At Witchampton C of E First School we are committed to offering an inclusive curriculum to ensure the best possible progress for all of our pupils whatever their needs or abilities. If you have any questions about your child's needs please contact our Inclusion team, either by ringing the school office or emailing office@witchamptonfirstschool.org

Our Inclusion Team:

What does the term Special Educational Needs (SEND) Mean?

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:

• have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; 
• or 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.

Definition taken from the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice: for 0-25 years (2014)

What are the SEN Areas of Need?

The 2014 SEND Code of Practice outlines four broad areas of special educational need that include a range of difficulties and conditions:

• Communication and Interaction Needs
• Cognition and Learning Difficulties
• Social, Emotional and  Mental Health Needs
• Sensory and/or Physical Needs

But while many children and young people have difficulties that fit clearly into one of these areas; some have needs that span two or more areas; for others the precise nature of their need may not be clear at the outset. Please see the details listed on the diagram below to identify which special needs are listed under which broad area of need.

For further information regarding Special Educational Needs, please visit Wimborne Academy Trust’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Website by clicking here.

 

All schools are required to publish a ‘Local offer’ setting out their SEND provision in clear, jargon-free terms. Our local offer comprises three key documents:

A) Our school's annual SEN Information Report

B) Our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Policy

C) Our Accessibility Plan

Links to each of these documents are available below.

Each school's Local Offer forms part of Dorset's Local Offer.

Click here to go to Dorset's Family Information Directory.

Click here for Dorset Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS).

Click here to access the Initio Learning  Trust SEND website.

 

Admission Arrangements for Pupils with SEND

Under the school’s admission arrangements, pupils with SEND are treated no less favourably than their peers without SEND.

SEND Policy

We have redrafted our SEND Policy to align it with the new Code of Practice.

Our new policy can be viewed by clicking the link below.

The policy includes information about how the school prevents those pupils with SEND from being treated less favourably than pupils with no SEND.

SEN Leader Contact Details

Our SENCo is Mrs Sarah Fairman. To contact her please email sfairman@wimborneacademytrust.org  or office@witchamptonlfirstschool.org, marking your email subject FAO SENDCo. Mrs Hancock is our Inclusion Leader and Deputy SENCo. Mrs Emma Vowles is the Academy Committee Member responsible for SEN.

The Dorset Xchange

The Xchange is a news and information network for families with children and young people who are disabled in the Dorset Council area.

As well as giving you access to details and information you need, the Xchange means:

• you can help in the planning and development of services that you need
• we know more about the needs of more children who are disabled and their families across Dorset
• it's clearer where services and resources need to be located

When you join The Xchange, your application automatically provides the details needed by us at Dorset Council to keep a record of children who are disabled in our area.