Concern over college's 'slapdash' SEND change

A LETTER sent from St Boniface College to parents has been met with dismay and concern over its new approach to dealing with children who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

- By CARL EVE

The letter, sent to parents and carers of children at the college in Boniface Lane, highlights a “change” the way the school will in future support students with SEND. However, parents and advocacy groups said this was done within a few days of the end of the school year and with no consultation with parents.

The letter says from September the college will “remove the option for students to routinely take ‘time out’ of lessons as a response to difficulty or anxiety.

The apparent strategies the college will employ include “access to discrete sensory tools or calming strategies”, “individual support plans” and “short-term check-ins or regulation strategies delivered in class”. The college said there would be support from “trained staff”.

Support group SEND Help Plymouth posted its own retort on social media, stating that St Boniface’s news would have “understandably caused a lot of families to feel unsettled and worried about what the new school year will look like”.

They said they would be reaching out to the college’s Head of School, Mr D Clift “because inclusion isn’t a one size fits all and our children deserve more.”

A spokesperson for SEND Help Plymouth told The Herald that not all parents whose children had EHCP [Education, Health and Care plan] had received the letter.