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 them.
A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:
(a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
(b) have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
At Drapers Mills Primary Academy we are constantly working towards being a fully inclusive school in every way. We work in close partnership with parents of children with special needs to ensure that each child receives a personalised education. Close links have also been maintained with outside agencies to allow us to access their expertise in and out of school and to ensure that we provide appropriate support for each child’s individual needs.
We believe that every child is unique and comes with their own individual needs. We strive to identify and remove barriers to learning to allow children to reach their true potential.
At Drapers we have a number of pupils with identified special educational needs (SEN) including autism spectrum condition, ADHD, speech and language disorders and global delay. Specialist advice is sought by school to ensure that we give the best support possible for individual children with complex special needs. In addition, staff here have been trained to identify the signs of common SEN and how best to support children with these needs in the classroom. Our staff have been trained to support children with a variety of additional needs including dyslexia, Autism spectrum condition, dyspraxia and speech and language disorders. Wherever necessary we provide additional interventions for groups or individuals that are carefully tailored to fit the need.
Additional interventions such as speech and language, maths, literacy, social skills and coordination are provided for pupils with special needs. We are also incredibly lucky to have our own sensory room on site.
We are fortunate to have a designated teaching assistant for pupils with speech and language needs; Mrs Taylor.
Our Main Sands classroom is an additional classroom that we provide for pupils with social, emotional and developmental difficulties. This is led by Mrs Ende and Mrs Parsons.
Drapers Mill's Inclusion Manager is Miss West. Miss West works alongside other agencies to ensure that pupils with special educational needs are appropriately supported. Parents who have concerns regarding the needs of their child are welcome to make an appointment to discuss these with Miss West. Appointments can be requested via the school office.
As you know we work with the team at Action Your Potential to support mental health, well-being and unleash the learning of all of our wonderful students.
At AYP everything is understood in terms of what our brain's are doing. Moments of transition and change are tricky for brains - all brains, children, young people, teachers and parents and carers.
Here, Andrew from AYP, walks us through why the brain finds change so hard and what we can do about it.
How to Manage the Back to School Wobbles (1) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDsiGUHkKaE&t=20s
How to Manage the Back to School Wobbles (2) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaqM6-qjMjA&t=3s
Don't forget you're all about to join and access the support from AYP via their #NeuroNinja Learning Hub, just sign up here- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJyhvCsHzGe1uhuesS-XFi-HOndIdFA-fs-pSXgdHYGBZeXQ/viewform
For more information about supporting mental health and mind management, see our videos here about building mental flexibility and managing your brain's worry system.
How to Manage My Brain's Worry System - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUarLMVbv9c&t=92s
Introducing Your Mind's Garen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNjIwYtYe3w&t=27s