Heathfield School and Day Nursery – Special Educational Needs & Disability Policy

1. Our Overall Approach to Pupil Inclusion and Accessibility

1.1. Heathfield School depends upon a prospective pupil meeting the criteria required to maintain and, if possible, improve the educational and general standards of all its pupils commensurate with the ethos to which the school aspires. While the school does not wish to exclude any prospective pupil on grounds of special educational needs (SEN) and/or disability, it is important that the school must feel reasonably sure that it will be able to educate and develop the prospective pupil to the best of his or her potential and in line with the general standards achieved by the pupil's peers, so that there is every chance that the pupil will have a complete, happy and successful school career. Once admitted, these criteria must continue to be met throughout the pupil's time at Heathfield.

1.2. The school's policy is to apply these criteria to all pupils and prospective pupils regardless of any SEN and/or disability of which it is aware, subject to its obligation to make reasonable adjustments not to put any disabled pupil or potential pupil at a substantial disadvantage for reasons relating to the pupil's disability.

1.3. The school asks parents to disclose any known Special Educational Need (e.g. learning support , gifted and talented) or any disability in respect of a prospective pupil at the time of application. In assessing any pupil or prospective pupil the school may take such advice and require such assessments as it regards as appropriate. Subject to this the school will be sensitive to any requests for confidentiality.