Special Educational Needs and Disability at St Benedict's
Inclusion & Special Educational Needs and Disability Team
Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO): Mrs Valerie Simmons office@st-benedicts.org.uk
Mrs Simmons works as SENCO every Tuesday and Wednesday. Please be aware that this team member is part-time and that it may take 5-7 working days for a response from when you send your email.
If your email is of an urgent nature then please contact the school for the support of the senior leadership team.
Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSA): Mrs Maree Thatcher and Miss Wendy Joyce
Mrs Thatcher and Miss Joyce are trained to work with individual pupils as well as small groups of children on the following aspects:
- emotional literacy
- positive mental health,
- social skills
- emotional wellbeing
Important Documents
St Benedict's cares passionately for each pupil and their individual needs. In 2014, the Children's and Families Act brought a range of new expectations to schools and local authorities. On this page you will find some useful documents:
Somerset SEND Local Offer
Somerset’s SEND Local Offer:
Somerset’s SEND Local Offer is our local hub of information and guidance for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), their families and professionals in Somerset. Explore services available to support you and how to access them.
https://www.somerset.gov.uk/children-families-and-education/the-local-offer/
SEN Information Report and reference to the Somerset Graduated Response Tool:
How will school staff support my child?
Somerset Graduated Response Tool
Quality first teaching underpins all educational provision. It focuses on inclusive practice and breaks down barriers to learning. For the majority of children this can be achieved by identifying specific barriers, followed by personalisation and differentiation using strategies as identified in the Somerset Graduated Response Tool. The Somerset Graduated Response Tool breaks down SEN into four broad areas of need. This targets specific support for teachers to plan and for any interventions to take place. You can learn more about the Somerset Graduated Response at: https://www.somerset.gov.uk/children-families-and-education/the-local-offer/education/what-to-expect-from-education/