What does Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities mean?
The Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities Code of Practice (updated January 2015) define SEND in the following way:

“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 of SEND Code of Practice, Page 15)    

For further information, including a list of ‘types of SEND’, please see the Code of Practice (2015) which the school is fully compliant with.  You can access this by following the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf

Provisional Arrangements for Pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities

Barrow Hedges Primary School pride themselves on delivering highly tailored provision that considers all pupils’ individual needs.  This means adapting practice regularly in order to ensure the most effective approach is adopted.  Current provisional information for SEND can be found in the school’s Inclusion policy and SEN Information Report, both of which you can find on the Key Inclusion Documents and Policies page. These document is reviewed and updated annually.

Identification of SEND

Any parent/carer or member of staff can raise a concern related to a pupil’s progress or needs and this should be done in consultation with the pupil’s Class Teacher and/or the Inclusion Leader if required.  If a pupil is added to the SEND register they will be listed at SEN Support level unless they have a statement for SEN or an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).  For further information on this please see the school’s Inclusion Policy on the Key Inclusion Documents and Policies page.

Statements and Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)

Any parent/carer or other stakeholder is entitled to request statutory assessment for an Education Health and Care Plan (formally a statement) and this can be done by contacting the SEND team of the Local Authority they live in.  For Sutton residents, this can be done by visiting the following web page: Welcome Information – Sutton SEND Service – Cognus.  However, it is advisable that concerns are shared with the school before reaching this stage.  For further information regarding SEND support, please visit the following web page: What is Special Educational Needs (SEND) Support? – Cognus

Accessibility to the Premises and Facilities

The building and playground are accessible to wheelchair users. We have ramp access to classrooms as well as a lift to take you to our upper level and there are accessible toilets.  

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.