SEND and medical needs
SEND Annual Information Report
Autumn 2026 | St Peter’s C of E Primary School
📊 Key Facts, Figures & Key Contacts
SEND Data Overview
| Number of pupils on roll | 301 |
| SEN Register (without EHCP) | 71 (21%) (National Average: 14.8%) |
| Pupils with an EHCP | 9 (3%) (National Average: 6%) +1 in Assessment phase |
Key Contacts
- Headteacher: Steve Hitchcock (head@sps1.org.uk)
- SENDCo: Caroline Walshaw (carolinew@sps1.org.uk)
- SEMH Lead: Beverley Cawthera (bcawthera@stpeters-budleigh.devon.sch.uk)
- SEND Governor: Helen Tribble
Our Ethos & Commitments
At St Peter’s Primary, our underpinning ethos for all pupils, including those with SEND or Medical needs, is to achieve outstanding academic progress, and to nurture pupils who are happy, spiritual, respectful and hard working.
We support and value the abilities of all our pupils and believe that all children should be given the best possible opportunity to reach their potential. We achieve this through having high expectations and by teaching the skills needed to become independent, confident, and empowered to access all areas of the curriculum.
We commit to:
- Providing equal opportunities for all.
- Offering an accessible, adaptable, and well-equipped learning environment.
- A focus on individual needs.
- Using inclusive, high-quality teaching strategies.
- Providing Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision (OAIP).
- Ensuring all teachers receive training and support to be effective teachers of SEND.
- Using a team approach to identify needs and support potential.
- Early identification and timely intervention through our ‘Notice and Focus’ cycle.
🧩 Areas of Need Catered For
We are a mainstream school catering for pupils across the four primary areas of need:
Cognition and Learning
- Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD)
- Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD)
- Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, and Dyscalculia
Communication and Interaction
- Speech, Language, and Communication Needs (Articulation, Fluency, Apraxia of Speech, Expressive and Receptive language difficulties, DLD)
- Autism
Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- ADHD
- Attachment difficulties
- Anxiety
- Depression
- OCD
- Tourette’s Syndrome
Sensory and/or Physical Needs
- Hearing Impairment (HI)
- Visual Impairment (VI)
- Multi-Sensory Impairment (MSI)
- Physical Disability (PD)
📖 How We Teach Pupils with SEND
Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision (OAIP)
Includes practices and strategies that are helpful to all children, funded through the school’s own resources. The goal of OAIP is to remove common barriers to learning and ensure fair access to the curriculum without feeling singled out or excluded.
Special Educational Needs (SEN) Provision
For children requiring support additional to or different from OAIP. Each class has a team equipped to meet pupil needs, with staff specifically trained and resourced to deliver targeted interventions.
🔍 Identification, Assessment & Monitoring
Identifying Need
- Continuous ‘Notice and Focus’ cycle (Assess, Plan, Do, Review).
- Parental information and concerns.
- Information from previous settings.
- Formative assessments & observations.
- Statutory Assessments: EYFS Baseline, Reception end, Y1 Phonics, Y4 Multiplication.
- Diagnostic Tools: YARC, Sandwell Maths, Black Sheep Press Language Profile.
Assessment & Progress Review
- Ongoing ‘Notice and Focus’ tracking to remove barriers early.
- Termly pupil progress tracking.
- Pupil progress meetings with SLT.
- Observations and follow-up reviews.
- Termly parent communications (Meet Teacher, Evenings, Reports).
- Dynamic, termly review of provision maps.
Monitoring & Evaluation
- Whole-School: Regular tracking against assessment calendars; prompt action for insufficient progress.
- Individual: Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle updated at least termly.
- Strategic: Annual self-evaluation drives strategy, training, and resources; weekly SLT updates and termly Governor meetings.
🤝 Partnership with Parents & Pupils
Communication with Parents & Carers
Parents are essential partners in our SEND provision. Views are sought via termly meetings, concern check-ins, annual document reviews, questionnaires, EHCP Reviews, and Ofsted Parent View.
Points of Contact & Principles:
- Class teacher (initial contact) or SENDCo (admin@sps1.org.uk).
- Parents feel supported, taken seriously, and access advice/support during decision-making.
- Understanding procedures and playing an active, valued role in their child’s education.
Pupil Voice
Pupils must be collaborators in their own support to feel empowered and connected. We use visuals, scales, and Comic Strip Conversations to facilitate communication.
Pupil views are gathered through:
- Pupil Voice meetings with SLT and the SENDCo.
- Preparations for EHCP Annual Reviews.
- Ongoing conversations with class teachers and the SENDCo.
💚 Supporting SEMH Needs
We recognise that pupils with SEND can be more susceptible to Social, Emotional, and Mental Health challenges. We support them by:
- Relational Approach: Viewing behavior as communication of an underlying unmet need.
- Whole-Staff Understanding: Training staff on cognitive/sensory differences and adaptations.
- Predictable Routines: Establishing consistent structures, daily check-ins, and movement breaks.
- Communication & Agency: Short instructions, visual aids, processing time, and choices to build self-esteem.
- Self-Regulation Tools: Teaching pupils to identify triggers and levels of arousal.
- Targeted Interventions: Emotion coaching, mindfulness, Interoceptive Curriculum, and ‘Think Good, Feel Good’.
- Support Networks: Collaboration with parents, pastoral care, school nurses, counselling, and external outreach teams.
🎓 Expertise & External Support
School-Based Expertise
- Mrs Walshaw: NPQSENDCo Qualification, Level 3 Safeguarding, Trauma Informed Schools Certificate.
- Mrs Cawthera: NASENCo award, MA in SEND, Level 3 Safeguarding.
- Mrs Barahona: NASENCo award, MA in SEND.
- Mr Steve Hitchcock: Relational Practices and SALT expertise.
- Mrs Rose: Qualified Support Staff.
- Mrs Gray: MA SEN, PGD in SpLD, PGC in Autism.
- Mrs Marshall: Lego Therapy.
External Partner Agencies
- School Nurses & Community Health Workers
- Educational Psychology Service
- Speech and Language Therapy (SALT)
- Occupational Therapy & Physiotherapy
- Visual Impairment (VI) & Hearing Impairment (HI) Support Teams
- Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
- Heads-Up, Mental Health Support Team & YSMART
- School Improvement Partner
🔄 Transitions & Local Offer
Transition Arrangements
- In-School: Staff handover meetings, setting up accommodating spaces, and individual transition plans.
- Starting School: Pre-school visits, TAF meetings, and enhanced transition plans for early SEN identification.
- Moving to Secondary: Partnerships with receiving schools, joint planning with parents, and supported visits.
Governing Board Role
- SEND Governor meets termly with SENDCo to provide support and challenge.
- Governing Board monitors continual improvement of SEND provision and high expectations.
- SENDCo attends termly Inclusion Governor Meetings.
Local Offer & External Links
Access local authority support and advice services:
- Devon SEND Local Offer
- Devon IAS (01392 383080)
- School Nurse: 0333 234 1903
- Devon Family Hubs
❓ Resolution & Complaints Process
As a relational school, we prioritize building trusting relationships between staff and parents. If you have a concern, please follow this staged approach:
- Class Teacher: Speak directly to your child’s class teacher in the first instance.
- SENDCo: If unresolved, discuss the matter with the SENDCo.
- Joint Meeting: A meeting involving both the SENDCo and the Head Teacher can be arranged.
- Formal Policy: If a resolution is still not achieved, follow the formal complaints policy on our School Policies Page.