St Anne s Catholic Primary School Streetly Local Offer

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1 St Anne s Catholic Primary School Streetly Local Offer School Mission Statement Our Mission at St. Anne s is to provide a loving, caring atmosphere enabling each child to develop intellectually, socially and spiritually. As a Catholic school the foundation of all we do is based upon Christ and His Gospel values of Love Peace and Justice. We will strive to ensure that the members of our community are happy and fulfilled in their lives at school. Meeting the needs of all our children St Anne s provides for a range of Special Educational Needs within the school and classes. The school has achieved the Dyslexia quality mark. Staff have worked with children with complex needs such as communication and language difficulties. They have experience in supporting children with a range of difficulties such as Down s Syndrome and Williams Syndrome. The staff have training and awareness of health issues including asthma, diabetes, eczema and allergies. A Partnership Approach St Anne s works with external agencies to help to identify specific needs. These include: Speech and Language therapy School Nurse Occupational therapy Specialist advisory teacher Emotional and behavioural teams Educational Psychologist Educational and Welfare Officer Outreach Teams Appropriate and effective teaching and learning The school will provide good teaching for all children and extra support when needed. St Anne s uses a range of strategies to monitor the progress of the children to ensure that good teaching is in place. This is done through:- Tracking children s progress and holding teachers to account through termly progress meetings. Half termly monitoring of pupils books and individually set targets by the teachers. Classroom observations of teaching and learning walks around the school to monitor the learning environment.

2 Teaching and support staff will be able to accurately assess the level children are working at and differentiate the curriculum. A range of criteria and evidence is used to help identify the level that the children are working at. These might include: Checking the words children can read and spell /write independently. Moderation by the staff of writing levels. Observations, in particular of speaking, listening and social interaction with peers. Use of formal /informal tests where appropriate. Teachers plan work weekly for all children to make progress. The work and support will be different for different groups of children. We strive for all children to be independent learners. For those children who have additional needs they will be supported through; Quality First teaching Interventions One to one group support Learning mentor Adapted tasks and resources Nurture groups that promote a positive image Christian Catholic ethos of the school All school staff will receive appropriate training so they have the knowledge and confidence to support children s needs. The training may be provided by expertise already within the staff (i.e. the school SENco or Learning Mentor). Outside agencies may attend staff meetings for training in such things as use of epi-pen, asthma inhalers. Staff may attend external training provided by the Local Authority or other specialist agencies e.g. Speech and Language team. Getting Help for your child St Anne s Special Educational Needs co-ordinator is: Mrs Robinson. If you have a concern about your child you should, in the first instance, speak to your child s class teacher. The school hold termly meetings with parents (more often in Nursery and Reception class) to discuss your child s progress. The school operates an open door policy and appointments outside of the termly meetings with the class teacher can be made via the school office. Teachers are also contactable by (please visit school web site) for non urgent matters. Mrs Robinson makes herself available to parents / carers as far as practicable. An appointment can be made via the school office on

3 If school thinks your child needs extra support we will talk to you about this. The SENco, Mrs Robinson, will make sure that all necessary school staff are aware of your child s needs. If you child has been identified with extra educational needs an Individual Target Plan will be written and shared with parent / carer and the child. If your child has emotional or behavioural needs only on Individual Behaviour Plan will b written and shared with parents / carers and the child. If your child has medical needs a plan will be written and shared with parents / carers and child. All staff will have access to these plans in the classrooms. This information will also be shared with supply teachers. All plans will be reviewed regularly. The Role of the Governing Body The school will work in partnership with parents /carers to identify the needs of their child and put in place the correct support including family support if needed. The Governing Body has a duty of care to ensure that the school adheres to the new Code of Practice under the Children s and Families Act This means that the school Governors hold the Headteacher and SENco, Mrs Robinson, to account. The Governing Body appoints a governor who is specifically responsible for SEN to ensure that the school and SENco carry out their duties. The governor is Mrs Patricia O Kane. One of the key responsibilities of the Governing Body is to ensure that the school policy for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is published on the school website. This information is reviewed annually y the Governing Body. The Governing Body also has a responsibility to ensure that all appropriate safe guarding procedures are in place for all pupils including those with SEND. The Governing Body, through Mrs Robinson the SENco, ensures that other appropriate agencies are involved in meeting the needs of pupils with SEND. Mrs O Kane meets regularly with Mrs Robinson and reports are made to the Governing Body at their termly meetings. Working in partnership with parent s / carers When another qualified professional is called in to work with any child with additional needs, permission is sought from the parent / carer. All meetings and reports are confidential. The school is happy to give contact details for organisations who can give advice and support to any child and parent. Please speak to Mrs Robinson if contact details are needed. The school will involve parents / carers in all decisions regarding their child. The views of parents / carers will be listened to. The school will try to involve the child in decisions about their learning. The school will work in partnership with parents / carers to identify the needs of their child and put in place the correct support including family support if needed.

4 Pupil s progress will be reviewed regularly and parents / carers will be invited into school to discuss the outcomes and share their views. The pupil s views will also be listened to. If a child has an Individual Target Plan and moves to another school, the SENco of both schools will make sure that information is shared. If a child is at Nursery School and is about to start Reception at St Anne s the SENco will liaise to find out as much information as possible about the child s needs. There will be a home visit and a profile will be completed around the child s interests, likes and dislikes. When a child moves from Year 6 to Secondary School, Mrs Robinson will ensure all information regards the child s SEND are passed to the new SENco. Extra visits to the new school and a transition review meeting will be arranged between the schools. To view Walsall Local Authority local offer please go to:

5 Children s Services SEND Reforms in the Children & Families Bill from September 2014 Frequently asked Questions The Children & Families Bill 2013 aims to: Improve outcomes for all vulnerable children/young people and their families; develop joint multi-agency responsibility and working; give parents/carers more choice and control and ensure flexible local approached to identifying and meeting needs. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the new changes. Single Assessment What is a single assessment? If you or someone you are working with feel that your child/young person (aged 0-25 years) needs extra support, because of Special Educational Needs (SEN), disabilities or other complex health and social care needs, you can apply for a single assessment. A single assessment brings together professionals from health, education and social care services who will work in partnership with you and your child/young person to listen, understand and plan support to enable your child/young person to achieve what they want from life. If a single assessment is agreed for my child/young person what will happen? A professional will be identified to be your Plan Co-ordinator. They will be the person who keeps you updated on the progress of your application, or who you can contact if you have any questions throughout the process. A team (from Education, Health and Social Care Services) will work in partnership with you and your child/young person. They will gather information by listening, bringing together information from previous assessments and if needed, arranging new assessments. When all the information is gathered, everyone who has been involved in the assessment stage will agree with you the support needed for your child/young person to achieve what they want from life. This will be recorded in your child s Educational, Health and Care Plan.

6 Education, Health and Care Plan What is an Education, Health and The EHCP will replace current statements of SEN and will Care Plan? describe what outcomes we all want for your child/young person, what support is needed to achieve these outcomes, who will provide the support and when the support will happen. EHCPs will continue into further education and training, and for some young people up to the age of 25. Will all children with a need for extra support require an EHCP? Will there be help for children without an EHCP? What is SEN Support? Who owns the EHCP? Will families hold a copy of the EHCP? How often will the plan be reviewed, and who will review? Will the criteria for EHCP be different to the statement? What will happen to children/young people that currently have a statement? How can we ensure that all agencies engage effectively in the planning and delivery of EHCP? No, an EHCP will only be issued when the panel of professionals working with your child consider that your child s special educational needs cannot be reasonably provided for with resources normally available through the service/school local offer. Some children may have a Provision Plan which will identify additional support needed. Under the Children and Families Bill and the Code of Practice, School Action and School Action Plus will be replaced with SEN Support which will provide support for children without an EHCP. SEN Support will be the support available in school (including pre-school, nurseries and Children s Centres) for children and young people who have special educational needs but do not have Education, Health & Care Plan. Additional SEN Support is support to meet a pupil s needs so that they can meet their individual goals. The EHCP is owned by the child/young person, parent/carer and all professionals involved in the plan. The outcomes and actions are jointly owned by all contributors to it across all agencies. The Plan Co-ordinator is the family s single point of contact and helps to co-ordinate the delivery of the plan. Yes families will have a hand-held copy. The EHCP plan must be reviewed on an annual basis but parts of the plan may need to be reviewed more regularly, for instance if the child s or family s circumstances change. At the annual review new outcomes will be identified in line with progress and development. The Plan Co-ordinator will arrange reviews of the plan. Yes criteria will be reviewed in line with National Guidance. There will be a conversion of existing statements to EHCP over a 3 year period The Children and Families Bill will place a duty on Education, Health and Social Care to deliver the relevant elements of the EHCP 2

7 Education, Health and Care Plan cont... Would this mean more in-depth Parent/Carers are central to the process. The assessment meetings which are lengthy, at and plan will be family led and the plan will be a joint one inconvenient times and places, between the family and the appropriate agencies. There and are professional led, with a should be no meetings where the family feels they have been parent being dictated to. dictated to by practitioners. There may be times when there has to be negotiation and ways forward agreed but there will be a real demonstration of parent carers and agencies working together as partners to identify and provide the support required. How do I get an EHCP? Who will sit on the decision panel? What is the difference between a Statutory Assessment and the new Single Plan Assessment? What is the legal status of the Education, Health and Care Plan? What will happen to my child s EHCP if I move to another authority? My child has a Core Assessment, will he need both this and an EHCP? With the current Code of Practice the child has IEPs and an Annual Review will this continue? Where would the annual review take place? Where will the information for the EHCP be held? My child goes to different hospitals for treatment, I have concerns on the Health aspect of the plan as there may not be consistency. Who will co-ordinate my plan? You would complete an application form for an EHCP single assessment or a professional can do this on your behalf with your consent. The application form asks for information about your child/young person, including details of services they are already working with, their strengths, their needs and reasons for applying. Representatives from Education, Health & Social Care (including Headteachers, SENCo s and Specialist Services) The new EHCP is more person centred and reflects whole life planning (0-25 years). There will be more information on what is important to the child and family. Parents, children/young people will have a greater involvement in decision making. Families will only need to tell their story once. The Education, Health and Care Plan will have the same legal status as a statement of SEN. The plan will go with the child and will be reviewed by the authority in which the child moves to. No if an EHCP is needed this will include the Core Assessment, however there will be children involved with Social Care who will not have an EHCP. The new draft Code of Practice is not yet final, but we do know that an EHCP will be reviewed at least annually and more frequently if required. IEP s may change as review how we will monitor progress It would be arranged in the most appropriate place for you and your child Parents and all those involved in drawing up the plan will have a copy. It will be held electronically be the Local Authority. The Plan Co-ordinator will gather all information from all health professionals. A Plan Co-ordinator will be appointed on receipt of the application for an EHCP 3

8 What is a personal budget? What services are included in the personal budget? How will personal budgets be funded? How will personal budgets be calculated and agreed? How will personal budgets be managed? What is the Local Offer? How will the Local Offer be managed? What are the statutory requirements for schools to publish their Local Offer? Personal Budgets If a personal budget is agreed, it will provide flexibility about what and how a child s needs are met. A personal budget can be used to pay for a range of care and support as well as equipment. The personal budget will be provided to meet the outcomes in the agreed support plan and the funds must only be spent for this purpose. Personal budgets are funded using the money that the Council and NHS use to pay for services now. There is not any new money We are currently looking at the way in which personal budgets will be calculated. We are developing a resource allocation system this identifies an indicative budget value for a child according to their needs and age. A personal budget can be used either to ask the council to arrange services; it can be made as a direct payment or managed by an approved third party. If a direct payment is chosen this can be a one off or paid monthly. You will discuss this with the Plan Co-ordinator who will be working with you on your child s EHCP. Local Offer It is a requirement for the local authority to publish information about what services and provision it expects will be available for children and young people with SEN aged 0-25 years. The Local Offer must include information about Education, health and care provision for children and young people with SEND, arrangements for identifying and assessing children and young people s SEN, other provision, training provision, arrangements for travel to and from schools, support to help children and young people in moving between phases of education and to prepare for adulthood. It will include sources of information, advice and support in the local authority s area relating to SEN. All services will have a Local Offer. Keeping the Local Offer up to date will be a partnership effort with various agencies and organisations being tasked to keep their information pages accurate and up to date. Schools are required to publish their arrangements for special educational provision. This includes:- maintained schools, including provision made available in any separate unit academies, including provision made available in any separate unit non-maintained special schools. 4

9 If I live in Walsall but my child attends another authority school, how would the authority monitor the local offer of another authority school? Housing how does this fit into the Local Offer? Will the local offer include information on what advice is available for parents to get their needs met and how can you access help? How would disagreements be handled If my child does not have a statement and does not need a EHCP what/how/who will enforce schools to give children the right type of education to allow our children to flourish as individuals. What does the Act mean for the health services? I feel that schools can t be bothered if they have a challenging child, what will the reforms do about this? Local Offer cont... The authority where the school is based will monitor the school local offer. We will be talking to Housing to ask what their Local Offer is. All services need to provide us with their Local Offer including Benefits, Housing and Finance. Yes social care will assess family needs if this is appropriate and their Local Offer will explain this. Other Questions It is always best to talk about disagreements at the earliest possible stage, involving parents, school based staff and other relevant professionals. Parents can contact the Parent Partnership Service, which is an impartial service with a role to help all parties to communicate and explore options when there are disagreements. Parents with an EHCP may also choose to use the independent mediation service. Complaints procedures for schools and all agencies can be used. An Escalation and Resolution panel will be set up to look at dispute issues and make decisions. Each school and service will develop their Local Offer which will set out the services which are available in that area and who is accountable for what. This will include what schools are required to do. The governing body at a school has a responsibility to make sure that the needs of all pupils are met. The Children and Families Act places duties on the health service in relation to children and young people with SEN. The health service means the responsible commissioning body, which will normally be the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) but for children and young people with certain health conditions this may be NHS England. The health service must engage with the Local Authority to create joint commissioning arrangements for the health and social care provision required by children and young people identified as having SEN and they must cooperate with the Local Authority in the creation of Education, Health and Care Plans. All schools will have their own Local Offer and this will include what they do about challenges. The Team around the School will address these issues. All schools in an area will meet with all services to discuss and agree support for any challenges they have. The authority will continue to monitor how the new systems are working. 5

10 Other Questions cont... How do the reforms apply to Academies? The same law applies to Academies, free schools etc., for Special Educational Needs pupils. If your question is not included in the above please contact us at:- or contact:- Parent Partnership Service on