At Dover College, we are ambitious for every student. We are a fully inclusive and nurturing school, committed to ensuring that every young person can access a broad, balanced and challenging curriculum, participate fully in school life and achieve their potential.

Our approach is rooted in our TICK values of Tradition, Inclusion, Community and Kindness. We have high aspirations for our students in terms of their learning, attendance, outcomes, safety, happiness and future destinations.

We recognise that every student is unique. Some students may have a special educational need or disability (SEND) which means they require additional support or adjustments to access their learning. Our aim is to identify barriers early and put appropriate support in place so that students can learn, participate and succeed alongside their peers.

Every teacher is a teacher of SEND

At Dover College, we believe that every teacher is a teacher of SEND. High-quality, inclusive classroom teaching is at the heart of our approach.

Teachers receive regular professional development in strategies to support students with a range of SEND across the four broad areas of need:

• Communication and Interaction
• Cognition and Learning
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health
• Physical and/or Sensory Needs

Teachers use adaptive teaching strategies to ensure that learning is accessible while maintaining high expectations for all. This includes scaffolding, modelling, explicit instruction, visual supports, chunking of tasks, checking understanding, pre-teaching key vocabulary and providing appropriate opportunities for students to practise and consolidate their learning.

Our approach is based on the principle of teaching to the top: students are not routinely given a reduced curriculum because they have SEND. Instead, teachers adapt how learning is presented and supported so that students can work towards ambitious learning outcomes.

What is Ordinarily Available Provision?

Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP) refers to the reasonable adjustments, adaptations and inclusive teaching strategies that we expect to be available to students as part of everyday classroom practice. These approaches benefit all learners, including those with SEND.

Parents can expect that:

• Teachers will know the important information about their child’s needs and how these may affect their learning.
• Teachers will use appropriate adaptive teaching strategies to remove or reduce barriers to learning.
• Instructions will be clear, appropriately chunked and supported where necessary.
• Teachers will check students’ understanding and provide opportunities for them to ask for clarification.
• New vocabulary, concepts and important information will be explicitly taught and reinforced.
• Learning will be supported through appropriate modelling, scaffolding, visual aids and examples.
• Students will be given appropriate opportunities to process information and demonstrate their understanding.
• Teachers will maintain high expectations while providing appropriate support to enable students to meet those expectations.
• Where appropriate, reasonable adjustments will be made to the learning environment, resources, seating or methods of recording work.
• Students will be encouraged to develop independence and effective strategies for managing their own learning.
• Staff will use information from a student’s Pupil Passport to understand their strengths, needs and the strategies that help them learn most effectively.
• Communication between teachers, the Learning Support Department and families will help ensure that support is consistent and responsive.

OAP is not a separate or reduced curriculum and does not mean that a student will receive individual adult support in every lesson. It is the foundation of inclusive practice that enables students to access learning alongside their peers.

Pupil Passports

Where appropriate, students with SEND have a Pupil Passport or Profile, informed by their strengths, needs, experiences and pupil voice.

The Passport provides teachers with concise, practical information about what helps the student learn. It ensures that important strategies are communicated consistently across subjects and that students are supported to become increasingly independent.

Additional and targeted support

For some students, ordinarily available classroom provision may not be sufficient to meet their individual needs. Where appropriate, students may receive additional targeted support or intervention.

Our Learning Support Department works with students who require additional support to catch up and keep up, with a particular focus on literacy and numeracy. Interventions build on the foundations developed during Key Stage 2 while supporting students to develop the skills they need to access the Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 curriculum successfully.

SEND provision is a whole-school responsibility. Departments across the school also provide interventions where appropriate, ensuring that support remains closely connected to the curriculum and the expertise of subject teachers.

Exam Access Arrangements

Some students may be eligible for Exam Access Arrangements, such as additional time or the use of a reader or word processor. These arrangements are considered in line with the relevant examination regulations and are based on a student’s normal way of working and evidence of need.

Preparing students for the future

Our support extends beyond academic achievement. We want every student to develop the confidence, independence and skills they need for life beyond Dover College.

We provide opportunities both within and beyond the classroom and work with students to identify appropriate pathways for their next steps.

Our outcomes reflect our commitment to high aspirations for every pupil. In 2025/26, our SEND pupils in Key Stage 4 achieved an average +0.4 Value Added per subject at GCSE, performing above their expected grades. This reflects the progress our pupils make when their individual needs are understood, appropriate support is put in place, and they are encouraged to achieve their full potential.

Working in partnership with families

We believe that the strongest SEND support comes from effective partnership between the student, family, school and, where appropriate, external professionals.

Our Learning Support Team are caring, dedicated and passionate advocates for students with SEND. They work closely with students, families and teaching staff to identify barriers, celebrate strengths and ensure that support is reviewed as students develop.

Our ultimate aim is simple: to ensure that every student feels valued, included and able to learn, achieve and participate fully in the life of Dover College.

Head of Learning Support; Senior School SENCO – greenj@dovercollege.org.uk

Prep School SENCO and Access Arrangements Coordinator –  hodkinsonl@dovercollege.org.uk