Our Vision

At Mesne Lea Primary School, we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to grow, learn, and flourish. We have high expectations for our pupils, staff, and families, and by working in strong partnership, we nurture confident and capable young people who are ready to meet life’s challenges with curiosity, resilience, and kindness.

We are proud of our inclusive ethos, which lies at the heart of all that we do. We are committed to ensuring that every child can achieve their full potential—whatever their needs or abilities. Through inclusive practices and a whole-school commitment to belonging, we create a learning environment where all children feel valued, supported, and inspired to thrive.

At Mesne Lea, we also offer an exceptional personal development programme that underpins our vision of a happy, safe, ambitious, and inclusive school. Through a broad range of experiences—including enrichment clubs, pupil voice opportunities, wellbeing initiatives, outdoor learning, and values-based education—we help our children become kind, respectful, and socially responsible individuals. Our personal development approach supports all learners in building the confidence, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence they need to succeed both in and beyond school.

Inclusive Approach: Assess, Plan, Do, Review

As part of our commitment to inclusive education, we use the Assess, Plan, Do, Review (APDR) cycle to carefully tailor learning experiences and support for each child. This ensures that every child receives a curriculum designed to meet their individual strengths, needs, and interests.

Support may include a range of strategies such as adaptive teaching, practical and hands-on tasks, small group interventions, or personalised 1:1 assistance. Our curriculum gives equal emphasis to academic progress and the social, emotional, and mental wellbeing of our pupils. We believe that by celebrating each child’s unique strengths, we help them reach their full potential.

Adaptive Teaching at Mesne Lea

Adaptive teaching is central to how we meet the diverse learning needs of our pupils. Our staff are skilled in using a range of strategies to ensure that lessons are accessible and engaging for all. This includes:

• Building on prior knowledge and tailoring tasks to meet pupils at their current level
• Adjusting the pace or delivery of learning to match different learning styles
• Providing scaffolding, such as word banks, visual aids, or models of expected outcomes
• Flexible grouping for collaborative work or targeted support
• Ongoing assessment to inform timely and relevant adjustments

We believe that adaptive teaching not only supports learners with additional needs, but benefits all pupils by creating an inclusive and stimulating classroom environment.

Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision

What Does This Mean?

Salford is an inclusive city, and it is expected that the majority of children will have their needs met through high-quality teaching and thoughtful classroom practices—without requiring a formal diagnosis. This aligns with the SEND Code of Practice (DfE, January 2015, para 6:15):

“A pupil has SEN where their learning difficulty calls for special educational provision, namely provision different from or additional to that ordinarily available to pupils of the same age.”

At Mesne Lea, "Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision" refers to the essential teaching strategies, classroom adaptations, and inclusive approaches that are embedded into daily practice to support a wide range of learning needs.

The Salford Provision

Salford’s Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision outlines the support strategies that all schools and early years settings should have in place. These were developed through collaboration with local professionals and reflect best practice for inclusive education.

These strategies form the foundation of our provision at Mesne Lea and are designed to help all children—including those with additional needs—make progress and thrive in a mainstream setting.

What Our Children Say

We are proud that our pupils with SEND feel safe, valued, and confident at our school. Here are just a few of their reflections:

• “The teachers make learning very fun and interesting.”
• “This is a happy school. The children are nice to me.”
• “I feel happy and safe all the time at school.”

SENDCo Contact

Mrs. K. Dougill – Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo)

All teachers at Mesne Lea are responsible for delivering high-quality, inclusive teaching. For children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), class teachers will introduce families to the key staff supporting their child’s learning.

If you would like to contact our school SENDCo, please contact the school office:
📧 mesnelea@prestoleetrust.org

The Four Main Areas of SEND

If your child is identified as having Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND), we will work in partnership with you to understand which of the four areas of need is most relevant. We then use the Assess–Plan–Do–Review model to provide targeted support:

Communication and Interaction

• Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC)
• Speech, Language, and Communication Needs (SLCN)

Cognition and Learning

• Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)
• Moderate, Severe, or Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (MLD, SLD, PMLD)

Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH)

• Includes difficulties such as anxiety, withdrawal, low mood, behavioural challenges, and more

Sensory and/or Physical Needs

• Visual Impairment (VI), Hearing Impairment (HI), Multi-Sensory Impairment (MSI), Physical Disability (PD)

Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Support

We understand the importance of emotional wellbeing for learning and growth. Our SEMH provision includes:

• Nurture Group
• Pastoral Support
• Miss A. Fisher – School Learning Mentor

Supporting Transitions

We understand that change can be a challenging time for some children. We take great care to prepare and support our pupils during transitions—whether moving between year groups or to secondary school.

We have strong links with local secondary schools and ensure that transition plans are thoughtfully tailored to each child’s needs. If you’d like to discuss transition arrangements, please do get in touch.

Individual Support Plans (ISP)

Some children may have an Individual Support Plan (ISP), which outlines the specific strategies and goals set to support their learning and development.

ISPs include short-term, medium-term, and long-term outcomes that are both achievable and aspirational. These plans are reviewed twice a year in collaboration with parents/carers, the class teacher, and the SEND lead. We place great importance on listening to both parent and pupil voices and taking account of strengths, challenges, and external influences during each review.

If you have any questions about your child’s ISP, please contact their class teacher or Mrs. Dougill.