SEND & Inclusion

At Weeton St Michael's, every child is known. Not as a name on a register, but as a person, with their own strengths, their own worries and their own way of learning. We are a small school with around sixty children across three mixed year classes, and roughly one adult to every eight children.

If your child has special educational needs or a disability, and you are looking for an educational setting thta may be beneficial for your child's needs we would like to hear from you.

In a large school, a child who is finding reading hard can go a long time without anyone really seeing it. Here that is almost impossible. Our teachers know every child in their class properly, and they know them across years rather than terms.

Every teacher at Weeton is a teacher of every child, including children with SEND. Support is not something that happens somewhere else, to someone else. It is built into the ordinary school day, in the classroom, alongside friends.

We identify additional needs as early as we can, because early support is far more effective than late support. Where a child needs something different, we make reasonable adjustments to help them get on. That might be extra help within the classroom, work in a small group, or one to one time, depending on what will actually make the difference.

Additional needs take many forms, and they do not always announce themselves. We keep an eye on four broad areas, not to put a label on a child, but to work out what would genuinely help them.

• Communication and interaction, including understanding language, expressing ideas, and navigating friendships
• Cognition and learning, where reading, writing, maths or remembering new information is harder than expected
• Social, emotional and mental health, including anxiety, low mood, or behaviour that signals distress
• Sensory and physical needs, including hearing, vision, physical access, and sensitivity to noise, light or touch

Sometimes progress is affected by something other than SEND, such as health, attendance, or English being an additional language. We will still put support in place. We just make sure we are solving the right problem.

We work in stages. Most children need nothing more than the first one. If more is needed we add it, review it honestly, and take it away again when it is no longer required. Nothing happens without you knowing about it.

Great teaching, every day. The first response to any child who is finding things hard is better teaching, not a separate programme. Your child's teacher adapts how they explain, what they ask, and how much support sits alongside. Staff meet each term to look closely at how every child is getting on, so concerns are picked up quickly rather than at the end of the year.

Additional SEND support. If good teaching alone is not enough, your child's teacher writes an Individual Learning Plan with our SENDCo, and with you. It sets no more than three clear targets at a time, chosen to tackle the underlying difficulty rather than simply giving your child more of the same work. Your child helps set those targets and understands what they are working towards. We review them with you every term, and set new ones as soon as one is met.

Education, Health and Care Plans. A small number of children need a level of support beyond what a school can arrange on its own. Where that is the case we will say so, and we will apply to Lancashire County Council for an EHC Plan. Children with a plan receive everything above, plus a formal Annual Review that brings together everyone involved in their care.

Being a small school does not mean being on our own. Where it would help, we bring in specialists including the Educational Psychology Service, the Inclusion and Disability Support Service, the School Health Service and Behaviour Support. We will always discuss this with you first..

Parents often tell us they have spent years feeling like they had to fight to be heard. That is not how it works here. You are part of the conversation from the beginning, and we would far rather hear a worry early than find out about it later.

You will always know what support your child is receiving and why. You help shape their targets rather than being told about them afterwards. You meet your child's teacher every term, with our SENDCo present if that would help. Your child is asked what they think is working, and what is not. And we talk about strengths as much as difficulties, because both are real.

If something is not right, please start by speaking to your child's class teacher. If that does not resolve things, speak to Mr Smith. Ongoing concerns can be put in writing to our SEND Governor, who will involve the Chair of Governors. Our Complaints Policy sets out each step. Independent advice is also available through Lancashire SENDIAS, the SEND Information, Advice and Support Service, which supports families free of charge and independently of the school.

Mrs Nicola Rillie, SENDCo. Nicola coordinates support for every child with additional needs, works alongside teachers on learning plans, and is your main point of contact for anything SEND related. You can reach her at send@weeton-st-michaels.lancs.sch.uk or on 01253 836280.

Mr Luke Smith, Headteacher. Luke is responsible for how well every child at Weeton is doing, including those with SEND, and for supporting children with medical needs.

Mrs Dawn Ansell, SEND Governor. Dawn holds the school to account on behalf of families. She meets our SENDCo regularly and reports back to the full governing board on how SEND provision is working. She can be contacted via the school office.

Every local authority publishes a Local Offer, bringing together the services and support available to children and young people with SEND from birth to age 25. It covers education, health, social care and the advice services available across the county. It is a useful starting point if you are trying to work out what help exists beyond school.

Our SEND policy is available here to download.