Chalkhill Primary School Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy January 2015

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1 Chalkhill Primary School Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy January 2015 Chalkhill Primary School Vision and Aims Learning together to aspire and achieve At Chalkhill Primary School we aim to provide a safe, secure and healthy environment where all children are encouraged to be independent learners and thinkers. We aim to provide the highest quality education and care for all our children. We welcome each child and family and aim to provide a warm, caring and safe environment within which all children can develop holistically academically, socially and emotionally. This policy has been written with reference to the requirements of the Special Educational Needs and disability Code of Practice (2014), the Special Educational Needs and Disability regulations 2014, the Children s and Families Act 2014, Headlines from the 2014 Code of Practice. Code of practice (2014) covers 0-25 Clear focus on views of children Guidance on joint planning and commissioning More complex needs to have a co-ordinated assessment ECH plan to replace statements Guidance on support children to receive in education and training Greater focus on support that enables those with SEN to succeed and transition into adulthood School Action and School Action Plus have been replaced by one school based category of Need known as Special Education Needs Support (SENS). Our objectives are: To identify, at the earliest possible opportunity, barriers to learning and participation for pupils with SEND To ensure that every child experiences success in their learning and achieves to the highest possible standard To enable all children to participate in lessons fully and effectively To value and encourage the contribution of all children to the life of the school To work in partnership with parents To work with the Governing Body to enable them to fulfil their statutory monitoring role with regard to the Policy Statement for SEND

2 To work closely with external support agencies, where appropriate, to support the need of individual pupils To ensure that all staff have access to training and advice to support quality teaching and learning for all pupils We believe in early identification of difficulties and appropriate intervention to give all children the best possible education to enable them to reach their full potential. Each child is under the immediate care of their class teacher. Should any child be experiencing educational, emotional, social, behavioural or physical difficulties, these will be brought to the attention of the SENCo Definition of SEN The 2014 Code of Practice says that: A person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. At compulsory school age this means he or she has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others the same age, or, has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools. There are four broad categories of SEN: communication and interaction cognition and learning social, emotional and mental health physical and sensory Identifying children at SENS (SEN Support) (formerly school action & school action plus) Class teachers use their professional judgements, observations, tracking of data and any other relevant procedure to identify if a child has a SEND. Once they have identified concerns the SENCo and parents/carers are notified immediately. If concerns still remain then an initial concerns form is completed and shared with the parents/cares. This form identifies the area of difficulty and over a short time frame 4-6 weeks will assess the child s progress against targets put in place by the teacher The progress of every child is monitored at termly Core Tracking (pupil progress) meetings. Where children are identified as not making progress in spite of Quality First Teaching they are discussed with the SENCo and Head teacher and a plan of action is agreed. Class teachers are continually aware of children s learning. If they observe that a child, as recommended by the 2014 Code of Practice, is making less than expected progress, given their age and individual circumstances, they will seek to identify a cause. This can be characterised by progress which: is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline fails to match or better the child s previous rate of progress fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers Parents sometimes ask us to look more closely at their child s learning. We take all parental requests seriously and investigate them all. Frequently, the concern can be addressed by Quality First Teaching, targeted provision and/or some parental support. If the child does not make progress he/she is given an Individual education Plan (IEP) and placed on our SEN register. The IEP will be reviewed at least every term. Although the school can identify special educational needs, and make provision to meet those needs, we do not offer diagnoses. Parents are advised to contact their GP if they think their child may have ASD or ADHD or some other disability. Provision Quality First Teaching Targeted Provision/ordinarily available

3 Quality First Teaching All of our children access the full National Curriculum, and we recognise achievement and expertise in all curricular areas. High quality teaching differentiated for individual pupils is part of normal class differentiation, curriculum content and ideas can be simplified and made more accessible by using visual, tactile and concrete resources. All staff working with the child should be aware of their needs, support provided and teaching strategies or approaches to be used. All teachers are teachers of children with special educational needs. Teaching children with SEND is therefore a whole school responsibility. We believe that all children learn best with the rest of their class. Our aim is for all children to be working independently, in class. Children with SEND are entitled to be taught by their teacher, not always by a TA. Teachers aim to spend time each day working with all children with SEND, individually or as part of a group. When allocating additional TA support to children, our focus is on outcomes, not hours: we aim to put in sufficient support to enable the child to reach their challenging targets, but without developing a learned dependence on an adult. Targeted Provision/SEN Support The class teacher and SENCO agree in consultation with parents/carers and the child the interventions and support to be put in place as well as the expected impact on progress, development or behaviour along with a clear date for review. When considering an intervention, we look first at the child s profile of learning in order that we can select the intervention which is best matched to the child. Targeted provision will be:- Highly structured Systematic and sequential Based on accurate assessment of what the learner needs to do next Multi-sensory Based on reliable evidence of effectiveness Delivered by trained and skilled staff Monitored by class teacher/senco Aiming to promote independence Planned for and regularly taught by the class teacher Practised in whole class teaching apply knowledge Involving Parents/Carers and Pupils Meetings to be at least termly Meeting led by teacher who knows child well and has good knowledge of the child s attainment (usually class teacher/ SENCO) Parents/carers views and aspirations explored Views of the child recorded as part of the meeting Following meeting information shared with ALL relevant staff The provision will ensure adequate progress. Adequate Progress Is similar to that of peers starting from the same baseline Matches or betters the child s previous rate of progress Closes the attainment gap between the child and their peers Prevents the attainment gap growing wider Target Setting Through the graduated approach of assessment, planning, doing and reviewing, targets will be set to support the children with SEN.

4 Support for child with SEN Support must relate to a clear set of expected targets (Individual Education plan (IEP)) Progress towards these targets should be tracked and reviewed termly Clear identification of the responsibilities of parent/carer, the child and the school Targets should be SMART and focussed on the learner Targets will tell us what will happen after a specified period of time i.e. each review period Targets will involve the children and their families Children with individual educational needs may benefit from in-class support, withdrawal as individuals or small groups. Teachers weekly plans include the individual targets for SEND children and learning tasks are clearly differentiated for them. An experienced teacher or TA may withdraw small groups of children from their classes on a regular basis throughout the school to give them extra support and reinforcement of basic concepts Staffing and Staff Responsibilities The Head Teacher is responsible for the day-to-day management of SEN provision and works closely with the SENCO who has responsibility for the day-to-day operation of this policy. The care of children with special educational needs is the responsibility of any adult who comes into contact with that child, but especially:- SENCO Class Teacher Teaching Assistants Support Teachers Reading Recovery/Numbers Count/SEN support teacher Governor responsible for SEN The Role of the SEN Coordinator Overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school s SEN policy Co-ordinating provision for children with special educational needs Liaising with and advising fellow teachers Managing staff that work with children with special educational needs Overseeing the records of all children with special educational needs Liaising with parents of children with special educational needs and providing support when needed Liaising with external agencies Monitoring and evaluating the special educational needs provision and reporting to the governing body Contributing to the professional development of all staff The SENCO monitors interventions to identify what works. Moving to an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) If children fail to make progress, in spite of high quality, targeted support at SENS, we may apply for the child to be assessed for an EHC Plan. Generally, we apply for an EHC Plan if: The child has a disability which is lifelong and which means that they will always need support to learn effectively The child s achievements are so far below their peers that we think it likely that the child may at some point benefit from special school provision. Children, who we think will manage in mainstream schools, albeit with support, are less often assessed for EHC Plans. Having a diagnosis (e.g. of ASD, ADHD or dyslexia) does not mean that a child needs an EHC Plan. If the application for an EHC Plan is successful, a member of the Local Authority will call a meeting for parents, the child and the school together with any health or social care professionals who are involved with the family. The meeting will record the child s strengths, their dreams and aspirations as well as the barriers they face. Following the meeting, the Local Authority will produce the EHC Plan which will record the decisions made at the meeting.

5 Access to extra-curricular activities All of our children have equal access to before school, lunchtime and after school clubs which develop engagement with the wider curriculum. Where necessary, we make accommodation and adaptation to meet the physical and learning needs of our children. Class trips are part of our curriculum and we aim for all children to benefit from them. No child is excluded from a trip because of SEND or medical needs. Transition Arrangements Transition into and within school We understand how difficult it is for children and parents as they move into a new class or a new school and will do what we can, according to the individual needs of the child, to make transitions between classes- including from the nursery- as smooth as possible. This may include, for example: Additional meetings for the parents and child with the new teacher Additional visits to the classroom environment in order to identify where the toilets are, where the pegs are etc. Opportunities to take photographs of key people and places in order to make a transition booklet. Enhanced transition arrangements are tailored to meet individual needs. Transition to Secondary School Transition reviews for Year 6 pupils are held, where possible, in the Summer Term of Year 5 or the Autumn term of Year 6. The secondary school SENCO is invited to Annual Reviews and other review meetings. Additional transition arrangements may be made at these reviews e.g. extra visits, travel training etc. English as an Additional Language Identifying and assessing SEND for children whose first language is not English requires particular care. We look carefully at all aspects of a child s performance in different areas of learning and development or subjects to establish whether lack of progress is due to limitations in their command of English or if it arises from SEND. Difficulties related solely to limitations in English as an additional language are not SEN. Involving specialists Where a pupil continues to make less than expected progress, despite evidence-based support and interventions that are matched to the pupil s area of need, we inform parents and consider involving specialists, including those secured by the school itself or from outside agencies. Educational Psychologists (EP) Clinical Psychologists within the Brent Child and Family Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Brent Primary Behaviour Support Service School Nurse Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) Occupational Therapists (OT) Physiotherapists Education Welfare Officers (EWO) Brent Outreach Autism Team (BOAT) Brent Deaf & Hearing Impaired Service Brent Visual Impairment Service The role of the Governing Body The Governing Body, together with the Leadership Team determines the school s general policy for SEND, which includes resources and provision for children with special needs. A Governor has been appointed to take a particular interest in and monitor the school s work on behalf of SEN pupils.

6 Complaints Procedure Parents are encouraged to seek an appointment at an early stage to discuss their concerns about the schools provision for a child with SEND. In the first instance this should be with the class teacher and then, if necessary, the SENCO, followed by the Head Teacher. Date: January 2015