Birkbeck Primary School Inclusion Policy June 2017 To be reviewed June 2020
At Birkbeck Primary School, we are committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all of our pupils so they can learn in a relaxed and secure atmosphere. We believe every pupil should be able to participate in all school activities in an enjoyable and safe environment and be protected from harm. This is the responsibility of every adult employed by, or invited to deliver services at, Birkbeck Primary School. We recognise our responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all our pupils by protecting them from physical, sexual or emotional abuse, neglect and bullying. We aim to provide an education, which will meet the needs of every child, providing a learning environment in which all children can achieve their full potential. This will take into account legislation related to SEN and Disabilities in accordance with the revised Code of Practice for SEND 0-25 years (April 2014) Principles of The Revised Code of Practice a) Definition of Special Educational Needs and Disability Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty or disability, which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. Children have a learning difficulty or disability if they: 1. Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children the same age. 2. 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 local educational authority. 3. Are under compulsory school age and fall within the two definitions above or would do so if special educational provision was not made for them. Although there are acknowledged links in some instances with pupils who have English as Additional Language needs, this is a separate area of provision and is, accordingly, addressed in a different policy document. Children with EAL should not be regarded as having SEN, although pupils with EAL may also have SEN. b) The Four Areas of Special Educational Needs Communication and interaction Cognition and learning Social, emotional and mental health difficulties Sensory and/or physical
c) Definition of Special Educational Provision The revised code of practice focuses on meeting these needs in the classroom, and therefore as staff, we must accept that the responsibility for meeting the educational needs of all students in our classroom lies with us: All teachers are teachers of children with special educational needs (SEN Code of Practice page 44) It is important to note that all staff have the responsibility of meeting the needs of each individual in their class to the best of their ability with or without a formal assessment. If there is a concern, this should be raised with the Inclusion Leader following a period of class managed interventions and evidence of a structured, well-differentiated curriculum. Every child in the school is the responsibility of every member of the school community Aims of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Policy All children with Special Needs and disabilities are identified and assessed as early in their school career as possible; Children are offered the appropriate level of intervention to meet their individual needs; Effective planning, provision, and monitoring procedure takes place to ensure continuity and progress; Positive working partnerships between school and parents are established and maintained; Communication between all parties is regular; Children are involved and consulted as much as possible; All relevant parties involved with a child are consulted at all stages and, as appropriate, are involved with assessment, planning, provision and review. The Inclusion Leader Mrs Jaine Ross is our Inclusion Leader and has a job description that details her role and responsibilities. The responsibilities of the Inclusion Leader include: To be a member of the Senior Leadership Team in the school; To plan strategically for the needs of children identified as having special educational needs; Overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school s SEN policy; Co-ordinating provision for children with special educational needs; Liaison with and advising fellow teachers; Deployment and liaison with Teaching Assistants; Monitoring provision and impact of planned interventions through provision mapping;
Monitoring the progress of children with special educational needs; Overseeing the records of all children with special educational needs; Liaison with Parents/Carers of children with special educational needs; Contributing to the in-service training of staff (both Teaching and Non-Teaching); Liaison with external agencies including the LA s support, Early Intervention Teams, Educational Psychology, health and social services, and voluntary bodies; Liaison with Early Years setting SENCos at transition to Birkbeck Primary School and Secondary School SENCos at Transition to Key Stage 3; Co-ordinating provision for children with Additional Needs ie: Gifted and Talented children, children with EAL or specific medical needs. Identification and Assessment The school operates a graduated response to SEND. Any adult involved with a child, including the parent, may raise a concern. The Nature of Intervention A Graduated Response Class Action Through half termly monitoring and discussion between class teachers and the Inclusion Leader, children are identified as Class Action if they are underachieving according to national age related expectations in either literacy, numeracy or both. A planned period of intervention by the class teacher will build on skills and knowledge and will usually be delivered in a small group either with a trained teaching assistant or the class teacher. Interventions are closely monitored by the Inclusion Leader and children who make sufficient progress will no longer need this additional support. Children whose progress continues to be of concern may need to be considered as SEN Support. SEN Support The triggers for intervention through SEN Support will be concern, underpinned by evidence, about a child who despite receiving differentiated learning opportunities: Makes little or no progress even when teaching approaches are targeted particularly in a child s identified area of weakness; Shows signs of difficulty in developing literacy or mathematical skills, which result in poor attainment in some curriculum areas; Presents persistent emotional or behavioural difficulties that are not ameliorated by the behaviour management techniques usually employed in the school; Has sensory or physical problems, and continues to make little or no progress despite the provision of specialist equipment; Has communication and/or interaction difficulties, and continues to make little or no progress despite the provision of a differentiated curriculum.
SEN Support Plus The triggers for SEN Support Plus will be that, despite receiving targeted support under SEN Support, the child: Continues to make little or no progress in specific areas over a long period; Continues working at National Curriculum levels substantially below that expected of a child of a similar age; Continues to have difficulty in developing literacy and/or mathematical skills; Has an emotional or behavioural difficulty that substantially and regularly interferes with the child s own learning or that of the class group, despite having an individualised behaviour management programme; Has sensory or physical needs, and requires additional specialist equipment or regular advice or visits by a specialist service; Has ongoing communication or interaction difficulties that impede the development of social relationships and cause substantial barriers to learning. A request for support from external services is likely to follow a decision taken by the Inclusion Leader and colleagues, in consultation with Parents/carers. At the stage of SEN Support Plus, the child may be discussed at the termly Early Intervention Team (EIT) meeting when a plan of action will be decided upon. External Support services will usually see the child so that they can advise the Inclusion Leader and/or class teachers on specific support, targets and accompanying strategies. They may provide more specialist assessments to inform planning and the measurement of a pupil s progress, give advice on the use of new or specialist strategies or materials and, in some cases provide support for particular activities. Nature of Intervention for SEN Support plus The Inclusion Leader, the class teacher, Parents/Carers and any specialist/outside agencies involved will decide on the action needed to help the child to progress in the light of their assessment. This may include; Different learning materials or tasks set in the classroom; Some group or individual support with a Teaching Assistant working on a programme or tasks set by the class teacher and/or Inclusion Leader; Regular reading support with a Teacher or Teaching Assistant; Extra adult time to devise the nature of the planned intervention and to monitor its effectiveness; Staff development and training to introduce more effective strategies; Programmes designed to improve specific weaknesses, e.g. Jump Ahead; Reading Recovery; Chatterbox materials; Maths interventions including Numicon, Social skills groups; Memory Magic; Lego Therapy Access to LA support services for one-off or occasional advice on strategies or equipment.
Working in partnership with parents At Birkbeck Primary School, we endeavour to work closely with parents. Birkbeck acknowledge and understand that the views and experiences of the Parents/Carers are vital to the collection of information and providing the best support possible for the child. To this end, a close working relationship between home and school is fostered. As soon as a child is identified as having SEN, the Inclusion Leader or Class Teacher will contact the Parents/Carers in order to discuss the best way forward. Parents/Carers will be asked about their child's: Previous medical history Listening and concentration skills General behaviour Possible hearing/speech difficulties Parents/Carers will be asked about their concerns for their child and the School's Policy on the provision for SEN will be explained to them. Provision Maps Interventions planned by the Inclusion Manager and Senior Leaders will be recorded on a Whole School Overview which will be reviewed by the Inclusion Leader and updated half termly. A Provision Map will be maintained for planned interventions and this information will contain Entry and Exit data which will be will be monitored for effectiveness and reviewed half termly or more regularly if deemed appropriate. Provision Maps will be provided to class teachers, who then have the responsibility of advising Parents/Carers of individual interventions; Parent Consultation Meetings will be an opportunity for class teachers to disseminate this information to Parents/Carers. School Request for a Statutory Assessment If a child demonstrates significant cause for concern the school may request a Statutory Assessment. The school will provide the Local Authority with all the relevant information on the child s progress over time and the outcome of any strategies or resources that have been put in place to meet the needs of that child. The school will provide this evidence through SEN Support and SEN Support Plus. This information may include: The views of the parent and the child (if appropriate); Individual Provision Map and Running Records for the child; Records of regular reviews and the outcomes; The pupil s health including the child s medical history where relevant; National Curriculum Level of Attainments in Literacy and Mathematics; Educational and other assessments, for example from an advisory specialist, support teacher or an educational psychologist;
Involvement of other professionals such as health, social services or education welfare service. Statutory Assessment of Special Educational Needs Statutory Assessment involves consideration by the LA, working co-operatively with Parents/Carers, the child s school and, as appropriate, other agencies, to decide whether a Statutory Assessment of the child s special educational needs is necessary. A child will be brought to the LA s attention, as possibly requiring an assessment through a request by the school, from a parent or a referral by another agency. The evidence presented to the LA should suggest that the child s learning difficulties have not responded to relevant and purposeful measures taken by the school and external specialists. If it is decided that the pupil s needs call for special educational provision which cannot reasonably be provided within the resources normally available to mainstream schools, the LA will consider the case for a statutory assessment of the child s special educational needs. The LA may decide that the degree of the pupil s learning difficulty and the nature of the provision necessary to meet the child s special educational needs is such as to require the LA to determine the child s special educational provision through an Education, Health Care Plan. An Education Health Care Plan will include: The pupil s name, address and date of birth; Details of all the pupil s special needs; The Identification of the Special Educational Provision necessary to meet the pupil s special educational needs; Identification of the type and name of the school where the provision is to be made; Any relevant non-educational needs of the child; Information on non-educational provision. All children with an Education Health Care Plan will have targets set at Annual Reviews in consultation with Parents/Carers, (and child if appropriate) which will include either targets identified in the Education Health Care Plan or targets identified in the classroom or other agencies. These targets will be set out in a Provision Map and be implemented, at least in part and as far as possible, in the normal classroom setting. The delivery of the interventions recorded in the Provision Map will continue to be the responsibility of the Class Teacher, although those undertaken outside of the classroom ie Physiotherapy exercises, will be planned by the appropriate outside agency, delivered by a support assistant and monitored by the Inclusion Leader in conjunction with the agency. Annual review of an Education Health Care Plan All Education Health Care Plans must be reviewed at least annually with the Parents/Carers, the pupil, the LA, the school and the professionals involved being invited to consider whether any amendments need to be made to the description of the pupil s needs or to the Special Educational Provision specified in the Statement. The Annual Review should focus on what the child has achieved as well as on any difficulties that need to be resolved.
Having regard for when an Education Health Care Plan was issued, it is good practice for the Educational Psychologist to review the needs of a pupil with an Education Health Care Plan in Year 5, in order that any changes can be considered at the Transition Review. It is also good practice to invite the Case Officer to the Year 5 Transition Review. In all instances of a Year 5 Transition Review, school will invite the LA Case Officer. Occasionally, if a child's targets or areas of difficulty are related to Social, Emotional or Mental Health (SEMH), a Contact Book might be used between home and school on a daily basis to record progress in behaviour. Such a development will always be widely discussed before it is started. The class teacher, Inclusion Leader or Headteacher will monitor any such SEMH Contact Book closely. If at any time Parents/Carers are unhappy with the support their child is receiving, or have any queries regarding their progress, an appointment can be made with the Class Teacher, the Inclusion Manager or the Headteacher. Liaison with other schools If a child with a SEN transfers from another school or Nursery, every effort will be made to liaise with the SENCo of the previous placement to ensure that appropriate support is put in place as soon as possible. In the Summer Term of Year 6, SEN pupils transferring to secondary schools will be discussed formally with the SENCO or Inclusion Leader of the secondary school to which they are transferring. Any official reports will be passed on to the SENCO/Inclusion Leader at that meeting. Allocation of Resources The Inclusion Leader will manage an SEN budget in order that a bank of materials useful to the children can be built up and maintained. All other SEN resourcing, such as staff training, will be carried out within the limitations of the school budget. Monitoring and Evaluating the SEN Policy The Head Teacher s Role The overall monitoring of the effectiveness of the policy will be the responsibility of the Headteacher. SEND Governor A Governor is appointed with special interest in the SEN policy of the school and will observe the implementation of the policy. Matters relating to the policy will be discussed at the Curriculum Committee meetings. The SEN Governor should visit Birkbeck regularly to liaise with the Inclusion Leader, undertake learning walks and to observe how the SEN Policy is implemented in classes. The present named Governor responsible for SEND is Mrs Aishah Safdar.
Training The training of staff in matters relating to the implementation of the Policy will be undertaken as the need arises, with support and guidance from specialists and outside agencies if required. The Inclusion Leader will disseminate any relevant information after attending meetings or courses. The Inclusion Leader is the Teaching Assistant Line Manager and provides support with training sessions for Teaching Assistants so that they are better equipped to support all pupils. Staff/Inclusion Manager Liaison It is seen at Birkbeck as essential that the SEN policy both in formulation and implementation be a whole school responsibility. To this end, the Inclusion Leader may attend Pupil Progress meeting termly to discuss the progress of identified children establish whether the provision we have made is allowing the child to make good progress or needs to be changed. The differentiation of tasks in the classroom is discussed and possible strategies for effective implementation will be decided. It is also an opportunity for Class Teachers to bring to the notice of the Inclusion Leader any child who is causing concern and who may need provision at SEN Support, and therefore be on the Register of SEN. However, teachers do not need to wait for these meetings to raise concerns and can talk to the Inclusion Leader as needs arise day to day. Policy Review This policy was reviewed and updated in 21st June 2017. The next review will be in 2020. Signed: Mrs L Fisher-Pink, Headteacher Date: 21 st June 2017 Signed: Mr D Irwin, Chair of Governors Date: 21 st June 2017