Kent County Council are the admissions authority for Lady Joanna Thornhill and we abide strictly by their admissions code. We will never discriminate against a prospective pupil based on their Special Educational Need or Disability. As with any child who may be joining our school we would always work in advance with parents and carers and any other agencies that may be involved to ensure that we can best meet a child’s needs from the moment that they arrive at the school.

We actively work to ensure that pupils with Special Needs and Disabilities are not treated less favourably than other pupils. Amongst the measures deployed to ensure that this is the case, are:

• A firm belief that Quality First Support (with SEND children learning in class, whilst being a key focus for the class teacher) will deliver best outcomes.
• Interventions are only deployed when the Quality First approach has not been shown to deliver progress that will narrow any achievement gap and then they are evidence-based and delivered by trained staff.
• All staff are trained in the best means to support our diverse SEND cohort.
• Where appropriate outside agencies are engaged to provide additional support should this be required.
• Progress, both academic and personal, social and emotional, is closely monitored by the Special Needs Coordinator and Senior Leadership Team, in addition to routine class teacher monitoring.
• Our SEND governor, Ms Rachel Chan, robustly challenges the efficacy of the school’s support for SEND pupils.