Inclusion- including SEND | Fairlight Primary and Nursery School

SEND AND INCLUSION AT FAIRLIGHT
Fairlight Primary School is an inclusive school where we ensure all children work towards our vision that ‘Every individual child achieves’. It aims to be a learning community for all, fostering positive partnerships with parents and carers. It is a diverse and caring school where children are happy, where difference is celebrated and all successes are applauded. All children matter and should be enabled to achieve through dynamic leadership, quality first teaching, excellent resources and support for their individual needs. We aim to ensure that our school is a calm, safe, stimulating, vibrant, purposeful, welcoming, fun, accessible and positive learning environment. We believe that all children have a right to an education that meets their needs. We are committed to reducing the barriers to learning for all pupils, not only those defined as having Special Educational Needs (SEN). We recognise that creating an inclusive school requires time, commitment, support and reflective practice. We also recognise that many children will have additional needs at some point in their childhood. You can find our SEND policy here.

Shereen Avard SENCO & Assistant Head Teacher		Jason Hammond Inclusion Lead Speech and Language Teacher

Karen (Kaz) Walsh Learning Mentor	Juliana Ashworth Attendance Officer	Susie Grey Play Therapist
Our approach to teaching pupils with SEN Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the pupils in their class. High-quality teaching is our first step in responding to pupils who have SEN. This is adapted for individual pupils. We will also provide different interventions, as shown below.
Fairlight Intervention Chart
Speech and Language	Mental health	Support for Parents

PHYSICAL CONTACT STATEMENT

At Fairlight Primary & Nursery School, we know that positive, caring relationships are at the heart of helping children feel safe, secure and ready to learn. Appropriate physical contact can play an important part in this—whether that’s offering reassurance when a child is upset, guiding them safely, or supporting them during learning activities.

Our updated Physical Contact Statement sets out clearly how and when staff may use touch in school. The purpose is not to reduce warm, supportive interactions, but to make sure that any physical contact is kind, safe, and in the best interests of every child. We want all children to feel comfortable, respected and confident about their personal boundaries.

Key points include:

Touch is always intentional, gentle and appropriate for the child’s age and needs.
Staff use approaches such as a “school hug” (a brief, side‑on hug) to reassure children while keeping professional boundaries clear.
Physical contact is never used casually, and staff always consider a child’s preferences, comfort and individual needs.
Practices such as lap‑sitting and tickling are discouraged, while some developmental exceptions exist for our youngest children.
Safety, safeguarding and children’s rights remain central to every decision.

We hope this statement reassures you that we value positive relationships and understand the importance of touch in children’s emotional wellbeing—while being absolutely clear about how we use it responsibly and professionally.

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch.

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The Right to Choose for Autism and ADHD Assessments

Under the NHS Right to Choose, families in England have the legal right to choose which service carries out an assessment when a GP makes a referral for certain conditions, including autism and ADHD. This means you can ask your GP to refer your child to an approved independent provider that has an NHS contract, rather than waiting for your local NHS service.

Many families are now choosing this option because local NHS waiting lists for developmental assessments have become very long. However, as more families use the Right to Choose route, some of these independent providers also now have waiting lists — though they are often shorter than local NHS ones.

Choosing your provider can help your child be seen more quickly and by a team experienced in neurodevelopmental assessments, which can lead to earlier understanding, support and intervention.

How to Start the Right to Choose Process

Speak to your GP – Tell your GP that you would like to use your Right to Choose for an autism or ADHD assessment. Your GP will need to make the referral, so it’s helpful to say which provider you’d like to use.
Choose a provider – You can search online for NHS-approved Right to Choose providers for autism and ADHD assessments (for example, Clinical Partners or Psychiatry UK). Check that they offer services for children and that they hold an NHS contract.
Provide information – Your GP may ask for background details such as school reports or observations. This helps the provider understand your child’s needs.
Referral and waiting time – Once the referral is sent, the provider will contact you directly to confirm receipt and give you an estimated waiting time.
Assessment and follow-up – After the assessment, the provider will share a report with you, your GP and sometimes your child’s school, to support next steps.

Important Information for Families

Schools play an essential role in the assessment process, as teachers see your child every day and can provide valuable insight into their learning, behaviour and social interactions. Most Right to Choose providers will contact the school to request information or ask for questionnaires to be completed via parents.

At Fairlight Primary and Nursery School, any information requests, including questionnaires about your child, must be emailed to
ShereenAvard@fairlight.brighton-hove.sch.uk

The SENCo will then forward these requests to your child’s class teachers, who will complete them. Teachers are best placed to provide accurate and detailed observations about your child’s day-to-day experiences in school.

Please note that it is very important to allow a minimum of four weeks for teachers to complete this information. This timeframe ensures that staff can provide thoughtful, detailed input alongside their teaching commitments.

If you book an appointment with a Right to Choose provider at short notice (for example, within a week or two), it is highly unlikely that the school will have completed the referral information in time for that appointment. Families are strongly encouraged to take this into consideration when booking future appointments through the Right to Choose route.

What Happens After a Diagnosis

If your child receives an autism diagnosis through a Right to Choose provider, the diagnostic report will still need to be sent to the local Child Development Centre (Seaside View) for ratification. Once this has been confirmed, a referral can be made to the Brighton and Hove Inclusion Support Service (BHISS), which coordinates access to local authority–commissioned external professionals who can support your child in school.

If your child receives an ADHD diagnosis and you would like to explore further support such as medication, this will also require a referral to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) if your provider is not able to prescribe medication.

This means that even after receiving a diagnosis through the Right to Choose pathway, your child may still need to be referred back into local NHS services for follow-up care and ongoing support.

For further information regarding the Right to Choose route for referrals, please visit: this link.

Policy on Private Therapists/Practitioners

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Fairlight Primary and Nursery School

Policy on Private Therapists/Practitioners

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