Special Educational Needs (SEN) Policy

Introduction

This policy was reviewed and updated in line with January 2004 revised Code of Practice.

This school provides a broad and balanced curriculum for all children. The National Curriculum is our starting point for planning that meets the specific needs of individuals and groups of children. When planning, teachers set suitable learning challenges and respond to children’s diverse learning needs. Some children have barriers to learning that mean they have special needs and require particular action by the school.

These requirements are likely to arise as a consequence of a child having special educational needs. Teachers take account of these requirements and make provision, where necessary, to support individuals or groups of children and thus enable them to participate effectively in curriculum and assessment activities. Such children may need additional or different help from that given to other children of the same age.

Children may have special educational needs either throughout or at any time during their school career. This policy ensures that curriculum planning and assessment for children with special educational needs takes account of the type and extent of the difficulty experienced by the child.

Aims and objectives

The aims of this policy are:

to create an environment that meets the special educational needs of each child;
to ensure that the special educational needs of children are identified, assessed and provided for;
to make clear the expectations of all partners in the process;
to identify the roles and responsibilities of staff in providing for children’s special educational needs;
to enable all children to have full access to all elements of the school curriculum;
to ensure that parents are able to play their part in supporting their child’s education;
to ensure that our children have a voice in this process.

Educational inclusion

In our school we aim to offer excellence and choice to all our children, whatever their ability or needs. We have high expectations of all our children. We aim to achieve this through the removal of barriers to learning and participation. We want all our children to feel that they are a valued part of our school community. Through appropriate curricular provision, we respect the fact that children:

have different educational and behavioural needs and aspirations;
require different strategies for learning;
acquire, assimilate and communicate information at different rates;
need a range of different teaching approaches and experiences.

Teachers respond to children’s needs by:

providing support for children who need help with communication, language and literacy;
planning to develop children’s understanding through the use of all available senses and experiences;
planning for children’s full participation in learning, and in physical and practical activities;
helping children to manage their behaviour and to take part in learning effectively and safely;
helping individuals to manage their emotions, particularly trauma or stress, and to take part in learning.

Special educational needs

Children with special educational needs have learning difficulties that call for special provision to be made. All children may have special needs at some time in their lives. Children have a learning difficulty if:

they have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age;
they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities that are provided for children of the same age;
they are under school age and fall within the definitions above.

If our assessments show that a child may have a learning difficulty, we use a range of strategies that make full use of all available classroom and school resources. This level of support is called School Action. The child’s class teacher will offer interventions that are different from or additional to those provided as part of the school’s usual working practices. The class teacher will keep parents informed and draw upon them for additional information. The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO), if not already involved, will become involved if the teacher and parents feel that the child would benefit from further support. The SENCO will then take the lead in further assessments of the child’s needs. It may be necessary for a child to be assessed by an Educational Psychologist who will be involved in providing advice on strategies.

We will record the strategies used to support the child within an Individual Education Plan (IEP). The IEP will show the short-term target set for the child and the teaching strategies to be used. It will also indicate the planned outcomes and the date for the plan to be reviewed. In most cases, this review will take place once a term.

If the IEP review identifies that support is needed from outside services, we will consult parents prior to any support being actioned. Children will be seen in but occasionally out of school by external support services. This may lead to additional or different strategies to those at School Action. This enhanced level of support is called School Action Plus. External support services will provide information for the child’s new IEP. The new strategies within the IEP will, wherever possible, be implemented in the child’s normal classroom setting.

If the child continues to demonstrate significant cause for concern, a request for statutory assessment will be made. A range of written evidence about the child will support the request.

In our school the SENCO:

manages the day-to-day operation of this policy;
co-ordinates the provision for and manages the responses to children’s special needs;
supports and advises colleagues;
oversees the records of all children with special educational needs;
acts as the link with parents;
acts as link with external agencies and other support agencies;
monitors and evaluates the special educational needs provision and reports to the Principal.
manages a range of resources, human and material, to enable appropriate provision for children with special educational needs;
contributes to the professional development of all staff.

Allocation of resources

The SENCO is responsible for the operational management of the specified and agreed resourcing for special needs provision within the school, including the provision for children with statements of special educational needs.

Should the need arise the Principal, Staff and the SENCO would meet termly to discuss the use of funds directly related to statements.

Procedure for involving SENCO

Process for referral of children to the SENCO who way need an assessment:

Teacher to discuss child at a staff meeting.
Teacher to talk to parents.
LP to contact parents to arrange an evaluation of strengths and weaknesses.
LP to carry out evaluation and write a report containing findings and suggestions.
If necessary an IEP will be created and support implemented.

The above applies to less and more able pupils. Differentiation is required in every lesson and should be noted in curriculum file, termly schemes and daily lesson plans.

Procedure for involving outside Agencies

Child discussed at staff meeting.
LP to send a letter with reply slip to parent recommending the specialist.
Copy of letter to LP for file.
Copy of parents reply slip to LP for file.
LP to follow up if parents do not respond after 2 weeks.
All subsequent letters to go to LP eg. date of assessment.
LP to receive report and cirulate and file.
LP prepared IEP and action plan for teacher on basis of specialist report.

Assessment

Early identification is vital. The class teacher informs the parents at the earliest opportunity to alert them to concerns and enlist their active help and participation.

The subject teacher and the SENCO assess and monitor the children’s progress in line with existing school practices. This is an ongoing process.

The SENCO works closely with parents and teachers to plan an appropriate programme of support.

The assessment of children reflects as far as possible their participation in the whole curriculum of the school. The class teacher and the SENCO can break down the assessment into smaller steps in order to aid progress and provide detailed and accurate indicators.

The needs of the child are considered to be paramount in seeking a range of advice before a formal statement is made.

Access to the curriculum

All children have an entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum, which is differentiated to enable children to:

understand the relevance and purpose of learning activities; and
experience levels of understanding and rates of progress that bring feelings of success and achievement.

Teachers use a range of strategies to meet children’s special educational needs. Lessons have clear learning objectives; we differentiate work appropriately, and we use assessment to inform the next stage of learning.

Individual Education Plans, which employ a small-steps approach, feature significantly in the provision that we make in the school. By breaking down the existing levels of attainment into finely graded steps and targets, we ensure that children experience success. All children at School Action and School Action Plus have an IEP.

We support children in a manner that acknowledges their entitlement to share the same learning experiences that their peers enjoy. Wherever possible, we do not withdraw children from the classroom situation. Sometimes, support is given by the teaching assistants under the direction of the class teacher and LP within the classroom. There are times, though, when to maximise learning, we ask the children to work in small groups, or in a one-to-one situation outside the classroom.

Partnership with parents

The school works closely with parents in the support of those children with special educational needs. We encourage an active partnership through an ongoing dialogue with parents. The IEP, which is reviewed on Parents’ Evenings, is central to this. Parents have much to contribute to our support for children with special educational needs.

We have regular meetings each term to share the progress of special needs children with their parents. We inform the parents of any outside intervention, and we share the process of decision-making by providing clear information relating to the education of children with special educational needs.

Pupil participation

In our school we encourage children to take responsibility and to make decisions. This is part of the culture of our school and relates to children of all ages. The work in the Foundation Stage recognises the importance of children developing social as well as educational skills.

Children are involved at an appropriate level in setting targets in their IEPs. Children are encouraged to make judgements about their own performance against their IEP targets. We recognise success here as we do in any other aspect of school life.

Monitoring and evaluation

The SENCO monitors the movement of children within the SEN system in school. The SENCO provides Principal and staff with regular summaries of the impact of the policy on the practice of the school. Where appropriate, children with special educational needs are discussed in weekly Staff Meetings.

The SENCO is involved in drawing up Individual Education Plans for children. The SENCO, the Principal and the Staff hold regular meetings to review the work of the school in this area.

The Principal and the SENCO reviews this policy annually and considers any amendments in the light of the annual review findings. The SENCO reports the outcome of the review to the Staff Meeting.

Statements

Parents have the right under s 329(1) of the Education Act 1996 to ask the Local Education Authority to make an assessment with a view to drawing up a Statement of Special Educational Needs. The School also has the right (under s 329A) to ask the LEA to arrange an assessment. The School will always consult with parents before excerising this right. If the LEA refuses to make an assessment, the parents (but not the School) have a right of appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.

Where a prospective pupil has a Statement of Educational Needs, we will consult the parents and, where appropriate, the Local Authority to ensure that the provision specified in the Statement can be delivered by the School. We will co-operate with the Local Authority to ensure that relevant reviews of Statements are carried out as required.

Any additional services that are needed to meet the requirements of the Statement will need to be charged, either directly to the parents, or the Local Authority if the Authority is responsible for the fees.

Stratford Preparatory School