SEN Policy

SEN Policy.docx Page 2 of 10

Millfields Primary School and Nursery

POLICY STATEMENT

ON SPECIAL

EDUCATIONAL NEEDS


It has always been the policy of Millfields Primary School & Nursery to cater for the needs of all children. The school provides an inclusive, broad and balanced curriculum for all children, including those with special educational needs. The National Curriculum is our starting point for planning that meets with specific needs of individuals and groups of children. When planning, teachers set differentiated learning challenges and respond to children’s diverse learning needs. There may be a minority of children with particular learning and assessment requirements that could create barriers to learning and progress. These requirements are likely to arise as a consequence of a child having special educational needs. Teachers take account of these requirements and make provision, where necessary, to support individuals or groups of children and thus enable them to participate effectively in curriculum and assessment activities. Children may have special education needs either throughout, or at any time during their school career. This policy ensures that curriculum planning and assessment for children with special educational needs takes account of the learning needs of the child. At Millfields Primary School and Nursery we also believe that more able, gifted children have special educational needs and we strive to ensure the needs of these children are provided for. PURPOSE

1. To provide an approach to S.E.N. which clearly focuses on identification and strategies for dealing with those S.E.N. in our school.

2. To provide support, counselling and sympathy and to re-‐assure parents that the

school has their child's interest and welfare at heart.

3. To ensure that:

• There is identification and monitoring of a child's needs at the earliest possible stage.

• All procedures for identifying S.E.N. are known by all staff. • Parental involvement is provided for and encouraged at an early stage. • Adequate records, which are clear, factual, up to date and reliable, follow the

child through the school. • There is equal access to the curriculum and equal opportunities for all children

with S.E.N. • The needs of all S.E.N. children are catered for and that they are given positive

image. • Parents and Governors are aware of our school policy.

A Special Educational Need is defined as:


a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age experience; and/or a disability which either prevents or hinders a child from making use of educational facilities of a kind provided for children of the same age, in schools within the area of the LA.

S.E.N. INVOLVEMENT AT MILLFIELDS SCHOOL There are many people who may become involved in providing appropriate help and guidance for children with special educational needs in our school, depending upon the type and degree of support that is required. Mr Ross The head teacher has responsibility for the day-‐to-‐day management of all aspects of the school's work, including provision for children with special educational needs. He will keep the governing body fully informed. At the same time, the headteacher will work closely with the school's Inclusion Leader. Miss Robinson: Inclusion Leader Responsible for: • the on-‐going operation of the school's S.E.N. policy; • providing support and guidance for staff teaching and non-‐teaching; • maintaining the learning Support Register; • collating and dispatching information where appropriate; • liasing with external agencies; • meeting parents; • ensuring appropriate materials/resources are available; • organising regular review meetings to evaluate/monitor progress of the • children on the learning Support Register; • writing reviews or reports on children on the learning Support Register; • informing the Headteacher of problems/progress. Mrs. N. Booth S.E.N. Governor. A member of the Governing Body who assists and supports the work of the S.E.N.C.O., and promotes awareness of issues regarding S.E.N. among colleagues. Parents: There may be times when parents could be asked to help their child complete simple tasks at home. We aim to build a working partnership between school and home where appropriate, in order to provide necessary and specific learning experiences and continuity. Where this is appropriate, a meeting would be arranged with the class teacher and/or S.E.N.C.O. to discuss how parents could help with their child's S.E.N.


programme at home. Parents will also be invited to attend review meetings where appropriate. Staff: All teachers are committed to monitoring and evaluating all children's progress in school. Both teaching and non-‐teaching staff will be aware of, and have a responsibility towards, children with special educational needs. When members of staff are concerned about children’s progress, they will automatically follow the procedures set down in this document. Teachers are responsible for writing the Individual Educational Programmes (I.E.P.'s) of the children in their classes, where appropriate IDENTIFICATION, ASSESSMENT AND PROVISION: Provision for children with special educational needs is a matter for the whole school. All teachers are teachers of children with special educational needs and teaching such children is, therefore, a whole school responsibility. Strategies used in school to encourage good behaviour The following strategies may be put into practice: • Incentive awards. • Child/teacher agreement. • Good models of behaviour with a positive reaction. • Praise of peers. • Encourage awareness of acceptable behaviour. • Child to be involved in making sets of rules (of which he/she has ownership). • Team Spirit -‐ pride in their school/peer/class group. • Good behaviour as part of a group. • Monitored behaviour within classroom with Head/Deputy Head/Parental

involvement. • The children should have a secure framework and we should have clear expectations

as expressed via the school or class 'rules'. • Where home problems have affected behaviour/development (e.g. divorce, death,

behaviour problems, parental anxieties at home) counselling skills could be required and potential involvement of outside agencies.

The School Behaviour Policy and Bullying Policy contains more detail. At the heart of each class is a continuous cycle of assessment and planning which takes account of the wide range of abilities, aptitudes and interests of the children. The majority of children will learn and progress within these arrangements, but those children whose attainment falls significantly outside the expected range may have special educational needs.


Early identification is vital and the school uses a graduated response to children’s special educational needs as outlined in the Code of Practice. The class teacher makes an initial identification and informs the Inclusion Leader and parents at the earliest opportunity to share concerns and enlist their active support and participation. The class teacher collates evidence (work samples, Teaching Assistant (TA) reports, test results etc) and if lack of progress is evident, record their concerns to be shared with the Inclusion Leader. The Inclusion Leader, together with the class teacher discuss whether it is appropriate to place the child on the SEN register and at which level of provision:

• School Action Parents will be asked to sign a ‘Parental Approval’ form. The Inclusion Leader will take the lead in coordinating additional or different provision within school to enable the child to learn more effectively. The Inclusion Leader will work closely with the parents, teacher and child to produce an Individual Education Plan (IEP), outlining specific, measurable targets and strategies to meet them. The child’s progress will be carefully monitored and IEPs will be reviewed termly.

• School Action Plus For those children whose progress continues to cause concern, the school may request support and advice from external agencies (e.g. Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapist). Advice on new targets and fresh strategies will be implemented by the class teacher based on the advice they receive from external agencies.

• Statutory Assessment Where a request for a statutory assessment is made by the school to the LA, the child will have demonstrated significant cause for concern. The LA will need information about the child’s progress over time and will also need documentation in relation to the child’s special educational needs and any action taken to deal with those needs, including any resources or special arrangements put in place. The school will provide this evidence through School Action and School Action Plus. This information will include

• Individual Educational Plans for the pupil; • Records of regular reviews and their outcomes; • The pupil’s health including the child’s medical history where relevant; • National Curriculum levels – assessed at ‘P’ levels if necessary; • Educational and other assessments, advice from an external agency must be

present, preferably from an educational psychologist; • Views of the parents of the child; • Involvement of other professionals such as health, social services or education

welfare service.


Statutory assessment involves consideration by the LA, working cooperatively with parents, the school and other agencies, as to whether a statutory assessment of the child’s special educational needs is necessary. A statement of educational needs will include:

• The pupil’s name, address and date of birth; • Details of all of the pupils special needs; • The special educational provision necessary to meet the pupil’s needs; • The type and name of the school where the provision is to be made; • Relevant non-‐educational needs of the child; • Information on non-‐educational provision.

All children with statements of special educational needs will have short-‐term targets set for them, which will be set out in an IEP and will be implemented, as far as possible, in the normal classroom setting. The delivery of the interventions will be the responsibility of the class teacher. If additional teaching hours are awarded through the statement then the support teacher will also be actively involved in devising and implementing an appropriate IEP. All statements must be reviewed annually with parents, the pupil, the LEA, the school and professionals will be invited to consider whether any amendments need to be made to the description of the pupil’s needs. MONITORING AND EVALUATION: The Inclusion Leader monitors the movement of children within the SEN system in school and the differentiation of work by class teachers for children with special educational needs. The Inclusion Leader is involved in supporting teachers involved in drawing up IEPs for children and reviews the work of the school in this area. The Inclusion Leader liaises with support staff, who work with children who have special educational needs, in order to monitor pupil progress. The Inclusion Leader meets with the SEN Governor to evaluate pupil progress and discuss any SEN issues that may arise. The Inclusion Leader liaises with staff at the end of each academic year to ascertain which pupils are not making expected progress. RESOURCES: The Headteacher and Inclusion Leader are responsible for the operational management of the specified and agreed resourcing for special needs provision within the school,


including the provision for children with IPF and statements of special educational needs. The Headteacher informs the Governing Body of how the funding allocated to support special educational needs has been employed. The Headteacher and the Inclusion Leader confer with other staff to determine the level of SEN budgetary resources, including funding directly related to statements. The school provides for:

• Additional learning support • Non-‐contact time for Inclusion Leader • Inclusion Leader responsibility points • Material resources • Assessments by the specialist teaching service • Courses for staff

INVOLVEMENT OF EXTERNAL AGENCIES Support is available to us from many different agencies offering help and advice when it is considered necessary to involve specialists from outside the school. These include: 1. I.S.I.S. (formerly Learning Support Services) 2. Social Services. 3. Education Welfare Service. 4. Educational Psychology Service. 5. Family Counselling Service. 6. The School Medical Service. 7. Play Therapists. 8. Speech Therapists. EQUIPMENT All classrooms have access to equipment useful for SEN. Specially required equipment can be ordered if financially viable. Computer programmes are available to aid SEN work and add an extra dimension to learning. Computer software, recently updated, will also assist SEN administration and record keeping. ACCESS TO THE CURRICULUM: All pupils have an equal access to a broad and balanced curriculum, which is differentiated to enable children to understand the relevance and purpose of learning


activities, experience levels of understanding and rates of progress that bring feelings of success and achievement. Teachers use a range of strategies to meet children’s special educational needs. Lessons have clear learning objectives and success criteria, are differentiated appropriately and assessed to inform the next stage of learning. IEPs, which employ a small-‐steps approach, feature significantly in the provision that we make in the school. By breaking down existing levels of attainment into finely graded steps and targets we ensure that children experience success. All children on the SEN Register have an IEP or IBP. At Millfields we support children in a manner that acknowledges their entitlement to share the same learning experiences that their peers enjoy. In order to maximise the learning of pupils with special educational needs, we may ask children to work in small groups, or on a one-‐to-‐one basis, outside the classroom with TAs. PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS: At all stages of the special needs process, the school keeps parents fully informed and involved. We have regular meetings to share the progress of the children with parents and take account of their wishes, feelings and knowledge at all stages. We encourage parents to make an active contribution to their child’s education. PARTNERSHIP WITH PUPILS: Whenever appropriate, from an early age, children are encouraged to be actively involved in setting targets for their IEPs and reviewing their performance. STAFF TRAINING AND INVOLVEMENT Active participation of all staff is necessary for the school policy to be successful. Staff will have the opportunity to discuss children with the Educational Psychologist or other agencies. Staff meetings and surgeries, led by the Inclusion Leader are held to discuss individual children -‐ to give support in dealing with concerns, and with planning strategies to meet aims and objectives. The Inclusion Leader will report back on courses, and play a leading part in new initiatives. The Inclusion Leader will also advise the Head and Special Needs Governor on the current SEN situation within the school and upon areas needing development


TRANSFER As children on the Special Needs Register transfer to K.S.3 or to other primary schools, all documentation and information gathered on a child, using graduated response forms-‐ (forms for identification and evaluation purposes), are automatically transferred along with the child. Therefore, on admission, the problems of any child who has been placed on a Learning Support Register will have been brought to the attention of the staff of their next educational establishment. REVIEW The school considers the SEN policy document to be important and, in conjunction with the Governing body, undertakes a thorough review of both policy and practice each year. The outcomes of this review are used to inform the School Development Plan.


AMENDMENT SHEET FOR ALL POLICY STATEMENTS

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS POLICY

DATE POLICY RATIFIED: SUMMER 2011 DATE POLICY LAST REWRITTEN: SUMMER 2011

Review Date Page Line Amendment

June 2011 Policy updated by A Robinson

July 2011 Policy ratified by Full Governing Body

Documents

SEN Policy