SENCO and SEN Staff
Our SENCO is Andrea Brotherston contact diptonstpatricks@durhamlearning.net
Contact number: 01207 570316.
Mrs Brotherston is a qualified teacher who has obtained her NASENCO qualification – National Award for SEN Co-ordination.
More details of the SENCO’s role can be found in the SEN Policy which you can find in the School Policies section of our website.
External Specialists and Other Bodies
The school enjoys good working relationships with a wide range of people who provide services to children with SEND and their families.
The external specialists may:
- Act in an advisory capacity
- Extend expertise of school staff
- Provide additional assessment
- Support a child directly
- Suggest statutory assessment is advisable
- Consult with all parties involved with the child
These include:
- Durham SEND Information, Advice and Support Service
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Educational Psychologist
- Cognition and Learning Team
- Occupational Therapy
- Vision and Hearing Impairment Team
- Children and Adolescents Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
- Behaviour Inclusion Team
- Autism Spectrum Condition Team
- Assistive Technology Team – to support with the physical environment in school.
How We Secure Specialist Expertise
Our Additional Needs Budget is used to support children and young people with SEN.
In 2019/20 our current budget allocation (notional + top up funding is £73,987). This amount can alter as school submits additional applications to the local authority for funding during the course of the year.
Teaching assistants providing support for pupils with SEND
Intended impact – additional adults in the classroom are effectively deployed to allow small group work/catch-up activities to take place. Basic skills are consolidated at an appropriate level and any gaps evident will narrow over time.
Release time for SENDCO – Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Co-ordinatorIntended impact – Mrs Andrea Brotherston is our school Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCO). She is released from class weekly to manage and monitor provision for pupils with SEND in school. She is also able to use this time to support and advise colleagues. This ensures high quality provision.
Time is also allocated to release Mrs Brotherston and other school staff from class to meet with parents/carers to produce high quality Education Support Plans which are reviewed regularly and lead to positive progress in terms of individual targets/starting points.
Access to a School Counsellor
Intended impact – support the social and emotional wellbeing of pupils, when appropriate.
Access to an Educational Psychologist and other specialist services
Intended impact – to provide specific recommendations regarding appropriate teaching strategies/additional resources to support pupils with additional needs.
Training
School fully utilises the knowledge and skills of the SENDCO, who is released from classroom commitments weekly to support pupils and colleagues. Depending on the current needs of pupils, school will organise additional training utilising special support. For specific training sessions, all staff within school are invited to attend, as appropriate.
