SEN & Disability Policy
Our SEND policy and information report aims to:
- To ensure full entitlement and access for SEND students, including Gifted and Talented students, to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum, including the national curriculum, so that they can reach their full potential.
- To provide a caring environment and a variety of worthwhile experiences.
- To identify and assess students with SEND as early as possible.
- To meet the needs of all students having SEND by making reasonable adjustments to education provision.
- To promote the highest possible standards of achievement for students with SEND.
- To involve parents/guardians, students and feeder primary schools in the identification, assessment and delivery of SEND provision.
- To continue to work closely with other agencies to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to meet the range and complexity of needs within the school.
Fundamental Principles
Weobley Schools’ Federation believe that all students have the right to a broad and balanced curriculum including students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The schools actively promote an inclusive ethos. We believe that all teachers are teachers of students with special educational needs. In addition, the High School have the Additional Resource Centre (ARC) and the LInC (Learning Inclusion Centre) provides an enhanced resource for students with barriers to learning such as Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD), Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) and Emotional & Social and Mental Health (ESMH) Difficulties. Under the direction of the SENDCO Curriculum support and provision is tailored to individual students needs through a graduated response.
In the Primary School there is a big emphasis on providing Social, Emotional support through the ‘Thrive’ programme. There is also an Inclusion Mentor who provides specific targeted interventions to support the needs of individual students. All the teachers differentiate tasks and activities according to the needs of the children in their classes. Again, the SENDCO provides support for all staff enabling all children to make progress.
The Governors recognise their statutory duties towards students with SEND as stated in the Code of Practice. The Central tasks for Governing bodies:
- To ensure the policy on special educational needs are met.
- To decide how success will be gauged – Success will be tracked and monitored, retrospectively over a period of 3 years, against the cohort in the following categories:
- Participation in extra-curricular activities
- Attainment against student progress
- Exclusions (fixed term and permanent)
- Admissions and transfers
- To implement the policy
- To monitor policy implementation
- To set in place arrangements for reviewing the policy
The School Governing body has important statutory responsibilities towards students with special educational needs and disabilities. The Governing body must:
- Do their best to ensure that the necessary provision is made for any student who has special educational needs.
- Ensure that, where the local education authority has informed the head teacher or the appropriate governor that a student has special educational needs, those needs are made known to all who are likely to teach the student.
- Ensure teachers in the school are aware of the importance of identifying and providing for those students who have special educational needs.
- Draw up and report regularly to parents on their policy for students with special educational needs.
- Ensure that students join in the activities of the school, together with students who do not have special educational needs or disabilities, so far as this is reasonably practical and compatible with the student receiving the necessary special educational provision, the efficient education of other children and the efficient use of resources.
The named Governor is: Mrs Julia Hall
Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCO) – Role and responsibilities
- The SEND Co-ordinator in the High School is Mrs Rachel Day, National Award for SEND Co-ordination 2012
- The SEND Co-ordinator in the High School for exams is Miss Sally-Ann Richardson, National Award for SEND Co-ordination 2017
- The SEND Co-ordinator in the Primary School is Mrs Sarah Wallace, National Award for SEND Co-ordination 2015
All schools:
This policy and information report is based on the statutory Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice and the following legislation:
Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014, which sets out schools’ responsibilities for students with SEND and disabilities
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, which set out schools’ responsibilities for education, health and care (EHC) plans, SEND co-ordinators (SENDCOs) and the SEND information report.
A student has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.
They have a learning difficulty or disability if they have:
- A significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of the others of the same age, or a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools.
- Special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for other children or young people of the same age by mainstream schools.
The SENDCO
The SENDCO Primary is Sarah Wallace
The SENDCO Secondary is Rachel Day
The SENDCO in the High School for exams is Miss Sally-Ann Richardson
They will:
- Work with the headteacher and SEND governor to determine the strategic development of the SEND policy and provision in the school
- Have day-to-day responsibility for the operation of this SEND policy and the co-ordination of specific provision made to support individual students with SEND, including those who have EHC plans
- Provide professional guidance to colleagues and work with staff, parents, carers and other agencies to ensure that students with SEND receive appropriate support and high-quality teaching
- Advise on the graduated approach to providing SEND support
- Advise on the deployment of the school’s delegated budget and other resources to meet students’ needs effectively
- Be the point of contact for external agencies, especially the local authority and its support services
- Liaise with potential “next providers of education” to ensure that the school meets its responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 with regard to reasonable adjustments and access arrangements
- Ensure the school keeps the records of all students with SEND up-to-date
The SEND governor
The SEND governor will:
- Help to raise awareness of SEND issues at governing board meetings
- Monitor the quality and effectiveness of SEND and disability provision within the school and update the governing board on this
- Work with the headteacher and SENDCO to determine the strategic development of the SEND policy and provision in the school
The Headteacher
The Headteacher will:
- Work with the SENDCO and SEND governor to determine the strategic development of the SEND policy and provision within the school
- Have overall responsibility for the provision and progress of learners with SEND and/or a disability
Class teachers
Each class teacher is responsible for:
- The progress and development of every student in their class
- Working closely with any teaching assistants or specialist staff to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and how they can be linked to classroom teaching
- Working with the SENDCO to review each student’s progress and development and decide on any changes to provision
- Ensuring they follow this SEND policy
This policy and information report will be reviewed by the Weobley Schools’ Federation SENDCOs and SEND Governor every year. It will also be updated if any changes to the information are made during the year. It will be approved by the governing board.
This policy links to our policies and Government guidelines
Teaching and Learning policy
Accessibility plan
Behaviour
Equality information and objectives
Children with Health Needs Who Cannot Attend School
Safeguarding
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024
Reviewed on: June 2024
By: Rachel Day and Sarah Wallace
Adopted by the Governing Body on: June 2024
To be reviewed: June 2025