St Mary’s School is committed to meeting the needs of all pupils including those with Special Educational Needs or a disability (SEND). There is an expectation that all pupils regardless of their specific needs, should be offered inclusive teaching which will enable them to make the best possible progress in school and feel that they are a valued member of the wider school community.
We are an inclusive school and will offer a range of provision to support children with communication and interaction needs, cognition and learning difficulties, social and emotional needs, health or sensory difficulties or physical needs. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our pupils.
Implementation of Inclusion at St Mary’s:
- Our whole school ethos is rooted in biblical teaching based on ‘Valuing All God’s Children’ LDBS 2019 and we actively challenge any discriminatory language or view points from our school community.
- We ask about any disability or health condition in early communications with new parents and carers as part of our school admission procedure so that we can plan and prepare for children with additional needs joining the school.
- We use a range of teaching strategies that ensure we meet the needs of all pupils e.g. dyslexia friendly whiteboard resources, high quality teaching, inclusion of all children in main lessons.
- We teach about difference and diversity through our PSHE Spiral curriculum.
- We promote a whole school ethos and values that challenge discriminatory language.
- We use a restorative approach to solving conflicts.
- We make as many reasonable adjustments as possible within the limitations of our school building.
- We have an on-going accessibility action plan which can be found in our Accessibility Policy to improve our school to make it more inclusive.
- All entrances to the school are flat
- The main entrance has a wide, automatic door into the entrance.
- The lobby is fully accessible for wheelchair users. There are disabled toilet facilities available fitted with a handrail and a pull emergency cord.
- The school has internal emergency signage and escape routes are clearly marked.
- EYFS unit is on one level and has its own playground
- Year 1 has a ramp option to enter the classroom
- Years 2,3 and 4 are fully wheel chair accessible
- The hall is accessible providing external entrance doors are used
- If a child in one of the older year groups could not access the year 5 or 6 classrooms (as they are upstairs) then we would risk assess the feasibility of swapping with another year group
- We aim to support all children to access the curriculum and seek additional advice and support as required
St Mary’s follows the SEND Code of Practice, where the emphasis is on ensuring that all children participate, learn and make progress. This means using the graduated approach to ensure that the child’s needs are at the centre of all planning to secure good outcomes.
St Mary’s Primary School works closely with Hackney Learning Trust and other partner agencies to ensure that children and parents have access to a range of services. Please see the Hackney Local Offer to access further information, Hackney Local Offer
