Hertfordshire. Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) Policy

Transcription

1 Hertfordshire County Hertfordshire Council Children, Schools and Families Layston C of E First School Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) Policy Updated: November 2014 Review due: November 2016

2 Purpose Layston First School is an inclusive school. We believe that every pupil has individual and unique needs. However, some pupils require more support than others to achieve the five outcomes of Every Child Matters (ECM). We acknowledge that a significant proportion of pupils will have special educational needs (SEN) at some time in their school career. Many of these pupils will require help throughout their time in school, while others may need a little extra support for a short period to help them overcome more temporary needs. In order for these pupils to achieve their full potential, we recognise this and plan accordingly. At Layston we aim to provide all pupils with strategies for dealing with their needs in a supportive environment, and to give them meaningful access to the National Curriculum through breaking down barriers to learning. Identification At Layston pupils are identified as having special educational needs if they have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or have 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 (Code of Practice 2014). This means that the child s needs are additional to or different from (Code of Practice July 2014) what is provided for the majority of children at that age. This extra provision is mapped across the school by the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator or SENCo. We take a graduated approach starting with high quality teaching in the classroom delivered by the class teacher and supported by teaching assistants (Quality First Teaching), and when necessary providing planned interventions in small groups or one-to-one. Inquiries about an individual child s progress should initially be addressed to the class teacher, who knows the child best. Other enquiries can be addressed to the SENCo, Susie Betley, via the school office. The progress of every child is monitored at termly pupil progress meetings. Where a child is identified as not making progress in spite of Quality First Teaching, ideas on how best to support them are discussed with the SENCo. Class teachers are continually monitoring and assessing pupils learning, and any concerns throughout the term are discussed with the SENCo. The SENCo and class teacher will work together to identify a cause and engage appropriate strategies to support the child. This does not always mean that the children will be identified as having special educational needs. Parental requests relating to concerns over their child s learning are also taken seriously and will be investigated. Often these concerns can be addressed at the level of Quality First Teaching. If this is not the case, the child may be placed on the register of pupils with SEND. Aims We aim to: Encourage in every child a love of learning; Enable every pupil to experience success and enjoy school; Promote individual confidence and a positive attitude; Identify and meet the needs of all our children maintaining a rigorous, consistent equality of opportunity and inclusion to all areas of the curriculum and school life; Assess, record and regularly review pupils progress and needs; Facilitate effective communication and co-operation between concerned parties i.e. pupils, parents, learning support assistants, education professionals and other agencies; Acknowledge the Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) of our pupils, and plan for, monitor those needs and employ strategies to remove barriers to learning.

3 The new SEND Code of Practice 2014 Statements will no longer be issued by the local authority. Statements have now been replaced by Education, Health & Care Plans which will support children from birth to 25 years. They aim to link in health & care alongside education & have a phased conversion from existing statements to an EHCP. School Action & School Action Plus have been replaced by a single school based category known as special educational needs support (SENS). All these children will be tracked closely by both class teachers and the SENCo. There are 4 broad categories of SEN: -communication & interaction (including those children with Speech & Language support and those with Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC)); -cognition & learning (including those children with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyscalculia); -social, emotional & mental health; -physical & sensory. Medical needs are listed on a separate register and children will only appear on the SEND register as well if their medical needs are likely to impact upon their learning due to regular absences or their needs mean they have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or have 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 (Code of Practice 2014). Partnership with Parents At Layston we strive for an open door policy where we are always here, at an appropriate time of day, to listen to your concerns or questions. Any targets set on individual education programmes (IEPs) or referrals made will be done in partnership with the parent/s, and where appropriate, the child. Any concerns we have will be raised with parents, either at a parent s meeting, or at an informal meeting to discuss a child s progress. A child will not be placed on the SEND register without the parent/s being aware. We consider the parent/s the people who know their child best and so we will take into account the parent/s views, as well as those of the child. Roles and Responsibilities SENCo The school SENCo is Mrs Susie Betley. The SENCo will: Oversee the day-to-day operation of the school s SEND policy; Ensure that an agreed, consistent approach is adopted; Co-ordinate provision for children with special educational needs & disabilities; Support class teachers as necessary in devising strategies, drawing up individual education programmes (IEP s), setting targets appropriate to the needs of the pupils, and advising on appropriate resources and materials for use with pupils with SEND, as well as the effective use of materials and personnel in the classroom; Assist in the monitoring and evaluation of progress of pupils with SEND through the use of school assessment data, e.g. class based assessments/records & end of year tests; Assist the head in organising and overseeing the records of all children at the school with SEND; Review termly the provision map for all children with SEND;

4 Liaise with parents of children with SEND; Organise and contribute to the delivery of in-service training of staff on SEND issues; Liaise with external agencies, in particular support from the Specific Learning Difficulties Base, the Educational Psychologist & Speech & Language Therapist (S&LT); Make referrals to external agencies; Keep the governors and head teacher informed of the progress of the SEND systems in school. Head Teacher: The school head teacher is Mrs Myra Bloomfield. The head will: Ensure that the policy is implemented; Support the SENCo and SEND governor in their responsibilities; Liaise with parents, pupils and outside agencies in conjunction with the SENCo. The Governing Body: The SEND governor is Mrs Marg Goodhill. The governing body will: Ensure SEND provision is an integral part of our School Development Plan (SDP); Ensure the SEND policy is reviewed regularly; Ensure that pupils with SEND join our school activities alongside other pupils, as far as reasonably practical and compatible with the needs and the efficient education of other pupils; Report annually to parents on the success of the school s policy for children with SEND via the School Profile; Ensure the appointed SEND governor meets and liaises, on a termly basis, with the SENCo; Have regard to the requirements of the SEND Code of Practice (2014); Class Teacher Ensure children with SEND are admitted to the school in line with the LEA agreed admission policy; Ensure they are fully informed about SEND issues, so that they can play a major part in school s development; Ensure that the quality of SEND provision is regularly monitored. The class teachers will: Provide Quality First Teaching; Make the initial identification of children with SEND with the SENCo; Plan to meet the needs of individual children within their class; Write and implement IEPs in consultation with the SENCo; Review IEPs with parents & pupils; Discuss targets and ascertain the views of pupils with IEPs; Work closely with support staff and oversee their work; Be fully aware of the school s procedures for identifying, assessing and providing for pupils with SEND;

5 Ensure that MSAs are given any necessary information relating to the supervision of pupils with SEND at lunchtime and support them in relation to behaviour management and other issues for particular pupils. Teaching Assistants: TAs will: Liaise with class teachers, be aware of & support pupils in achieving their targets set on IEPs; Encourage children to concentrate and complete tasks both individually and in groups in a positive and supportive environment; Help children by clarifying and explaining instructions; Where requested by class teachers and/or SENCo, deliver programmes set by external professionals e.g. Speech & Language Therapist; Feedback to class teachers daily on pupils they have worked alongside. Admissions & Transition The policy is in line with the common policy of Admissions Arrangements for all Hertfordshire Primary Schools. Current arrangements are explained in the documents Early Years and Starting School. Transition from nursery to Layston Reception is carefully integrated by the Reception teacher, who visits, where possible, all settings for children who will be joining. Any SEND information relating to new intakes will be passed on to the SENCo. It would be helpful if parents of children with SEND who transfer mid-way through their school career could contact the SENCo via the school office, prior to joining. For secondary transfer, into Year 5, the SENCo has close links with both the SENCos at Edwinstree and Ralph Sadleir Middle School s and will liaise with the schools regarding pupil needs and transfer of information. Arrangements for monitoring and evaluation The success of our SEND policy and provision is evaluated through school self-evaluation and reporting activities such as: Monitoring of classroom practice by the SLT and subject co-ordinators; Analysis of pupil tracking data and test results for individual pupils and cohorts; Value added data for pupils on the SEND register; Termly monitoring of procedures and practice by the SEND governor; The school SDP which is used for planning and monitoring provision in the school; Visits from HIP (Hertfordshire Improvement Partner) and Ofsted inspection arrangements; Feedback from parents and staff, both formal and informal, following meetings to produce IEPs and targets, revise provision and celebrate success. Complaints Procedure Complaints about the SEND procedures and implementation of the procedures should firstly be addressed to either the class teacher or SENCo. If an issue is not resolved then the complaint should be addressed to the head teacher and finally the governing body.

6 Explanation of Acronyms ECM EP HIP IEP LEA MSA S&LT SEND SENCo SDP SpLD SLT TA Every Child Matters Educational Psychologist Hertfordshire Improvement Partner Individual Education Programmes Local Education Authority Mid-day Supervisory Assistant Speech & Language Therapist Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator School Development Plan Specific Learning Difficulties Base Senior Leadership Team Teaching Assistant