SEND

At Dean Field, supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is a high priority. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive school where every child is valued and supported to reach their full potential. We are committed to meeting each child’s individual needs through high-quality teaching, targeted support, and strong partnerships with families and professionals.

We have lots in place to provide support across the four broad areas of need as identified in the SEND Code of Practice:

Learning difficulties
Communication difficulties
Medical conditions
Social, emotional and mental health difficulties

Our aim is to ensure that all pupils feel safe, supported and confident in their learning. The following links and documents should be useful in providing more information on how we do this.

Calderdale SEND Local Offer
SEND Policy
SEND Information Report

Resourced Provision – Italy Class

Italy Class Provision

Sensory Circuits

Something that we are very proud of at Dean Field relating to SEND is our Sensory Circuit provision. Every morning we run Sensory Circuits in the school hall to support many pupils with sensory processing needs. This structured, movement-based activity has a huge positive impact on pupils’ ability to feel regulated, calm, and ready to learn. By taking part before lessons begin, children are better able to focus, engage in learning, and manage their emotions throughout the school day.

A sensory circuit is a short sequence of physical activities that follows a clear structure and is made up of three key sections:

Alerting Activities
These activities help to wake up the body and brain. They include lively movements such as jumping, running, or crawling. The purpose is to increase alertness and energy levels so pupils feel ready and engaged.
Organising Activities
These activities help children organise their bodies and thoughts. They often involve balancing, coordination, or following movement patterns. This section supports concentration, motor skills, and listening, helping pupils feel more in control of their bodies.
Calming Activities
The final section helps pupils to slow down and feel calm. Gentle, controlled movements such as stretching, pushing, or deep pressure activities help the body relax and prepare for learning in the classroom.

By following this predictable structure each morning, sensory circuits support children to start the day feeling settled, focused, and ready to access learning successfully.

Autism Accreditation

In June 2025 we were thrilled to receive our Autism Inclusion Award, an accreditation which recognises and celebrates what we have in place for our autistic pupils. The process included providing lots of evidence, case studies etc which was assessed by the National Autistic Society. As well as receiving the award and the positive feedback, which you can see some of the key strengths below, it gave us some areas to improve further which we will be working on this year.