Special Educational Needs and Disability

At St. Matthew’s Catholic Primary School, we are committed to the equal inclusion of all pupils in all areas of primary school life. We recognise the diverse and individual needs of all pupils and take into account the additional support required by those children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We are a fully inclusive school which ensures that all pupils achieve their potential personally, socially, emotionally and academically in all areas of the curriculum (regardless of their gender, ethnicity, social background, religion, sexual identity, physical ability or educational needs).

Miss Helen Shawcross is the SENDCO and Designated teacher for Looked After Children (LAC). Along with the headteacher, Mrs Alderson, she is responsible for ensuring all teachers in school understand the implications for those children who are looked after and have SEND. We have a designated SEND Governor, Mrs Helen Hall, who works closely with the SENDCO to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of SEND provision for all children at St Matthew’s.

Our SEND Information Report, which you can find at the bottom of this page, aims to detail our ‘Local Offer’ to children and families who have an interest in, or need additional SEND provision.The SEND Information Report is intended to give you information regarding the ways in which we ensure we support all of our pupils, including those with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND), in order that they can realise their potential. It may not list every skill, resource and technique we use in order to achieve this as these are continually developed and used to modify our provision to meet the changing requirements for individual pupils. o SEND Information Report 2023 o SEND Policy 2023

Our SENDCO (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-Ordinator), Miss Helen Shawcross, can be contacted on 0191 489 8355 or via the email – hshawcross@stmatthewsjarrow.co.uk

Our Senior Mental Health Lead is Mrs E Alderson (Headteacher) and she can also be contacted via the School Office email at TMAoffice@stmatthewjarrow.co.uk

Please also see our Accessibility Plan below:

St Matthews Accessibility Plan

Please see what we offer in terms of mental health support for our pupils:

BCCET Mental Health Provision Map 23 St Matthews

Useful SEND links:

South Tyneside SEND Local Offer

Kooth – Online wellbeing community for children

Quell – Online wellbeing community for adults

Toby Henderson Autism Hub

Grace House – A charity who supports children with SEND and their families