Special Educational Needs & Disabilities

At Willow Tree, we believe that inclusion should be at the heart of everything. This means that all people, regardless of their background, abilities, disabilities or health care needs, have the right to be respected and appreciated as valuable members of our school and should be able to participate in all activities in all settings.

We are passionate about prioritising our children’s needs, working with parents, seeing children as individuals, personalising learning for those pupils who need it, and liaising with professionals for specialist advice where necessary. Below you will be able to see the journey of support in our school for children identified as having Special Educational Needs/ Disabilities.

Please see our Information Report below.

This report is written in line with the 2014 SEND Code of Practice, the Green Paper entitled 'Right Support, right place, right time' and Willow Tree Primary School's SEND Policy. Links to all of these documents can be found below:

Contact Details of SEND Co-ordinator and Governor

SEND Co-ordinator: Miss Chippendale

Contact: 01744 678730 (via school office)

Email: via office@willowtree.sthelens.sch.uk (mark for the attention of Miss Chippendale)

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Governor: Mrs. Jane Kinsey

For support or advice about the latest SEND services available in St. Helens - please click on the green link button below. 

Our Graduated Response

Policies and Information 

Differentiation at Willow Tree:

Parent Support

ADDvanced Solutions

ADDvance Solutions are a community network of professionals from across education, health and social care, CJS and community development who bring genuine insight to the design, development and delivery of services from supporting their own families living with Neurodevelopmental conditions. For more information please click on the link below.

ADDvanced Solutions  

St Helens Information and Advice Support Services (IASS)

St Helens IASS is a statutory service providing information, advice and support on matters relating to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The service is offered to children and young people with SEND, and their parents/carers. 

St Helens IASS provides free, confidential, impartial advice and helps parents play an active and informed role in their child’s education. The clip below provides some information about what services they provide. 

You can access more information about IASS by clicking on the link below. 

Information and Advice Support Service

St Helens Local Offer

The Local Offer is a requirement of the SEND Code of Practice (2015) and is easy to understand information that will set out what is services are available in schools to help children with lower level SEN as well as the options available to support families who need additional help to care for their child.

The St. Helens Local Offer provides parents and carers with the information about how to access services in their local area, and what they can expect from those services. With regard to education, it will let parents and carers of young people know how schools and colleges will support them and what they can expect across the local setting. The information is easy to understand and can be accessed by clicking on the link below. 

St Helens Local Offer

Early Help

Early Help is:

Services working together for children, young people (ages 5-11) and their families, who would benefit from extra support:

• Keeping children, young people and their families safe from harm
• Helping children, young people and their families to overcome difficulties
• Supporting children, young people and their families to and be happy
• Making sure families can support themselves

Speak to the school SENDCO (Mrs Bagdonavicius) if you require further information or support about any of the information contained in the information leaflet.

Parenting Courses and Support

Parents can often feel overwhelmed by the demands of parenthood and welcome the opportunity to meet with other parents, discuss common parenting issues and build on skills they already have.

The NSPCC and Triple P Positive Parenting Course offers parents the opportunity to speak with other parents and share experiences. 

School Nurse 

The School Nursing Service is available to all children and young people aged five to 19 who live in St Helens. They offer advice and support on anything to do with to your child's physical and emotional health, including their sexual health. You can talk to them about health conditions such as asthma, epilepsy or allergies or other concerns like bullying, keeping a healthy weight or emotional worries. 

Click on the link below to access the School Nurse service.

St Helens Nursing Team

St Helens Carers Centre

Do you have a child who helps to care for you or another family member? This can include helping out around the house, shopping, personal care, helping with medication, providing emotional support. 

Young Carers who are registered with the St Helens Carers Centre could receive additional support.

If you would like to discuss what support might be out there, or would like to let us know about a Young Carer in your family please don’t hesitate to contact Mrs Bagdonavicius at school. 

Alternatively you could contact the St Helens Carers Centre direct:

Ann-Marie Leather

Young Carers School Involvement Officer

St Helens Young Carers Centre

Tel: 01744 677279

or click on the link below:

St Helens Carers Centre 

What do I do if I have a concern about the support or provision arrangements that are in place for my child?

At Willow Tree Primary School we strive to meet the needs of all pupils and are committed to reviewing how we meet individual needs.

Parents and pupils are encouraged to be part of this process but if you do have a concern about the support or provision arrangements that are in place for your child please follow the steps below. These steps are in line with our school complaints procedure which can be found on the school website.

Step 1
The first point of contact is the class teacher. Arrange a meeting with the class teacher to raise your concerns and agree on next steps.

Step 2
Allow time for the agreed next steps to be put into place. If you are still concerned contact the SENDCO using the contact details in Section 1 to arrange a meeting so that an action plan can be made. Mrs. Sweeney may attend the
meeting.

Step 3
Allow time for the agreed actions to be put into place and reviewed with you. If you are still not satisfied a complaint can be made to the SEND governor. It will then be heard formally by the Governors.

Step 4
If the complaint reaches this step it will be heard by a Governing Body’s Complaints Committee.