NORTH BRIDGE HOUSE NURSERY SCHOOl. Special Educational Needs Policy

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1 NORTH BRIDGE HOUSE NURSERY SCHOOl Special Educational Needs Policy Last updated date January 2016 Updated by Marilena Kitsaki Next update due January 2017

2 North Bridge House POLICY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS 1. Introduction This document is a statement of the aims, principles and strategies for the identification and management of children with special educational needs at North Bridge House. It is intended to provide a consistent framework and to ensure that all children have their needs met, allowing them to work towards their full potential. It should be read in conjunction with the school s policies for teaching and learning as together these forms a statement of the principles underpinning all the work of the school. North Bridge House is a caring school where attention is paid to the planning of the curriculum, both to extend the most able and to support the individual needs of pupils with identified learning difficulties within the mainstream setting. Admission of a pupil with special educational needs (SEN) is at the discretion of the head teacher and may be reviewed termly. Should there be any Special Educational Needs and subsequent support required for a child applying to the nursery, the Head teacher will meet with the parents and child, together with the SENCo to discuss the requirements and see if we are able to provide adequate support. 2. Principles At North Bridge House we promote the principles of the Code of Practice September 2014 which emphasise the following: Participation of children and their parents (Chapter 5.2) Early identification and early intervention (Chapter 2 & 3) Collaboration between education, health and social care services (Chapter 5.3) High quality provision to meet the needs of children with SEND (Chapter 6) Focus on inclusive practice and removing barriers (Chapter 6) Preparation for successful adulthood (Chapter 7) We are committed to providing equal access for all children to the broad and balanced curriculum to which they are entitled. We welcome children with special educational needs as part of our community. We recognise that we must consider the individual needs of all children when planning our curriculum and we aim to provide a curriculum which is accessible to the individual needs of our children. This document includes all Key Stages in the Nursery school.

3 To achieve this commitment: a) We aim to employ the best practice when devising support for SEND. b) We recognise a continuum of special needs: any child may experience a special need at any stage of their education. Our aim is to raise the expectations and achievements of all children. c) Early intervention: We recognise the importance of early identification and assessment of children with special educational needs. We aim to address special needs as soon as concerns are raised so that learning experiences are appropriate to children s current needs and future difficulties are minimised. We seek to develop practices and procedures that are designed to ensure that all children s special educational needs are identified and assessed with the curriculum being differentiated to meet their needs. We recognise that good practice can help prevent some special educational needs arising at all, and can minimise others. d) We recognise that responsibility for SEND is a whole-school issue and lies collectively with all staff, supported by the SENCo and the Senior Management Team. We aim to equip all staff to effectively meet a wide range of children s needs. Lessons provide differentiated activities to meet these needs. e) All children have a right to a broad, balanced and relevant education. We believe that SEND should be addressed by using a variety of groupings, settings and differentiation strategies to ensure full curricular access for all children. f) We believe in the involvement of the child and the importance of taking their views into account. They should be actively encouraged to participate in discussing the purpose of learning tasks, in personal target-setting and in evaluating their outcomes. Our SEND provision aims to actively involve children in this process in light of their age and understanding. g) We recognise that parents and carers have a vital role to play in supporting their children s education. We aim to work in close partnership with parents and carers, valuing their opinions and contributions, and to support them in their child s learning and development. We will fully inform them about SEND provision for their child(ren), and take their views into account in respect of their children s needs. h) Wherever possible, we intend to work in partnership with other agencies (e.g. health professionals) and with parents and carers, sharing information and assessment reports and taking prompt action to implement recommendations.

4 Aims The aims of our Special Educational Needs provision at North Bridge House are: to recognise that some children have difficulties which call for special educational provision; to apply a whole school policy to meet each pupil s individual needs following the guidelines of The Code of Practice for SEN (DfES 2001) and the Equality Act 2010; to give every child with SEND the best possible access to our broad and balanced school curriculum; to acknowledge the role parents and carers have in their child s learning; to continue to develop staff training; to make clear the expectations of everyone involved in the process; and to enable all children to have access to all elements of the school curriculum. For the purposes of this policy, the following definitions are useful: 3. Definitions Definition of Inclusion Inclusion is about the beliefs and attitudes we hold and the way we think about people. These beliefs and thoughts lead us to behave in particular ways and influence our practice and how we set up provision for children. We need to consider beliefs, thoughts and practises to ensure the participation and belonging of all children and families. Definition of SEND [SEND Code of Practice, 2014] A child has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A child has a learning difficulty if they: a) Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children the same age, or b) Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the LEA. c) Are under compulsory school age and fall within the definition at (a) or (b) above or would do if special educational provision was not made for that child. Children must not be regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because the language or medium of communication of the home is different from the language in which they will be taught. SEND can be categorised into:

5 Cognition and Learning Communication and Interaction Skills Sensory and/or Physical Needs Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties Definition of Disability [Disability Discrimination Act, 1995, Section 1(1)] A person (P) has a disability if (a) P has a physical or mental impairment, and (b) The impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on P s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Equality Act 2010 Chp. 1 para 6. Definition of Individual Education Plan (IEP) All children will often receive an IEP. The IEP is the structured planning documentation of the differentiated steps and teaching requirements needed to help the child achieve identified targets. The IEP should be additional support at the same time in their education. Where their needs occur, we follow the SEND Code of Practice and introduce a graduated response; this will usually result in an IEP being written for that child. The teacher will use different ways of teaching and different lesson materials to help individual children learn best. This is called differentiating the curriculum. It is a normal part of the teacher s role. When extra help is needed, this is called SEN support. Schools have to decide what help is needed and then make sure it is effective. To do this they may decide to write an Individual Education Plan (IEP). IEPs are working documents drawn up by schools to plan support for children with special educational needs (SEN). Parents should always have a copy of the IEP. IEPs should only record support which is additional to or different from the differentiated curriculum available to all pupils. IEPs should contain information on: Priority areas of learning and development Short-term targets for the pupil

6 Strategies will put in place to achieve the outcome Staff ratio (by whom) Frequency (how often) Outcomes Parents should be involved in the planning and reviewing of IEPs. They may also be asked to help at home. Children should be involved with their IEP at a level appropriate to their age and understanding. It is important to encourage children to take an interest in their learning from the earliest age. IEPs should be reviewed every term. Very young children may have reviews more often than this because they are developing quickly and their needs may change quickly. Parents and their child should be invited to the review so they can take part in it. 4. Roles and responsibilities Provision for children with special educational needs is a matter for the school as a whole. In addition to the governing body, the school s head teacher, the SENCo and all other members of staff have important day-to-day responsibilities. All teachers are teachers of children with special educational needs. Teaching such children is therefore a whole school responsibility. Paragraph 5.2 SEN Code of Practice 2001 Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) We have a named Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) within the school. This person is named below: Name: Marilena Kitsaki Position: SENCo The role of the SENCo SEN arrangements are coordinated by the SENCo whose role includes: responsible for the identification, monitoring and recording of children with SEND ensuring high quality provision to meet children s needs

7 ensuring every practitioner takes responsibility for every child liaising with parents/carers liaising with professionals advising and supporting other practitioners in the setting ensuring that Individual Education Plans (IEPs)/ targeted plans are in place ensuring that background information is collected, recorded and updated taking the lead in monitoring and reviewing any actions taken to support the child ensuring that tracking and monitoring records are kept for all children at SEN support ensuring that processes are followed for an EHC Plan It follows from this that the SENCo has planned time to administer the school s SEND arrangements. The role of the key person All learners will have access to high quality first teaching. Some vulnerable learners will have access to carefully differentiated activities or approaches directly related to the school curriculum. Liaise with SENCo to plan work for pupils on the SEND register To review and write Individual Targets when required (supported by the SENCo); Direct support from TA/LSAs if appropriate Each member of staff is expected to keep up-to-date with information about SEND children that they teach by liaising with the SENCo Identify pupils of concern and liaise with the SENCo. Liaise with the parents of identified pupils in conjunction with the SENCo The role of the head teacher (Christine McLelland) Ensure that the SENCo and other staff have sufficient time allocated to carry out their teaching and administrative roles Liaise with the SENCo regularly regarding individual children Discuss staff training needs with the SENCo In discussion with the SENCo arrange sharing of good teaching practice Look at resource requests for the Learning Support department and share information on SEND with the school s Cognita Education Officer. 5. A Graduated Approach to SEND Support Well-differentiated, quality first teaching, including where appropriate the use of small group interventions. All learners will have access to quality first teaching. Some vulnerable learners will have

8 access to carefully differentiated activities or approaches directly related to the school curriculum which are part of our good practice in making teaching and learning accessible to pupils learning at different rates. These will probably be pupils who are underachieving and have been identified by the school as needing to make accelerated progress but will not necessarily be pupils with special educational needs. This is considered to be a differentiation of the usual school curriculum not a special intervention for pupils with SEND. Identification and Assessment Children s needs should be identified and met as early as possible through: the analysis of data including entry profile, reading ages, other whole-school pupil progress data Classroom-based assessment and monitoring arrangements. (Cycle of plan, assess, do, review) following up parental concerns tracking individual children s progress over time, liaison with feeder nurseries and other schools on transfer information from previous schools or nurseries information from external agencies such as Educational Psychologists etc. Undertaking, when necessary, a more in depth individual assessment - this may include a range of commercially available assessments, carefully chosen to deliver appropriate, useful information on a pupil s needs Involving an external agency where it is suspected that a special educational need is significant. Curriculum Access and Provision for vulnerable learners Where children are underachieving and/or identified as having special educational needs, the school provides for these additional needs in a variety of ways and might use a combination of these approaches to address targets identified for individual pupils. teachers differentiate work as part of quality first teaching small group withdrawal time (limited and carefully monitored to ensure curriculum entitlement is not compromised) individual class support / individual withdrawal further differentiation of resources, study buddies/cross age tutors Monitoring and Evaluation The monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of our provision for vulnerable learners is carried out as follows: We follow the graduated response which involves four stages of action: assess, plan, do, review. (see below)

9 We are required to have arrangements in place to identify and support children with SEND. We observe all children and monitor their progress across the EYFS. If we have a concern we follow the procedures as set out in the SEN CoP These procedures recognise that all children learn in different ways and can have different kinds or levels of SEND. Where a child appears not to be making the expected progress, we will consider all the information about the child s learning and development from within and beyond the setting. We identify children with SEND through discussions with parents/carers and our usual record-keeping, observations and assessments. All children s records are stored securely and kept confidentially to meet data protection requirements. All children who have been identified as having SEND will have an IEP/targeted plan that identifies up to 3 targets and the strategies and interventions needed to achieve them. Some children may attend a small group as part of their targeted plan with support from outside agencies. The IEP/targeted plan will be monitored and reviewed on a regular basis with parents/carers as will children s progress and development. Additional SEN Support Sometimes, where a child is identified as having more complex needs, and in consultation with parents/carers, we make a referral to appropriate agencies. In North Bridge House Nursery we may seek help and advice from: The Speech and Language Therapy Service (SLT) The Early Years Intervention Team (EYIT) The Integrated Service for Disabled Children MOSAIC The Educational Psychology Service Other appropriate agencies We will always seek parent/carer consent before approaching any outside agencies. We are committed to joint working with agencies appropriate to the child s individual needs and will use and implement advice from other agencies to agree suitable strategies/targets for children. TRANSITION At North Bridge House we recognise that moving from home into nursery and from nursery to school are significant milestones for all children and their families. We aim to support the process by following the Camden Children Schools and Families protocol for the transition of children with SEND moving between settings and schools. We aim to ensure that children with SEND are helped to have a smooth and positive transition into their next placement through careful planning, preparation and liaison with the receiving setting.

10 At NBH we follow a GRADUATED RESPONSE to learning difficulties When a child isn t making expected progress : 1. Assess 2. Plan 3. Do 4. Review ASSESS PLAN Alert by class teacher to the SENCo and Parents that the child is experiencing difficulty results in a Record of Concern (ROC) written by class teacher and given to the SENCo. Children s difficulties are assessed so that the right support can be given. This includes meeting with the parents and or liaising with other professionals who work with the children and looking at records and other information. This should be reviewed regularly so that the support provided continues to meet the children s needs. Sometimes advice or a further assessment is needed from someone like an educational psychologist, a specialist teacher or a health professional with the parent s agreement. The school needs to agree with parent s involvement, the outcomes that the SEN support is intended to achieve, for example, how the child will benefit from any support they get. Everyone who is involved will need to have a say in deciding what kind of support will be provided, and decide a date by which they will review this so that they can check to see how well the support is working and whether the outcomes have been or are being achieved. DO The school will put the planned support into place. The key person remains responsible for working with the child on a daily basis. The SENCo and any support staff or specialist teaching staff involved in providing support should work closely with the key person to track the child s progress and check that the support is being effective.

11 REVIEW The support the child receives should be reviewed at the time agreed in the plan. Parents can decide together if the support is having a positive impact, whether the outcomes have been, or are being, achieved and if or how any changes should be made.

12 FORM A1 PARENT CONTACT RECORD Class Teacher: Parent(s) contacted MOTHER Date of Contact: FATHER Reason for Contact: Outcome of Contact: Actions to be taken: Signed Dated

13 FORM A2 NORTH BRIDGE HOUSE JUNIOR SCHOOL INITIAL RECORD OF CONCERN Date today: / / NAME OF CHILD: FORM: DATE OF BIRTH: CHRONOLOGICAL AGE: CLASS TEACHER: AREAS OF CONCERN (tick yes or no) YES NO General Learning Difficulties Specific Learning Difficulties Hearing Impairment Visual Impairment Behavioural/Emotional/Social Communication/Interaction YES NO Speech and Language Autistic Spectrum Physical and Medical Difficulties Outline of Concerns

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