At St Nicholas, identifying need begins from the moment a child joins our school. Before starting Reception, we visit every child at home and invite children and families to Stay and Play sessions, giving families the opportunity to meet staff and helping us to begin getting to know each child. Whether a child is joining us in Reception or transferring to our school, if a child has an identified or emerging additional need, we also work closely with parents, current settings and professionals already involved, including visiting settings where appropriate, to support a positive and well-planned transition.

Once children start Reception, all pupils are screened for speech, language and communication needs, alongside ongoing observation and assessment. As children move through school, class teachers continue to monitor progress, development and wellbeing, and concerns may be identified by staff, families, assessment or screening. If we identify a concern internally, we will contact you to share what we have noticed, listen to your views and work together to agree the next steps.

Our focus is always on understanding each child’s strengths and needs and removing barriers to learning, participation and wellbeing. Support may begin through classroom adaptations or targeted strategies and is monitored through our Assess, Plan, Do, Review approach. Our staff follow carefully designed pathways, which can be found below, to ensure that barriers are identified and addressed, both timely and accurately. Where further support is needed, our SEND Team can work alongside families, staff and other professionals to understand need and plan appropriate provision.

Equally, parents and carers can raise a concern with us at any time. You know your child best, and your knowledge and views are an integral part of the process.

Our SEND pathways support the early and accurate identification of need, helping us to recognise and understand potential barriers as soon as they emerge.

By working closely with children, families and staff, we can build a fuller picture of each child’s strengths and needs and put timely, appropriate support in place to remove barriers to learning, participation and wellbeing.

Our pathways and provision are regularly reviewed and developed, responding to the individual needs of our children and emerging needs across our school community.

Please see our SEND pathways below to find out more about how we identify and respond to different areas of need.

• Speech and Language Pathway 

At St Nicholas, inclusive practice is embedded in all that we do. When we talk about our Universal Offer, we simply mean the teaching approaches, classroom environments, resources and support that are built into everyday school life to help all children learn, participate and thrive. It is the strong foundation of support that children experience as part of being a pupil at St Nicholas.

We have high expectations for every child and believe that inclusion does not mean lowering expectations. Where appropriate, we do not change the end goal — we adapt and scaffold the journey to help children get there.

This is at the heart of our approach to adaptive teaching. Teachers know the children in their classrooms, consider what may create a barrier to learning and adapt their teaching in response. This may mean changing how something is explained, modelled, broken down, practised or recorded, or providing a resource or scaffold that helps a child access the learning successfully.

Our aim is to remove barriers from the outset, while giving children the tools, strategies and confidence they need to become increasingly successful and independent learners.

The SEND Update is our termly newsletter for families, created to help you feel informed, involved and connected with SEND at St Nicholas.

Each edition brings together news from our SEND Team, helpful information and resources, updates about support in school, and upcoming events and opportunities for families. Most importantly, it’s another way for us to share, communicate and work in partnership with you as we support our children to flourish.

The SEND Update will be emailed directly to the email address you provide on our contact form; if you would prefer to receive a paper copy, just let us know and we will be happy to provide one.

You can find our latest issues below.

The SEND Update - Summer 2026

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COMING SOON The SEND Update - Autumn 2026 

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Every Local Authority must publish a Local Offer - a single place where families can find information about support, advice, and services available for children and young people with SEND.
In Leeds, the Local Offer includes information across education, health, and social care, helping families access the right help at the right time.

You can find out more by visiting the Leeds Local Offer website: 🔗 www.leedslocaloffer.org.uk 

We know that children with medical conditions may sometimes need additional care, support or adjustments to help them feel safe, included and able to fully take part in school life. Having a medical condition does not, however, automatically mean that a child has SEND.

For some children, a medical condition may also create barriers to their learning or participation and mean that SEND support is needed. Where this is the case, we will work closely with you, your child and any professionals involved to understand their individual needs and make sure the right support is in place.

You can find more information about how we support children with medical conditions on our Medical Needs & Allergies page.