Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) Policy

1. This policy reflects the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage 2023 (effective January 2024).
2. It has been drawn up to conform with the requirements of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (“SENDA”) and the Equality Act 2010.
3. “Disability” is defined by section 6(1) of the Equality Act 2010 (the Act), which provides
4. A person (P) has a disability if—

(a) P has a physical or mental impairment, and (b) the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on P’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

1. On the website of the Office for Disability Issues there is a wealth of official guidance, most notably in its publication at http://odi.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wor/new/ea-guide.pdf.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) also offers guidance on disability equality.

Introduction

1. Orchard House School is a non-selective, co-educational, IAPS preparatory school for children aged 3 to 11 years. In admitting pupils, they aim:

• To admit children regardless of race, ethnicity, religious views, language or disability.
• To give priority to siblings of children who are pupils of the school.

Admissions

1. Admission to the school depends upon a prospective pupil meeting the criteria required to maintain the educational and general standards for all its pupils commensurate with the ethos to which the school aspires. The school must also feel confident that it will be able to educate and develop the prospective pupil to the best of his or her potential and in line with the general standards achieved by the pupil’s peers, so that there is every chance that the pupil will have a complete, happy and successful career and emerge a confident, well-educated and well-rounded young person with a good prospect of a satisfying life. These criteria must continue to be met throughout the pupil’s time at the school. reasonable adjustments not to put any disabled pupil or potential pupil at a substantial disadvantage compared with any pupil who is not disadvantaged because of his or her disability.
2. The school asks parents to provide information concerning any disability or special needs in writing prior to accepting a place. Providing the school details of the nature and effect of any disability enables it to consider any reasonable adjustments it may need to make.
3. In assessing any pupil or prospective pupil, the school may take such advice and require such assessments as it regards as appropriate. Subject to this, the school will be sensitive to any requests for confidentiality.
4. Parents of disabled children are also offered the opportunity to discuss their child’s needs with the school Special Educational Needs Coordinator and/or the head.
5. Arrangements can be made for discussions between the form teacher and the parents prior to entry in order to establish clear procedures.
6. Arrangements can be made for discussion with the school prior to entry in order to ensure that the school has the correct medical supplies and any training.

School Environment

1. The school recognises the problems inherent in its layout; it consists of two old buildings of three storeys and without lifts that are difficult to access for someone with limited physical disability. These buildings have been extended as the school has developed through the years.
2. Many of the senior classes are designated as subject teaching rooms. This requires pupils to go from classroom to classroom, often up steps and stairs in buildings without lifts. A pupil with impaired mobility would be disadvantaged by these problems, if not prohibited altogether from access to some or all of the educational and other facilities the schools offer.
3. These matters cannot be remedied in any substantial way by reasonable adjustments short of making major alterations to physical features of the school at a prohibitive cost. Even the fruition of long-term plans can only go some way to ameliorate the position
4. The following applies to Orchard House School:
5. Multi-storey buildings with some steep, narrow staircases and no lifts

ii) Some small, less spacious classrooms and, in places, narrow corridors

1. Adjustments that have been considered and will be implemented as facilities are improved:
2. Provision of disability aids around the buildings, e.g. grab and hand rails on stairs and steps, ramps for wheelchairs

ii) Inclusion of disabled lavatory facilities for pupils within the programme of rolling refurbishment

Formulation and Review

1. The head, along with the governors, constantly reviews these items. A requirement for any future buildings and extensions will be:
2. To review the school’s policies, procedures and facilities as they are likely to affect pupils or prospective pupils who are disabled.

ii) To make recommendations with a view to improving the accessibility of education in its many aspects to pupils or prospective pupils with disabilities, by means of reasonable adjustments and by planning for the future. (iii) To review such plans and policies as necessary every two years. The following areas have been considered in detail with the results set out below.

Curriculum

1. Appropriate action will be taken to ensure that lessons are organised in ways which offer the best possible opportunities for full participation by disabled pupils.
2. There will be designated members of staff with whom disabled pupils and their parents may discuss the specific requirements of their intended curriculum, in advance, to ensure that learning support and other needs are identified and made known to relevant staff. This approach will also be used to enable pupils and their parents to discuss any emerging needs and identify appropriate possible courses of action to address those needs.
3. All appropriate steps will be taken to ensure that a pupil who becomes disabled during their time at the school has every opportunity to remain at the school through the provision of the same level of adaptation and support as a comparable pupil who is disabled at the start of their school career.
4. The school will aim to ensure that disabled pupils have equal access to all pupil facilities.

Health and Safety

The school will ensure that all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, are familiar with emergency evacuation procedures and all other Health and Safety issues within the school which affect them.

Pastoral Care

1. Orchard House School have considered these issues and identified the following difficulties that might be encountered by those children with a disability. These include (dependent on the disability):

• bullying
• non-integration leading to friendship problems
• poor physical and mental welfare2. A number of strategies have been identified to deal with these potential difficulties:

• use of PSHCE programme to educate pupils about disability issues
• improved training for staff to identify difficulties at an early stage, with focus on the form teacher system (use of specialist outside agencies where appropriate)
• enhanced rôle for those who are first aid trained in co-ordinating feedback about pupils with disabilities
• use of mentors and “buddies” as appropriate, to aid integration of the disabled pupil

Awareness and observance of the policy

1. Orchard House School believes that much good work has been done to ensure an inclusive approach to education has been adopted. The current policy seeks to consolidate previous adjustments and practices and outline future plans in a coherent way.
2. The Accessibility Plan that accompanies this policy is a blueprint for the next three years and outlines the detailed adjustments the school will make to improve accessibility for existing and prospective pupils to education at OHS.
3. All other policies of the school which have a bearing on disabled pupils will be amended and revised to be consistent with the Accessibility Plan.
4. The school believes that all policies and information should be available in a format which is accessible to parents with disabled children.