Statement
CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
The school supports the principles of inclusion and works hard to realise them. The school’s policy for Special Educational Needs is reviewed every year. This guides the provision of education for children identified as having special educational needs. This follows the Borough’s agreed guidelines and the “Special Needs Code of Practice”. All children identified as having special needs receive support in school in line with the policy, and parents are informed of all progress at regular review meetings. Our policy is available on our website.
The school has been successful in implementing its policy. Our present monitoring and record keeping arrangements track progress well. Assessment arrangements have helped the school to identify children with special needs and provide early support. Generous staffing levels support learning in all year groups. We have close relations with external support services e.g. educational psychology.
All children are admitted to the school in accordance with the authority’s admission policy. All applications have to be made through the borough’s admissions section. Once a child is allocated a place at the school the parents are invited to a pre-admission interview. If the child has any special needs, appropriate steps are taken to make sure they can be met once the child is finally admitted. For a child with a Statement, the special educational provision required to meet the child’s needs is specified in the statement.
Every endeavour is made to ensure that pupils with disabilities in the school are treated no less favourably than other pupils by promoting respect and tolerance for others and maintaining a well-ordered environment. This is in accordance with our Equalities policy. In practice, this means that we will work to support children with disabilities providing them with an appropriate individualised and balanced curriculum and the opportunity to be positively involved in the life of the school.
Accessibility of the curriculum is provided through school resources, the use of support assistants and appropriate differentiation within the classroom. All areas of the school are wheelchair accessible. The school presently has 3 toilets suitable for use by disabled children, and a private medical room that is used to provide care for children with medical needs.