In the Synaptic Trust all pupils are valued, inspired and respected within our happy, welcoming family.

Disability & Special Educational Needs Policy INCLUSION AND SAFEGUARDING STATEMENT: We are committed to creating futures for all in a welcoming and supportive learning environment, in which all pupils feel valued and challenged to be resilient thinkers, active learners with transferable skills and have an appetite for world learning. In the Synaptic Trust all pupils are valued, inspired and respected within our happy, welcoming family. We set high expectations for all our pupils. Practitioners give every pupil the opportunity to experience success in their learning, by providing a relevant and challenging curriculum with an emphasis on personalised learning. All children have unique experiences to share. Across the trust we celebrate this diversity by valuing the contribution of all pupils and providing a learning environment that encourages interdependence. Our trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting welfare of children and expects staff to share this commitment. We recognise that some children will have additional needs at some point in their school life. This may be a learning difficulty, a medical need or a behavioural problem. Aims It is the aim of The Synaptic Trust to ensure that all children attending our schools are given the opportunity to achieve to the best of their ability. We aim to fulfil the entitlement of all children, whatever their needs, to support and enable them to have full access to the curriculum and to participate in the life of the school to the best of their abilities. Definition of Disability & Special Education Needs (DSEN) Children have Special Educational Needs 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 that 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 authority. Children must not be regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because the language their home is different from the language in which they will be taught. New legislation (The Children and Families Act 2014) came into force on 1st September 2014. A new SEN Code of Practice also accompanies this legislation. -

More details about the reforms and the SEN Code of Practice can be found on the Department for Education s website: www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/sen One significant change arising from the reforms is that Statements of Special Educational Needs, for those children with the most complex needs, have now been replaced with a new Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. These plans are being supported by an Education, Health and Care Plan Pathway. You can find further information on this new pathway using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/342440/send_code_of_practi ce_approved_by_parliament_29.07.14.pdf This information is also available by putting the above web address into the browser of a smart phone or tablet. The SEND Local Offer is a resource which is designed to support children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their families. It describes the services and provision that are available both to those families in Croydon that have an Education, Health and Care Plan and those who do not have a plan, but still experience some form of special educational need. The SEND Local Offer includes information about public services across education, health and social care, as well as those provided by the private, voluntary and community sectors. You can find further information on Croydon s local offer by following the link below: http://www.croydon.gov.uk/contents/departments/education/pdf/sen/sen-provision.pdf 2

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) has the responsibility for the following: overseeing the day to day operation of the school's DSEN policy co-ordinating provision for children with additional needs liaising with and advising staff managing DSEN Teaching Assistants and monitoring the programmes they implement identifying children with additional needs and tracking the impact of the interventions and support provided liaising with parents of children with additional needs contributing to the in-service training of staff liaising with external agencies Our Inclusion Manager takes overall responsibility for the operation of this policy and coordinating specific provision for children receiving SEN support. Our Inclusion Manager also contributes to the strategic development of SEN provision. Our Inclusion Manager is Kate Hayward and be contacted via email through the school office. Email address: office@thesouthnorwoodacademy.org.uk The Inclusion Manager is a qualified teacher and is also the Deputy Headteacher. She has achieved the National Award in Special Educational Needs Coordination and is a member of the Senior Leadership Team. There is also a co-senco who is Suzanna Khamis. She is also a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Management The SENCos are members of the Senior Leadership Team of the school and work closely with the Head teachers and the DSEN designated governors to carry out the role. Regular meetings are held with the Head teachers to discuss ongoing practice and the needs of individual children, and where necessary to include the DSEN governor. Termly written reports to the Governing Body are made. Monitoring of the attainment of all pupils is an important element of the role. This is achieved through: the analysis of assessment data in close liaison with the Assessment Co-ordinator regular meetings with all teachers to review pupils progress termly meetings with the class teacher and parents/carers of DSEN pupils to review provision and interventions in place. Individual support plans (Pupil Passports) will be reviewed and updated during these meetings Admission Arrangements Children are admitted to The South Norwood Academy in line with our Admissions Policy. The standard number will not be exceeded except as a consequence of an appeal to the LA. DSEN Specialism It is the responsibility of all teachers to identify and support children within their class who have special educational needs. 3

At The South Norwood Academy there is an Enhanced Leaning Provision (ELP) which caters for children with moderate learning difficulties (MLD). This is a provision which caters for up to 14 children allocated by the LA and the school is named on their EHC plans. The teachers have additional qualifications in working with children with special educational needs. There is a higher ratio of staff to children across the group. Children receive personalised learning and timetables to meet their individual and special educational needs. This can include taught English and maths sessions by the ELP staff, speech and language, occupational therapy and social skills. TEACCH principles underpin the ethos of the learning for these children. Staff also incorporate other proven interventions to meet the children s needs where necessary, such as Attention Autism. The children are very much part of their mainstream classes and are included in learning wherever possible. Every teacher is a teacher of children with special needs. Disability Access The location and age of the school building pose a range of challenges to ensure ease of access for both adults and children with disabilities. We are committed to inclusion and will make all reasonable adjustments to accommodate pupils, staff and families with a range of needs. Our disability access plan is published on our website and updated annually. Allocation of DSEN Resources The South Norwood Academy receives an allocation of delegated funding. Additionally, funds are made available to supplement this allocation based on individual needs. Identification and Assessment Arrangements Concerns that a child may have special educational needs can be raised by a parent, carer, teacher or an external agency. Working in collaboration with parents, key school staff and external services we will undertake further assessments and observations to determine if the child does have DSEN or is falling behind for other reasons. Our Assessment Policy ensures that regular monitoring takes place and is used to identify any children who are failing to make satisfactory progress. This monitoring includes a review of: End of EYFS assessment data Key Stage 1 SATS Individual reading, maths and spelling standardised tests Analysis of teacher assessment data Pupil performance meetings Implementation The SEN Code of Practice [September 2014] is used to plan for the needs of individual children. All pupils at The South Norwood Academy have access to quality first teaching. Children whose overall attainments fall significantly outside the end of year expectations may be identified as having special educational needs. When a child is identified as possibly having DSEN the class teacher, supported by the SENCo, assess the pupil to identify the areas of need or barriers to learning. With parents/carers, school staff will plan appropriate interventions and identify suitable provision that are additional to or different from those provided as part of our usual differentiated curriculum and strategies. The form this takes will depend on the needs of the child at 4

that time. Some will be withdrawn from the class to follow an individual or small group programme, while others are supported within the classroom. The support provided consists of a four-part process indicated below: Assess Plan Do Review This is an ongoing cycle to enable the provision to be refined and revised as the understanding of an individual grows. This cycle enables the identification of those interventions which are the most effective in supporting the pupil to achieve good progress and outcomes. Assess In identifying a child as needing DSEN support the subject teacher, working with the SENCo should carry out a clear analysis of the pupil s needs. This should draw on subject assessments, teacher observations, details of previous progress and attainment, comparisons with peers and national data, as well as the views and experience of parents. The opinion and feelings of the individual and advice from external support services will also be considered. Any parental concerns will be recorded and compared with the school s information and assessment data on how the pupil is progressing. This analysis will require regular review to ensure that support and intervention is matched to need; barriers to learning are clearly identified and being challenged and that the interventions being used are developing and evolving as required. Where external support staffs are already involved their work will help inform the assessment of need. Where they are not involved they may be contacted, if this is felt to be appropriate, following discussion and agreement from parents. Plan When it is decided to provide a pupil with DSEN support, parents will be informed. Planning will involve consultation between the teacher, SENCo and parents to agree the adjustments, interventions and support that are required; the impact on progress, development and or behaviour that is expected and a clear date for review. Parental involvement may be sought, where appropriate, to reinforce or contribute to progress at home. All those working with the pupil, including support staff, will be informed of their individual needs, the support that is being provided, any particular teaching strategies/approaches that are being employed and the outcomes that are being sought. Do The teacher remains responsible for working with the pupil daily. They will retain responsibility even where the interventions may involve group or 1:1 teaching away from the mainstream classes. They will work closely with teaching assistants and relevant specialist staff to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and links with classroom teaching. Support with further assessment of the pupil s strengths and weaknesses, problem solving and advising of the implementation of effective support will be provided by the SENCo. Review Pupil progress is monitored on an ongoing basis. There will be regular meetings with class teachers and the SENCo throughout the year to evaluate the impact and quality of the support and interventions. The SENCo will 5

revise the support and considering pupil progress and development, making any necessary amendments going forward, in consultation with parents and teachers. Pupil Passports All DSEN pupils have an individual support plan (Pupil Passport) which documents their strengths, areas of need/barriers to learning, interventions and provision in place and targets set. Pupils Passports are reviewed termly with parents/carers, the class teacher with the child to monitor the impact of the interventions in place and to alter/adapt provision if necessary. Following the careful monitoring of progress at the reviews it may be considered that advice needs to be sought from an outside agency. The triggers for this are if the child: continues to make little or no progress over a long period continues to work substantially below that expected of children of a similar age continues to have difficulty in developing literacy and maths skills has emotional or behavioural difficulties which substantially and regularly interfere with the child s learning has sensory or physical needs and requires additional specialist equipment has an ongoing communication or interaction difficulty that impedes the development of social relationships and cause substantial barriers to learning Although the needs of the great majority of children can be met within a mainstream setting, in a very small number of cases a request for an education and health care plan (EHC plan) may be made. This is where a pupil has demonstrated significant cause for concern and has long term, complex needs which cannot be met with the provision already identified by the school. A request for an assessment may be made by: the child s parent a person acting on behalf of a school (this should ideally be with the knowledge and agreement of the parent where possible) Education and Health Care Needs Assessment involves consideration by the LA, working co-operatively with parents, school and, as appropriate other agencies, as to whether an assessment of the child s special educational needs is necessary. An EHC needs assessment will not always lead to an EHC plan. The information gathered during an EHC needs assessment may indicate ways in which the school or other provider can meet the child or young person s needs without an EHC plan. Full details of the process for requesting an EHC plan can be found on the Croydon SEND offer web site: http://www.croydon.gov.uk/education/special-educational-needs/sen-education/ Or by contacting the Parent Partnership Service on: 020 86635626 More information on PIP can be found in the found on the following link: http://www.pipcroydon.com/ EHC plans will be reviewed annually. Any additional support offered will continue to be reviewed and modified termly, taking into account the views and contributions of parents, children and external agencies. Arrangements will be made to ensure that parents can attend DSEN reviews. 6

Each class teacher has an inclusion file. This contains all relevant documentation for the children in their class with additional needs and other supporting material. This information passes to the next class teacher with the children. Access to the Curriculum The South Norwood Academy recognises the entitlement of every pupil to a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the needs of the individual. The curriculum and resources are differentiated suitably to allow all pupils access whatever their need and teaching strategies allow for flexible groupings or focus teaching for groups of all abilities. For those children who require additional support through withdrawal from the classroom for specific interventions, care is taken to ensure they still have access to the whole curriculum. All interventions are recorded on the child s Passport and in action plans as part of progress reviews of the whole year group. In exceptional circumstances, if a child is demonstrating behaviour in school that is unsafe to themselves or puts others, including members of staff, at risk then attendance at an activity off-site will be assessed as a Health and Safety risk. As a result of this, it may be requested that a family member accompanies the child and takes responsibility for their behaviour and safety for the duration of the visit. If they demonstrate unsafe behaviour during the visit, then the teacher in charge of the trip will ask the family member to take the child home or back to school early. If a family member cannot accompany the child on the visit, it may be that the child will come to school as usual and work in another class. Inclusion Pupils with DSEN will join in the activities of the school together with pupils who do not have DSEN. They are included in all areas of the curriculum as far as is reasonably possible or appropriate for the individual child's needs. On occasions children may work in small groups with a teacher or Teaching Assistant to follow a set programme. However, children will not be denied access to the curriculum whilst doing this. Regular training and learning opportunities for staff on the subject of DSEN and DSEN teaching are provided in school. Staff members are encouraged to attend voluntary twilight and INSET training to further develop skills and knowledge. MEETING THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS In compliance with revised statutory guidance, arrangements are in place to ensure that any child with a medical condition is able, as far as possible, to participate in all aspects of school life and achieve their academic potential. These arrangements are set out in an Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP). The IHPs will detail the type and nature of support that will be available. The plans will also be: produced through collaboration with parents, children as appropriate, and health professionals; shared with all relevant staff reviewed at least annually or sooner to reflect changing needs and support Where a child with a medical condition also has a disability or SEN the IHP will be closely linked to provision to support accessibility and additional educational needs so that there is a coordinated approach. 7

Staff who have responsibility to support a child with medical needs, including the administration and supervision of medication, will receive appropriate, ongoing training and support so that they are competent and confident about their duties. Evaluation of Success This will be evaluated in the following ways: regular progress reviews with class teachers clear, precise and manageable Individual Support Plans (Passports) evaluated through termly reviews involvement of the child in his/her own learning programme by recording his/her own targets where appropriate involvement of the parents in the child's learning programme by encouraging dialogue via termly review meetings, Home/School contact book and informal discussions at the end of the school day efficient reporting to parents/carers during reviews Complaints It is hoped that the systems in place will enable parents/carers to discuss any issues which are giving them concern before a complaint needs to be made. However, if parents/carers feel issues have not been resolved they should make a formal complaint to the school. The process for this is on the school website. Inset/Training We aim to keep all academy staff up to date with relevant training and developments in teaching practice in relation to the needs of pupils with DSEN. The academy seeks the support of the Local Educational Psychology Service when a need for specialist training is identified. The Senior Leadership Team consider the relevance of specific training carefully and aim to meet the needs of staff dealing with specific DSEN issues. The SENCo attends relevant DSEN courses, Family DSEN meetings and facilitates/signposts relevant DSEN focused external training opportunities for all staff. All Teaching Assistants are offered training opportunities through a range of local agencies working with specific students at the academy. We recognise the need to train all our staff on DSEN issues and we have funding available to support this professional development. The SENCo, with the Senior Leadership Team, ensures that training opportunities are matched to school development priorities and those identified through the use of provision management (see Section 11). External Support and links to support services. The South Norwood Academy continues to build strong working relationships and links with external support services to fully support our DSEN pupils and aid school inclusion. Sharing knowledge and information with our support services is key to the effective and successful DSEN provision within our school. Any one of the support services may raise concerns about a child. This will then be brought to the attention of the SENCo who will then inform the child s parents. The lnclusion Team will meet on a regular basis. At this time, any relevant information regarding pupils with DSEN is discussed and if necessary filtered to teaching staff using a variety of means. This forum provides an opportunity to gather evidence, discuss barriers to learning and a means of offering support to the child. Partnership with Parents/Carers 8

Parents/carers are seen as partners in the educational process who hold unique knowledge and information about their children. The school based stages of assessment utilises parents/carers own distinctive knowledge and skills, and contributes to parents/carers own understanding of how best to help their child. Class teachers and the SENCo are available to meet with parents/carers. Links with other schools The school is a member of The Synaptic Trust in partnership with Forest Academy, Shirley Children s Centre, West Thornton Primary Academy, Woodside and West Thornton Teaching Alliance. This enables the partnership to build a bank of joint resources and to share advice, training and development activities and expertise. We use other local schools wherever possible to share good practice and to pool resources and expertise. We also have a close relationship with a local teaching school to further develop the skills of our staff. The school also supports the transfer process into EYFS and to KS3 by ensuring that good transition plans are in place for the most vulnerable pupils, including those with DSEN. The South Norwood Academy invites and seeks advice and support from external agencies in the identification, assessment and provision of DSEN. The SENCo is responsible for liaising with the following: Education Psychology Service Occupational Therapy Service Hearing Impairment Service CAMHS Children s Medical Services Behaviour Support Service Social Services Speech and Language Service Language and Learning Support Service Specialist Outreach Services Representatives from voluntary organisations and other external agencies are invited to meetings throughout the year to discuss DSEN provision and progress and keep staff up to date with legislation. In cases where a child is under observation or a cause for concern, focused meetings will be arranged with the appropriate agency. Parents will normally be invited to and informed about any meetings held concerning their child unless there are over-riding safeguarding issues. 9

School policies that are also relevant include: Inclusion policy Behaviour policy including exclusion and truancy procedures Anti-bullying policy Admission including information on part time/shared placement Attendance policy Assessment policy Disability Access Plan Gifted and talented policy Pupil Premium policy Physical restraint policy 10