1. What are additional needs?

We believe it is the right of every child to have access to an education where barriers to learning are minimised. We strive to enable every child to have access to a broad and balanced curriculum whilst providing opportunities for specific specialist support to meet the needs of the individual. We believe parents to be the experts where their children’s needs are concerned and place pupils and their parents at the centre of our approach.  Any child may have additional needs at some point during his/her school career. ‘Additional Needs’ is the main term used within the school for needs presented by students that cannot be met by universal teaching approaches. The term ‘Special Needs’ is used to describe a sub-set of Additional Needs referring primarily to educational needs presented by students who are on the school’s SEN Support Register.  Appendix 1 sets out a definition and the most likely areas.

We have a whole-school approach to Additional Needs (“AN”) policy and practice. Pupils identified as having AN are, as far as is practicable, fully integrated into mainstream classes. Every effort is made to ensure that they have full access to the National Curriculum and are integrated into all aspects of the school, including the extended curriculum (such as school trips and before- and after-school clubs). The SEN Code of Practice makes it clear that all teachers are teachers of pupils with special educational needs and that quality teaching in the mainstream classroom alongside their peers is the first stage in provision for all children with special educational needs. It is our view that this applies to all children with additional needs.

In addition, all teachers are responsible for identifying pupils with AN and, in collaboration with the pupils and their parents as well as the Assistant Head (Inclusion), will ensure that those pupils requiring different or additional support are identified at an early stage.

As evidence of our commitment to inclusion, we have achieved the Kirklees Inclusion Quality Gold Standard.

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