Special Education Needs
What is SEN?
The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice 2014 states that a child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty if they:
- Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
- Have a disability which prevents or hinders then from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
High quality teaching that is differentiated and personalised will meet the individual needs of the majority of children and young people. Some children and young people need educational provision that is additional to or different from this. This is special educational provision under Section 21 of the Children and Families Act 2014. We use their best endeavours to ensure that such provision is made for those who need it.
Special educational provision is underpinned by high quality teaching and is compromised by anything less.
1 The kinds of special educational need for which provision is made at Tolworth Girls' School & Sixth Form:
Tolworth Girls' School & Sixth Form is a non-selective girls' academy, with a mixed sex intake at Sixth Form.
The staff and Governing Body of TGS & Sixth Form recognise that every student is entitled to a broad and balanced curriculum through which they can progress according to their ability, talents and interests where all students achieve their best, become confident individuals living fulfilling lives, and make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training.
At Tolworth Girls' School & Sixth Form we can make provision for frequently occurring special educational need without a statement of special educational needs / Education, Health and Care Plan, for instance dyslexia, dyspraxia, speech and language needs, autism, learning difficulties and behaviour difficulties. There are other kinds of special educational need which do not occur as frequently and with which the school is less familiar, but we can access training and advice so that these kinds of needs can be met. Students with SEN will have been identified in primary school and their needs passed on to the SENCO. All students will complete a variety of assessments which are carried out on entry to TGS and any areas that may have additional needs will be identified, teaching staff may aslo refer a students to the SENCO for further assessments around learning and if parents are concerned they are encouraged to speak to the SENCO.
The school also currently meets the needs of students with a statement of special educational need / Education, Health and Care plan with the following kinds of special educational need:
- Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties including Autism
- Cognition and Learning difficulties including those with Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) and Specific Learning
- Difficulties (SPLD) including dyslexia and dyspraxia
- Social, Emotional and mental health difficulties including student who have become withdrawn and isolated, suffer from anxiety and those with attachment disorder
- Sensory and Physical needs
Within each of these four categories are a range of special educational needs which will be addressed by SEN/EHCP or SEN plans as appropriate for individual students.
Decisions on the admission of students with a statement of special educational need / Education, Health and Care plan are made by the Local Authority.
The admission arrangements for students without a statement of special educational needs / Education, Health and Care Plan do not discriminate against or disadvantage disabled children or those with special educational needs and will follow the usual school admissions procedures.
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Special Educational Needs - Whole School Provision Map
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Special Educational Needs and Disability Register
All local authorities must have a record or register of children with Special Educational Needs and / or Disabilities (SEND) in their area. If you live in either Kingston or Richmond, we encourage anyone whose family includes a child or young person whose has a special educational need* or disability** to register.
Everyone on the register will benefit from:
- Information about support, services, activities and events
- Information aimed at young people with disabilities
- Opportunities to have your say about the services that are important to you
- The knowledge that your anonymous statistical data is helping us to plan and improve services
Find out more and register on the SEND Local Offer website
SEN Information Report
Local authority, Kingston Upon Thames Special Educational Needs Support
Richmond and Kingston SEND Information Advice and Support Service
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Tolworth Girls School - Achieving for Children (Vimeo)
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TGS Inclusion
Inclusion at Tolworth Girls School, Resources and information to support parents and students.
Please click on the link to open - https://en-gb.padlet.com/TGS_Inclusion/6t9icoy1z9q62xr
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SEND Parent support
We understand that we are not there face to face at the moment for all of the pupils that we support, however our commitment to providing support remains a high priority. Teachers will be supporting by differentiating work in the same way as in the classroom and checking in on student progress, and our TA team will also be available during lessons. If you feel overwhelmed, please rest assured this is perfectly normal and we are here to support.
Please click here to open 'Parent Guide'.pdf
Reviewed January 2022


