We believe that every child is unique.  Our aim is to provide broad, balanced, personalised learning experiences that will enable them to be healthy, stay–safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and to achieve economic well-being.  At Mark Rutherford School all children and young people are entitled to an education that enables them to make progress so that they:

• Achieve their best.
• Become confident individuals living fulfilling lives.
• Make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training.

Every teacher at Mark Rutherford School is a teacher of every child including those with SEND.

A Special Educational Need (SEND) is defined as:

"A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them."

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

• Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or;
• Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

Special educational provision is an educational or training provision that is additional or different from that made generally for children or young people of the same age by mainstream schools’ (Code of Practice 2014, 2015).

Aims
Our SEND policy aims to:

• Set out how our school will support and make provision for students with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND).
• Explain the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in providing for students with SEND. 

School staff aim to:

• Develop an ‘open door’ relationship with students, families and carers by actively seeking their input in decision-making.
• Foster a whole school culture of inclusion which values diversity and appreciates difference.
• Provide a happy, supportive, caring and safe school environment.
• Promote high aspirations and expectations by focusing on target driven outcomes that allow students with SEND to develop independence and achieve the best life outcomes in adult life.
• Develop and value high quality teaching for all learners, with teachers using a range of effective differentiation methods.
• Promote a robust identification and management system and implement a graduated approach to meeting the needs of students using the Assess, Plan, Do, Review process.
• Provide sound transitional arrangements upon entry and exit from school and at key times of change.
• Cooperate and work with the Local Authority.

Contact
Please see the contact details below to contact Mr Gibbs (SENDC^o) or a member of our SEND team:

• Telephone: 01234 290200
• Email: send@mrus.co.uk