Secondary schools and SEND
All schools must:
- use their best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEND gets the support they need – this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people’s SEND
- ensure that children and young people with SEND engage in the activities of the school alongside pupils who do not have SEND
- designate a teacher to be responsible for co-ordinating SEND provision (the SEND co-ordinator, or SENCo)
- inform parents when they are making special educational provision for a child
- prepare a report annually on the implementation of their SEND policy and their arrangements for the admission of children with SEND, the steps being taken to treat SEND children equitably, the facilities provided to enable access to the school for all children and their accessibility plan showing how they plan to improve access progressively over time
In the Code of Practice, a single school stage called SEND support is implemented by early years' settings, schools, colleges and other providers with the aim of early identification of needs, early help and support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
All schools must publish their own Local Offer on their website and provide information on where the local authority Local Offer is published.
What should you do if you are worried about your child at school?
If you feel that your child’s school cannot support their needs, or you are worried about any aspect of school, you should talk to your child's teacher or SENCo (Special Education Needs Coordinator).
If you are not happy with the response, you can discuss your concerns with the class teacher, head of year, senior leader or head teacher. The school will also have a complaints procedure you can follow. This should be available on the school’s website. You should also consult the Swindon Core Standards for SEND.
Reference to these materials should help you to see what SEND support and provision should be in place for your child. The Core Standards can be used to support conversations with the school about the identification of SEND and supporting a child/young person with different needs.
If your child has an EHCP, you should use this to support conversations with the school around needs, provision that should be in place and outcomes that all involved with your child should be working towards achieving.
SIAS are a free information and advice service for parents and carers of children with SEND.
If your child has an EHCP and you have significant concerns about the provision that is in place for them or are worried that the placement is not working for them, you should speak to the SENCo and ask them to hold an Interim Review meeting. Ask for any professionals involved with your child whose attendance you feel would be helpful to be invited to this meeting or asked to provide a report.
If you are concerned that the current placement or provision is not working for your child, it is important to hold an Interim Review meeting as the SEND Service are unable to make changes to funding or placement without receiving the paperwork from an Annual/Interim Review of the pupil’s EHCP.
Specialist provision
Some of our mainstream schools have specialist resource provisions (SRPs) for pupils with complex learning disabilities.
We also have seven special schools and a service for education other than at School (EOTAS) which includes a Pupil Referral Unit.
The distinction between mainstream and special schools is a legal one. A special school is wholly for pupils with SEND and is specifically for children with complex special educational needs and/or disabilities whose needs cannot be met within the mainstream schooling system.
Some non-maintained or independent schools cater wholly or mainly for children with SEND and are often referred to as independent special schools.
More information about our specialist provision can be found in the continuum of support in Swindon for children and young people with SEND document (PDF).
Independent or non-maintained schools
These schools can be day or residential and cater wholly or partly for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. It is our practice to place Swindon children in Swindon schools and it would only be in exceptional circumstances that we would seek and fund a school place outside of the Borough.
There is a national list of DfE approved independent education institutions, independent schools and post-16 providers.
A child's parent or young person can make a request for a particular educational institution via school admissions processes.
Special schools
- For young people with complex learning difficulties and other associated difficulties: Crowdys Hill School
- For young people with social emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties: St Luke’s School
- For young people with severe, profound & multiple learning difficulties and other associated difficulties and disabilities: Uplands School
- Special school for C&YP with autism and associated communication needs: Churchward School
Mainstream schools with special resourced provision (SRP)
- SRP for young people with severe specific learning difficulties as well as SRP for young people with a physical disability: The Commonweal School
- SRP for young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Lydiard Park Academy
- SRP for young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Kingsdown School
- SRP for young people with Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC): The Ridgeway School
Schools’ responsibilities
Useful resources
