Introduction

We are committed to giving all our children every opportunity to achieve the highest of standards. This policy helps to ensure that this happens for all the children in our school – regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, attainment or background.

Every Child Matters

Every Child Matters is the Government's plan to reform and improve children's care and was written in response to the inquiry into the death of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie.

It affects all children, aged from birth to 19, and aims to improve educational achievement and reduce the levels of ill health, teenage pregnancy, abuse and

neglect, crime and anti-social behaviour.

Every Child Matters is intended to help children and young people achieve the five outcomes that matter most to them and their parents and carers. These are:

• being healthy;
• staying safe;
• enjoying and achieving;
• making a positive contribution to society; and
• social and economic well-being.

Aims and objectives

Our school aims to be an inclusive school. This means that equality of opportunity must be a reality for our children. We make this a reality through the attention we pay to the different groups of children within our school:

• girls and boys;
• minority ethnic and faith groups;
• children with SEND;
• gifted and talented children;
• any children who are at risk of disaffection or exclusion.

(Please refer to the school Equal Opportunity policy and Race Equality Policy).

The National Curriculum is our starting point for planning a curriculum that meets the specific needs of individuals and groups of children. We do this through:

• setting suitable learning challenges;
• responding to children’s diverse learning needs;
• overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils;
• providing other curricular opportunities outside the National Curriculum to meet the needs of individuals or groups of children. (This includes speech and language therapy and mentoring sessions.)

You can read the full SEN policy below.