Special Educational Needs

‘‘The respect shown for Student Voice reflects the positive relationships between staff and students'

'I was left in no doubt that Kingsdale Foundation School takes mental health and wellbeing very seriously indeed.’

Inclusion Quality Mark (2023)

‘Leaders quickly identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities(SEND) and make sure that they receive the support they need.’ - Ofsted 2023

We are here to help students succeed.

Our aim is to enable all pupils to acquire the skills and knowledge to help them to develop as individuals. A child has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

Students have a learning difficulty if they:

• Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of students of the same age
• Have a disability which prevents or hinders the child from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for pupils of the same age in schools within the area of the local education authority
• Are under compulsory school age and fall within the definition at (a) or (b) above or would do so if special educational provision was not made for them
• Students must not be regarded as having a difficulty solely because the language or form of language of their home is different from the language in which they will be taught.

Special educational provision means:

Educational provision which is additional to, or otherwise different from, the educational provision made generally for students their age in schools maintained by the LEA, other than special schools, in the area SEN occurs on a continuum ranging from long to short term needs, from profound and multiple learning difficulties to temporary learning or behavioural difficulties and includes any disability (e.g. physical or sensory) which prevents student’s progress within the curriculum.

The department is committed to the inclusion of SEN pupils within mainstream classes whilst recognising the need for some withdrawal which may be appropriate for some children at particular stages of their school career.

Our approach for the success of our children is based on early identification and assessment of pupils needs and the following objectives:

• To value all students in our school equally.
• To ensure that all students have equal access to a broad, balanced curriculum which is differentiated to meet individual needs and abilities.
• To make all teachers responsible for identifying the needs of SEN students. In this they can draw on the resources of the whole school.
• To address the particular needs recognised to our maximum potential.
• To offer high quality support to ensure that all needs are met.
• To maximise the opportunities for students with special educational needs to join in with all the activities of the school.
• To acknowledge and draw on parent/carer knowledge and expertise in relation to their child as all special education provision is more effective if students and parents/carers are fully involved.
• To seek the views of the child and take them into account.

Admission arrangements

Where a student has An Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP), their parent/carer is able to request that a specific school be named in part 1 of the Plan. When this happens the relevant LA will consult with the school via a schedule 27 consultation document. If the school feels it cannot meet the needs of the student, it will have 15 working days to inform the LA of the reasons for its decision.

The criteria for declining a student is;

• Taking the student would compromise the provision of students already on roll
• It would not an efficient use of resources
• The school does not have the ability to meet the identified needs.

Where the student does not have an EHCP the school’s normal admission procedures apply. One exception to this is where the parent/carer identifies a Social or Medical reason why their child’s needs can only be met at Kingsdale. In such cases the SENCO will review the documentation and advise the Headteacher accordingly.

This policy will contribute to achieving these objectives by ensuring that provision for pupils with SEN is a matter for the whole school and is a part of the continuous cycle of assessment and review. In addition to this, we professionally screen all pupils in year 7 and liaise with primary schools for further information. Pupils with particular needs are provided with School Action Plus sessions which are compiled in collaboration with their subject teachers as well as their parents.

All students are entitled to a balanced and broadly based curriculum. This policy ensures that teaching arrangements and strategies are fully inclusive.

In order to work successfully with students who have special needs we must ensure that pupils' needs are identified as early as possible. In order to achieve this we have certain procedures in place.

Pupils with particular needs will also be given the in-class support from a qualified teaching assistant to ensure maximum learning potential.

Contact Details for the Learning Support Faculty

Ms G Smith (Director of English and Learning Support) and Ms S Jarada (SENDCo) senco@kingsdale.southwark.sch.uk 

Contact: senco@kingsdale.southwark.sch.uk

Links:

Autistic Society
Dyslexia Society
Dyspraxia Foundation
Dfes