Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND)
Educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners, whatever their age, gender, ethnic origin, religious belief, care status, impairment, sexuality, attainment or social or economic background. It involves adapting practices to remove barriers, taking positive action, targeting resources and creating a learning environment to ensure that all young people have their rights upheld to enable learning opportunities.
St Ivo Academy recognises that some students will have special needs at some time during their school life. In implementing this policy, we believe students will be helped to overcome their difficulties. Whilst many factors contribute to the range of difficulties experienced by some children, we believe that much can be done to overcome them by parents, teachers and students working together.
At St Ivo Academy, we take practical steps in the classroom and beyond to meet students’ needs. We are committed to narrowing the gap between SEND and non-SEND students. We do this through a variety of different support systems.
In practice, the inclusive ethos of St Ivo Academy is delivered through the combination of an effective pastoral support system with the aid of tutors, pastoral staff and other key stakeholders overseen by our school SEND team and Senior Leaderships Team. All of our teachers and teaching assistants are trained to adapt their practice to meet the needs of young people with a range of SEND.
Some students require additional support to access to the school’s curriculum. In practice, no curriculum area is denied support. The management of special needs emphasises integration rather than segregation, with access to both formal and informal opportunities for learning support. Some students will require occasional additional support, however withdrawal from mainstream lessons is operated on a very limited basis, linked to specific needs.
If you’d like to contact the SEND team at St Ivo Academy you can do so by speaking to Mrs Robertson, the school’s Special Education Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo). She can be contacted by email jo.robertson@astreastivo.org or by telephone 01480 375413. Alternatively, you can also contact St Ivo’s SEN Manager, Mrs Helen Kay by email Helen.Kay@astreastivo.org or by telephone 01480 375426.