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Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

SEND Coordinator: Ms. S Eakins

Halling is proud of its inclusive ethos and our broad and balanced curriculum, which aims to bring out the best in all learners.

Our aim is to ensure that any Special Educational Needs or Disabilities are identified, ensuring that we do everything possible to break down barriers to learning and meet every child’s specific needs.

For most children, support can be accommodated by adaptive teaching in the whole class provision or by small group or one-to-one interventions. Support and interventions are robustly and continuously monitored to ensure that all pupils make progress from their individual starting point.

If you have any concerns about your child, the best place to start is by talking to their Class Teacher who will know your child well. If you continue to have concerns, I am happy to meet with you to discuss your child’s needs.

If you would like to book an appointment, please do so via the school office or you can speak to me at the school gate.

shona eakins sendco at halling primary school

Code of Practice

In September 2014, a new Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice came into effect. The definitions below are used within that key document.

Definition of Special Educational Needs (SEN)

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 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 post-16 institutions. SEN code of Practice (2014, p.4)

Definition of a Disability 

Many children and young people who have SEN may also have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 – that is “…a physical or mental impairment which has long term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. 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” SEN Code of Practice (2014 p.5).

Further Information and Resources

If you would like to speak to your child’s class teacher and the SENDCo to discuss this further, please make an appointment to do so.

View our Halling’s SEND policy and Information Report here

You can also find information and resources on SEND on our Trust website here