Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

As a school with enhanced resource provision, we are experienced at supporting children with disabilities and special educational needs.

We use different interventions and approaches to address specific areas of need and would look carefully at your child’s individual needs when deciding how best to support your child.

We comply with expectations of the SEND Code of Practice and Disability Discrimination Act as shown in our SEND Policy.

Our special Educational Needs Information Report gives more information on how we support children with Special Education Needs in our school.

More information on support available within Derbyshire can be found on the Derbyshire Local Offer website.

About our SEND team

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO)

Whilst Miss Bell is on maternity leave, Mrs Gilhooly and Mrs Scales are our SENDCO team, supported by Mrs Al-Hussaini, DLT Lead for SEND and Safeguarding. They can be contacted on 01335 343041.

Our SENDCo team are responsible for:

• co-ordinating the support for pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)
• ensuring our SEND pupils are listened to, so that their voice is heard and they are able to achieve the best progress possible
• liaising with class teachers to monitor pupil’s progress and to arrange further or different provision if progress is slower than expected
• liaising with the other people who may be coming in to school to help support your child’s learning, e.g. Speech and Language Therapy and Educational Psychology
• updating the school’s SEND records and making sure that records of your child’s progress and needs are kept and shared with staff
• teaching the children with physical difficulties in our Enhanced Resource (ER) provision.

If you have any concerns about pupils with disabilities or special educational needs, please contact our SENDCo team.

Enhanced Resource

Mrs Scales leads the Enhanced Resource (ER) provision. She has worked at Hilltop for the past 18 years and during that time, has had the opportunity to develop her skillset in numerous areas of education within the school.

Mrs Scales’ area of specialism is working with children that have profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and have complex needs. She is qualified as a Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) and has a Foundation Degree in Children’s and Young People’s Services. This encompasses Education, Health and Social Care. She is also a Specialist Leader of Education for the Dove Valley Teaching Alliance. 

If you would like to talk to Mrs Scales about the ER provision, please contact her on 01335 343041.