SEN & inclusion policy

A&J School is built around the pupil. For pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and disabilities — whether that is dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, autism, anxiety, sensory processing differences, chronic illness, or mobility limitations — accommodation is part of the model, not an add-on.

We work on three premises: every pupil has the right to a serious academic education; teachers should know each pupil well enough to anticipate adjustments rather than react to crises; and parents should be partners in their child's learning plan, not recipients of decisions.

This policy applies to every pupil and to every member of teaching and pastoral staff. It is consistent with the SEND Code of Practice 2015 (insofar as applicable to a private online setting outside the maintained sector) and with the Equality Act 2010 in respect of disability and reasonable adjustments. It sits alongside our safeguarding policy and our admissions policy.

The pupils we typically support under this policy include:

• Pupils with specific learning differences (dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia).
• Pupils with ADHD or executive-function differences.
• Pupils on the autistic spectrum.
• Pupils with anxiety, OCD, or other mental-health conditions affecting attendance or learning.
• Pupils managing chronic illness or recovering from significant medical events.
• Pupils with mobility, hearing, or visual impairments.
• Pupils with sensory processing differences.
• Pupils gifted in one or more domains who require stretch alongside support.

Needs are identified through a combination of:

• Information from parents at admission, including any educational psychologist's report, paediatric assessment, or external specialist documentation you choose to share.
• Baseline assessment in the first half-term: structured classwork, reading and writing samples, observations from subject teachers, and the form tutor's pastoral assessment.
• Ongoing classroom observation by subject teachers reporting to the form tutor weekly.
• Pupil voice — pupils are asked what helps them learn and what gets in the way.

Where a pupil has a learning difference or disability, the form tutor — in partnership with parents and (where relevant) external specialists — produces a written Personalised Support Plan. The plan typically sets out:

• The pupil's strengths, challenges, and aspirations.
• Specific in-lesson accommodations (e.g. extended time, visual schedules, reduced cognitive load tasks, quiet check-ins, movement breaks).
• Communication preferences with the pupil and the parents.
• Triggers and warning signs for the pastoral team.
• Longer-term targets — academic, social, regulatory.
• Review points: at least once per term, formally; informally as needed.

The plan is shared with all subject teachers. It is not optional reading. It travels with the pupil through the school year and is updated when circumstances change.

Where a pupil qualifies for examination access arrangements (extra time, reader, scribe, prompt, separate room, rest breaks, modified papers), the school coordinates the application with the relevant external exam centre and exam board (Cambridge International, Pearson Edexcel, AP). Eligibility follows the JCQ Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments guidance and the equivalent rules of the relevant exam board. We require evidence of need (typically an educational psychologist's report or equivalent) dated within the timeframes the JCQ specifies.

For our junior elite athletes and young performers, a parallel structure applies. Our director is a chartered psychologist with extensive experience in performance psychology. Pupils on this pathway receive scheduled support from the school's psychologist alongside their academic plan: pre- and post-competition routines, identity work, recovery and rest planning, and coordination with their coaches, parents, and (where applicable) sports psychologists external to the school. The principle is the same as for SEN: anticipate, plan, and support — don't wait for a crisis.

With parental consent, the school works directly with external partners — the pupil's educational psychologist, paediatrician, CAMHS clinician, occupational therapist, sports psychologist, performance coach, and similar — so that the plan inside school and the plan outside school are coherent. We do not replicate the work of clinicians: we coordinate with them.

Personalised Support Plans are reviewed at least termly with parents. Parents who feel their child's needs are not being adequately met should raise the concern first with the form tutor, then with the Headteacher in writing, and — if unresolved — through the school's complaints procedure (set out in our admissions policy and parent handbook). Independent review by the school's external SEN consultant is available on request.