God’s image. We celebrate and nurture their individual gifts and talents. Inspired by faith, our partnership shares its achievements offering each other challenge and support, as together we follow Christ in self giving love and service.

Our School Offer & Policies

Please click on the link below to read our School Offer for SEND provision:

Our SEND and Inclusion Policy reflect the school’s commitment to inclusion, safety and well-being of the children alongside other policies that can be found on the Policies Page of our website.

Please click on the link below to read our SEND and Inclusion Policy:

Please follow the button below to our policies page to read our Accessibility Plan:

There are so many acronyms and unfamiliar terms in the world of SEND. Please click on the link below for a handy glossary.

Links with Parents

SEN Showcase Sessions

St. Joseph’s hold SEN Showcase sessions. These allow parents to see first-hand the provision that is in place for their child, to have an opportunity to work alongside them in class and to participate in some of the interventions that they access. We’re really proud of the provision that we offer and of the efforts that the children make every day and feel that this was a good way to share this and celebrate it with parents.

‘ I really enjoyed the opportunity to work alongside my child and to see how the provision works everyday. It was reassuring to see how the provision is just part and parcel of the everyday classroom practice.’

‘The strategies shared were really useful and I feel more confident using some of these at home.’

‘I really enjoyed working alongside my Mum. It was good to be able to show her my work and to show her how we work in class.’

Dyslexia Provision

At St. Joseph’s we pride ourselves on the provision we put in place to be Dyslexia Friendly. We actively adopt and implement Dyslexia Friendly Strategies across school so that all our children can benefit and learn from their use. We have participated in the ‘Level Two Dyslexia Aware School SENIT Training’ and a key part of our action plan is to ensure that we consistently review and evaluate our provision.

Please click on the links below for more information about the provision in place at St Joseph’s.

Here are some useful links to help you to support dyslexic children with reading:

Here are some useful links to help you to support dyslexic children with spelling:

Here is a useful link to guide you to dyslexia friendly Apps:

Dyslexia Awareness Week: w/c 3rd October 2022

We had a whole school assembly for Dyslexia Awareness Week to explore what it is like to have dyslexia and to celebrate that we are all the same but we are all different. The children were very understanding and explored different things that dyslexic people might find tricky and many other things that they can be really good and successful at. The theme of this awareness week for Dyslexia was ‘Breaking through Barriers’. This theme allowed us to reflect on the barriers that those living with dyslexia often face, while also focusing on how individuals (famous faces included) have continued to succeed and break through these obstacles.

Dyslexia Ambassadors

In 2019, we participated in the Level Two Dyslexia Aware School SENIT training. A key part of our action plan was to engage and listen to the pupils so that their voices and ideas were heard. Four pupils from Year 5 who have dyslexia were asked to be Dyslexia Ambassadors for school. This has  involved them leading assemblies, presenting to parents and raising awareness of dyslexia across school.

As a school we are really proud of them for the way in which they have embraced the role and the hard work that they have put in. Children across school now see dyslexia as a learning difference not a learning difficulty and this is very much due to their example and attitude. The role is still developing and they still have lots of ideas that they want to implement.

Nessy

Nessy programs are designed to help students of all abilities learn to read, write, spell and type, especially those who learn differently. We have been using the programme for two years and the children love it!

The Nessy Approach to Learning is multisensory and engaging. The  programs are designed to help students of all abilities learn to read, write, spell and type, especially those who learn differently, including students with dyslexia.

• Nessy believes that if children have fun then learning becomes more memorable.
• Nessy Reading & Spelling approach means that each child receives instruction tailored to his or her specific needs.
• Flexible enough to be adapted to how the individual learns.
• Every resource is graded so the student is not expected to know anything that has not yet been taught.
• Multisensory activities, reading and spelling are taught at the same time.
• A highly structured, sequential, cumulative and systematic phonics based learning program.

‘I love NESSY. The games are really fun and there are clever tricks to learn some of the spellings.’

‘I really like working through the islands. It is exciting when you move onto a different one because it means that you are learning!’

Motor Skills

At St. Joseph’s we recognise the importance of gross motor skills and fine motor skills and have fun ways of working on them. Some children may access Big Moves which focuses on 10 Fundamental Gross Motor Skills. All classes also have access to ‘Fingergym’ activities and resources. If we have concerns about a child’s motor skills we take steps to help improve them but will always refer onto the Occupational Therapy team if we feel we need additional support.

Occupational Therapy Referral Criteria

Please click on the links below for useful information to help with handwriting.

Autism Resources

We are proud of the personalised provision we provide for autistic children and work closely with parents and agencies to ensure we are meeting their needs are reviewing these regularly as the child develops. As each child is unique, it is hard to list all the specific provision we provide but the common ones include: visual timetables, cue cards, sentence starters, steps to success, quiet spaces to work, choosing time activities for rest breaks, etc.

STARS are a team of autism specialists who offer advice and training to mainstream settings and staff. They provide support and advice to school as to how best to support children & their families once they have received an official diagnosis. We work closely with STARS to implement their advice for each child.

STARS hold twice monthly consultation appointments for parents and teachers to request to discuss specific difficulties and seek advice on these. These must be booked in advance. Please see click on the button below to see the leaflet which contains the dates of these consultation sessions and how to book them. If you would like to book one, please speak directly with the school SENCo so that we can arrange to attend together.

Click here for STARS consultation dates available for the next academic year.

Click on the link below to access their website which contains a wealth of information and resources.

STARS Website  

Please click on the links below for further useful resources.

Autism Transition ToolkitWorking Together With Your Child’s SchoolFinding A School For Your Child With Autism 

Support for Parents of Autistic Children

Please arrange to speak to the school SENCo if you need any support at home. Here is a useful list of groups, websites and apps to support parents and children:

To download this document so you can click on the links, please click on the button below:

Click here to download the above list.

MindMate ND Hub also can answer questions and provide support for parents. Please click the button below for further information. 

ND Hub poster A4 poster_FINAL_No Cropmarks

Social Emotional Mental Health (SEMH)

We are passionate about supporting children’s social and emotional mental health and have lots of excellent practice in place for all children. If any children with SEND needs require additional support, we have a range of strategies to draw upon like Lego Therapy, Social Stories and Talking Mats. To read the theory behind these, please see the links below.

Lego Group is great fun! We work together as a team, take on different roles, communicate and succeed!

Speech and Language Provision

At St. Joseph’s we pride ourselves on the work we do for the Speech, Language & Communication needs of our pupils. We work closely with Interactions Speech Therapy who visit school on a half-termly basis as well as with the NHS Speech & Language Service in Leeds. Any concerns that we have about any aspect of a child’s communication needs are acted upon. Parents are always consulted and next steps discussed. Please access the information below for information on the speech therapy company that we use and consent forms for their services.

Interactions Parent Information Leaflet Interactions Consent Form 

Speech and Language Resources

Please access the following links for a wealth of information and resources. The NHS Toolkit is a particularly useful resources with hundreds of ideas for games and activities for all areas of speech, language and communication.

Leeds NHS Speech & Language Service \Speech, Language & Communication Needs ~ A Guide For Parents 

External Agencies

Working with outside organisations is a key part of the SEN provision at St. Joseph’s. This may involve other professions and external services such as Educational Psychologists, Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, School Nursing Team, Specialist SEN Teachers ~ the list is long. We pride ourselves on the partnerships that we have built up and will always involve you in any meetings or discussions.

Educational Psychologist

The Educational Psychology Team offer support to schools if there are concerns about an individual or a group of young people. Support is either offered through city wide consultations or longer pieces of work in school. If it is felt that your child would benefit from some input this will  be discussed with you prior to referral.

Please click on the link below for additional information regarding the City Wide Consultations.

EP City Wide Consultation Sessions ~ Guide For Parents

Special Educational Needs & Inclusion Team (SENIT)

The Special Educational Needs and Inclusion Team (SENIT) is a multidisciplinary team of specialist teachers and inclusion workers in Leeds. The team supports children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities to improve outcomes and to realise their potential. They work with staff in schools and education and childcare settings, providing advice and training which builds capacity within settings to support children and young people with SEN. The team aims to secure better progress, support inclusion in a mainstream setting and improve the school or setting experience for the child or young person. If it is felt that your child would benefit from some SENIT input this will  be discussed with you prior to referral.

Please click on the link below for additional information regarding the SENIT team.

What is SENIT? Quick Guide For Parents SENIT Parent & Carer Leaflet

How To Contact Us

Who can I contact for further information?

If you are considering applying for a school place contact the school office on 01937 582163 or via email on office@stjosephswetherby.com

If you wish to discuss something about your child, please speak to your child’s class teacher in the first instance or contact the school office to make an appointment with the relevant member of staff.

If you require information about other support services contact either of the school, SENCos, Miss Collier or Mrs Ward.

If you have any concerns about any area of SEND within school, please contact the SENCO or Head Teacher in the first instance.