Login


Special Educational Needs

Sandy Hill Academy is a mainstream school in which all children are valued, respected and welcomed regardless of their additional educational need. We will support their learning and ensure they are fully included in all school activities, making full use of externally provided facilities where appropriate.

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is defined in the SEND Code of Practice (2015) as: a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made.

A pupil is considered to have a learning difficulty or disability if they:

  • Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age
  • Have a disability that prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream school

Special educational provision is provision that is different from or additional to support normally available to pupils of the same age, in order to help children with SEND access the curriculum.

There are 4 broad areas of SEND identified within the Code of Practice. Individual children or young people may have needs in one area or across several areas and their needs may change over time.

  • Communication and interaction

Children and young people with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) who have difficulty understanding and communicating with others. This may include those with Autism. 

  • Cognition and learning

Children and young people who learn at a slower pace than their peers, and those with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dyspraxia.

  • Social, emotional and mental health

Children who may be withdrawn or isolated, as well as those displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviours. 

  • Sensory and/or physical

This includes children with a disability that prevents or hinders them from making full use of general educational facilities. For example, those with visual or hearing impairments, multi-sensory impairments, and/or physical disabilities.

 

At Sandy Hill, children with additional needs are identified through a combination of observations of the children as individuals within their classes by our experienced staff, tracking the outcomes of assessments and through discussions with parents. Our Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCo) is Mrs Carter. She works with the class teachers and teaching assistants to create programmes of support that meet the needs of the child. We also work with a range of external agencies as appropriate, including Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychology, Autism in Schools Team, Early Years Inclusion Team and the SEND Support Services. 

Children who are identified as needing support that is different from or additional to the provision offered to all pupils, are added to our school's SEND Record of Need and will have an Individual Provision Map (IPM) created as part of the Assess-Plan-Do-Review cycle. This is sometimes referred to as a Graduated Response and you can find out more about what this means by clicking here.

LOCAL OFFER

The Local Offer aims to help families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) by gathering useful information they need to know, in one place, so they can make informed choices about the support they receive. Our Local Offer describes the provision and guidance that is available for children and young people with SEND; with or without an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan or Statement of SEN. Please see the link to both Sandy Hill Academy's Local Offer and Cornwall Council's SEND Local Offer below. 

Mrs Carter is Sandy Hill's Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo) and works on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If you are concerned about your child’s progress and think that your child may have special educational needs you should first talk to your child’s class teacher or contact Mrs Carter via the school office on 01726 75858 or by emailing: hello@sandyhill.org.uk

Sandy Hill Academy
School website design by eSchools. Content provided by Sandy Hill Academy. All rights reserved. 2025