Special Educational Needs & Inclusion

Kells Lane Primary School is a maintained mainstream school for students from the ages of 3 to 11. Our school caters for students with all needs. The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCo) is Mrs R Gray who can be contacted by phoning the school on 0191 4334140 or by emailing send@klps.org.uk 

At Kells Lane, we believe that every child — regardless of background, need, or starting point — has the right to an ambitious, rich and fulfilling education. We hold high expectations for all of our children, and we understand that meeting those expectations sometimes requires additional thought, resource and care. Our inclusive philosophy is built on three commitments:

Equity — ensuring every child has what they need to succeed, not just what everyone else receives.

Empathy — seeing every child as an individual, understanding their story, and responding with compassion and consistency.

Excellence — never lowering expectations because a child faces challenges, but raising the level of support to meet them.

Inclusion at Kells Lane is embedded in the way we design our curriculum, the way we teach, the way we support emotional wellbeing, and the way we partner with families. It is not bolted on — it is built in.

 

Inclusion at Kells Lane is for every child.

It is not only about pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). It is about identifying and removing any barrier to learning — whether that barrier stems from disadvantage, English as an Additional Language, social and emotional need, or any other factor that may affect a child’s ability to access, engage in, and benefit from school life.

We provide daily THRIVE sessions within classes for all children, helping them to develop emotional resilience, build positive relationships and engage successfully with their learning. Early identification of emotional development needs is central to our approach, as this helps to build resilience and reduce the risk of future mental health difficulties.

For some children, additional support may be needed. Where a specific need is identified, we offer targeted 1:1 THRIVE sessions to provide personalised support and help children develop the skills they need to succeed both socially and emotionally.

 

High quality teaching — the first response to every need

Our first and most important response to any child’s need is high quality classroom teaching. All of our teachers are trained in adaptive teaching strategies, ensuring that lessons are designed to be accessible to every child from the outset. This includes:

• Task design — carefully sequenced, scaffolded tasks that build on prior knowledge and are accessible to all learners

• Flexible grouping — responsive, temporary groups based on the needs of the task, not fixed ability labels

• Checking for understanding — frequent, low-stakes assessment using tools such as mini-whiteboards and hinge questions

• Micro-adaptations — in-the-moment adjustments such as rephrasing, additional visual support, or an extended challenge

• Regulation mapping — whole-school awareness of children’s emotional state throughout the day, ensuring children are ready to learn 

Our support staff work flexibly across the school, responding to the needs of children rather than being class-based, which enables us to provide tailored interventions and targeted support where it is needed most.

At Kells Lane Primary School, inclusion is at the heart of everything we do, and we are proud to provide a caring, nurturing and ambitious environment where all children can flourish.

Our four areas of need — and how we respond

We use the four areas of need from the SEND Code of Practice to organise our thinking and our provision.

1. Communication and interaction

We support children with speech, language and communication needs — including those with autism spectrum conditions — through targeted speech and language intervention, Oracy-rich teaching via Voice 21, communication-friendly classroom environments, and close work with our Speech and Language Therapy team.

2. Cognition and learning

For children who find learning harder than their peers, we provide structured, evidence informed interventions — including our Big Oak provision in Key Stage 1, led by Mrs Gray, which provides intensive targeted teaching in a small group for children who need to accelerate their progress. Children access Big Oak for part of their day before successfully returning full-time to their mainstream class.

3. Social, emotional and mental health

This is an area of particular strength at Kells Lane. Our whole-school THRIVE approach means every child receives daily THRIVE sessions, building emotional resilience and self regulation. Additional targeted 1:1 THRIVE sessions are available for children who need more support. Our TGMC (The Good Morning Club) approach equips all staff with a shared language and toolkit for supporting behaviour and emotional regulation. In Key Stage 2, children follow the Melva mental health curriculum. All staff — including office and support staff — are trained in trauma-informed practice.

4. Sensory and physical

We work closely with Occupational Therapy, the Visual Impairment and Hearing Impairment advisory teams where needed, and make reasonable adjustments to the physical environment and to classroom resources to ensure full access for all children.

Our specialist provisions

Little Oak — our nurture provision for children who benefit from a softer, more supported start to the school day. In a calm, welcoming environment, children are helped to regulate their emotions and feel ready for learning before transitioning into their mainstream class.

Big Oak — supports children in Key Stage 1 who have been identified as having specific barriers to learning and who are working below age-related expectations. Led by Mrs Gray, Big Oak provides targeted teaching and intervention in a small group, with a high staff-to child ratio. The aim is for children to make accelerated progress over a focused period and return successfully to full-time mainstream provision.

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

We welcome children whose first language is not English and are committed to ensuring they have full access to the curriculum and to school life. We use carefully adapted resources, visual support, scaffolded tasks and where appropriate bilingual support to help EAL pupils access learning alongside their peers. EAL is understood at Kells Lane as an inclusion priority — not a separate specialism.

Disadvantage and Pupil Premium

Disadvantage is a barrier to learning, and we treat it as an inclusion priority. Our Pupil Premium strategy sets out how we use additional funding to remove barriers for children who are eligible — from academic intervention to enrichment, wellbeing support and cultural experiences that broaden every child’s horizon.

Read our Pupil Premium Strategy here

Working with external agencies

We work in close partnership with a range of specialist services to ensure children receive the right support at the right time. These include:

• Speech and Language Therapy — Gateshead NHS

• Educational Psychology — Gateshead Local Authority

• Occupational Therapy — Gateshead NHS

• CAMHS — Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

• Paediatric Services

• School Nursing Service

• Advisory Teachers — including Visual Impairment and Hearing Impairment specialists

When a child’s needs require a multi-agency response, Mrs Gray coordinates this work and keeps families fully informed and involved throughout.

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)

Where a child’s needs are significant and not fully met through school provision alone, we will request that Gateshead Local Authority carries out an Education, Health and Care needs assessment. If an EHC Plan is issued, it becomes a legal document setting out the child’s needs, the provision required, and the outcomes we are working towards. Mrs Gray oversees all EHC Plans at Kells Lane and ensures they are reviewed annually.

Impact — How We Know It Is Working

We evaluate the impact of our inclusion work through:

• Termly Pupil Progress Meetings — class teachers and SLT review the progress of all children, with a specific focus on those with SEND, EAL and disadvantaged pupils

• Regular review of Individual Education Plans — targets are reviewed termly with the child and their family

• Assessment data — reading, writing and maths attainment and progress is tracked termly for all pupils

• Pupil and family voice — we actively seek and act on the views of children and families about the support they receive

• Staff training and development — we invest in ongoing CPD to ensure all staff have the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of every child

Most children with SEND at Kells Lane make good progress. Where a child is not making the progress expected, we respond quickly — adjusting provision, seeking specialist advice, and working closely with the family to find the right approach.

Information

As part of the government’s reforms around special educational needs and disability (SEND) and with the introduction of the Code of Practice in September 2014, local authorities are required to publish a local offer showing the support available to disabled children and young people and those with SEN and their families and carers.

 

Gateshead SEND Threshold Document

SEND Information Report

The following organisations offer independent information, advice and support for families of children with SEND:

Gateshead Local Offer -  Information about all SEND services available in Gateshead.

Gateshead Local Offer

Gateshead SENDIASS -  Free, impartial advice and support for families of children with SEND.

Gateshead SENDIASS

CAMHS - Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear

CAMHS

IPSEA -  Independent advice and support on special educational needs law.

https://www.ipsea.org.uk/

Contact -  Support for families of disabled children.

https://contact.org.uk/

SEND Policy

 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Policy

 

Social, Emotional & Mental Health Policy

Social Emotional and Mental Health Policy

 

Accessibility Policy

Accessibility Policy