SEND
“We begin with the obvious fact that the children we work with are perfectly capable of learning anything that we have to teach. We know that the intellectual crippling of children is caused overwhelmingly by faulty instruction – not by faulty children”
Engelmann, 1991
At Advantage Schools, we believe all schools should welcome and teach pupils with a wide range of needs. Education should be inclusive by design, ensuring that all children, including those who find learning difficult, receive the high-quality input they need — whether or not they have a formal diagnosis.
Our curriculum and teaching are designed with these learners in mind. Since everyone struggles with learning at times, this approach benefits all pupils and harms none. By embedding quality provision into everyday teaching, we aim to reduce the need for separate systems and segregation for pupils with SEND.
Learning difficulties and Special Educational Needs (SEN)
A learning difficulty means a child has:
- Significantly greater difficulty in learning than most children of the same age, or
- A disability that prevents them from accessing the usual school facilities.
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.
Even when a pupil has a learning difficulty, if their needs can be met through a school’s standard teaching approach (known as universal provision), they may not require formal SEN identification. Because the Advantage Schools education offer is designed to support vulnerable learners from the start, fewer pupils may need significant adaptations or placement on the SEN register. Our goal is not to reduce numbers on the SEN register, but to create a truly inclusive learning environment in which a diverse range of pupils can thrive.
Mandy Surridge | SENDCom.surridge@thesharedlearningtrust.org.uk
Lisa Tingey | Assistant SENDCo
l.tingey@thesharedlearningtrust.org.uk
Sara Tucker | SEND Administrator
s.tucker@thesharedlearningtrust.org.uk
David Washington | Director of Inclusions and SEND
d.washington@thesharedlearningtrust.org.uk
If you feel you are concerned about your child's progress or you feel they may have a learning difficulty or disability, please complete the SEND referral form below and email to the address on the top of the form. The SENCO or Assistant SENCO will be in touch to discuss how they can support your child.
The information required is set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and must include information about: evaluating the effectiveness of the provision made for children and young people with SEN; how children and young people with SEN are enabled to engage in activities available with children and young people in the school who do not have SEN; support for improving emotional and social development; how the school involves other bodies, including health and social care bodies, local authority support services and voluntary sector organisations and arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with SEN about the provision made at the school.
Our School Information Report can be found below:
The shared Learning Trust has teamed up with Award Place for the SEND Inclusion Award.
The SEND Inclusion Award offers mainstream schools the opportunity to gain accreditation for high-quality provision and outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Schools are required to reflect on and improve their provision in line with a series of objectives that fulfil both Ofsted criteria and the SEND Code of Practice. Specifically, the award focuses on ‘outcomes’ for pupils and how schools can demonstrate the impact of their SEND provision. The award leads schools through a process of self-evaluation, action planning and evidence collection before final verification and accreditation.
The award will help schools develop high-quality SEND provision throughout the school by:
- promoting awareness of SEND issues and inclusion for all staff, parents, pupils and governors
- evaluating and improving classroom practice and interventions
- focusing on pupil outcomes.
Please see below for information regarding parent / carer information sessions.