SEND

Welcome to the St Bernard’s Learning Support Department

We believe in a fully inclusive educational environment which means that at St. Bernard’s we value the abilities and achievements of all pupils and are committed to providing the best possible setting for learning.

Our Learning Support Centre is located in the St Helens Centre and we welcome all students who would like additional support with their learning. The Learning Support team are made up of enthusiastic and experienced staff who work with students in class and are available to support at lunchtime and after school.

The Learning Support Team is available from 8.30 in the morning, lunchtime and after school in the library. The Learning Support Centre is a place where students can come at lunchtime to socialise or have some time to themselves in addition to getting help with classwork. The Learning Support are also available for one to one sessions or small group sessions if students require additional help with classroom tasks or homework.

We make use of technology: computers are available to use and we provide headphones, reader pens and iPads to those students who need them.

At St. Bernard’s we offer a holistic approach to learning which means students are taught in mainstream classes with differentiated work and different learning strategies based on their additional needs and targets. The Learning Support Team work across the school with both the pastoral team and subject departments to support all the needs of our young people. We have good relationships and work with external services such as the Educational Psychology Service, the Local Authority, Speech and Language services and the Visual Impairment and Auditory Service. We are always available to support all our students.

If you have any concerns feel free to email the SEN department on sen@stbernards.southend.sch.uk

Learning Support Team

Dr L Whittle – Head of Inclusion, SENCo and Deputy DSL

Mrs J Higgs – Learning Support Team Lead

Mrs K Shields – LSA

Mrs A Waddy-Smith – LSA

Mrs G Fiore – LSA

Miss H MacDonald - LSA

Mrs L Kean – LSA

Miss A Smith – LSA

Mrs Ruth Male - LSA