Inclusion and SEND

Shepherdswell Academy's SENCO is Zainab Rashid and she can be contacted via the school office on 01908 735865.

Milton Keynes Council's SEND Local Offer can be accessed by clicking on the link below, alternatively you can read more about Shepherdswell Academy's inclusion practices and equality objectives by clicking on the tabs below.

Philosophy

At Shepherdswell Academy Every Child Matters. We believe that the most important function of the school is to maintain an environment in which every member of the school is able to achieve success and self fulfilment. There must be a total consistency of expectation that everyone (irrespective of gender, race, sexual orientation or culture) should feel safe and secure, have empathy for all others, and place a high value upon individual achievement and personal development.

Inclusion Ethos

We are highly committed to promoting equality and inclusion within the school and local community.  We actively promote and value the individuality of all of our children. We are committed to giving every one of our children maximum opportunity to achieve the highest of standards. We do this by taking account of pupils’ varied life experiences and needs. We believe that all children have an entitlement to a broad and balanced academic and social curriculum, which is accessible to them, and to be fully included in all aspects of school life and we have very high expectations for all children. The achievements, attitudes and well-being of all our children are central to all we say and do. We believe that all children should be equally valued in school. We will strive to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, and to develop an environment where all children can flourish and feel safe. We aim to engender a strong sense of community and belonging, and to offer new opportunities to learners who may have experienced previous difficulties.

Shepherdswell Academy is passionate about and totally committed to inclusion and believes learners are partners in the learning process. We believe that educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, impairment, attainment and background. Thus we value and provide for our learners in the best way as to meet their needs and respond appropriately according to their varied life experiences and needs.

Aims and objectives

Our school is committed to being a fully inclusive school. We therefore actively seek to remove the barriers to learning and participation that can hinder or exclude individual pupils, or groups of pupils. This means that equality of opportunity is a right and reality for our children.

We make this a reality through the attention we pay to the provision and achievement of different groups of learners within our school which can include:     

• Girls and boys;
• Minority ethnic and faith groups;
• Children who need support to learn English as an additional language;
• Children with special educational needs including those with a
• Disability and/or medical needs;
• Most able children;
• Children who are at risk of disaffection or exclusion;
• Travellers and asylum seekers and refugees.
• Children who are looked after by the Local authority.
• Those of lower means and on free school meals.

We aim to provide a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils, individuals and groups by:

• Setting high expectations for all.
• Responding to pupils’ diverse learning needs.
• Overcoming potential barriers to learning.
• Providing a wide range of learning experiences including enrichment opportunities across and beyond the curriculum.  (This includes the wider curriculum like speech and language therapy; Educational Psychology interventions, anxiety programmes, social, emotional and behavioural development)

We aim to provide a happy, healthy and safe school by:

• Recognising, reflecting and celebrating the skills, talents, contributions and diversity of all our pupils.
• Nurturing of the whole child where their happiness is central to all we do.
• Providing high quality pastoral care, support and guidance.
• Safeguarding the health, safety and welfare of pupils.
• Listening and responding to the concerns of children and parents.
• Taking care to balance the needs of all members of the school community.
• We secure inclusive education by continuously reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of our provision and achievement of all our pupils.
• These principles are interlinked and are the heart of our provision and therefore we will:
• Provide a warm, safe and welcoming environment for all who come to our school.
• Ensure all staff are well trained and understand the needs of all pupils beyond the classroom.
• Provide quality first teaching and personalised learning strategies.
• Ensure that pupils support is proactive rather than reactive.
• Involve pupils and their families in decision-making.
• Provide support for pupils outside of the school and their families.
• Seek advice and support from a range of outside agencies and make links where possible.
• Ensure that all policies across the school take account of such pupils.
• Review and monitor policies and interventions regularly to ensure they are successful and make changes where needed.

We strive to ensure that all pupils are considered as individuals, are given responsibility and respect for themselves and each other and that they all have to equal opportunity to achieve their full potential.

 Our aim is for our pupils and our staff to feel valued, content and secure with their learning environment. We actively promote creating a secure, accepting and stimulating school environment where everyone has the right to learn and everyone will achieve their best.