Policies: SEN

 

Reviewed March 2009

To be reviewed January 2013

 

 

Introduction

 

It is a statutory requirement that school governors produce a Policy Statement on Special Educational issues within their school.

 

The 1981 and 1993 Education Acts embrace a wide group of pupils who have Special Educational Needs.  It is felt that nationally as many as 20% of pupils might have Special Educational Needs at some time during their school careers.  It is recognised that this number may vary from area to area and from school to school.

 

This group can be divided into two sub-groups:

 

1.      A large group, approximately 18% whose needs can be met within the ordinary school; and

2.      A smaller group, approximately 2% of the school population who require the Local Education Authority to determine how their needs are to be met.

 

The Code of Practice on the identification and assessment of Special Educational Needs (DFE 1994) provides us with the regulations and guidance for implementing those sections of the Education Act 1993 that are concerned with Special Educational Needs.

 

The Code of Practice embodies the view that all teachers in mainstream schools are teachers of Special Educational Needs.  For some pupils the difficulties may be long-term and severe whilst for others they may be milder or short-term.  A pupil's Special Educational Needs may be physical, emotional, intellectual, behavioural or any combination of these.

 

As a school we need to be sensitive to the needs of all our pupils and to make sure that they are identified and acted upon appropriately with the resources and expertise at our disposal.

 

Aim and Objectives

 

Aim

 

1. To enable all pupils to have access to as much of the National Curriculum as is possible and appropriate for them encompassing the principles of inclusive education which are:-

 

• Inclusion is a process by which Schools develop their cultures, policies and practices to include pupils.
• With the right training, strategies and support nearly all children with special educational needs can be successfully included in mainstream education.

 

• An inclusive education offers excellence and choice and incorporates the views of parents and children.

 

• The interest of all pupils must be safeguarded.

 

• Schools should actively seek to remove barriers to learning and participation.

 

• All children should have access to an appropriate education that affords them the opportunity to achieve their personal potential.

 

• Mainstream education will not always be right for every child all of the time.  Equally, just because mainstream education may not be right at a particular stage, it does not prevent the child from being included successfully at a later stage.

Ref:  DFES/0774/2001

 

Objectives

 

1. To meet the needs of children experiencing learning difficulties by delivering a structured, differentiated and sometimes individual curriculum.

 

2. To record, plan and assess accordingly and continuously to ensure appropriateness of work encompassing the aims of the assessment policy.

 

3. To identify children with special needs as early as possible through good liaison with parents, class teachers and Infant school staff.

 

4. To ensure that any programme carried out does not isolate the child from the class or mainstream curriculum experience.

 

Learning Support and Management Structure

 

The Education Reform Act 1988 states that Special Educational Needs are the responsibility of all staff. The 1994 Code of Practice requires that all mainstream schools have a designated Co-ordinator who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school's Special Educational Needs provision.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The structure at Withernsea Junior School is as follows:

 

 

 

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Special Educational Needs Governor:                                    Mrs C Fincham

 

Headteacher:                                                                           Mrs A Harper

 

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator:                              Miss J Ward

 

 

All the people named above can be contacted by telephoning the school or calling at the school to make an appointment.  The school telephone number is:01964 612427

 

Abbreviations used:

 

SEN                            Special Educational Needs

 

SENCO                       Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator

 

HLTA                         Higher Level Teaching Assistant

 

TA                               Teaching Assistant

 

SENSS                        Special Educational Needs Support Service

 

IEP                              Individual Education Plan

 

 

 

 

 

Arrangements for Special Educational Needs Provision

at Withernsea Junior School

 

Special Educational Needs Staff

 

The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator

 

The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator's role is to co-ordinate the identification, assessment and provision for pupils who are considered to have Special Educational Needs.  Miss Ward spends half a day per week specifically on Special Educational Needs issues.  She is supported in administrative work by Mrs Smith (Senior Teaching Assistant - HLTA), the equivalent of 4 mornings per week.

 

The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is responsible for the following:-

 

1.  Overseeing the day to day operation of the school's SEN Policy.

 

2.  Maintaining the school's Special Educational Needs register.

 

3.  Collecting and collating information about and monitoring the progress of all pupils with Special Educational Needs.

 

4.  Discussing with the appropriate staff relevant progammes and strategies for such pupils.

 

5.  Consulting with parents and preparing the relevant paperwork for referrals to outside agencies and for formal assessment.

 

6.  Liaising with outside agencies which provide additional support for pupils with Special Educational Needs.

 

7.  Monitoring the effectiveness of Special Educational Needs work within the classroom through regular classroom visits.

 

8.  Planning future development and strategies in the area of Special Educational Needs and organizing staff inset.

 

9.  Reporting regularly to the Headteacher and Governing Body about Special Educational Needs issues.

 

10.  Joint supervision and monitoring of the spending of funding for pupils with statements, with the Headteacher.

 

11.  Purchasing Special Educational Needs materials from the Special Educational Needs budget.

 

 

 Teaching Assistants

 

A number of Teaching Assitants are employed to work with groups of pupils, including pupils with Special Educational Needs.  They will work with the assigned pupils supporting them within class to access the curriculum and/or following additional programmes of work devised after consultation between class teacher, the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, the Special Educational Needs Support Service (SENSS) and any other relevant agency or person.

 

The Special Educational Needs Support Service

 

The Special Educational Needs Support Service will provide 2 purchased sessions per term.  This allows for a teacher from SENSS to come in to school on preassigned dates.  They liaise with teaching and non-teaching staff, providing resources and suggestions to help support pupils with additional needs which are built-in to pupil's individual education plans.

 

Finance

 

Admission Policy

 

The funding of Withernsea Junior School is largely dependent on pupil numbers.

The Admission Policy at this school is determined by the LEA.

 

Financial Resources

 

Funding is allocated from the school budget.  This money will provide SENCO with some classroom release time to deal with SEN issues, and also provide funding for HLTA support and TA's to support pupils in the classroom or in small groups. It will also buy into The Special Educational Needs Support Service as detailed above. Additional money will also be used from the general school budget. A detailed breakdown of precise costings is contained with the SEN records and monitored each year.

 

The precise SEN budget for each year is available from the Headteacher. 

 

Resources

 

Additional resources to support learning are available in the learning  support room.  These are added to each year and  are available for all staff to use. 

 

The library is available for use when withdrawing small groups; also there are other available rooms.

 

Disabled Pupils

 

Access for pupils who are disabled is possible, as we have an entrance with level access.  There is also a toilet for the use of the disabled. Please also read this policy in conjunction with the Inclusion and Access Plan and Policy.

 

 

 

Record Keeping

 

The Code of Practice stresses the importance of thorough record keeping and documentation at all stages.  The information gathered is used as evidence when a formal assessment of a pupil is sought.  The information kept on statemented pupils is used in the annual reviews and secondary  school transfer reviews.

 

Class teachers maintain records of progress in reading, writing, maths and science for all pupils, including any on the Special Educational Needs Register. Phonic checklists and key word checklists are available for any staff who wish to use them.  Master copies are kept in the support room and in each class SEN file. 

 

Behaviour is monitored through a whole school approach.  There is extensive use of rewards to back-up this policy - stamps, stickers, certificates, merits, etc.

 

Individual Educational Plans (IEP'S)  for children on the SEN register are reviewed at least twice a year.   The class teacher does this in conjunction with Teaching Assistants, the SENCO and/or any professionals, such as SENSS that have worked with the child.

 

Each class teacher keeps relevant programmes of work and Individual Education Plans in a red SEN class file, with copies kept in the support room.

 

Teachers of pupils with a statement of educational need are given a copy of the last statement, the most recent annual review and, where applicable, a copy of the most recent report from an outside agency, to read. These are then kept in pupil files in the learning support room. 

 

Identification of Special Educational Needs

 

a)      Notification by previous school.  This will usually be in the form of written records.

 

b)      Notification by an outside agency.  The agencies providing such information would generally be the School Psychological and Child Guidance Services, SENSS, the County Services for the physically disabled, the hearing impaired and the visually impaired speech and language support services the medical services and Social Services.

 

c)      Notification by parents/carers.  This may happen occasionally at Withernsea Junior with parents/carers approaching the school to express concern about a pupil's intellectual, behavioural, emotional or medical problems at home and/or at school.

 

d)     Observation by teachers.  Class teachers identify most pupils Special Educational Needs.  The class teacher liaises with the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator  and completes a 'Cause for Concern' form.

 

e)      Performance in SATs.  It is possible that performance in the SATs could highlight pupils who had previously been overlooked.  In particular we would look for pupils who have not achieved Level 1 when they enter the school at the end of Year 2 or Level 2 by the end of Year 3, or pupils making very limited progress.

 

f)       Results of the tests in reading and maths - including Year 3 ,4 and 5 SATs.  A quotient of less than 85 may be considered as cause to be added to the register through discussion between the SENCO/class teacher and parent.

 

Assessment

 

The Code of Practice on the identification and assessment of Special Educational Needs requires a three-stage process:

 

School Action:            The class teacher takes the lead responsibility for the co-ordination  of the gathering of information and the provision of their Special Educational Needs, within the classroom situation, working with the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator in the development of the Individual Education Plan.  The pupil will be moved to School Action Plus if it is deemed that they continue to make little or no progress in specific areas over a long period.

 

School Action Plus:    Teachers and Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator are  supported by specialists, from outside the school.  This should be with parental permission.  All referrals to outside agencies should be made through the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.  If a pupil demonstrates a significant cause for concern, then a proposal is made for a formal assessment.

 

The LEA considers the need for statutory assessment and, if appropriate, makes a multidisciplinary assessment.  From the initial request for a formal assessment, to the issuing of a statement, should take no longer than six months.

 

Formal assessment requires reports on the pupil to be submitted by the school, SENSS, the psychological service, the medical service and the social services (if appropriate).  Those with parental responsibility are also asked for their views.  The report form the school must be discussed with the parents, who receive copies of all reports submitted.  All comments made must be able to be substantiated by written evidence.

 

Statement:                   The LEA makes a statement of Special Educational Needs.  It  arranges, monitors and reviews provision.  A statement is a legal document.  It is the duty of the parties named in it to ensure that provision is provided as outlined.

 It must be reviewed at least annually.  This is usually on the anniversary of the date of confirmation of the statement - except when a pupil is in Year 6.  In order to help with the smooth transfer to secondary school, reviews are held in the Autumn Term of a pupil's Year 6.

 

 

 

 

 

Integration of Pupils with Special Educational Needs

 

The Curriculum

 

"All pupils share the right to a broad and balanced curriculum, including the National

Curriculum.  The right extends to every registered pupil of compulsory school age

attending a Maintained or Grant Maintained School, whether or not he or she has a

statement of Special Educational Needs."  (NCC 1989)

The planning, content and delivery of the curriculum is the responsibility of the class

teacher.  Pupils at School Action onwards will have an Individual Education Plan (IEP)

which will detail learning and/or behavioural objectives.  The Individual Education Plan

will also outline how the curriculum will be modified and delivered in order to allow the

pupil to achieve the objectives.  Where pupils have a statement the planning should

reflect the requirements of that statement.  A programme of work may be devised by

SENSS, but this will not necessarily cover the whole curriculum or all the requirements

of the statement.

 

We are expected to deliver a suitably differentiated curriculum in order to meet the needs

of all pupils.  Differentiation can be offered by:

 

a)      Task, the degree of difficulty of a given task must be suitable for the pupil's ability.  In order to deliver the task it must be presented in a suitable form and with relevant materials/resources.  Different teaching methods may also be needed.

 

b)      Support, a pupil may be offered greater support than his/her peers with regard to guidance, teaching or resources.  The support may be from a teacher or another adult.

 

c)      Outcome, pupils may be set the same task but each will produce a different level of work according to his/her ability.

 

d)     Timing, pupils with Special Educational Needs or physical disabilities may be given more time to complete a task or they may be expected to produce a lesser amount of work.

 

Withdrawal of Pupils for Support

 

Pupils are withdrawn in small groups for support from various staff.  This is done when it is felt that working away from the normal classroom distractions will aid the work, which is to be undertaken by the group.  Such work follows programmes devised by relevant staff who work with the pupil.  These sessions are usually short, but intensive.  Consequently, no child should be missing large periods of time in one or more curriculum areas.

 

Provision Mapping

Each Summer term an audit is made of the needs of children throughout the school ready for the forth coming year, also what the needs of new incoming children will be. A Provision map is then drawn up allocating resources to support those needs, including personalised learning programmes.

 

 

Links with Outside Agencies and Organisations

 

Central Support Services

Special Educational Needs Support Service

The role of this service has been previously explained

 

County Psychological Service

 

The Education Psychologist attached to out school is Mr Henderson. He visits the school regularly to assess pupils and discuss their progress with the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and class teachers.  He also meets parents to discuss their children's needs.  It is essential that we have his support if we are to proceed to formal assessment of our pupils.  Without parental consent, a pupil cannot undergo an assessment by the Education Psychologist.  We are also expected to have evidence of support offered at School Action and School Action Plus.

 

County Service for the Visually Handicapped

 

This service is consulted when we believe or know that a pupil has a visual disability.  Referral to this service should be made through the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.  Parental permission is required.

 

County Service for the Hearing Impaired

 

This service is consulted when we believe or know that a pupil has a hearing impairment.  Referral to this service should be made through the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.  Parental permission is required.

 

Educational Services for the Physically Disabled

 

This service is consulted when we believe or know that a pupil has a physical disability.  Referral to this service should be made through the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.  Parental permission is required.

 

Education Welfare Service

 

The Education Welfare Officer, Miss Ruth Bridgland is asked to check on those pupils (at any stage) who have prolonged and/or regular absence.

 

Special Educational Needs Service

 

The Advisor for Special Educational Needs is Sylvia Edwards and she is available for support, advice and training if required.  Contact should be made through the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.

 

 

 

The Health Authority

 

The school nurse is Denise Purden. The school nurse visits the school regularly.  Staff may approach her directly if they have medical concerns about a pupil.  The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator or Child Protection Co-ordinator should be informed if appropriate.

 

Social Services

 

Contact with Social Services is made through the Child Protection Co-ordinator,

Mrs. J Carroll.  If appropriate the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator should be informed.

 

Links with Special Schools and Units

 

At present there are no links established, but they will be made when necessary.

 

Review

 

It is the responsibility of the Governing Body to approve this policy and to review it regularly.

 

 

February 2009