The SENDCo at St Nicholas of Tolentine is Miss Antonia Ashwin. 

If you would like to discuss any concerns or anything to do with SEND, please ask in the office or send the school an email to arrange a meeting.

Special Educational Needs

Our aims are:

• to provide for the individual needs and aspirations of all the children within the school and to ensure early identification of those whom we feel have Special Educational Needs.
• to encourage all pupils, irrespective of ability, to develop an awareness of, and respect for, individual differences.
• to nurture each child’s development by meeting each academic, physical, spiritual, behavioural and emotional need and aspiration.
• to provide a whole school approach where the staff team is committed to developing a climate of warmth and respect which encourages self-esteem, confidence and empathy towards others.
• to ensure we promote, review and evaluate the process of inclusion for all pupils both in the academic and social life of the school.
• to promote social inclusion by reducing truancy and seeking specialist advice and support for disruptive pupils.
• to ensure all children are included by ensuring the national curriculum is accessible to all.

How we support our children:

• We want all children to feel a sense of belonging and ensure they feel included in everything they do 
• Some children may need a higher level of support; additional adult support, bespoke timetables, additional interventions
• We provide a range of pastoral and academic interventions for our children
• Pastoral interventions include: Thrive, Play therapy, Mentoring (Bristol Sport), Forest nurture, SPARKS mentoring, Lego groups  
• Academic interventions include: Precision teaching, Targeted small group work, Phonics interventions, Nessy, Speech and language support

Support for parents and carers 

Our Special Educational Needs Coordinator Mrs Barker, is always happy to talk with parents and carers to discuss any questions and concerns. Please ask at the Office to arrange an appointment or email the school office email. 

Bristol Parent Carers are available to work with families of pupils with Special Education Needs. Contact: bristolparentcarers@gmail.com

https://www.bristolparentcarers.org.uk/resources/

FLORA - Bristol's SEND Local Offer - https://www.bristolparentcarers.org.uk/2021/05/24/flora-bristols-send-local-offer/

SEND and YOU provide the Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIAS) for Parents/Carers of Children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND) and Children & Young People with SEND.

https://www.sendandyou.org.uk/

We will support you to:

• Feel more confident and understand the SEND process
• Get your views heard and raise your concerns
• Feel well prepared when dealing with paperwork and attending meetings

Contact them on 0117 989 7725 or email support@sendandyou.org.uk

Advice and signposting

https://www.sirona-cic.org.uk/nhsservices/childrens-services/advice-and-signposting/

Bristol Autism Support

https://www.bristolautismsupport.org/helpline/ and Bristol parents Facebook group (now over 3,000 members)  https://www.facebook.com/groups/bristolautismsupport

Calendar: https://www.bristolautismsupport.org/whats-on/

Local family support

AirHop SEN sessions - https://www.airhop-bristol.com/sessions/airhop-sen/

https://www.bristolparentcarers.org.uk/events/

To find out what other support is available in Bristol for children with SEND, please see Bristol's Local Offer:

https://www.bristol.gov.uk/web/bristol-local-offer

USEFUL SEN WEBSITES

https://www.hacw.nhs.uk/childrens-speech-and-language-resources - A range of speech and language resources

www.ipsea.org.uk – A useful site for free, legally based Special Education advice

www.autism.org.uk – The National Autistic Society website, the main UK charity for supporting people with ASD and their families (contains lots of useful advice and resources)

www.attentionautism.com – For more information on Attention Autism and how you can support your child to develop attention and turn-taking skills

www.widgit.com/resources - Symbolled resources for different topics and areas of life, including resources for fire safety and about visiting the doctors/dentists

www.special-needs-kids.co.uk – An information directory for parents and carers

www.iassnetwork.co.uk – Advice and support for parents of children with SEN

www.autismuk.com – Lots of information on ASD

www.downs-syndrome.org.uk – Advice and support, including booklets to help with independent toileting, sleeping and managing behaviour

www.autismspeaks.org – A comprehensive site, with a useful resource library

www.oneplaceforspecialneeds.com/main/library_social_stories.html - A really useful set of social stories to share with children, covering topics ranging from coping with a new baby in the family to getting a haircut to making friends. The National Autistic Society website also provides guidance on writing your own personalised social stories.

Useful, fun websites with highly visual games for using with your children to consolidate early skills:

www.starfall.com

www.ictgames.com

www.topmarks.co.uk

www.crickweb.co.uk

Spoken Language in the Classroom project

Last year, we were part of a project with Bristol University. Read the report below.