At Heathfield Primary School, we believe that all teachers are teachers of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Quality first teaching involves the teacher delivering a lesson and catering for all learning needs to ensure children with SEND can access the national curriculum. Individual and small group interventions are used, where children may need additional support in areas such as developing learning /thinking skills, managing emotions and developing social skills. The following values underpin our work:
 

•    To ensure that every child experiences success in learning and achieves to the highest possible standard

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•    To value and encourage the contribution of all children to the life of the school in a variety of ways and encourage children to develop a positive self-image

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•    To work in partnership with parents/carers and pupils to ensure that their views are taken into account

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•    To seek to identify early identification of special educational need through ongoing assessment, close parental partnerships and prompt referral to external agencies, in order to give every child the best chance of success

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•    To enable all children to participate in sessions fully and effectively by providing interesting and well adapted lessons. Responding to diverse learning needs; adapting approaches, so that all pupils can engage effectively

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•    To regularly monitor the progress of all children to ensure that no child falls behind or fails to make progress and support children to overcome potential barriers

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•    To ensure the needs of all pupils are met to provide resources that enable SEND to access the curriculum

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•    To ensure that all staff have access to training and advice to support quality teaching and learning for all pupils
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Heathfield has a specialist provision for children with Speech Language and Communication needs (SLCN). Due to take in its first cohort of children from September 2024, the base will offer an individualised curriculum to meet the needs of up to 24 children, by July 2027. Access to the provision is gained via the local authority SEND provision panels. Children are referred to the panel via their home school, with parental consent. The panel will decide whether or not the child’s needs will be suitably met with the SLCN base here at Heathfield.

 

Children who gain a place in Heathfield's SLCN base will remain as a child at their home school, but with what’s called ‘dual registration’, allowing them to access what we offer here. The view is that the home school work with Heathfield, with the aim that the child returns back to their home school, with strategies in place to help them succeed. Should the assessment place lead to the child not returning to their home school, it may mean a place is applied for at a different school setting. It is totally dependant on the needs of the child, the assessments that take place at Heathfield and the appropriateness of them returning to their home school.

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Please contact the school office if you would like to make an appointment regarding special needs provision.  

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Mrs Hindson: SENCO and Assistant Head Teacher for SEN, Inclusion and Vulnerable Pupils.

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Equalities at Heathfield

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We welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010. Under the general duty of public sector equality duty, in the exercise of our functions, have due regard to the need to:

• Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited under the Act.

• Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;

• Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it

 

As part of our public sector equality duty, we formulate, review and publish our school's Equality Policy and Objectives - sharing them with all those connected to our school - in order to ensure that our mission is clear and communicated to all. Our Trust, as our parent organisation, also publishes a Trust wide Equalities information. Both can be found on our policies page.​

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Teaching children about equalities, rights and difference is important to us at Heathfield. We aim for our children to be 'good people' - and in order to do that, they must be able and willing to recognise, understand and embrace difference. Our PSHE curriculum, encompassing our approach to Relationships and Sex Education, is a key in delivering this mission - as part of our wider ethos and the virtues which we promote.

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