Hardwick Primary School is a vibrant inner city school with 592 children on roll, from Nursery to Year 6. There are at least 30 different languages spoken and English is an additional language for over 80% of the children.

The building was opened in 2007 and is fully accessible for all pupils, including those with physical disabilities. The school building is on two floors, each of which can be accessed at ground level due to the school being built on a hill. We have a lift and accessible toilets on both floors.

We have 20+ classrooms, intervention areas, a designated “quiet” classroom used for sensory breaks and a small sensory room, along with two halls which are used for lunchtimes, PE and assemblies. There are currently sound field systems in some classrooms, which are used for specific children with hearing impairments. The school also has a large, level playground, a Trim Trail, Tyre Park and an outdoor Multi-Use Games Arena (MUGA). The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) classrooms both have outdoor learning spaces which have been designed to enhance the EYFS curriculum.

Admissions to school come via Derby City central admissions arrangements, but if you would like your children to attend the nursery you may register your interest via school office. We are an inclusive school and will aim to make any arrangements needed for pupils living in our catchment area to be fully included in our school. We work closely with Local Authority Specialist Teachers from STePS when a child has a specific need such as a Hearing Impairment, Visual Impairment, Physical Impairment or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We also work with Educational Psychologists and a SEND Consultant Teacher when their advice is needed.

Teachers at Hardwick have the highest possible expectations for all children in their class. The quality of teaching and learning is reviewed regularly to ensure the highest possible standards are achieved. Children are identified as having Special Educational Needs (SEN) if their progress has slowed or stopped and the interventions and resources put in place do not enable improvement. Once this occurs we have specific target setting plans which help support their development and accelerate progress. At this point the child is listed on the ‘SEND Register’ and parents will be invited in to school to discuss and review their child’s progress.

Our school SENCo has the National SENCo Award and co-ordinates support for children with additional needs in school. The school also has 2 Autism Champions who promote and support effective provision for children with ASD. In addition to this a number of class teachers and teaching assistants have had specific training on supporting pupils with additional needs and we have a Pastoral Care team who provide comprehensive social and emotional support to help pupils overcome potential barriers to learning.

We recognise that transition is an important time for all pupils, but especially so for a pupil with SEND. Transition is a part of life for all pupils, whether that involves moving to a new class or moving to a new school. Consequently, we work closely with pupils, parents and staff to ensure these transitions run a smoothly as possible. Comprehensive transition arrangements are in place to meet the needs of all pupils transferring to us from nursery settings and other schools. Arrangements for transition into KS3 for pupils with SEND will be planned according to individual need.

You can find full details of how we support children with additional needs in our School SEND Information Report via the school website, where you will also be able to find our School Accessibility Plan