Mr P Mooney Assistant Headteacher (SENCO)

In school, alongside our experienced SENCO we have many skilled teaching assistants who work closely with our pupils on a daily basis, including our Autism Champion.

Our experienced SEND Team support pupils with Education Health Care Plans as well as those children on the Special Educational Needs register. We believe that early identification if vital to engaging the correct level of support from outside agencies. We work closely with a range of professionals from Rochdale Borough Council, including:

Educational Psychologists

RANS (Rochdale Additional Needs Service)

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

If you would like any further information please do not hesitate to contact us, Mr Mooney our SENCo, will be more than happy to answer any of your enquiries. You can find our contact details here.

Special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to or different from that made generally for others of the same age. This means provision that goes beyond the differentiated approaches and learning arrangements normally provided as part of high quality, personalised teaching in the classroom.

Areas of Special Educational Need

Special educational needs and provision can be considered as falling under four broad areas:

1. Communication and interaction

2. Cognition and learning

3. Social, mental and emotional health

4. Sensory and/or physical

Many children and young people have difficulties that fit clearly into one of these areas; some have needs that span two or more areas; for others the precise nature of their need may not be clear at the outset and as a school we strive to work with our families to identify any specific needs.

Behavioural difficulties do not necessarily mean that a child or young person has a SEND and will not automatically lead to a pupil being registered as having SEND. However, consistent disruptive or withdrawn behaviours can be an indication of unmet SEN, and where there are concerns about behaviour, there will be an assessment to determine whether there are any causal factors such as undiagnosed learning difficulties, difficulties with communication or mental health issues.

Communication and interaction

Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. Children and young people with ASD, including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism, are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.

Cognition and learning 

​Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD).

Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.

Social, emotional and mental health difficulties 

​Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder.

Please click here(opens in new tab) to read the SEND Code of Practice.

The SEND policy, Information Report, Single Equality and Community Cohesion Policy, Equality Objectives Statement and Accessibility Plan can be located with the policies section of our website here.

For more information about the service available for SEND pupils in Rochdale, please Click Here to be directed to Rochdale Councils SEND Homepage Here you will also find further information about the Rochdale Local Offer.

If you would like to make a complaint about SEND Provision at St Patrick’s, please make your complaint following the Complaints Procedure which can be located in the policies section of the website here. Thank you.