Shirebrook Academy SEND and Inclusion vision

With a strong commitment to ensuring all students have equitable access to a high-quality education, we believe that every child possesses unique strengths and potential, and we are passionate about creating an environment where each student can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. 

Our role in Inclusion ensures we continually collaborate with teachers, parents/carers, Inclusion Support Advisory Services (ISAS) and other external agencies to ensure that we provide a holistic approach to support for our students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and access arrangements.

We are committed to working together with all partners to ensure that our children reach their full potential.

More information about what support is available within Derbyshire can be found at the Derbyshire Local Offer website. The SEND Local Offer brings together information that will be helpful to children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and their families. The SEND Local Offer is intended to help you to find information about services and provision that are available or signpost you to somebody who can provide you with the information you need, through one easily searchable website which can be accessed at: http://www.derbyshiresendlocaloffer.org/

Adherence to Law:

Definitions of special educational needs and disability (SEND) taken from section 20 of the Children and Families Act 2014:

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 Education provision age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they: a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or b) have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others' of the same age in mainstream Education provisions or mainstream post-16 institutions. A child under compulsory education provision age has special educational needs if they fall within the definition at (a) or (b) above or would do so if special educational provision was not made for them.

The SEND Code of Practice can be found on the Department for Education’s website: SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

English as an Additional Language (EAL) is not considered a Special Education Need. Differentiated work and individual learning opportunities are provided for children who are learning EAL as part of our provision for vulnerable learners. However, should SEND be identified during any assessments, EAL pupils will have equal access to SEND provision at Shirebrook Academy.

The Inclusion Team 

Our team is not limited to the names listed below. In fact, by far the most important part of our team is the teachers; each of them plays a pivotal role in ensuring that every child has access to an outstanding education. We aim to ensure that every child is taught by experts who possess all the knowledge, skills, and support necessary to meet their individual needs within the classroom. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where every child can thrive, enabling them to reach their full potential in their educational journey.

• Miss Lauren McKay- Assistant Vice Principal for Inclusion

• Mrs Cheryl Dunphy- Associate Inclusion Lead and SENCO  

• Mrs Jessica Dillon - Assistant SENCO and Phonics and Reading Intervention Lead

• Mrs Helen Dodds- Inclusion Manager

To contact the SEND and Inclusion team please email: inclusionteam@shirebrookacademy.org

Feedback from parents/carers and students

At Shirebrook Academy, we greatly value all feedback from our parents/carers and students. It is through your insights that we can evolve and innovate to support our students and their families effectively. Below are select comments that highlight the positive outcomes for those involved in inclusion and SEND initiatives:

Current Y7 student in our thrive teaching group: "It helps me having teachers who know me well. I like that we have the same teachers and we do brain breaks to keep me focused.

Current Inclusion students say that: "Staff in Inclusion really help me", "you tell us that we're amazing and we get to talk to you", "I feel safe and supported", "everyone helps me and I feel listened to".

Our SEN Information Report, SEND Policy and Accessibility Policy can be found here.

We run a range of targeted interventions that cover the four areas of SEND.