Special Educational Needs (SEN)

St Bede’s High School is committed to ensuring equal opportunities and accessibility for all students. This commitment is reflected in the School Aims and embedded across a range of policies and documents, including the Equal Opportunities Policy, Anti-Bullying Policy, Special Needs Policy, Behaviour Policy, Health and Safety Policy, and Inclusion documents.

We strive to embed accessibility across all aspects of school life—school improvement, curriculum development, professional development, and the physical environment.

The school adopts a whole-school approach to disability, ensuring that every member of staff takes responsibility for removing barriers to learning and supporting all pupils to achieve their potential.

St Bede’s has over 1,000 pupils on roll. In line with the Disability Discrimination Act, we recognise a broad definition of disability covering a wide range of physical and mental impairments.

Our pupils’ Special Educational Needs include, but are not limited to:

• Speech and Language Difficulties
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Elective Mutism
• Cerebral Palsy
• Dyslexia and Dyspraxia
• Moderate Learning Difficulties
• Tourette’s Syndrome
• Hearing and Visual Impairments
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs
• Medical needs such as severe allergies, diabetes, Guillain-Barré Syndrome, and Neurofibromatosis

Children with SEN are identified through:

• Medical professionals (e.g., Community Paediatricians, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational and Physiotherapists)
• Information from primary schools and parents/carers
• Baseline testing upon entry to St Bede’s (Maths, English, reading, comprehension, spelling)
• Dyslexia screening programmes

Where necessary, additional specialist testing and interventions are coordinated by the SENCO in collaboration with the child, parents/carers, and teaching and pastoral staff.

SENCO: Mr C. Bentley
Contact: send@stbedesblackburn.com | 01254 202519

Parents of pupils with IPRA/EHCPs are invited to:

• Attend annual review meetings
• Participate in parents’ evenings
• Attend end-of-year meetings to evaluate progress and agree future strategies

Parents are encouraged to provide feedback—written or verbal—on their child’s progress and have opportunities to meet with the support staff working directly with their child.

Parents with concerns can request meetings with pastoral staff and the SENCO at any time. The SENCO also attends all open evenings and parents’ evenings.

Pupil voice is central to our approach. Young people are encouraged to:

• Attend their review meetings
• Record and share their wishes and feelings
• Contribute to decisions about career aspirations, curriculum adaptations, support provision, and extracurricular involvement

• Pupils are assessed regularly within subject areas.
• Progress is shared with parents through:
  • One annual school report
  • One parents’ evening
  • One formal assessment of curriculum subjects per year

• Flexibility is provided during option choices to meet individual needs
• Alternative educational provision may be recommended to support desired outcomes
• Adaptations may include reduced curriculum, modified school day, uniform adjustments, or tailored access to specific facilities

• Pupils are taught in mixed ability sets (apart from Mathematics where this is grouped according to ability), with progress monitored regularly
• All teachers are trained in creating Dyslexia-Friendly Classrooms

ICT resources, including laptops, tablets and reading pens, are widely available as alternative means of recording work.

All staff receive annual training in:

• Safeguarding
• Asthma care and management
• Diabetes care
• Use of Epi-pens
• ADHD and ASD training

Whole-school training has also been delivered on ASD and Dyslexia awareness. Staff have access to strategies, profiles of SEN pupils, and details of strengths, weaknesses, and barriers to learning via the school intranet.

We work in partnership with external professionals, including:

• Speech and Language Therapists
• Hearing Impairment and Visual Impairment specialists
• ISS and Local Authority advisory teachers (Physical Difficulties, ASD, ADHD, SEMH, EAL)
• Educational Psychologists
• ELCAS
• Community Paediatricians

Where needs cannot be fully met in school, referrals are made to specialist advisory services. Assessments are undertaken collaboratively with pupils, parents, and staff, leading to tailored strategies and interventions.

• Parents and pupils evaluate provision during review meetings
• Regular surveys and questionnaires capture feedback on school life
• Parents can also provide written feedback at parents’ evenings
• The SENCO provides termly reports to governors, including progress updates
• Departmental monitoring evaluates provision for specific groups

• Buildings, curriculum, and extracurricular activities are accessible to all pupils
• All pupils are encouraged to participate in trips and visits, with SSA support as needed

Risk assessments ensure the safety of all pupils, with designated staff responsible for medication in line with government guidelines.

• The PSHE programme is taught within prep groups and provides daily support through College and House structures
• A dedicated Child Welfare Officer (also the Designated Safeguarding Lead) provides access to additional services
• A robust Anti-Bullying Policy supports pupil wellbeing
• PSHCE days are held each term, covering personal, social, health, careers, and enterprise education, often involving external agencies

We work closely with the Local Authority SEN department, health and social care services, and other agencies to support pupils and families.

This report should be read alongside the following school policies:

• SEN and Inclusion
• SEN Local Offer
• Accessibility
• Admission
• Anti-Bullying
• Behaviour and Learning
• Careers
• Data Protection
• Equal Opportunities
• Home School Agreement
• Safeguarding

All policies are available at: https://www.stbedesblackburn.com/policies/