Special Educational Needs Policy
INTRODUCTION
This policy is a statement of the aims, principles and strategies to ensure the effective and efficient provision for the children with Special Educational Needs at Platt CE Primary School. LEA guidelines and DFE Code of Practice have been taken into consideration in the formulation of this policy.
Children have Special Educational Needs (SEN) if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. Children have a learning difficulty if they:
• Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age; or
• Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the LEA
• Are under compulsory school age and fall within either category above or would so do if special educational provision was not made for them.
Special educational provision means for children of two or over, educational provision which is additional to, or otherwise different from, the educational provision made generally for children of their age in schools maintained by the LEA, other than special schools in the area.
(Code of Practice Jan 2002 Chapter 1 1:3)
This document provides a framework for the identification of and provision for children with Special Educational Needs at Platt CE Primary School. It is written for the benefit of all members of the school community, to ensure that all are aware of the principles underlying identification and provision and committed to the agreed strategies.
AIMS
• To identify at the earliest opportunity all children who need special provision to support their learning and educational development.
• To ensure that these children are given appropriate support to access the National Curriculum.
• To ensure that these children are fully included in all aspects of the school.
• To involve parents and pupils in developing a partnership of support.
OBJECTIVES
• To provide a broad, balanced and suitably differentiated curriculum that is relevant to children’s individual needs.
• To show an understanding that supporting difficulties in learning and/or behaviour is part of high quality mainstream education.
• To be aware that any pupil at some time during their education may have special educational needs.
• To promote self worth and enthusiasm by encouraging independent learning at all ages.
• To be aware that every child is entitled to a sense of achievement.
• To identify children who will need extra resources/provision within their school career.
• To work in partnership with the child’s parents and other external agencies to provide for the child’s individual educational needs.
• To regularly monitor, review and assess the needs and suitability of provision for children with special educational needs.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo.) at Platt CE Primary School is Cathy Woodcock. The co-ordinator is responsible for:-
• daily implementation of the SEN Policy
• advising staff on SEN issues
• updating the SEN register on a regular basis
• monitoring records of SEN pupils
• organising and chairing Annual Reviews for statemented children
• liaising with parents and external agencies
• ordering and updating resources
• managing Teaching Assistants.
However, all staff at Platt CE Primary School work towards the aims and objectives of this document by using school procedures for identifying, assessing and making provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs.
The governing body has appointed Mrs Barbara Harris as the governor who takes a particular interest in and monitors the school’s work on behalf of children with special educational needs (Code of Practice Jan 2002 Chapter 1 1:39).
ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS
Our school strives to be a fully inclusive one. All pupils are welcome, including those with special educational needs. Children who meet the admission criteria will be admitted to school provided the appropriate level of facilities is available to meet their individual needs. This special needs policy document will be used in conjunction with other school policies. All children, including those with special needs, will be expected to follow the behaviour policy. Summaries of all the policies are contained in the school brochure and in the staff handbook and are available to parents on request.
IDENTIFICATION, ASSESSMENT AND PROVISION
This follows a graduated approach as required by the Code of Practice.
The January 2002 Code of Practice recognises four broad categories of special educational needs.
• Communication and Interaction
• Cognition and Learning
• Physical and Sensory
• Behavioural, Emotional and Social
Children are referred to the SENCo by the class teacher, the pre-school advisor or the child’s parents. The class teacher will discuss these concerns with the parents. The SENCo will arrange for an assessment of the child’s needs to take place with reference to:-
• Learning
• Physical/sensory
• Behavioural/emotional
The school follows the Kent model of Provision Mapping for Intervention Programmes. The waves of Intervention are as follows:-
Wave I – inclusive quality first teaching for all.
Wave II – additional interventions which offer short-term extra help to accelerate key points of learning. This is provided in small groups targeted and time limited. Entry and exit data are integral to the interventions.
Wave III – offers intensive targeted support when small group intervention fails to work. Pupils requiring this level of support will sometimes have Individual Education Programmes and may also have additional advice from the Cluster Advisory Team/ counselling services.
There is a whole school Provision map, Individual Class Provision maps and Group Intervention Provision sheets. These are regularly monitored with entry and exit data and evaluated.
An Inclusion Register is regularly updated and follows the Code of Practice guidelines using the AEN Kent Templates for School Action, School Action Plus and Statutory Assessment.
Statutory Assessment
In a small number of cases, the LEA will need to make a statutory assessment of a child’s special educational needs and then consider whether to issue a statement. (Code of Practice January 2002 Chapter 7 7:1). Where a request for a statutory assessment is made to the LEA, the pupil will have demonstrated significant cause for concern. The LEA will seek evidence from the school that any action implemented for the pupil has continued for a reasonable period of time without success and that alternatives have been tried. Evidence of external agency involvement will also be required.
The statement will provide details of:-
• The child’s special educational needs
• The arrangements to be made for monitoring progress and setting new objectives
• The provision that the LEA consider necessary to meet the child’s special educational needs.
The statement will be reviewed annually, involving parents, teachers and external agencies reporting on progress made and to amend objectives and provision, if appropriate.
ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES
Resources are allocated for special needs by the finance committee of the governing body. The SENCo, in consultation with the Headteacher, is responsible for the use of these resources and the deployment of the designated support staff.
The governors always use all of the AEN budget allocated by the LEA and can add to this with additional funds from the general school budget.
The allocation of support times to pupils is calculated on the basis of time given per class and the level of need among pupils within classes. Pupils with statements of special educational needs are treated separately according to the level of their needs and the requirements of their statements.
PROVIDING CURRICULUM ACCESS AND INCLUSION
The National Curriculum Inclusion Statement emphasises the importance of providing effective learning opportunities for all pupils and offers three principles for inclusion:-
• Setting suitable learning challenges
• Responding to pupils diverse needs
• Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment
The school strives to be fully inclusive through:-
• Providing a broad and balanced curriculum to all pupils, with the opportunity to join in all the activities of the school
• Using different teaching strategies according to pupils’ needs
• Promoting it’s inclusive ethos
• Having high expectations and setting suitable targets for all children.
PARTNERSHIP WITHIN AND BEYOND THE SCHOOL
Links with Parents
The school will promote a culture of co-operation with parents by:-
• Ensuring all parents are aware of the school’s arrangements for special educational needs
• Informing all parents when a child is placed on the Special Educational Needs Register and offer the opportunity for discussion
• Holding formal consultations between the SENCo., class teacher and parents to discuss the child’s needs and approaches to addressing them
• Holding termly consultations with all parents of children with special educational needs
• Undertaking Annual Reviews for children with statements for special educational needs.
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In this school we encourage pupils to participate in their learning by:-
• Being involved in target setting and identifying teaching and learning strategies that work for them
• Incorporating their views in every aspect of their education
• Encouraging independence.
Links with other schools
Our school will ensure that all transfers between schools are planned, monitored and supported to ensure the successful outcomes for children. We will collaborate with all other support services and agencies involved with the child and with parents and where appropriate make joint planning arrangements.
Working with External Agencies
The school has arrangements for securing access to external support services for pupils with special educational needs. This may include liaison with other schools and other specialist provision. Access to external agencies is usually through an application to the Cluster Based Review (CBR) which meets on a monthly basis.
Staff Development
Staff are given regular opportunities to develop their skills and confidence in working with children with special educational needs. Governors will be informed of school based training and invited to attend. Staff will be involved in developing practices which promote whole school approaches to special educational needs.
The SENCo, class teachers and teaching assistants will have opportunities to attend specific courses which are of interest and have a particular bearing on the children they are supporting.
EVALUATING SUCCESS
The success of the school’s Special Educational Needs Policy and Provision is evaluated through:-
• Monitoring of classroom practice by SENCo., Headteacher and subject co-ordinators
• Analysis of pupil tracking data and test results for groups of and individual children
• Value added data for pupils on the Special Educational Needs Register
• School self-evaluation
• The School Improvement Plan.
COMPLAINTS
Any complaints regarding the Special Educational Needs Policy or the provision made for children with special educational needs should be addressed in the first instance to the class teacher. If parents need further advice, they are welcome to arrange a meeting with the SENCo. If they feel their child’s needs are still not being met they should make an appointment to see the Headteacher. If, however, parents are still concerned they may contact the Special Educational Needs Governor and/or the Partnership with Parents Service who may allocate an individual parent supporter or refer to the mediation service. The school will inform parents of these services.