Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

At Hampden Gurney, we believe that every child has the ability to achieve and find success during their time with us. We aim to establish pupils’ strengths and educational needs as soon as they start school and in this way, develop programmes of support that will help all of our pupils achieve their potential in the future.

Special Educational Provision means any different or additional support other than that which is generally made for children of the same age.

As a school we fully endorse the principles laid down in the 2002 SEN Code of Practice which states that a child has a learning difficulty if he/she:

1. has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age ( This includes a difficulty in learning due to behaviour);
2. has a disability which either prevents or hinders the child from making use of educational facilities of a kind provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the local educational authority:
3. is under five and falls within the two definitions above or would do if special educational provision was not made for the child.

The school’s SEN register gives information about pupils who have had special educational provision made for them; at Hampden Gurney, we follow the SEN Code of Practice which recommends a step-by-step graduated response to this provision.

School Action

Support for a pupil would come from within the school resources, most likely in the form of targeted group support.

School Action Plus

Support for a pupil would come from an external source in the form of help from an Educational Psychologist, an Occupational Therapist, a Speech, Communication and Language Therapist or a member of Westminster learning Support Service.Parents will always be kept informed when advice is sought.

Statement of Special Needs

In some cases, support given at the School Action and School Action Plus stage may not be enough. When this happens the LA (Local Authority) will consider the need to make a statutory assessment. If it is believed that the child needs more support, then statutory provision will be made by the LA in the form of a Statement of Special Needs.

Individual Education Plan

For those children placed on the Special Needs Register, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is written. This is a short document that describes the child’s primary needs and details 3 or4 targets for improvement that will be addressed over the following term. Each educational plan is written and reviewed in consultation between staff and parents. The school encourages parents to attend termly review meetings to discuss the content and progress of IEP targets.

For more information, please refer to the school’s Special Educational Needs Policy (PDF).

Pupils with Disabilities

At Hampden Gurney, we believe that all pupils regardless of race, gender or disabilities should have equal access to the curriculum in order to achieve to their highest potential. 

Currently, the SENCO, class teacher and learning support assistants collaborate in order to provide resources and support that will enable pupils with a learning disability to participate fully in the school curriculum. Withdrawal groups have proven to be very successful in enabling access to the curriculum in Literacy and Numeracy.

Priorities that are addressed in the school action plan include:

• Subject leaders ensuring high quality teaching and learning within their subject areas – including resources and accessibility.
• Increased access to Physical Education for pupils with mobility disabilities.
• Increased access to after school clubs and school trips for pupils with disabilities.

Hampden Gurney's Disability Policy can be found in the Resources section of the school website.