Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

St Peter’s Primary Academy is an inclusive school and we continually adapt to make sure that the needs of all our children are met, including those with special needs. We aim to develop the potential of all our children. Children with special needs do not have to change to fit into our school and we believe that every child has a right to full access to the foundation stage and National Curriculum.  We aim to provide each child with a broad, balanced and relevant education, within and beyond the curriculum.

Children have a special educational need if they have a learning difficulty which requires special educational provision to be made for them. Special needs can take a variety of forms and we have successfully taught children with visual impairment, physical impairment, very able children, children with specific learning difficulties and those with behavioural difficulties. All have been carefully integrated into our classroom structure.

We recognise that children have a learning difficulty if they:

  • have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than their peers

  • have a disability that prevents or hinders them from making best use of normal classroom provision

Children within the gifted and talented range, those with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and those experiencing short or long term problems may also need to be included.

 As a school we will:

  • encourage all children to reach their full potential;

  • foster self-esteem and confidence, irrespective of ability;

  • respect the educational and social needs of individual pupils;

  • endeavour to give individual children the appropriate support, dependent on their need and the resources we have available;

  • recognise the importance of a good relationship between home and school in order to achieve the best possible learning outcomes and will liaise with parents/carers to regularly monitor and review the progress of their children.

It is our aim for pupils with special needs to be identified as early as possible, through our programme of observation, assessment and target setting, so that provision can be made for them in the early stages of their education. The class teacher will be responsible for the initial identification of a child’s needs. They will consult the SENCo for advice, and will consult parents and involve the child in the process where appropriate.  Parents are also encouraged to raise concerns about difficulties their child may be experiencing.

The SENCo (SEN Co-Ordinator) is Mrs Tamsin Corbett. The Headteacher has overall responsibility for overseeing SEND provision. Some staff have undergone specialist training in Autism, Speech and Language provision, Precision Teaching and Dyslexia. We also have a team of classroom and welfare assistants who help give additional support as directed by the class teacher.

At St Peter’s Primary Academy we believe that parents and school work in partnership and we value the contribution that parents make to their child’s education. Parents are welcomed into school at any time to discuss their child’s needs with their class teacher.  All concerns are handled sensitively and with consideration. The SENCo is also available to meet with parents of children with SEND.

Please see the full SEND policy,   Equality Objectives Statement and the Accessibility Plan on the website for further details on admissions and assessment or contact Mrs Corbett if you want to discuss any of these issues further by phoning the school office or by email: senco@stpetersprimary.academy.