Poltair School is proud to be part Cornwall Education Learning Trust and follows the CELT graduated approach. To view a copy of this, click here.

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice states that a young person has Special Educational Needs or Disability (SEND) if they have a learning difficulty or disability, which means that the support offered at school is ‘additional to or different from’ children or young people of the same age. If the impairment has a substantial and long-term effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, this could be a possible disability.  

A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability, which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.  

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if her or she:  

• Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or  

• Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions  

"Special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to or different from that made generally for other children or young people of the same age.” (SEND Code of Practice 0-25) 

As stated in the SEND Code of Practice, the four areas of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are:  

1. Communication and interaction  

2. Cognition and learning  

3. Social, mental and emotional health  

4. Sensory or physical  

A student may have a special education need which falls into one or more areas. Having followed a graduated approach, if your child is identified as having a SEND, we will inform you and place them onto the SEND Record of Need (RON). The RON is kept electronically in school and enables our staff to access support information and/or strategies for individual students. Using the CELT Identification Toolkit, students who are identified by either staff and/or parents as having a possible barrier to learning will be screened using a range of screening tools as listed in the CELT Graduated Approach. If a student requires specialist provision to be made, this will be recorded using a CELT SEND Support plan. This will be reviewed on a regular basis and students and parents will have the opportunity to take part in this process. 

All students who are on the RON are identified on teachers’ registers.  In addition to this, students also have a Success Plan available with strategies to support them.  

Regular communication around students also happens from the pastoral team, with young people with significant needs being discussed with the year team and Inclusion team on a regular basis.  Tutors communicate with them regularly and offer to support parents as the first point of contact for all students, including those with SEND.  

Curriculum Team Leads review the progress of all students periodically throughout the year, including those students with SEND.  Students who are identified that are not making progress can be referred to the SEND team and pastoral team if further advice and guidance is needed.  

A priority at Poltair School is ensuring that there is high quality teaching and learning for all students and that progress and learning is at least good every day. This means the effective inclusion of all students in high quality everyday personalised teaching is being strived for. Teaching staff have a duty to plan for the needs of all learners.  This includes ensuring that additional adults are used effectively. The school Inclusion team is able to offer specialist expertise and advice to parents, teaching staff and pastoral teams in supporting SEND students. Teaching assistants provide classroom support for students with an EHCP or are identified as SEN Support. Teaching Assistants are deployed to curriculum areas. Teaching Assistants support a more effective teacher to student ratio in classes where the need is greater. The Senior Leadership Team and Curriculum Team Leaders monitor and assess the quality of teaching and learning in all classrooms for all students, including those with SEND. 

The nature and extent of support is largely dependent upon the individual’s needs. As such, we need to be able to offer a wide range of support measures or interventions to reflect these needs.  

Some provisions will be linked to their setting. Within the school we have several specialised provisions including: 

• Support from additional adults in lessons 

• Literacy support including Fresh Start phonics 

• Emotional/social interventions (via pastoral team) 

• Autism Champion Support 

• IDL intervention 

At Poltair School, we feel that having as much information about a student is key to supporting them effectively. We regularly liaise with a range of external agencies, and we will follow guidance given when possible. We will always seek your consent before referring your child to an outside agency. We do encourage parents to allow agencies to share information with a key member of staff at school. Examples of agencies we presently liaise with include:  

• Educational Psychology Service  

• Early Help 

• Child Adolescent and Mental Health Service (CAMHs) – NHS Multi Agency Referral Unit (MARU)  

• Physical and Medical Needs Team 

• Sensory Support Service (Hearing and Visual)  

• NHS Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy 

• NHS Speech and Language 

• Autism Support Team  

• Cognition and Learning Team 

• Careers South West  

Where necessary, Poltair will make a referral to the CELT Student Panel as mentioned in the CELT Graduated Approach.  

The Admission Policy is written with full adherence to and in accordance with the School. All statutory obligations defined within this code apply, including the operation of an equal preference scheme. Students will be admitted to Year 7 without reference to ability or aptitude using the procedures detailed in this document, which includes arrangements and criteria that will be applied in the event of over-subscription. In-year admissions will be managed by the school utilising the criteria within the Admissions Policy. Children with an Education Health and Care plan that names Poltair School will be admitted to the school following a positive consultation process in liaison with Cornwall County Council.  

For further details please refer to the Admissions Policy.

Poltair School is committed to inclusion and all of our students having access to the full curriculum. All teaching staff are responsible for ensuring that lessons are appropriately differentiated with scaffolds and therefore fully accessible for all students. 

In KS3, students with the barriers to learning in literacy and numeracy are offered access to LC3. The designated teacher in LC3 will work closely with a student’s teachers to ensure the correct strategies for support are in place in the classroom.  

In KS4 students are offered a more personalised curriculum which is identified during the Year 9 Pathways process in partnership with parents, carers and students. Students with low levels of literacy have access to a smaller class also. This takes place in LC4

As the school has areas on two levels and in separate buildings, stairs are a necessity. Elevator access is available, other than in one area of the school. However, a downstairs ICT room is available and classes can be scheduled accordingly.   

Lifts are available to provide access in some buildings.   

Disabled parking spaces are located outside of reception. 

Please click on this link to Poltair’s Accessibility Plan.  

All classroom teachers are responsible for the regular monitoring and assessment of their students. Assessments are formally recorded on a termly basis and overseen by Subject Team Leaders, Tutors, Heads of Year (HoYs), Senior Leadership Team and Governors. All students on the Record of Need, and those where data indicates limited academic progress are monitored by the Heads of Department and the SENDCo. Through liaising with parents, students and class teachers, key information is shared sensitively, through communication channels such as emails and face-to-face meetings. 

Parents are offered the opportunity to meet with the Inclusion team on a termly basis to discuss their child’s progress.  

How will I know how my child is progressing? 

• You will be provided with a print-out for instant access to your child’s latest assessment, behaviour and attendance information. 

• Parents/Carers are invited in to meet staff at key points of year, with tutors being available for any concerns at other times of the year. 

• Our regular assessment points throughout the year provide parents/carers with formal data reports. 

• If teachers have any specific concerns regarding students, parents/carers will be contacted directly. 

• For students with identified SEND, there will be structured conversations for all students on the RON. For those students with an EHCP one of these meetings will be held as their annual review.  

• We welcome regular communication with all parents/carers via email or by telephone. 

Cornwall Family Support Service 

Cornwall Early Help 

Cornwall Council Local Offer 

Special Educational Needs and Disability information, Advice. Support Service 

Wellbeing and Autism Wheel  

If you have any further questions or would like to discuss any concerns, then please do not hesitate to contact the school on 01726 874520 or email [email protected]