At Sparken Hill Academy, every child belongs. We believe that all children, whatever their starting point, can learn, make progress and enjoy school, and we work hard to make sure no child is left behind.

Our approach to inclusion

Every teacher at Sparken Hill is a teacher of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). High-quality, adaptive teaching in every classroom is our first and most important step. Where a child needs something extra, we follow the graduated approach set out in the SEND Code of Practice:

We support children across all four areas of need: communication and interaction; cognition and learning; social, emotional and mental health; and sensory and/or physical needs. Where it helps, we work closely with outside professionals such as speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, specialist teachers and health services.

Our phase SENCO team

Rather than having one SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) for the whole school, each phase of the school has its own SENCO. This means the person coordinating your child’s support knows them, their class and their teachers well.

What this means for the whole school

• Earlier help – SENCOs work alongside teachers in their phase every day, so needs are spotted and acted on sooner.
• Expertise in every classroom – teachers and teaching assistants get practical, age-appropriate advice from someone who knows their phase inside out.
• A named person for families – you have a SENCO who knows your child and is easier to reach.
• Smooth transitions – when your child moves to a new phase, SENCOs hand over carefully so that what works is not lost.
• Shared responsibility – SEND is not one person’s job. The SENCO team meets regularly to share expertise and keep standards consistent from Nursery to Year 6.

Planning and recording support

We use Provision Map (by TES) to plan, record and review the support every child receives. It holds each child’s learning plan, with their targets, the strategies and interventions in place, and the outcomes of reviews.

This means everyone working with your child can see what helps them, we can check carefully whether support is making a difference, and we can share clear, up-to-date plans with you. Learning plans are reviewed regularly, and we will always invite you to be part of that conversation.

Further information

You can find more detail in our SEND Information Report, Inclusion Strategy and Accessibility Plan [add links]. Information about support available across the county is in the Nottinghamshire SEND Local Offer.