Special Educational Needs Policy Policy Statement January 2016 At Brooklands we aim to give our children an education of the highest standard, aiming for excellence in that we do and for all to fulfil their potential so that they can shine. Legal Framework The definition of Special Educational Needs is legally defined within the Children and Families Act 2014. A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they: a) Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or b) Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions. A child under compulsory school age has special educational needs is they fall within the definition at (a) or (b) above or would do so if special educational provision was not made for them. The Special Educational Needs Coordinator Our Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) is Toni Shepherd. She can be contacted by phone through the school office. Although the SENCO has overall responsibility for SEND children throughout the school, the Assistant Head, Miss Kirsten O Neill, has overall responsibility for Inclusion and line manages the SENCO. Our inclusion team comprises, Miss O Neill, Ms Shepherd (SENCO) and Miss Hodges, Intervention Manager. However, the SENCO is responsible for liaising with and co-ordinating the work of outside agencies as appropriate, including the Educational Psychology Service, Behaviour Support Services, Speech and Language Therapy, Health Services etc. Such outside agencies will have their own responsibilities towards particular children according to need. The named Governor with responsibility for SEN is Rob Blanchard.
Aims We recognise that all children may have special educational needs at some point in their education. We aim to provide teaching methods, resources and learning opportunities that are adapted to meet the needs of all children. We aim to raise the aspirations and expectations of all pupils, including children with special educational needs, supporting them to develop their full potential intellectually, socially, emotionally and physically. We aim to work closely with parents/carers, keeping them informed about their child s learning and encouraging a partnership between home and school. Objectives To work within the guidance provided in the SEND Code of practice 2014 and have due regard to the Equality Act 2010, the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability regulations 2014. To identify the needs of pupils with SEN as early as possible. We monitor the progress of all pupils, to identify needs as they arise and to provide support as early as possible in line with the graduated response outlined in the Code of Practice. To make appropriate provision to overcome any barriers to learning and ensure pupils with SEN have full access to the National Curriculum. To work with parents to gain a better understanding of their child, and involve them in all stages of their child s education. To work with, and in support of, outside agencies where the pupils needs cannot be met by the school alone. To provide support, advice and training to all staff around the needs of children with special educational needs. Identification The school s system for regularly observing, assessing and recording the progress of all children is used to identify children who may have special educational needs. Any pupils who are falling significantly outside of the range of expected academic achievement in line with predicted performance indicators and grade boundaries will be monitored. Alternatively, a parent may approach the class teacher with concerns. Once a pupil has been identified as possibly having special educational needs the child s class teacher will complete a concern form and parents will be consulted. The concern form will be shared with the Assistant Head teacher or SENCO and further measures will be taken to identify the pupil s gaps in, and barriers to, learning, adapting core teaching and/or using a short-term intervention. A review date is set and if the child is deemed to have a special educational need at that time, parents will be informed and the child will be put on the SEN record. There are four broad areas of
need: communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social emotional and mental health, sensory and/or physical needs. The category, or categories, of need, into which the child s SEN has been identified as belonging, are recorded. A Graduated Approach to SEN support Class teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff. High quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN. SEN Support Where a pupil has been put on the SEN register the support provided consists of a four part process: Assess. The pupil s needs are analysed using the class teacher s assessment and experience of working with the child as well as the views and experiences of the parent. The child s views, and where relevant, further assessment and/or observation by the SENCO and advice from external agencies, will also be considered. Plan. The class teacher will devise an Individual Education plan, or Individual Provision Map, which outlines the adjustments, interventions and support to be put in place. This will be done in consultation with the child and parents and a date set for the review. The SENCO will be available to give support when needed. Do. The class teacher remains responsible for working with the child on a daily basis. Where the interventions involve group or one-to-one teaching away from the main class they retain responsibility for the pupil. They will work closely with teaching assistants and/or relevant specialist staff to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and links with classroom teaching. Review. The effectiveness of the support and interventions and their impact on the pupil s progress is reviewed, in line with the agreed date, and the cycle of assess-plan-do-review continues. This cycle of action is intended to identify the best way of securing good progress for the pupil and, where possible, narrow the gap between the pupil and their peers. Parents are encouraged to contribute their insights about their child and outcomes will be shared and support reviewed, at least three times a year. Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan SEN support will be adapted, or replaced, depending on how effective it has been in achieving the agreed outcomes. Where, despite the school having taken relevant action, including consultation with outside agencies, the child has not made the expected progress through SEN support, a referral for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment will be made. It is the Local Authority that makes the decision whether to carry out an assessment or not. Criteria for Exiting from the SEN Record If it is felt a pupil no longer needs to be on the SEN record, because interventions have been successful and their needs can now be met through the expected differentiation and planning, the
pupil will be withdrawn from the SEN record. This would be done after discussion with the parents and SENCO. Transfer and Transition Primary-Primary: When a child with special educational needs transfer to, or from, Brooklands School, staff will endeavour to speak to the transferring school about the pupil s needs. Records will be passed on promptly. Primary-Secondary: The SENCO will liaise with the secondary school to which pupils transfer in order to ensure that the full picture of each child s particular needs are given to the receiving schools. Records are passed on. Supporting Parents and Families The Local authority is required to provide information about services and support for families with children and young people with special educational needs and/or disability (SEND). This can be found at www.derbyshiresendlocaloffer.org. Schools are required to publish a SEN Information report about the implementation of the SEN policy. Brooklands SEN Information Report can be found at www.brooklands.derbyshire.sch.uk/. The SEN Information Report can be found in the special educational needs section through the information tab. Information about admissions can also be found through the information tab and through the Derbyshire County Council Website http://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/education/schools/school_places/primary_admissions/ Supporting Pupils at School with Medical Conditions Pupils at school with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they have full access to education, including school trips and physical education. Some children with medical conditions may be disabled and where this is the case the school will comply with its duties under the Equality Act 2010. Some may also have special educational needs and may have a statement, or EHC plan which brings together health and social care needs, as well as their special educational provision, and the SEND Code of Practice is followed Monitoring and Evaluation of Provision Termly progress meeting between class teachers and their line managers are held to monitor progress of different groups including children with SEN. IEP and other SEN provision is monitored by the SENCO at least three times a year. The views of the pupil and staff are sampled at these times. IEP review meetings give parents an opportunity to give their opinions about provision and these should be recorded by the class teacher on the reviewed IEP. Interventions are evaluated frequently to assess the impact against targets. New interventions take into account previous actions and ensure that the child is making appropriate progress.
Training and Resources All teachers and support staff undertake induction on taking up a post and this includes a meeting with the SENCO to explain the systems and structures in place around the school s SEN Provision and practice and to discuss the needs of individual pupils. The school s SENCO regularly attends network meetings through the Derbyshire Local Authority and through membership of the Transform Teaching Schools Alliance. She also attends the NASEN annual conference. SEN whole school training is provided by the SENCO or outside providers when needed in line with school development priorities. Individual staff can attend training as required in order to support specific needs. The SENCO is a member of the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN). Responsibilities The Deputy Headteacher, Miss O Neill is the Designated Safeguarding Lead The Governing Body determine the school s general policy and have regard to the Code of Practice in all decisions and has responsibility for spending money allocated to schools derived from formula funding to support pupils with special educational needs across the school. The SENCO has day-to-day responsibility for the operation of SEN policy and co-ordination of specific provision made to support individual pupils with SEN, including those who have EHC plans and statements. All class teachers have a responsibility to ensure that the SEN policy is put into practice. Identified teaching assistants will support the aims and practices of this policy. A high level of participation by parents/carers in their children s education is encouraged. Revised: September 2016