SEND Report

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Report.

 Introduction 

As a Centre of Excellence for Inclusion, the Link School is committed to ensuring that the necessary provision is made for every learner in our school community. The Link School is passionate about inclusive education and, with a strong focus on partnership working, strives to meet the needs of learners who have a special educational need, disability, learning difficulty or are vulnerable and disadvantaged. 

A student is defined as having SEND if he or she has a learning difficulty, which calls for a special educational provision, namely provision different from or additional to that normally available to learners of the same age or, that the student has a disability, which hinders them from making use of educational facilities from those generally provided by schools for students of the same age, within the same area. 

The Code of Practice (2015) states that all students and young people are entitled to an education that enables them to make progress so that they: 

• 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 

The Code of Practice also provides an overview of the range of needs which is divided into 4 broad areas: 

Communication and Interaction 

• Cognition and Learning 
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties 
• Sensory and, or Physical Needs 

As an alternative provision school, there are a higher number of learners with SEND and the school works in partnership with mainstream home schools/academies and other stakeholders to ensure that needs are met effectively and efficiently. 

What is the Local Offer? 

The Children and Families Bill was enacted in September 2014. From this date Local Authorities (LA) and schools are required to publish and keep under review information about services they expect to be available for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) aged 0-25. The LA refer to this as the ‘Local Offer’. The intention of the Local Offer is to improve choice and transparency for families. It will also be an important resource for parents and carers in understanding the range of services and provision in the local area. More information on the local offer within Sunderland can be found here 

SEND Local Offer 2023

What is the Special Education Needs Information Report? 

The Special Education Needs Information Report sets out our school approach to meeting the needs of learners with SEND. It provides valuable information to parents/carers and other stakeholders around policies, procedures and practices. 

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You can read our full SEND Report by downloading the PDF below:

  SEND Report – PDF 

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Assessors Evaluation for the Inclusion Quality Mark (IQM) CoE Awards 

The Link School Achieves Centre of Excellence Status for the sixth time………

  IQM Report  – PDF