Next review June 2026

Rationale

Frenchwood Community Primary School is committed to providing an appropriate and high quality education to all the children living in our local area. We believe that all children, including those identified as having special educational needs have a common entitlement to a broad and balanced academic and social curriculum, which is accessible to them, and to be fully included in all aspects of school life.

We believe that all children should be equally valued in school. We will strive to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, and to develop an environment where all children can flourish and feel safe.

Inclusion Principles

The National Curriculum Statutory Inclusion Statement (2000) states:

"Schools have a responsibility to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils. The National Curriculum is the starting point for planning a school curriculum that meets the specific needs of individuals and groups of pupils."

The Inclusion Statement sets out three principles that are essential to developing a more inclusive curriculum:

  • Setting suitable learning challenges;
  • Responding to pupils' diverse learning needs;
  • Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.

Frenchwood Community Primary School is committed to inclusion. Part of the schools strategic planning for improvement is to develop cultures, policies and a curriculum that include all learners. We aim to engender a sense of community and belonging, and to offer new opportunities to learners who may have experienced previous difficulties.

This does not mean that we will treat all learners in the same way, but that we will respond to learners in ways which take account of their varied life experiences and needs.

We believe that educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, impairment, attainment and background. We pay particular attention to the provision for and the achievement of different groups of learners:

  • girls and boys
  • minority ethnic and faith groups, Travellers, asylum seekers and refugees
  • learners who need support to learn English as an additional language (EAL)
  • learners with special educational needs
  • learners who are disabled
  • those who are gifted and talented
  • those who are looked after by the local authority

This policy describes the way we meet the need of children who experience barriers to their learning, which may relate to sensory or physical impairment, learning difficulties or emotional or social development, or may relate to factors in their environment, including the learning environment they experience in school.

At Frenchwood Community Primary School we aim to identify these needs as they arise and provide teaching and learning contexts which enable every child to achieve to his or her full potential.

Frenchwood Community Primary School sees the inclusion of children identified as having special educational needs as an equal opportunities issue, and we will also aim to model inclusion in our staffing policies, relationships with parents/carers and the community.

The SEND Coordinator is Mrs Susan Wilkinson. The SEND Governor is Mrs Alia Hamid.

Legal Definition of SEND

  • A child has SEND if he/she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision ‘more than’ or ‘different to’ the majority
  • A child has a learning difficulty if he/she has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age

Legal requirements of the Equality Act

We must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled children and young people are not at a substantial disadvantage compared with their peers.

This duty is anticipatory: adjustments must be planned and put in place in advance, to prevent that disadvantage.

Objectives of the SEND Policy

  • To follow the SEND Code of Practice 2014 and the Equality Act 2010, supporting Pupils at school with Medical conditions 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014
  • To ensure equality of opportunity for and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against children with special educational needs.
  • To continually monitor the progress of all pupils, to identify needs as they arise and to provide support as early as possible.
  • To provide full access to the curriculum through differentiated planning by class teachers, SENCO, and support staff as appropriate.
  • To provide specific input, matched to individual needs, in addition to differentiated class room provision, for those pupils who have been identified needing SEND support or on an Educational Health Care Plan.
  • To ensure that pupils with SEND are perceived positively by all members of the school community, and that SEND and inclusive provision is positively valued and accessed by staff and parents/carers.
  • To enable children to move on from us well equipped in the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and social independence to meet the demands of secondary school life and learning.
  • To purchase appropriate resources where possible to ensure the needs of the pupils are met.
  • To involve parents/carers at every stage in plans to meet their child’s additional needs.
  • To involve the children themselves in planning and in any decision making that affects them.

Roles and responsibilities of SEND provision

SENCo

  • Contributing to the strategic development of SEND provision and policy with the Head teacher and governing body
  • Taking day to day responsibility for the operation of the SEND policy and provision
  • Supporting the assessment and analysis of pupils’ needs
  • Monitoring pupil achievement
  • Working with class teachers and teaching assistants to ensure that provision is matched to the needs of the child
  • Supporting the establishment of individual targets in line with those identified through outside agency recommendations or pupil progress meetings
  • Supporting the delivery of targets on pupils’ Education, Health and Care plans
  • Preparing an SEND Register and up-dating it termly
  • Developing and maintaining working relationships with parents
  • Liaising with outside agencies

Governing Body

  • Review the policy every two years and ensure its implementation
  • Appoint a governor with responsibility for SEND
  • Liaise with the SENCo

Head Teacher

  • Ensure all staff understand the policy
  • Ensure all pupils identified as having SEND are treated fairly and equitably in relation to the policy and that reasonable adjustment is made for them.
  • Ensure that the SENCo is a member of the Senior Leadership team
  • Provide suitable time for the SENCo to undertake their responsibilities
  • Support the SENCo in using ICT for SEND management
  • Support the SENCo in networking with local SENCos

Class Teachers

  • All teachers have responsibility for teaching and ensuring the progress of pupils with SEND
  • Identify pupils who make little or no progress in spite of differentiated learning opportunities being provided for them
  • Work with the SENCo and parents to collect and record information about their pupils in order to determine action to be taken
  • Hold termly review meetings with the parents of all SEND pupils to ensure collaborative working – eg. IPP review meetings
  • Assessing and monitoring progress
  • Consider the views of SEND pupils in relation to their provision
  • Planning and delivering agreed strategies and targets on an IPP if SEND support and EHCP
  • Effectively deploying teaching assistants to support pupils’ learning and targets
  • Planning, delivering or facilitating the delivery (through the effective deployment of support staff) of high quality intervention work