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1 Headteacher Mrs Joanna Pedlow BA Hons QTS Deputy Headteacher Mrs Amanda Bell BA Hons PGCE Assistant Headteacher Mrs Laura Rudd BSc Hons PGCE Toftwood Infant School School Lane Toftwood Dereham Norfolk NR19 1LS School website: Tel Fax Report and policy for the inclusion of and provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities Introduction We welcome all children to our school. The whole team at the school is committed to providing a welcoming, caring and stimulating environment to support the needs and develop the learning of all children and families in the community to ensure the inclusion of all pupils socially, physically, academically and emotionally. Every child and family in our community is valued and diversity is celebrated. Our school is staffed by a team of qualified and highly professional teachers and teaching assistants who believe that all children deserve opportunities to thrive and succeed. The school provides a broad and balanced curriculum in a safe, stimulating and caring environment which allows everyone to achieve, develop, learn and grow. All areas of school life are inclusive and the teaching is tailored towards individual learning providing appropriate challenge and support; encouraging everyone to reach their full potential and experience success in a range of forms. Staff provide a positive ethos to enable the children to work towards the development of life skills and instil life -long learning aspirations for everyone. Aims and Objectives of this Policy To ensure that families of children with SEND feel welcome and reassured that the school is committed to supporting them and their child in their journey through school, and helps to set firm foundations for the future To effectively share relevant information and support with parents and carers To ensure the early identification and appropriate support for all pupils with SEND To meet individual needs through a wide range of provision To share a common vision and understanding with all stakeholders To ensure that all provision is appropriate to a child s individual needs and is monitored and evaluated to ensure it is effective and improves outcomes for that child To ensure that all children have appropriate physical access to the school building and all areas within the school To encourage positive attitudes towards children s difficulties and a whole school approach to supporting them To work together as a team to support children, parents and fellow professionals To share expertise amongst staff and to take advice from others to ensure we support the needs of every child To ensure children are aware of their own targets and strengths, and to listen to their views in order to shape their support Definition of Special Educational Needs Learning and/or Disabilities Children have Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities if they need special educational provision to be made for them. Children have a learning difficulty and/or disability if they: Have a learning difficulty in relation to acquiring new skills, or who learn at a different rate from their peers. Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age. 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 school. Are under compulsory school age and fall within the definitions above or would do so if special educational provision was not made for them.

2 Children must not be regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because the language or form of language of their home is different from the language in which they will be taught. Definition of Special Educational Needs Children have Special Educational Needs if they: Have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. Special educational provision means: For children of two or over, educational provision which is additional to, or otherwise different from, the educational provision made generally for children of their age in schools maintained by the LEA, other than special schools, in the area. SEN is purely an educational term and does not necessarily include all pupils who have a disability. (Taken from SEND Code of Practice.) Admission Arrangements No pupil will be refused admission to school on the basis of his or her special educational need. In line with the SEN and Disability Act we will not discriminate against disabled children and we will take all reasonable steps to provide effective educational provision. Identification By observation and ongoing assessment of the child. Through discussion with parent, class teacher and SENCo. Through advice, guidance and assessment from outside professionals. Through tracking within the school s assessment procedures. Reasons for Identification: Areas of Need under the new SEND Code of Practice Communication and interaction (C&I) Social, emotional and mental health difficulties (SEMH) Cognition and learning (C&L) Sensory and/or physical (S/P) Whilst these four areas broadly identify the primary need of a pupil we also consider the needs of the whole child, and other factors which may impact on a child s progress such as; Disability Attendance and punctuality Health and welfare English as an additional language (EAL) Being in receipt of the Pupil Premium. (PP) Being a Looked After Child (LAC) Being a child of a service person. Information concerning special needs is recorded by the SENCo and school secretary on a register on the School Information Management system (SIMS). These also hold review information, events and documents, IEP target information, significant test results, adults involved and needs analysis. Discussion takes place with parents when a special educational need is identified and is ongoing whilst support is in place. Review meetings take place regularly and IEPs are updated at least twice a year with parents. A transfer meeting takes place before children with statements or Education Health and Care Plans move on to a new school, involving parents and staff. All documentation relating to their support will be passed on. Professionals from both schools will discuss children on the SEND register and those with IEP s before transfer. Management of SEND within the school The governing body has delegated the responsibility for the day to day implementation of the policy to the SENCo who has Qualified Teacher Status. The management of SEND is supported by the administration staff. All school staff have a responsibility for pupils with SEND in their class, firstly to ensure Quality First Teaching with differentiation and personalisation to meet need. Staff are aware of their responsibilities towards pupils with SEND, whether or not pupils have an Education, Health and Care Plan, (EHCP). A positive and sensitive attitude is shown towards all pupils by adults in

3 school. Staff responsibilities are identified in individual job descriptions. Teaching Assistants play a major role in the support of pupils with SEND. The rationale for the deployment of TAs is pupil centred. Teaching Assistants: The school has a number of Teaching Assistants, some of whom work more specifically with children with specific educational needs. All Teaching Assistants undertake regular training and have weekly discussions with the Class teacher. They are also invited to attend staff meetings, contribute to SEN Reviews and have meetings with the Headteacher. The Headteacher will seek to provide appropriate guidance or training for Teachers or Teaching Assistants when required and will arrange for Teaching Assistants to have regular contact with other agencies such as the Speech Therapist as appropriate. SENCo: The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is the Deputy Headteacher. The SENCo will be responsible for implementing the policy in order to ensure high quality outcomes for all children with SEND. In order for the new SEND Code of Practice to be incorporated into schools, the SENCo will ensure that any changes under the new Code are incorporated into practice as soon as possible. The SENCO will study towards the National SENCo Award in Special Educational Needs in line with the new Code of Practice within three years of taking up the post. In order for the governors to fulfil their responsibilities, the Headteacher, through the SENCo will report to them as part of the Head teacher s report concerning: a) children who have been referred to the School Consultation and Planning Meeting or other outside professionals b) Children who have a Statement of Educational Needs (These will transfer to an EHCP). c) Children with medical needs d) Changes in numbers of children in different SEND categories e) Number of children removed from the SEND register. f) Number of funding applications made and outcomes of for SEND Cluster Funding. Governors are welcome to discuss SEND procedures with the SENCo. The Governors: The Governors will appoint a Link Governor for SEND. Staff: All teachers are a teacher of children with SEND and are therefore responsible for children with SEND making progress to the best of their ability. Teachers will use the graduated approach to teaching children with SEN, Assess, plan, do, review. All teaching staff have a class SEND file containing relevant information on each child which must be shared with their Teaching Assistant or other adults working with the children and it is their responsibility to read and respond to all documents keeping it up to date and passing to the next teacher when the children change class. Copies of all information from support services are passed to teaching staff before filing centrally. All TAs record progress information on SEND children they work with. Records will be made in the SEN diary and these will be transferred onto the school s computer database and filed with the child s SEND records. Parents: Parents are welcome to approach the Class teacher, SENCo or Headteacher with their concerns at any time, in addition to the twice-yearly parent consultations and review meetings. There is also a range of information available to parents regarding processes and procedures. Support Services: The Headteacher and SENCo attend termly School Consultation and Planning Meetings with the Cluster SENCo. Children on IEPs will be discussed and the letter accompanying the IEP for parents will state that discussions and consultations with professionals is part of the provision for each child. Children where there is a concern over their learning and progress will also be discussed to ensure we can meet their needs effectively.

4 The school accesses a range of support services as appropriate. A log of visits to school by professionals is kept in the school office. Code of Practice graduated response The school adopts the levels of intervention as described in the SEN Code of Practice. The Code of Practice advocates a graduated response to meeting children s needs. If the school decides, after consultation with parents, that a child requires additional support to make progress, the SENCo, in collaboration with teachers, will support the assessment of the child and have an input in planning future support and add the child to the SEND records. The class teacher will remain responsible for planning and delivering individualised programmes. Parents will be closely informed. External support services may advise on targets and provide specialist inputs to the support process. Additional support will usually be triggered when despite receiving differentiated teaching and a sustained level of support, a child: Still makes little or no progress in specific areas over a long period Continues to work significantly below age related expectations Continues to experience difficulty in developing age appropriate skills Parental consent is sought before any external agencies are involved. The resulting Action Plan may incorporate specialist strategies. These may be implemented by the class teacher but involve other adults. Request for Statutory Assessment and/or EHCP (Education Health and Care Plan) Before any requests are made the SENCo will look at all available information concerning the child and discuss this with the Head teacher and the Cluster SENCo if appropriate. They will then ensure any additional assessments such as an Educational Psychology assessment are requested and undertaken. Once all available evidence has been reviewed and discussed the next steps will be planned and taken. The school may request a Statutory Assessment from the LA when, despite an individualised programme of sustained intervention within SEN Support the pupil remains a significant cause for concern. A Statutory Assessment might also be requested by a parent or outside agency. An EHCP will normally be provided where, after a Statutory Assessment, the LA considers the pupil requires provision beyond what the school can offer. However, the school recognises that a request for a Statutory Assessment does not inevitably lead to an EHCP. Partnerships with parents and carers The school aims to work in partnership with parents and carers. If you have an SEN concern you are invited to Mrs Bell the SENCo on senco@toftwood.norfolk.sch.uk We work in partnership with parents by: Keeping parents and carers informed Offering support relating to their child s needs and provision Working effectively with all other agencies supporting children and their parents Giving parents and carers opportunities to play an active and valued role in their child s education and care Making parents and carers feel welcome Ensuring all parents and carers have appropriate communication aids and access arrangements Providing all information in an accessible way Encouraging parents and carers to inform school of any difficulties they perceive their child may be having or other needs the child may have which need addressing Focusing on the child s strengths as well as areas of additional need Allowing parents and carers opportunities to discuss ways in which they and the school can help their child Agreeing targets for the child and making sure parents know how they can support these targets at home Making parents and carers aware of the Parent Partnership services. This information will be included in with the new parent packs. Involvement of Pupils We recognise that all pupils have the right to be involved in making decisions and exercising choice (SEND Code of Practice). Where appropriate all pupils are involved in monitoring and reviewing their progress. We endeavour to fully involve all pupils by encouraging them to:

5 Talk about their learning, what they find difficult and what they are good at, and how we can help them Share in individual target setting Self-review their progress and set new targets Contribute to IEP reviews and setting of individual targets Contribute to annual reviews Celebrate their successes Training We welcome children regardless of their needs or abilities. We have a team of dedicated and skilled professional with a wealth of knowledge and experience of working with children with SEND. We do however recognise that children s needs are wide ranging and varied and as such we may identify a need for more specialised training. As a school we are committed to ensuring staff receive any required training to meet the needs of our children. Review This policy was reviewed in October 2015 and will be reviewed annually. Chair of Governors.. Headteacher.. Date