Aberdour School Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy
Special Needs Department
The Department is staffed by qualified and experienced staff.
Head of Learning Support – Mrs Helen Shipley
Pre-Prep SENCO – Mrs Karen Forsyth
SEN Teacher – Mrs Christine Parnham
All members of the Department work closely with other members of the teaching team, the
school nurses and teaching assistants.
Aberdour School’s Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy is compiled in
compliance with the Children and Families Act 2014.
The School is committed to offering an inclusive curriculum to ensure the best possible
outcomes for all children and has high expectations for all pupils.
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy ensures that all parties are kept fully
informed of a pupil’s progress in a sensitive and positive way.
A child has special educational needs if he/she has:
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A significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same
age
A disability that either prevents or hinders them from making use of educational
facilities of a kind provided for children of the same age.
General Policy Statement
The School believes that:
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Its aspirations, organisation and culture should actively support the full inclusion and
participation throughout the curriculum by all pupils, irrespective of race, gender,
academic ability or disability, in every aspect of School life.
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All children are entitled to a sensitive approach to their needs.
Respect for individual self-esteem should be acknowledged by recognising and
celebrating individual achievement in all aspects of School life.
All children have a right to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum.
All children are offered a differentiated curriculum in order to ensure all learners make
the best possible progress.
Aims
The school will
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Create an environment that meets the needs of all pupils.
Establish a positive ethos to enable all pupils to achieve high standards in every area
of school life.
Use a reward system and specific praise and develop pupils’ self-esteem.
Facilitate a good relationship with parents and carers and encourage them to play a
part in supporting their child’s education.
Endeavour to identify learners with difficulties or disabilities at the earliest
opportunity. Following assessment, additional support may be put in place.
Involve and promote effective partnerships with outside agencies where appropriate.
Identification of Need
A concern may be raised by a teacher, SENCo, parent, the school nurse or an outside agency
and will fall into one of the following categories:
Stage 1
Initial Concern
Stage 2
School Action
Stage 3
Referred Action
A concern has been raised about a pupil. Information is gathered and the
pupil’s progress is monitored. ‘Initial Concern’ may be used for short
term or very mild difficulties affecting learning. Additionally it may be
used to indicate that a student has responded well to action in the past
and is now being monitored.
The pupil will be assessed by the Skills for Learning Department. This
may include formal and/or informal assessments and observations.
Feedback will be sought from the Form Teacher, Subject Teachers,
Tracking Tutors and the School Nurses as appropriate.
Individual targets will be set by the Skills for Learning Department in
consultation with the teaching staff and these will be shared with
parents and pupils.
Additional support will be provided by the Skills for Learning
Department on a termly basis. Progress and future support will be
reviewed termly.
The guidance of outside agencies is sought. These may include: G.P,
Community Nurse, Early Years Advisor, Speech and Language
Therapist, Optometrist, Specialist Teacher, Occupational Therapist,
Physiotherapist, Educational Psychologist or Paediatric Counsellor.
Pupils will be supported in line with the recommendations made.
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Stage 4
Education, Health
and Care Plan
Pupils with profound and multiple needs will have a detailed plan
provided in consultation with the Local Authority which specifies the
nature of the support provided.
All teaching staff are made aware of the specific needs of pupils. The Skills for Learning
Department provides support for staff, pupils and parents to ensure pupils’ needs are met.
Staff also benefit from Special Educational Needs and Disability training sessions and advice
from the Skills for Learning Department. Staff within the Department regularly attend
training courses to update their knowledge and skills.
The school is a member of SESDA (South East Surrey Dyslexia Association).
The Role of the Governing Body
The Governing Body has overall responsibility for the implementation of the Children and
Families Act 2014.
The Governing Body has identified a member who has specific responsibility of the school’s
provision for pupils with special educational needs. The nominated governor is Mrs Moira
Mc Kerchar.
Review date: July 2015
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