Burton Hathow Preparatory School Including EYFS

SEN Policy

“Every child has an entitlement to personal, social and intellectual development and must be given the opportunity to achieve his/her potential in learning”.

NASEN Mission statement

Introduction

This policy outlines the nature and management of Special Educational Needs at Burton Hathow Preparatory School.
It reflects the consensus of opinion of the whole teaching staff. It was originally drawn up, discussed by staff and approved by the Directors in September 2015 and has been reviewed annually. It will be reviewed again September 2016
The implementation of this policy is the responsibility of the Head Teacher and all teaching and classroom support staff.

Objectives

The objective of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy is to improve the learning and raise the achievement of pupils with special educational needs.
In line with the principles identified in the National Progression Guidance (2090-2010), our objective for all pupils is:

to promote equality of opportunity
to anticipate and remove or minimise any barriers for learners with special educational needs and disabilities
to use our best endeavours to ensure the necessary provision for any pupil with special educational needs and disabilities
to develop an inclusive curriculum by setting suitable learning challenges
to be respected and valued as an individual within our school community

Aims

Burton Hathow Preparatory Schoolvalues the abilities and achievements of all its pupils, and is committed to providing, for each pupil, the best possible environment for learning. Burton Hathow Preparatory School aims to:

Ensure that all pupils with SEND have access to a broad and balanced curriculum
Provide a differentiated curriculum appropriate to pupils needs and ability
Ensure the identification of all pupils requiring SEND provision as early as possible in their school career
Ensure that SEND pupils take as full a part as possible in all school activities
Ensure that parents of SEND pupils are kept informed of their child’s progress and attainment
Ensure that SEND pupils are involved, where practicable, in decisions affecting their future

We recognise that many pupils will have special needs at some time during their school life. In implementing this policy, we believe pupils will be helped to overcome their difficulties.

Special Educational Needs

Special Educational Provision is intervention that is additional to or different from that provided as part of the school’s usual differentiated Quality First curriculum offer.

A child has learning difficulties if he or she:

•Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age

•Has a disability which prevents or hinders the child from making use of educational facilities of a kind provided for children of the same age in other schools of the same nature.

There are many different types of need. The main areas of difficulty are listed below.

Cognition and Learning Needs

Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD)

Moderate Learning Difficulty (MLD)

Severe Learning Difficulty (SLD)

Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty (PMLD)

Behaviour, Emotional and Social Development Needs

Behaviour, Emotional and Social Difficulty (BESD)

Communication and Interaction Needs

Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Sensory and/or Physical Needs

Visual Impairment (VI)

Hearing Impairment (HI)

Multi-Sensory Impairment (MSI)

Physical Disability (PD)

Other (OTH)

Burton Hathow Preparatory Schoolwill have due regard for the Special Needs Code of Practice (2001) when carrying out our duties towards all pupils with special educational needs, and ensure that parents are notified when SEND provision is being made for their child. The use of the SEN toolkit, the LA Handbook for SEND and the County Criteria for assessment of pupils with SEND will be followed.

The school's provision for SEND

Burton Hathow Preparatory School acknowledges that all teachers share the responsibility for pupils with SEND. However, the SENCO plays a crucial role in the school’s SEND provision. This involves working with the Headteacher and Directors to determine the strategic development of the policy. Other responsibilities include:

Writing and reviewing the SEND policy
Overseeing the day to day implementation of the SEND policy and resources
Identifying, monitoring and reviewing pupils’ needs with teachers, parents and support staff and with the pupils themselves
Maintaining the SEND register
Maintaining all SEND records.
Co-ordinating provision for pupils with SEND
Setting up and monitoring in-class support and withdrawal programmes (e.g. wave 3 support)
Teaching and assessing individuals and groups of pupils
Liaising with colleagues in writing Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
Liaising with colleagues in writing short term SEND monitoring targets
Working with colleagues in writing a SEND provision map for the whole school
Monitoring and reviewing IEPs and statement targets
Organising and attending annual reviews of statements
Organising, attending and producing minutes from SA+ meetings
Liaising with parents, outside agencies and other schools
Administering submissions for special arrangements for statutory testing
Managing and contributing to professional development of colleagues in areas of SEND support.
Advising on all aspects of differentiation, teaching and learning styles and resourcing
Advising the Head Teacher and staff on pertinent SEND issues
Liaising regularly with the Governor responsible for SEND.

The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) is Victoria Douch

Class teachers are responsible for

Identifying pupils who require extra support in class, raising initial concerns and consulting the SENCO for advice and support (also part of the monitoring role of subject leaders)
Differentiating activities for all pupils, including more or less able children
Writing and/or contributing to IEPs and implementing targets in class
Monitoring individual progress
Managing teaching assistants in their classrooms on a day to day basis
Meeting with parents and outside agencies when appropriate

Teaching assistants will support the teacher and pupil by:

Implementing an individual or group of pupils’ access to and progress in the curriculum
Implementing activities designed to achieve targets on IEPs
Encouraging and promoting pupil independence
Liaising with teachers and the SENCO, giving feedback and suggesting development
Working with individual or groups of pupils
Carrying out specific booster teaching programmes
Helping to prepare resources and adapting materials
Attending planning and review meetings as appropriate
Keeping accurate records of progress of individual children on intervention programmes
Providing feedback, regarding intervention programmes, to class teachers and the SENCo

The Role of the Directors

The Directors believe that the admissions criteria should not discriminate against pupils with SEND and has due regard for the practice advocated in the Code of Practice, in that ‘All schools should admit pupils already identified as having special educational needs, as wellas identifying and providing for pupils not previously identified as having SEN . Pupils withspecial educational needs but without statements must be treated as fairly as all otherapplicants for admission.’ (CoP 1:33)

The Directors will ensure that:

The SEND policy is implemented fully
A summary of the SEND policy is included in the annual parent/ governor report
The success of the SEND policy is reported annually including the allocation of resources from the school’s devolved/delegated budget.

Approaches to SEN

At Burton Hathow Preparatory School we have adopted a whole-school approach to SEND policy and practice. Pupils identified as having SEND are, as far as is practicable, fully integrated into mainstream classes.

The main methods of provision made by the school are:

Teaching within mixed ability groups. Early action is encouraged for pupils who need further consolidation or support prior to placement on the SEND ‘register’.
Pupils on the SEND ‘register’ may receive extra support from a teaching assistant, in a group or as an individual. If an individual pupil receives one-to-one support through statementing provision, there may be occasions when that child is helped through group support as part of his/her learning programme.
Where a pupil’s needs require more than the normal differentiation planned and delivered in class, an IEP will be drawn up, which sets out individual targets for the child in identified areas of the curriculum.
IEPs work from a positive starting point of what the student is able to do and will have SMART targets aimed at small, achievable steps built in to ensure success.
Arrangements are made for pupils taking statutory tests; this provision will be in line with government assessment policy.

The school will use appropriate screening and assessment tools, and ascertain student progress through:

• Evidence obtained by teacher observation/ assessment.

• Their performance during a key stage judged against level or grade descriptors; use will be made of National Progression Guidance and materials.

• Standardised screening or assessment tools.

• Records from feeder schools...etc.

• Information from parents

• Pupil files

Transition Planning

On entry to the school each pupil’s attainment will be assessed in order to ensure continuity of learning from feeder provider, or transference from another school. For pupils with identified SEND the SENCO will:

•Use information from the feeder provider or Preparatory school to shape the pupil’s curriculum and pastoral provision in the first few months

•Identify the pupil’s skills and note areas that require support

•Ensure on-going observations/assessments and provide regular feedback on achievements/ experiences, in order to plan next steps in learning

•Ensure pupils have opportunities to demonstrate knowledge and understanding in subjects and in any pastoral or behavioural programme

•Involve pupils in planning/agreeing their own targets

•Involve parents in a joint home-school learning approach

Code of Practice

Teaching SEND pupils is a whole-school responsibility. The core of the teachers’ work involves a continuous cycle of planning, teaching, and assessing, taking into account the differences in pupils’ abilities, aptitudes, and interests. Some pupils may need increased levels of provision and support.

The Code of Practice advocates a graduated response to meeting pupils’ needs. When they are identified as having SEN, the school will intervene through School Action and School Action Plus as described below. This graduated response applies to the Early Years Foundation Stage in the same way as other key stages

School Action

Pupils will be identified as School Action if, for example, they are making little or no progress, particularly in areas such as literacy and numeracy, or if they present persistent emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. For these pupils class teachers should provide differentiated learning materials and use appropriate strategies. They may receive some group or individual support from a teafc

School Action Plus

Pupils will be identified as School Action Plus if external services have been involved to help support the pupil. Class teachers should differentiate for these pupils. However, they may also be withdrawn for additional support as necessary.

Statemented

If the additional support at School Action Plus is not sufficient to enable the student to make adequate progress the student may be considered for statutory assessment. The LA will decide whether to issue the student with a statement. The statement lists a number of short term targets and is reviewed annually with parents, the student, the LA and the school. Class teachers will be asked to complete information forms in order to assist the Annual Review process.

Individual Education Plans

Strategies for pupils’ progress will be recorded in an IEP (Individual Education Plan) for all pupils at Action Plus and Statement level, containing information on:

•Short-term targets

•Teaching strategies

•Date for review

•Success and/or exit criteria

•The outcomes recorded at review

Provision mapping will identify and evaluate intervention strategies for School Action.

The IEP/provision map will record only that which is different from or additional to the normal differentiated curriculum, and will concentrate on three or four individual targets that closely match the student’s needs. The IEPs will be discussed with the student and the parent.

IEPs will be reviewed three times yearly. Parents’ views on their child’s progress will actively be sought. Wherever possible or appropriate the school will involve pupils in this process.

Statuatory Assessment

The school will request a Statutory Assessment from the LA when, despite an individualised programme of sustained intervention within School Action Plus, the child remains a significant cause for concern. A Statutory Assessment might also be requested by a parent or outside agency.

A Statement of Special Educational Need will normally be provided where, after a Statutory Assessment, the LA considers the child requires provision beyond what the school can offer. However, the school recognises that a request for a Statutory Assessment does not inevitably lead to a Statement.

Statements must be reviewed annually. The LA will inform the School at the beginning of each school term of the pupils requiring reviews. The SENCo will organise these reviews and invite:

•The student’s parent

•The student if appropriate

•The relevant teacher

•Any other person the SENCo considers appropriate

The aim of the review will be to:

•Assess the pupil’s progress in relation to their targets

•Review the provision made for the pupil in the context of the National Curriculum and levels of attainment in basic literacy/numeracy and life skills

•Consider the appropriateness of the existing Statement in relation to the pupil’s performance during the year, and whether to cease, continue, or amend it

•Set new targets for the coming year

The SENCo will write a report of the annual review meeting and send it, with any supporting documentation, to the LA. The school recognises the responsibility of the LA in deciding whether to maintain, amend, or cease a Statement of SEND.

Partnership with parents

Burton Hathow Preparatory Schoolfirmly believes in developing a strong partnership with parents and that this will enable children and young people with SEND to achieve their potential. The school recognises that parents have a unique overview of the child’s needs and how best to support them, and that this gives them a key role in the partnership.

The school considers parents of SEND pupils as valued partners in the process. Depending on age and appropriateness, SEND pupils will also be encouraged to participate in the decision making processes affecting them.

The school will make available, to parents of pupils with SEND, details of the parent partnership service available through the LA.

Links with external agencies and organisations

The school recognises the important contribution that external support services make in assisting to identify, assess, and provide for, SEND pupils. When it is considered necessary, colleagues from the following support services will be involved with SEND pupils:

•Educational psychologists

•Medical officers

•Speech therapists

•Physiotherapists

•Occupational Therapists

•Hearing impairment services

•Visual impairment services

•Autism Outreach

•EBSS

•School Nurse

•Educational Welfare

Review

The Head Teacher, SENCo and teaching staff will review this policy in September 2016. Any amendments will be presented to the Directors for approval.

DatedSept 2015

Burton Hathow Preparatory School

December 2012Page 1