Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

An Inclusive Education for all

School Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator: Mrs Wilkinson (AHT) and Miss French (AHT)

Contact details: office@wykebeckprimary.co.uk  Telephone: 0113 2491525

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Here at Wykebeck Primary School, we welcome, value and respect all children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We believe that inclusive education is a human right, and it is beneficial to the child’s social, emotional and intellectual development. We are an inclusive school and strive to meet the needs of all our children, including those with SEN or a disability, by ensuring that they have full access to all aspects of school life in order to achieve their full potential. Our school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the well-being of all children, and we expect our staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Please see our SEND policy and report below.

In our Local Offer document, we outline how we, as a school community, support children with special educational needs and/or disability and also how we work with our local authority. To find out more about the Leeds Local Offer please click on the following link: Leeds Local Offer.

Our Inclusion Statement

The staff at Wykebeck Primary School are committed to the inclusion of all pupils. We therefore:

  • Provide an environment which enables every pupil to be safe and healthy.
  • Every teacher is a teacher of every child or young person including those with SEND.
  • Value every individual and enable them to enjoy their learning, achieve their full potential and economic well-being.
  • Enable every pupil to make a positive contribution to their school and community.
  • Identify and respond to pupils’ diverse and individual needs.
  • Identify and overcome potential barriers to learning.
  • Set suitable learning challenges for every pupil.

Definitions

The Children & Family Act (2014) – PART 3 defines Children and young people in England as having special educational needs or disabilities if, ‘they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them’, (section 20 (1)).

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
(a) has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
(b) 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 or mainstream post-16 institutions (section 20 (2)).

Disabled Children and Young People

Many children and young people who have SEN may have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 – that is ‘…a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.
Special Educational Needs Code of Practice, 2014

This definition provides a relatively low threshold and includes more children than many realise: ‘long-term’ is defined as ‘a year or more’ and ‘substantial’ is defined as ‘more than minor or trivial’. This definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight or hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and cancer. Children and young people with such conditions do not necessarily have SEN, but there is a significant overlap between disabled children and young people and those with SEN. Where a disabled child or young person requires special educational provision, they will also be covered by the SEN definition.

Wykebeck Primary School SEND Policy

Our SEND Policy aims to raise the aspirations of and expectations for all pupils with SEN, it provides a focus on outcomes for children and young people and not just hours of/provision and support.