Inclusion Overview
At Ridgeway, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive school that welcomes children and families from a range of backgrounds and those with a range of needs.
We value what each child can bring to our school and provide an environment that enables all children to thrive. A nurturing culture is well-established in our school, and our approach enables us to find out the best way to support each child and family. Our staff are passionate about and skilled at identifying and supporting children with a range of needs. Details about the specific areas we can support and the ways we do this can be found in the different pages within this section. Please see our Ridgeway Offer for detail about our provision. We welcome enquiries from parents who require further information.
We support all children with their academic, social and emotional development, and this support may take many different forms depending on the needs of the child. Alongside this, we also target specific support for the following groups of children:
- Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
- Children with English as an Additional Language (EAL)
- Children in receipt of the Pupil Premium Grant (PPG)
- Children who are looked after (CLA) or previously looked after
Well-being
Whilst all children are supported to develop their Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) through our Wellbeing Curriculum, well-being at Ridgeway runs through everything we do. We understand that for children to learn effectively they need to feel happy, safe and secure; they need to have a positive sense of self, successful relationships and good mental health. This is true of our staff too. We ensure that all decisions are made in the best interests of children, and that our staff spend time doing the things that really make a difference to children’s learning and development. Our Wellbeing Lead continually reviews our practices to ensure that they support these aims.
Our approach to behaviour is supportive and restorative, helping children to understand their rights and responsibilities and how to put things right when they go wrong. We never shame children and praise is always specific, without a need for extrinsic systems (stickers, charts etc.) which can be demoralising for children.
We take Safeguarding children extremely seriously, from ensuring we establish an open culture where everyone feels able to share their thoughts and feelings, to ensuring rigorous processes for identifying and following up on concerns. All of our staff are trained in understanding mental health and attachment, and use a range of strategies to promote children’s well-being. Where more specific support is required for children and families we have our dedicated Ridgeway Nurture provision.
Equality
We celebrate the fact that we have a diverse school community. Please read our Equality Information and Objectives document to read details of our school’s equality objectives and how our school complies with the public sector equality duty.