St Cuthbert's is proud to be an inclusive school, valuing the individuality of all children. We are committed to giving all our children every opportunity to achieve the highest of standards. We do this by taking account of pupils’ varied life experiences and needs. We offer a broad and balanced curriculum and have high expectations of all our children. The achievements, attitudes and well-being of all our children matter.

This page shares the policies and practices that we have in place to ensure these aspirations become apparent.

Changes To SEN

The changes in the Children and Families Bill affect the way children with special educational needs (SEN) are supported in schools. The new approach began in September 2014 and places pupils at the centre of planning. The key principles of the new legislation are:

1. Young people and their families should be involved in discussions about the support they need, so they can share their knowledge and feed back to the school on the young person’s progress.
2. Education, health and care plans (EHC) will replace statements of special educational needs. New assessments for additional educational needs will follow the EHC guidelines from September 2014. (Existing statements will remain in force until all children and young people have completed the transition, which will be within three years).
3. School Action and School Action Plus will cease and be replaced by a single school-based category for children who need extra specialist