SEND & Inclusion
Inclusion is at the heart of every decision we make at Wallington Primary Academy. We take inspiration from the Global Education Agenda 2030. It's key features are, 'access, equity and inclusion, gender equality, quality of education and lifelong-learning'. At WPA we see these as achievable and necessary expectations within our offer and so these form the focus for our whole school development, curriculum design and practitioner training.
Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND)
What is SEND?
The Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities Code of Practice (January, 2015) defines SEND as:
“A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to made for him or her…a child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she: has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or, has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools”.
(xiii and xiv SEND Code of Practice, Page 15)
The full copy of the Code of Practice can be found by following the link:
We adopt the following key principle, "Every teacher is a teacher of SEND and every leader is a leader of SEND."
We work hard to meet all children's needs through putting together an individualised package of support which we regularly review. Current provisional information can be found in our school SEND policy and our SEN Information Report (see the links below).
Identification of SEND
Any parent/carer or member of staff can raise a concern about a child's need or their progress in school. We operate an open door policy and welcome any concerns or information regarding your children. No concern or question is too small, so please ask if you have any doubt about anything regarding your child. Your first point of contact should always be your child’s class teacher and/or the SENCo.
If a child is added to the SEN register, this will be as SEN support unless they have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
Education Health and Care Plans
These are plans which are made following an assessment of a child's needs. Parents/carers or other stakeholders are entitled to request this through completing the form found in the following link:
If your child’s first language is not English, does that mean they have a learning difficulty?
Children and young people do not have learning difficulties just because their first language is not English, although, of course, some of these children and young people may have learning difficulties as well.
Provisional arrangements for children for whom English is an additional language (EAL)
- We celebrate diversity through our displays and within our curriculum which reflect the different language and cultures of our whole community.
- We hold a Diversity Week during the Autumn term which encompasses our celebration of Black History Month.
- In class we plan carefully using resources and support staff to meet the needs of our children with EAL which could be through creating more opportunities for speaking and listening, creating resources which include both English and the children's home language and providing lots of visuals to support English language acquisition.
Accessibility to the Premises and Facilities
The building and playground are accessible to wheelchair users. We have ramp access to classrooms and there is an accessible toilet.
We are aware that some of our children may have sensory difficulties and we work to reduce these barriers to learning in partnership with our Occupational Therapist. In order to ensure that children with disabilities can access all lessons we may also provide specialist equipment for some children.
SEND Charter
We have adopted the Sutton SEND Charter. This underpins our values and we share its Principles in our practice. The full charter can be found here.
Sutton’s Local Offer
Discover the support and services available for children and young people with SEND in Sutton. The Local Offer provides a range of resources and information about what you can access in the local area. Visit the Sutton Information Hub to explore the Local Offer: https://suttoninformationhub.org.uk/pages/send-local-offer
Key Staff
Phase Leader/Early Years Foundation Stage Coordinator– deals with concerns which cannot be dealt with by the class teacher.
Assistant Head (Inclusion) and SENCO – Ms K Hayward
Head of School – Mrs J Guerin
The Governor responsible for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities – Penny Bull
