SEND and Inclusion at Applecroft School

'Every child deserves a champion

An adult who will never give up on them,

Who understands the power of connection

And insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.'

                                                                                                                    Rita F. Pierson

Special Educational Needs, often referred to as 'SEN' or 'SEND' (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), is a term used to describe learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for a child to learn, creating barriers to learning. The four identified broad areas of Special Educational Needs are: 

• Cognition and Learning Needs (e.g. Specific Learning Difficulties such as Dyslexia, Dyscalculia) 

• Communication and Interaction Needs (e.g. Speech, Language & Communication Needs, Autism, Social Communication Difficulties) 

• Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs (e.g. ADHD, Anxiety disorders, Mental Health Needs) 

• Sensory and/or Physical Needs (e.g. Visual Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Physical Disability).

We are an inclusive school and pride ourselves in doing our utmost to enable all children to fully participate in all aspects of school life. We believe in ‘equity’- giving each individual the scaffolds, support and reasonable adjustments that they need in order to discover their passion, develop their individual talents, realise their potential and aspire to become the very best they can be.  

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If you are concerned about your child’s progress or feel that they may have SEND then please speak with your child’s class teacher initially to discuss your concerns.  

For general enquiries regarding Special Educational Needs/Inclusion, please contact Miss Kerry, our Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion and Wellbeing, or one of the Inclusion team below, via the school office:  

• Mrs Karen Powell - Support Staff Lead 

• Ms Jale Apicella - Family Link Support Worker 

• Miss Nina Griffiths - Pastoral Lead.

Advice and Guidance: 

The Hertfordshire Local Offer – provides parents/carers and young people with information about what special educational needs and disabilities services are available in Hertfordshire, and who can access them. Some specific pages of interest may be:  

• Services for parents, carers and families (hertfordshire.gov.uk)  - This page provides information about the different types of support that parents and carers of children and young people with SEND might be able to access, including information on support groups, mental health, parenting courses and how to access services such as SENDIASS 

• Getting help at school from your SENCO (hertfordshire.gov.uk) - This page explains what the role of a SENCO is, and how parents/carers and SENCOs can work together to achieve the best results for a pupil 

• If your child is too anxious to go to school (hertfordshire.gov.uk) - This page is designed to help parents/carers whose children’s attendance is low due to anxiety, and has advice on how to support them and where to go for help 

• Contact a SEND service (hertfordshire.gov.uk) - This page has contact details of the different SEND services, including details of Advice Line for Specific Learning Difficulties team, the Neurodiversity Hub, the Early Years SEND team and others 

• New to SEND (hertfordshire.gov.uk)  - This page has information and advice for those whose children have just been diagnosed with SEND, or have suspected SEND. 

• SENDIASS  

• IPSEA   

• SOS SEN  

Other Support and Services:  

• ^{Delivering Special Provision Locally (DSPL)} - One way in which Hertfordshire provides support to children  and young people with SEND across the county is through our Delivering Special Provision Locally groups (DSPLs). Our DSPL is DSPL5 (Welwyn & Hatfield) and their website includes information on the services available,  support for families and the other local services within our DSPL area.  

• ADD-Vance  

• SPACE 

• Supporting Links    

• Family Lives  

• Families in Focus  

• NESSie  

SEND Activities for Children and Young People:  

• Space Events  

• Potential Kids   

Please check the ‘Community Support’ section of our website regularly as we often post details of any upcoming courses and workshops that you may find helpful.