GreystokePrimary School

Policy for Meeting Special Educational Needsor / and Disabilities (SEND)

Name of SEND Co-ordinator: Jeanette Matthews

Responsible Person: Jeanette Matthews

SEND Governor: Gill Fawcett

Introduction

Our policy for raising standards is for all our children. Early identification of difficulties and appropriate intervention will give children with SEND the best possible start to their school lives.

Our initiatives are:

  • To improve Literacy and Numeracy through the introduction of target setting.
  • Involve each child in their own assessment and implementation of their Individual Education Plan (IEP)

Legislation defines a child with special educational needs as having:

a)A significantly greater difficulty or a significantly higher ability in learning than the majority of children of the same age,

OR

b)a disability, which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the local education authority.

The 1966 Act confirms previous legislation that children with SEND should be educated in mainstream schools where practical.

We support this view and therefore we aim to cater for the individual learning needs of every child whilst also recognising the need for specialised provision to ensure access to all aspects of the curriculum for all children.

We also recognise that pupils of any ability can underachieve at times. Through matching work to the needs of the children, staff at Greystoke Primary School give children every opportunity to overcome their difficulties.

Objectives

School Aims:

  • To develop the full potential in each child with equality of opportunity.
  • To encourage independent learning through a broad and balanced curriculum.
  • To develop a sense of self-respect and consideration for others.
  • To place the children and their needs at the heart of our decisions.

Policy Aims:

  • To identify pupils with SEND as early as possible and to make appropriate intervention through using appropriate teaching methods.
  • To identify pupils of all ability who are underachieving and to act upon this.
  • To support children in making their best progress.
  • To provide full access to the National Curriculum, by providing participation for pupils with SEND, the promotion of good practice for all pupils will be encouraged.
  • To develop partnership with parents in the education of their child.
  • To encourage successes for all pupils, whatever their level of ability.
  • To continue to develop a whole school approach to meeting the needs of pupils.
  • To cater for gifted and talented children.

Good practice for children with special educational needs is good practice for all children.

At Greystoke we also include the following consideration:

  • When a child has outstanding ability in one area and may benefit from special education provision.
  • When a child has both outstanding strengths and also severe weaknesses in language and/or organisation.
  • When a child is outstanding generally in comparison to his/her peers.

The SEND Co-ordinator will be responsible for the co-ordination of all matters relating to Special Educational Needs and / or Disabilities and will be the person who liaises with outside agencies taking into account the wishes of the child and the views of the parents, as well as managing provision within the school.

Admissions Arrangements

Admissions arrangements for school are described in the school’s admission policy. The school welcomes pupils irrespective of their ability and anticipates that the needs of most pupils will be met within existing school provision.

Identification and Assessment Arrangements

The school is using the new 2002 Code of Practice. A register of all pupils as having special educational needs will be kept by the SEND Co-ordinator to monitor the overall pattern of needs and interventions within school. At GreystokeSchool, we have commitment to early identification of needs. All teachers have a key role in monitoring all aspects of pupil performance and in particular the identification of pupil needs. Both children and parents are involved at every stage.

  • Raising a concern

Meeting the needs of all the children is up to individual teachers. When a teacher finds a child is not responding or having increasing difficulties, the class teacher will seek advice from the SENCO and discuss strategies with both the child and the parents. If the teacher and parents agree that interventions are additional to or different from the school’s differentiated curriculum then strategies are needed and this triggers‘Early Help Assessment.

  • Early Help Assessment

Information is collected from the classteacher, SENCO, and parents. Further assessments may be needed and an IEP is put together after discussion with both parents and child. The IEP will only contain 3 or 4 short-term targets, which are additional to or different from the differentiated curriculum.

The interventions which have already been implemented, will be reviewed by the class teacher, LA support teacher,SENCO parents and child. A new IEP can be written to include new targets and strategies. It is the responsibility of the class teacher to carry out the interventions set down in the IEP.

Gifted and Talented Children

At GreystokeSchool we recognise we must cater for and provide the right range of opportunities for our gifted and talented children. We develop work which can be used with individuals to give opportunities for greater achievement. We encourage specific teaching approaches-kinaesthetic, visual, audio, tasks and resources which add challenge to work, which is broader, deeper and encourages independence and reflection. (See Gifted and Talented Policy)

Assessment

Assessment is central to our planning for all pupils. In assessment all teaching staff should:

  1. Analyse the child’s learning difficulty.
  2. Clarify the child’s needs for different kinds of approaches or resources.
  3. Provide for those needs, whilst continually assessing the child’s progress.

Assessing special education needs is not an end in itself but a first step to understanding and providing for the child’s needs and monitoring the child’s progress. Particular use is made of teacher assessment as well as:

  • EYFS profile
  • Teacher’s baseline assessment
  • End of Key Stage SATs
  • Optional Assessments
  • Reading tests
  • Spelling tests
  • Assertive mentoring grammar
  • Assertive mentoring science
  • GL assessments

Co-ordination

The SENCO is responsible for:

  • Keeping a register of pupils with SEND
  • Supporting pupils with SEND in Class
  • Supporting teachers in writing IEPs and assessing pupils’ progress
  • Purchasing and organising resources
  • Liaising with other agencies
  • Making referrals
  • Keeping appropriate records/evidence
  • Supporting the transition of pupils with SEND into the school and secondary school
  • Liaising with SEND governor and preparing appropriate reports
  • Liaising with SENCOs of Ullswater Community College, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Penrith and Keswick School.
  • Supervising non-teaching staff
  • Observing children in class
  • Auditing the skills available among the staff at school
  • Using specialist advice at appropriate times including early identification

Review Procedures

GreystokeSchool will present evidence to show that strategies and interventions have been carried out. Informal reviews involving the class teacher, SENCO, parents and the child concerned will need to be held when progress has achieved the targets set.

External staff visiting the school

The school receives input from support staff

In addition there may be input from:

  • Educational Psychologist
  • Service for Hearing Impaired
  • Service for Visually Impaired

Input is also made from other agencies such as Education Welfare Service, school nurse, and other Social Services. This work is co-ordinated by the SENCO and integrated into the whole.

Access to the Curriculum

Greystoke supports inclusion. All pupils within the school will follow the full school curriculum, including the National Curriculum. The provision and delivery of the curriculum will be matched to the pupils’ levels of ability. Planning for pupils with SEND will be integral to all planning and classroom approaches and will include:

  • Making learning situations as realistic and meaningful as possible
  • Breaking work into small steps so that pupils can experience success
  • Using practical work where possible
  • Using co-operative work for pupils to develop learning and social skills
  • Emphasising discussion in learning
  • Considering concentration of pupils
  • Planning the written demands made on pupils
  • Target setting with scope for improving Literacy, Numeracy and personal achievements.

Allocation of resources

The school spends its delegated SEND money on:

  • Resources

Staff Development

The SENCO attends local courses and staff development takes place in school delivered by the SENCO. SEND courses are available to all members ofteachingstaff.

Complaints Procedure

Complaints about special education provision within school should follow the stepped procedure below whereby the first point of contact should be the class teacher concerned and after that the complaints should be presented in writing to the:

A)SENCO - Headteacher

B)SEND Governor – Gill Fawcett

C)Chair of Governors – Mel Kavanagh

Transfer

Where pupils transfer to a secondary school IEP, assessment details, background information and the statement will be passed on. If appropriate the SENCO of the secondary school will be invited to reviews in Year 6.

Partnership with parents

Parents involvement is valued and their contribution in terms of identification and support for pupils with SEND is fully recognised. Parents are to be kept fully informed where their child has SEND and will be encouraged to attend reviews, provide help at home and support their child in every aspect of their development. Parents are always welcome to discuss any matter relating to their progress but are requested to telephone the school to make appointments to ensure that staff are available.

Evaluation of success of the policy

The policy will be reviewed on a three yearly basis. In determining future policy provision all staff will be involved in discussion. In particular the success of the policy will be measured against the objectives stated at the start of the policy and use will be made of the following indicators:

  • Pupils are identified as early as possible
  • Pupil’s progress against the targets set for them
  • Some pupils move down the register as a result of positive intervention
  • Pupils enjoy their schooling and are proud of their achievements and success
  • Parents express satisfaction with what is provided
  • Support staff are integrated into the school

Policy reviewed by Gill FawcettNovember 2016

Discussed by staff:November 2016

Agreed by Full Governing Body: November 2016

Signed by Chair:

Next review– November 2019

for approval by the full Governing Body – December 2019

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