Cirrus Primary Academy Trust

Inclusion and SEND

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:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf

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:

https://www.sutton.gov.uk/downloads/download/901/parental_education_health_care_needs_assessment_request_form

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.

Inclusion Quality Mark

The Inclusion Quality Mark (IQM) Award provides U.K schools with a nationally recognised validationof their inclusive practice and ongoing commitment to seveloping educational inclusion.

On the 13th June we were visited by an assessor from IQM who carried out assessments across 8 areas and met with parents, governors, staff and children. This was the school's first assessment and we were awarded the 'Inclusion Quality Mark's Inclusive School award with Centre of Excellence status.

Please see the full report below.

Wallington-Primary-Academy-IQM-report-June-2024

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

Local Authority information

Ambitious for SEND - Spring 2024 edition 

Cognus

Cognus Therapies – Cognus

Helpful Resources

E-safety EAL SEND

SIASS – Sutton Information, Advice & Support Service

SEND Policy

WPA SEND Policy October-2023

WPA Local Offer 2023-24

Accesible Information Report

Parent Friendly Information Report