Date of last review – Approved by FGB 19 September  2023

Schedule of review – Recommended Annually

Committee Responsible –  FGB Approval

Date of next review:  - September 24

Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School

Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND) Policy

This policy is written in line with the requirements of: -

• SEN Code of Practice 2015
• Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014
• The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014
• Statutory Guidance on Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions April 2014
• The Equality Act 2010
• National Curriculum Key Stage 2 framework document Sept 2013
• Teachers Standards 2012

This policy should also be read in conjunction with the following school policies:

Behaviour Management Policy, Teaching and Learning Policy, Public Sector Equality Duty, Equalities and Diversity Policy, Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, Accessibility Plan.

The SEND Information Report can also be found on the school website with annually updated information.

This policy was developed, taking into consideration the views of all stakeholders including parents and families, Local Authority, school staff, senior leaders and governors.

Purpose, Vision and Values

At Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School, we aim to provide an educational experience of the highest quality for all the children in our care through creating an inclusive and stimulating learning environment, which capture pupils’ interest, extends their knowledge and raises their aspirations.

Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School is committed to ensuring that all staff, pupils and others involved in the school community have equal opportunities and we are committed to removing any barriers to the learning and progress of each of our pupils. We are an inclusive mainstream school, committed to welcoming all children with all types of needs to Malden Manor School. We aim to give all children, including those identified as having a special educational need or disability, an equal entitlement and full access to the curriculum at the school and to enable each individual to participate fully in school life.

We understand that inclusion and equal opportunity does not mean that each individual is treated in exactly the same way, but that each receives the provision they need to access the very best, high quality education, whatever their age, ability, gender, ethnicity, or disability.

Malden Manor’s commitment to inclusion is reflected in the school’s policies, practice and school development plan where all learners are considered and provided for within the school community as part of everyday good practice. We believe that every teacher is a teacher of every child, including those with SEN. We have high expectations and set suitable targets for all pupils. We aim to create an environment that meets the special educational needs of each child, ensuring that our children have a voice in this process.

Our teaching and learning vision is reflected through our school aims and policies, and expressed through ‘being the best we can be’ and living the five values of the school: Happiness, Safety, Achievement, Respect and High Standards.

Policy Objectives

• To identify & provide for pupils who have special educational needs and additional needs
• To identify, at the earliest possible opportunity, barriers to learning and ensure participation for all pupils with SEND
• To enable all pupils to participate fully in lessons and ensure they experience success in their learning
• To value and encourage the contribution of all pupils to the life of the school
• To enable pupils to have their voice heard
• To ensure that all staff have access to training and advice to support quality teaching and learning for all pupils
• To work in partnership with parents
• To work closely with external support agencies, where appropriate, to support the needs of individual pupils
• To communicate with the Governing Body, to enable them to fulfil their monitoring role
• To provide a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) who will oversee delivery of the SEND Policy and practice
• To work within the guidance provided in the SEND Code of Practice, 2015.

Definition of SEND

High quality teaching that is differentiated and personalised will meet the individual needs of the majority of children and young people. Some children and young people need educational provision that is additional to or different from this. This is special educational provision under Section 21 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice 2015 states that a child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.  A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty if they:

• Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
• Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

Malden Manor School works to promote disability equality and addresses our specific duties under the Equality Act 2010.  

The Act defines a disabled person as: a person with a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Pupils with learning difficulties are likely to be protected by the act and with conditions such as autism or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), where these impact on access to the school environment and/or the curriculum, as well as those physical disabilities, mental health conditions and difficulties with hearing and sight.

The Governing Body has three key duties towards pupils with a disability:

• not to treat pupils with a disability less favourably for a reason related to their disability
• to make reasonable adjustments for pupils with a disability, so that they are not at a substantial disadvantage
• to plan to increase access to education for pupils with a disability.

The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice 2015 identifies four broad categories of need:

• Communication and interaction including

- SLCN (Speech, Language and Communication Needs)

- ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder)

• Cognition and Learning: when children learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. They include:

- MLD (Moderate Learning Difficulties)

- SLD (Severe Learning Difficulties - where pupils are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication.)

- PMLD (Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties – where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment.)

- SpLD (Specific learning Difficulties affecting one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.)

• Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties (SEMH): These include a wide range of difficulties that manifest themselves in many ways e.g. becoming isolated, withdrawn, displaying challenging, disruptive behaviour. They may reflect underlying mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or other physical symptoms that are medically unexplained.

• ADD (Attention Deficit)
• ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder)
• Attachment Disorder

•      Sensory and/or Physical Needs including:

• Vision Impairment
• Hearing Impairment
• Multi-Sensory Impairment
• Physical Disability.

When reviewing the SEND Policy and Accessibility Plan, we take account of developments which may improve access to the curriculum for children with learning difficulties. We also keep up to date with services available for visually and hearing impaired children and children with and other disabilities in the local area and nationally. The school evaluates the effectiveness of this policy by careful monitoring of the Accessibility Plan.

Additional Special Educational Needs  is a broader term that refers to an additional need or a need arising from a disability that requires service that is additional to that which is normally offered in the school. These Additional Needs may impact on the progress and attainment of pupils but are not considered to be a SEN.  For example, additional needs factors can include:

• Disability (the Code of Practice outlines the “reasonable adjustment” duty for all settings and schools that should be provided under current Disability Equality legislation)
• Attendance and punctuality
• Health and Welfare
• EAL (English as an additional language)
• Being in receipt of Pupil Premium Grant
• Being a Looked After Child
• Being a child of a Serviceman/woman.

SEND Provision at Malden Manor School

All pupils at Malden Manor School participate in learning and follow a curriculum which is differentiated to meet their needs through ‘quality first’ teaching. Our special educational provision is underpinned by high quality teaching and is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN. All our children and young people are entitled to an education that enables them to make progress so that they:

• achieve their best
• become confident individuals living fulfilling lives, and
• make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training.  

Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the pupils in their class, with additional support when needed from specialist staff or teaching assistants. The Senior Leadership Team and curriculum leaders regularly observe the quality of teaching and learning for all pupils, including those at risk of underachievement.  All staff have access to training to help identify and support vulnerable pupils and those with SEND.

We work to ensure that our approach to teaching and learning is of high quality and personalised to meet the individual needs of the majority of children.  

In order to meet the requirements of pupils, which may be additional to and/or different from SEN provision, the school employs additional teaching approaches – detailed in the local /school offer – as advised by internal and external assessments.

Additional staff are employed to support delivery of this provision, under the close direction of teachers. The class teacher remains responsible for overseeing this additional provision as well as working directly with the pupil in class. 

A Graduated Approach to identification, assessment and support for SEN

At Malden Manor School, class teachers, with the support of the Senior Leadership Team, track and monitor the progress and attainment of all pupils throughout the year using National Curriculum assessment data including the Engage Model for children working below National Curriculum level one. A range of additional personalised assessments and diagnostic tests are also used as appropriate, to help us identify individual needs. Any concerns about learning or progress of individuals are raised with the Special Needs Coordinator (SENCo), through the Initial Concerns Procedure.

If a child is identified as having a difficulty in any area, a range of interventions or additional supports will be put in place to enable them to make progress. The Inclusion Leader/ SENCo checks that every child is making good progress with any additional individual or group support that they take part in. If the pupil is still not making sufficient progress or meeting their targets despite interventions and adjustments, we follow the SEND Code of Practice 2015 graduated approach with regard to the identification, assessment, and review of pupils with special educational needs. The four key actions are:

Assess:  the class teacher and SENDCo will analyse a pupil’s needs before identifying a child as needing SEN support.

Plan:  parents will be notified whenever it is decided that a pupil is to be provided with SEN support.  

Do:  the class teacher will remain responsible for working with the child on a daily basis.  Where the interventions involve group or 1:1 teaching away from the main teacher, he/she still retains responsibility for that pupil’s learning.  

Review:  the effectiveness of the support will be reviewed in line with the agreed date.

The principle of early identification and intervention underpins our approach to assessing those pupils who need extra help. This early support will frequently be put in place before a special educational need has been identified, often enabling the pupil to catch up without the need for SEN identification. Examples of extra support available are outlined in our SEND Information Report. If, following this early intervention, a child continues to make insufficient progress or requires continued significant support in order to address ongoing needs, they may then be identified as having a special educational need (SEND).

The SEND Code of Practice (2015) describes adequate progress as:

• similar to that of children of the same age who had the same starting point
• matching or improving on the pupil’s previous rate of progress
• allowing the attainment gap to close between the pupil and children of the same age.

When pupils who have been identified as having a special educational need or disability, a personal provision plan using Edukey provision mapping will be drawn up detailing all the support and specific targets set to meet their particular needs. This plan is shared with parents/carers and should be reviewed termly.

At Malden Manor School we already make provision for most frequently occurring special educational needs, with or without an Education, Health and Care Plan, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, speech and language needs, autism, ADHD, learning difficulties and emotional difficulties. Where more complex or less frequently occurring types of special educational needs arise, we access training and advice in order to meet these needs. At times this may involve consulting with outside agencies to receive specialised expertise.

The purpose of a more detailed professional assessment and review – e.g. Educational Psychologist (EP); Speech & Language Therapist (SALT) – is to understand what additional resources and different approaches may be required to enable the pupil to make better progress. This information is shared with parents, and forms part of a support plan which is reviewed termly and refined and revised as necessary.

If the pupil makes good progress through the implementation of ‘additional to and different from’ provision (but would not be able to maintain this good progress without it) we will continue to identify the pupil as having a special educational need.  If the pupil is able to maintain good progress without the additional and different intervention/resources, he or she will no longer be identified with special educational needs.

For children with most significant and ongoing special educational needs who are either achieving at a considerably lower level than is within national expectations for their age or making little progress over a longer period of time despite their personalised provision plan, a request may be made for more formal assessment to receive an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This process will involve outside professional agencies who together, with the school and in close consultation with parents /carers, will draw up a plan outlining additional provision and expected outcomes to be met. The Threshold Guidance will be used to determine whether a pupil meets the threshold in order for a Needs Assessment to be started.

Assessing and reviewing progress of pupils with special educational needs

The progress and attainment of pupils with a special educational need is tracked and monitored using the same systems as for all children. For children with personal provision plans or EHCPs, progress will be monitored and reviewed in relation to targets set through these processes.

Regular monitoring and review of all children on the SEND register will focus on the extent to which planned outcomes of provision have been achieved, whether through personal provision plan or EHCP. Assessment information from teachers will show whether expected progress is being made against National Curriculum levels, with additional data gathered, where necessary, to measure progress against specific targets with specific assessments to measure small steps of progress. The views of pupils and parents are taken into account throughout this process with termly review meetings set to include class teachers, support staff, SENCo and parents, together with their child with SEN – all of whom contribute to the review.

For pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan an annual review of provision in place for the child is held, enabling evaluation of the effectiveness of this provision. This review includes parents/ carers and all professionals involved with the child.

Every pupil in the school has their progress tracked at least termly. In addition to this, pupils with special educational needs may have more specific assessments to inform targets and to measure small steps of progress. If these assessments show inadequate progress being made, the support plan (Personal Provision Plan) and outcomes will be reviewed and adjusted.

Managing pupils needs on the SEND register

The SENCo ensures that the SEN register is regularly reviewed and updated. The school uses provision mapping (Edukey), monitoring of interventions, pupil data and personal provision plans to track, monitor and review outcomes on a termly basis. Personal provision plans for those identified with a SEN ensure targets are met within an agreed time frame, with responsibilities allocated to those involved.

Pupil progress data is reviewed termly, overseen by Senior Leadership Team meetings. If the school experiences ongoing difficulty in fully meeting the needs of a pupil, appropriate outside agencies are consulted for support.

If significant progress has been made and maintained, a child may be removed from the SEN register.  We would consider the recommendations of other professionals and the views of parents before removing a child from the register. The SENDCo and the class teacher will also continue to monitor the child closely, reviewing continued progress half termly.

Adapting the curriculum and learning environment for pupils with SEN

At Malden Manor Primary School we follow the advice given in the National Curriculum framework on adapting the curriculum and learning environment for pupils with special educational needs.  We also incorporate the professional advice provided by experts in particular areas of need as well as taking into account information about the child gained through both internal and external assessments and strategies prescribed Education, Health and Care Plans.

            ‘All pupils should have access to a broad and balanced curriculum. The National Curriculum Inclusion Statement states that teachers should set high expectations for every pupil, whatever their prior attainment. Teachers should use appropriate assessment to set targets which are deliberately ambitious. Potential areas of difficulty should be identified and addressed at the outset. Lessons should be planned to address potential areas of difficulty and to remove barriers to pupil achievement. In many cases, such planning will mean that pupils with SEN and disabilities will be able to study the full national curriculum.’ (Code of Practice 6.11)

Our curriculum and learning environment is regularly reviewed as reflected in our Teaching and Learning Policy, Equalities and Diversity Policy, Public Sector Equality Statement and adjustments reflected in our Accessibility Plan.  

‘Reasonable adjustments’ may need to be made in order for children with SEND to access extra-curricular activities and trips. This will be achieved in discussion with parents and carers and if concerned, the child will be identified on the risk assessment with potential risks outlined and necessary provision put in place.

For further detail regarding how we support provision and curriculum access for children with a physical disability see Appendix 1

Extra-curricular activities

We have an extensive range of extra-curricular activities available to all pupils at our school; information about these clubs is available on the school website. Best endeavours are made to ensure children with SEND have equal opportunity to access the range of clubs and activities. For example, the school liaises with instructors to ensure they are aware of individual children’s additional needs, additional modified equipment is provided where necessary and other reasonable adjustments made accordingly.

Support for improving social, emotional and mental health of pupils SEND

All pupils are supported with their social and emotional development through our PSHCE (personal, social, health, citizenship and emotional) curriculum, through which we explore our school values. Themes and activities are shared through class lessons, circle times, extended activities, interventions, assemblies and projects. Every child from Reception - Year 6 has completed the ‘Zones of regulation’ intervention. This helps to support children with understanding and managing their feelings, learning what self-regulation is and the tools that can be used to support them with regulating their emotions. The vocabulary and use of many of the concepts learned in zones will be used to support children with their social and emotional needs.

In addition, we have a range of specific additional programmes, run by specially trained staff, to help support particular aspects of well-being and address emotional needs. These include: 

• Emotional well-being leader who has dedicated time to manage interventions, monitor provision for children with social and emotional needs, liaise with parents and teachers and promote emotional well-being within the school
• Teaching Assistants trained as Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSA) who work with children identified as benefitting from weekly emotional support sessions  
• Therapeutic programme to support emotional well-being.
• Attachment aware interactions with children
• Nurture groups - also led by the ELSA trained support staff.
• A dedicated nurture room (Butterflies) for interventions and 1:1 ELSA support
• Social skills therapies through play, for younger children.
• A range of social skills group sessions - provided by trained support staff
• For a small number of pupils, support is required at break and lunch times to ensure they are able to fully access these times of day successfully. Some pupils have 1:1 personalised support or access to lunchtime nurture groups in Butterfly room.
• Emotional Wellbeing Playground Team

For some pupils with the most need for help in this area we can also work together with external agencies to support their needs. (See SEND Information Report).

We recognise that vulnerable pupils may be at risk of bullying. We do not tolerate bullying in any forms and we have an Anti-Bullying for Children Policy where our school procedures are outlined. Children and young people with SEND are more likely to be the victims of bullying, so it is important to ensure that they feel supported and confident enough to report any behaviour that concerns them. Staff receive training in effectively supporting pupils and a range of strategies are in place to prevent bullying. Peer support systems are in place in addressing bullying behaviour, as well as raising awareness of SEND for everyone in the school community.

Pupils with Medical Condition

We have regard to statutory guidance in supporting pupils at school with medical conditions.

We recognise that pupils with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they have full access to education, including school trips and physical education. Some children with medical conditions may be disabled and where this is the case the school will comply with its duties under the Equality Act 2010. Some may also have special educational needs (SEN) and an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan which brings together health and social care needs, as well as their special educational provision.

All office staff, the majority of teaching assistants and all Lunchtime supervisors (SMSAs) at Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School are first aid trained. Some staff are EpiPen trained.

Please refer to our Medical Conditions Policy for further information.

Training and Resources 

In order to maintain and develop the quality of teaching and provision to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils, staff undertake regular training and development.

All newly appointed teachers and support staff undertake induction related to SEN provision. This includes meeting with the SENDCo who explains systems and structures in place in the school and to discuss the needs of individual pupils.

The school’s SENDCos regularly attend the LAs and Cluster SENCo network meetings in order to keep up to date with local and national updates in SEND.  

Where a training need is identified a suitable provider is sought to ensure appropriate professional development. Training for areas of SEN is ongoing and in response to identified needs (see SEND Information Report).

Specialist equipment is considered on an individual basis.

Additional Funding: Where a child needs additional support over and above the core funding the school will apply for additional funding to further meet their needs.

Monitoring and evaluating provision for SEN  

The monitoring and evaluating of provision is an ongoing process.

The Senior Leadership team carries out regular learning walks and classroom observations, regularly, with SEN, planning and differentiation a regular focus. Intervention groups are also observed. Any observations are discussed and any gaps identified and training delivered.

The SENDCo meets termly with the SEN Governor who, alongside other school governors, are involved in monitoring SEN within the school.

Evaluation and monitoring arrangements ensure an ongoing cycle of review with a view to improving provision for all pupils.

Supporting pupils and families

All parents of pupils at Malden Manor Primary School are invited to discuss the progress of their children with an SEN termly. Additional meetings to provide information and advice about supporting children can be requested at any time. These will be arranged with the class teacher and/or SENDCo as appropriate.

Parents of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan are invited to contribute to and attend an annual review, which includes other agencies and professionals involved with the pupil.

Pupils are consulted about and involved in the arrangements made for them as part of their personalised provision.  

We deliver parent meetings and workshops on various curriculum areas and supporting children with a range of needs, throughout the year. We encourage parents to attend these meetings which can be very helpful in coordinating support, strengthening links between home and school and helping to provide a comprehensive and integrated programme of support for children with SEN.

Further information relating to arrangements for consulting with parents of children with SEN and involving them in their child’s education is contained in the SEND Information Report on the school’s website

Admissions Procedures

Admission arrangements for pupils without an Education, Health and Care Plan do not discriminate against or disadvantage disabled children or those with special educational needs and follow the usual school admissions procedures.

The school also makes provision wherever possible to meet the needs of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan. Decisions on the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan are made by the Local Authority.

Further information about the school’s admission arrangements can be found on our school website.

Malden Manor School’s arrangements for supporting the transition of pupils with SEN

At Malden Manor School, we recognise transitions between educational settings as extremely important for all pupils and those requiring additional support are identified and carefully planned for. We liaise closely with the educational settings used by pupils before transferring to us, and also contribute information to pupils’ onward destination by providing information to the next setting.  (See also school’s SEND Information Report)

Transition to the next year group

 When moving to a new year group, the school has a thorough transition process which includes: Meeting between teachers to discuss SEND needs, the children meeting the new class teacher, transition social stories and communication profiles for some pupils and additional time spent in new class for targeted children to enable them to feel more settled. Transition plans can be tailored for individual pupils. An Inclusion folder is sent up with the class to the next year group with all important information for the new teacher.

Roles and responsibilities

At Malden Manor Primary School provision for children with SEN is regarded as part of the task of providing high quality education for all pupils. Consideration of SEN is included in policy reviews in all aspects of school life and the development of the SEN policy is set firmly within the School Development Plan.

At Malden Manor School we have appointed a SENDCO, who is due to start her NASENCO Award in 2023-2024 (SENDCo qualification).  We also have a Governor with responsibility for SEND who works closely with the school and the SENDCos in developing policy and practice, reporting back to the governing body on SEN matters.

Details of staff and governor personnel with regard to SEND and contact details are available on the school’s website SEND Information Report.

The SENDCO in collaboration with the Headteacher and Governing Body, have responsibility for overseeing the day to day management of the school’s provision for children with SEN, working closely alongside staff, parents and other agencies. They share responsibility with the senior management and governing body for developing and implementing the policy for SEND.  

Further Information, Support and Resolving Disagreements

Kingston’s Local offer

The local authority’s offer for SEND is published at www.afclocaloffer.org.uk Parents without internet access can make an appointment with the SENCo for support in gaining the information they require. Malden Manor’s School’s SEND Information Report is published annually and is located on our school’s website:

www.maldenmanor.kingston.sch.uk

In addition, information can be sourced from KIDS Richmond and Kingston SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS)

KIDS is a national charity providing a wide range of services for disabled children, young people and their families across the country. KIDS vision is a world in which all disabled children and young people realise their aspirations and their right to an inclusive community which supports them and their families. Additional advice and support can also be sought through Kingston & Richmond SEND Family Voices - a volunteer led charity, formed in June 2014, in response to the opportunities offered by the SEND reforms.  

More information about these organisations, work they do supporting families in a range of ways and for links and contact details please see the SEND Information Report

The SEN Code of Practice outlines procedures for resolving disagreements in Chapter 11.

Dealing with complaints

The school works, wherever possible, in partnership with parents to ensure a collaborative approach to meeting pupils’ needs. All complaints are taken seriously and are heard through the school’s existing complaints policy and procedure.

We encourage parents to discuss their concerns initially with the class teacher, SENCOs, Deputies or Head teacher to resolve the issue before making the complaint formal to the Chair of the Governing Body. (See the Complaints Policy on the school website).

Reviewing the policy

This policy will be reviewed annually by the FGB, as required by the Statutory Policies for Schools guidance. The information will meet the requirements laid out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2015.

Appendix 1

Provision and Curriculum Access for children with Physical Disability (PEEP)

• Our Vision and Aims underline our commitment to equal access to the curriculum and opportunities for all children

• Staff working with pupils with a disability receive appropriate training

• Effective target setting and thorough monitoring of progress is ongoing, with high expectations for all children

• Curriculum provision is regularly reviewed and resources acquired, in response to the needs of individual children in school.

• Access to ICT is personalised to meet the needs of individual pupils

• Touch typing lessons for specific children are provided in response to PPP targets

• Access to a range of alternative ways of recording information and responses (e.g., voice recording equipment, IT devices) for those with written recording difficulties

• Use of prepared visual aids and prompts is personalised to meet the needs of individual pupils and ensure multi disciplinary teaching and learning

• Disability awareness is promoted in the curriculum through assemblies, PSHCE (Jigsaw)

• Disability equality issues are incorporated into the planning and learning in Citizenship, PSHCE and RE curriculum.

• Images of artists/sports personalities or those with sporting talents who have disabilities so disability is promoted so that disabilities are seen as no barrier to achievement.

• A range of learning resources, accessible for pupils with different disabilities are produced or purchased according to need. Subject Leaders and the SENDCO review resources in their curriculum areas and ensure they meet the needs of all pupils within school. When schemes of work and policies are reviewed, we check for accessibility.

• Picture symbol language for children with communication difficulties is used. Widgit to ensure Total Communication across the school.

• Print is adapted/enlarged for the visually impaired. There is the facility to enlarge school documents as necessary.

• External partners and local cluster schools are consulted as necessary to gain specialist advice on how to adapt resources.

• OT assessments are considered as necessary to ensure needs of pupils with sensory difficulties and dyspraxia are met (e.g. desk height, posture on chair, lights)

• Staff working with children with a disability receive appropriate training and support to enhance children’s access to the curriculum, develop their independence and promote social interaction.

• Lunchtime supervisors, are appointed, where needed, to support a pupil with a disability at lunchtime.

• Risk assessments undertaken as required, take full account of the needs of children with a disability e.g. a named adult will provide 1 to 1 support as necessary.

• Risk assessments enable children with a disability to participate throughout the curriculum.

• Children with a disability are able to participate in residential visits as well as activities in school.

• External advice is sought as necessary to ensure that modifications and risk assessments are made which enable all children with disabilities to take a full and active part in extra curricular activities and school trips.

• The lift gives good access to all parts of the school without the need for stairs.

• There is a disability waiting point in accordance with Fire Policy as the lift would be out of action in such an event.

• In the event of fire, when the lift is out of use, the school has an Evac chair. This can be used for any pupil or member of staff with a disability or who is unable to use the stairs for physical reasons. Key members of staff have been trained to use the Evac chair.  

• A PEEP will be agreed as soon as the school is made aware that this procedure needs to be put in place.

This policy was reviewed and agreed by the Governing Body at their meeting on 19 September 2023

Next Review Date –September 2024