The fourth area of need in the SEND Code of Practice. It covers vision impairment, hearing impairment, multi-sensory impairment, and physical disability — including conditions where energy or attendance is limited by chronic illness or pain. Many learners in this area are bright, motivated, and unable to access mainstream because the building, the timetable, or the journey doesn’t work.
How NEO is designed for learners in this area
- Online delivery removes the transport barrier. Learners join from home, from a care setting, or from wherever they happen to be that day. No school run, no bus, no risk-managed corridor.
- Energy-aware pacing. The structured Mon–Thu live timetable is predictable, but it isn’t the only route. Modular Pearson Edexcel International GCSE assessment lets a learner build credit across multiple sittings rather than accumulating exam debt during a hard term. Functional Skills and ASDAN portfolios offer further flex.
- Recorded and replayable lessons. Live sessions are recorded so a learner who needed to log off, attend a hospital appointment, or rest can pick the lesson back up later without having to ask anyone.
- Multimodal access by default. Live captions on Google Meet, screen-reader-compatible content, adjustable typography, dark mode, keyboard navigation. The everyday platform is built to be used by learners who use assistive technology — these are not access arrangements that have to be requested.
- Examination access arrangements co-ordinated through the awarding body. NEO does not run exam centres or hold awarding-body registration; for learners sitting Pearson Edexcel iGCSEs or Functional Skills, the LA / commissioner registers the learner and any standard access arrangements (extra time, rest breaks, separate room, scribe, reader) are arranged through Pearson via the registering centre. NEO’s role is to teach to the access arrangements as well as around them, so practice mirrors exam conditions.
- Movement Cornerstone, adaptable. Movement sessions are designed to be participated in from a chair, from a bed, or with adaptive equipment. The framing is “movement that fits your body today”, not “movement that looks like PE in a hall”.
- No camera-on requirement. A learner with vision impairment who finds video draining, or a learner whose physical setup that day doesn’t include being seated to camera, can engage by audio and chat and still be fully present.
- Family co-ordination kept close. Where a learner has a clinical team, NEO communicates regularly with the family-named lead so timetabling can flex with treatment cycles rather than against them.
Where this shows up in the vault
- Movement — adaptable physical engagement as a named curriculum element
- Rest — rest as a named curriculum element, central for fatigue-affected learners
- Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs — modular assessment, separate-paper sittings
- Pearson Edexcel Functional Skills — on-demand assessment windows
- Independent Living — practical strands around managing health, home and community
What we don’t do
NEO does not provide on-site personal care, therapy hours, or specialist physical equipment. Where these are part of a learner’s EHCP they are co-ordinated by the LA — NEO’s role is to make the curriculum and pastoral side work alongside that provision. Where a learner’s physical needs require in-person specialist staffing through the school day, NEO is unlikely to be the right placement and we will say so honestly at referral.