The kinds of special educational needs for which provision is made at the school.

Whimple Primary School strives to work in an inclusive way, recognising that this may mean we need to treat some children differently in order to ensure equality of opportunity. We recognise the importance of identifying and providing for children with SEND and understand that a strong partnership with parents/carers plays an essential role in supporting a child’s education. We endeavour to create a learning environment which is flexible enough to meet the needs of all members of our school community. We value high quality teaching for all learners and actively monitor teaching and learning in the schools to ensure that learning is taking place.

Devon Local Authority (LA) maintained schools have a similar approach to meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and are supported by the LA to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress in school.

All schools are supported to be as inclusive as possible, with the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) being met in a mainstream setting wherever possible.

The four broad ‘areas of need’, decided by the department for education are:

  • Communication and Interaction (C&I)

  • Cognition and Learning (C&L)

  • Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)

  • Sensory and Physical Needs (S/P)

 What is the Local Offer?

The Local Authority Local Offer

  • Local Authorities and schools are required to publish and keep under review information about services they expect to be available across education, health and social care for the children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) aged 0-25.

  • The intention of the Local Offer is to improve choice and transparency for families. It will also be an important resource for parents in understanding the range of services and provision in the local area.

    Web page for Devon Local Offer: https://new.devon.gov.uk/send/

    Whimple School: The School SEND Information Report

    This SEND Information Report explains how Whimple School, in conjunction with the LA, aims to meet the needs of SEND pupils as determined by school policy and the provision that the school is able to offer.

The definition of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND):

‘A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be 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 or mainstream post-16 institutions.’

Special Education Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0-25 years January 2015