Don't miss important information about a meet-the-SENDCo session below this article.

“My sister was only diagnosed with autism when she was 30. Through her whole school life, her needs weren't met. Quickly after starting secondary school, she had a mental health breakdown.”

This experience serves as a powerful driver for Kate Rose-Lean in her new role as CELT’s Primary Lead for Specialist Bases and SENDCo for Newquay Primary Academy and Pondhu Primary School.

“Growing up,” Kate says, “I just remember lots of hospital visits and meetings with psychologists. She was incredibly poorly for most of her teenage years, and at the time, it was felt that she had a school phobia and that was the cause of her breakdown.”

“She only found out nearly 20 years later that it wasn't school itself that was the issue. It was that her needs weren't met in the way that we know they can be now.”

That very close-up view of what inadequate provision does to a child (and their lifelong opportunities) is a constant reminder for Kate of why inclusion matters.

But her own experience informs her approach too.

“It’s about so much more than the children’s 8-til-3 education when they’re with us,” she explains. “It’s about the whole family experience.”

“Quite often, schools are a literal lifeline for families,” she says. “When they can’t get into CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) or the GP, they come to us.”

“Quite often, schools are a literal lifeline for families.”

Kate sees her role as being “the link person between home, school and external services, the one who creates a team around the child so that we get the right package.”

Kate is very evidently passionate about what she does. What makes her really special for our community is that she has a wealth of experience in the job too.

For the past three years, she has been SENDCo at another CELT school: Newquay Junior Academy, a school with over 100 pupils on the record of need, and 20 of those with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

“But my original passion is special education. Before I joined CELT, I worked at Kernow School in Redruth, which is part of the Special Partnership Trust. Our cohort of children and young people from Early Years up to post-16 had a range of complex needs, including speech and language, autism, and profound and multiple learning difficulties.”

That passion and commitment mean Kate has grown a network of like-minded professionals around her. Among them is Leanne Robbins, who has joined the Newquay Primary Academy team from St Kew School, part of the Kernow Learning Trust.  Leanne has been a SENDCo and primary teacher for 15 years. (“She’s the absolute best person for these children,” says Kate.)

Kate is also joined by a teacher from Doubletrees School (another member of the Special Partnership Trust), and she brings along two learning support assistants from Newquay Junior School too.

"I can't wait to see these little people in real life."

“It’s a dream team,” she says, clearly excited about delivering something exceptional for the 18 children with EHCPs joining her two settings this autumn – nine in each of Armstrong Class (Pondhu Primary’s specialist base) and Robins Class (Newquay Primary's).

Kate has spent the summer reading their EHCPS and says she “can't wait to see these little people in real life, as opposed to just words on a page.”

“At the moment, our two teams are doing home visits to get to know the families in their comfortable settings. Then, over the next part of the week, they're coming into school with their parents for one-to-one meetings and to explore their setting.”

The classrooms are ready. Kate’s ready. Her teams are ready. And it has all happened since April.

“If I were doing this as a stand-alone school, I would have had to work until three o'clock in the morning every night to get everything in place. But from the moment I started, I already had a team of people behind me at CELT who had done all of the groundwork.”

She mentions Amy Daniels, who leads on inclusion for the trust, Anna Illish, CELT’s director of curriculum for primary, and Jo Luxford who brought her Early Years expertise to the curriculum design.

She also nods to the trust’s estates and finance teams, who refurbished classrooms over the summer and ordered all the resources the children could need and want.

“For us in school, it means we can just focus on the children and their families and making sure we are there for them.”

It’s what the vast majority of our community said they wanted us to provide: the welcoming, appropriate school place they deserve. We’re sure you’ll join us and Kate’s team in making the new additions to our school family feel very welcome.

 

If you're a parent or carer at Newquay Primary Academy, join Kate for a cup of tea and a catch-up about your child's needs at our first “Meet the SENDCO/Specialist Base Lead” session on Friday 18th September at 2.30pm.

 

Kate's Quick-fire Round

 

What’s your favourite children’s book?

The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers

 

What are you reading now?

Tyger by S.F.Said

 

What would you have been if you hadn’t been a teacher?

I’m still doing it. I’m a dancer (and a dance teacher)!

 

What’s one of your favourite childhood memories?

Visiting my grandma in Jamaica, and picking ripe mangoes from her tree, in her garden.

Who is a teacher you’d like to thank?

The headteacher of Newquay Junior Academy, Tania Findlay MBE. She has given me such strong foundations in mainstream education and curriculum leadership. She's still supporting and encouraging me as I embark on my next adventure.