Special Educational Needs and Disabilities at St Andrew's

This page contains lots of information that will help you find out more about provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) or Special Educational Needs (SEN), both here at St Andrew's and in the local area.  

SEND Policy and Information Report

The SEND Policy and Information Report contain lots of information about how we support families and children with SEND.

If you have any further questions about the many ways in which we support children with SEND, and their families, at St. Andrew's, the contact details from the Information Report are shown below:

On the 13th June, Alice Malein (Special Educational Needs Coordinator -SENCo) and Nikki Durbin (Parent Support Advisor -PSA) held a coffee morning for parents to discuss special educational needs at St. Andrew's.

The coffee morning was a fantastic opportunity to give parents a chance to tell us what they think about how home and school work as a team to support children. 

As a group, we looked at and discussed the school website and the SEND webpage. One of the first questions asked by parents was about the  meaning of SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and SEN (Special Educational Needs), which are often used interchangeably..  It was incredibly helpful for us to learn that SEND and SEN may not be easily accessible for parents if they are not even sure of the terminology used. Seeing the link on the website through the parents' eyes also made it clear that we need to do more to support our wider community's understanding of SEN, raise the profile of SEN and to make access as easy as possible for families - whether they have children with SEN or not. 

The website and information provided by school through newsletters, emails, texts and through other means was also discussed. We wanted to evaluate whether there are effective systems for informing families of all SEN related matters. We got lots of really brilliant feedback on the webpage and the SEN information report, so that we can make them more effective and better suited to our families at St. Andrew's. Also discussed were individual education plans (IEPs), how to help more parents engage with school events, especially SEN-related events, and have made plans to incorporate our parents' views in our ever-developing SEN approach. 

Thank you to the parents who attended the coffee morning, it was a really enjoyable, informative and inspiring session - and a major part of our continuing programme of working with families to create the best, most inclusive provision we can.

We will be arranging another coffee morning in the Autumn Term 2024. The date will be put in the newsletter nearer the time.

Plymouth Local Offer

Young Carers at St. Andrew's

Our St Andrew's Young Carers' Group has been running for several years and we have had very positive feedback from those who attend. The children meet on alternate Thursday afternoons for an hour and have the chance to relax and chat while trying a range of new experiences, such as cooking, arts and craft, Forest School activities and other trips. They also meet with other Young Carers across the city. Our PSA, Nikki is leading the group, and is open to any new ideas or offers of support.

If you feel your child would benefit from joining the Young Carers' Group then please speak to a class teacher or contact Nikki directly at school.

Information about activities and events in the city for children with additional needs.

Plymouth Advice and Information Service

National Autistic Society - Autism Parent/Carer Support Group

Useful contacts and support services

Attention parents of children on the Neurodiversity pathway.

If your child is ALREADY on the Neurodiversity pathway, there is support available, provided by a new team through an advice line.

This is especially helpful if you would like support while your child is awaiting an appointment on the pathway.

The flyer below has details from Livewell.