Evaluation Guide for producing your schools “Offer” on Special Educational Needs and Disability
Essex Schools Offer Working Group
“Families and young people should have access to impartial information, advice and support to enable them to exercise their rights.” Draft Code of Practice
- Schools have new obligations under the Children and Families Act (Clause 65) to ensure that parents are fully informed about the provision the school is making for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). Schools therefore need to have a clear view and narrative about how they are meeting the needs of pupils with SEND-the “Schools Offer”.
- The “Offer” will form both part of the schools’ own policy and planning for SENprovision and how the school will think of using the delegated SEN budget.
- The legislation is clear that parents, children and young people also need to consulted and involved and so the school must plan how to involve them. The “Schools Offer” will also form part of the overall Local Offer which the Local Authority will publish and the school will need to also consider how it works with and shares information with the Local Authority.
- The “Schools Offer” should help the school paint a picture of provision in the School for SEND and inform the parent. It should alsohelp the parent and their child or young person feel welcome as part of the school community.
Development of a Schools Offer
The requirement of the Children and Families Act is that schools are required to provide information to parents and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and about the overall offer in your school and what support and facilities are available to support children with SEND achieving well. This creates an opportunity for the school to clarify its approach to SEN and Disability provision within the school and ensure that it is meeting the broader requirements of the SEN Code of Practice.
The information requirements of the Act provide a very helpful starting place for schools to review their provision. This evaluation template will help the school think about what information itmust provide to parents and its overall approach to SEND within the school and how this fits with the overall local offer.
The following Evaluation Template is intended to help schools work through the requirements in the legislation, but is organised around the way we think schools would most logically address the issues not the order in which it appears in the regulations and code of practice. We have also given suggested policies and references to guidance where we thought this would be helpful (see Appendix where there is further information on the legislative requirements).
The requirement for the overall Local Offer is that it should follow the following principles:
1. Collaborative;
2. Accessible;
3. Comprehensive; and
4. Transparent.
It should also form the framework of how they plan to meet OFSTED obligations and it would provide a good foundation for planning and linking up the various policy obligations in the new legislation. It is suggested that you take this approach to the Schools Offer and that the communication you develop as a result of this evaluation could be developed in partnership with parents and young people so it is relevant and accessible to them.
Requirement / What schools should be looking at / What to take into account /- Our school’s response to the key questions
- Analysis of our provision and its impact
School Ethos for SEND (non- statutory) / Schools could describe here the ethos of the school’s inclusions policy and how it applies to SEN. The aim would be to ensure that parents felt that their children would be welcome and have a sense of how the overall school ethos contributes to better outcomes for their child. / While not required by the legislation, it is helpful to summarise at the start of the document the school’s overall approach to SEND and its approach to some key documents such as the home school agreement, admissions policy and any other key information.
Partnership Ethos with the School
- The arrangements for consulting parents of pupils with special educational needs.
What opportunities are there for parents to have structured conversations with teachers about progress? / Parents’ role on Governing Body, role of SEN Governor and how the school is going to involve parents more generally. SEN policy consulted on and easily available.
Relevant Policies: Code of Practice sections on parental and young person’s involvement; guidance on role of school governors. Access to structured conversation training/AfA approach.
- The arrangements for consulting young people with special educational needs about, and involving them in, their education.
If there is a school council or pupil body are pupils with SEN represented? / Schools need to be able to show good involvement of children and young people at every stage of their education. Specifically in assessment, agreeing learning outcomes, process of producing an ECH plan.
Relevant Policies. Code of Practice-especially section on ECH plans. UN Rights of the Child.
- The name and contact details of the SEN Co-ordinator.
Does the SENCO have access to and knowledge of the available resources for SEN? / Schools should also be ensuring that SENCOs are trained and have the national qualification and are supported in their role. Ideally SENCOs should be part of the senior management team.
Transparency about SEND budget at school level and whole school approach to planning around SEND.
Relevant policies: Draft Code of Practice section on SENCOs end of 6.5; National requirement for SENCOs to be a qualified Teacher-SENCO regs.
- Any arrangements made by the governing body or the proprietor relating to the treatment of complaints from parents of pupils with special educational needs concerning the provision made at the school.
How are problems addressed so they do not have to become complaints? / There should be a clear process in place for parents to complain and how the outcomes of any complaint should be handled. Schools should ensure that there is a culture of acceptance of complaints as helping to improve the service and those parents are not worried about doing so.
Relevant Policies: Guidance on school governance and complaints; indicative Code of Practice. SEN Policy and Report to Governors. Monitoring Equality Act duties.
- Information on where the local authority’s local offer is published.
Relevant Policies: Local Offer regs and guidance.
Identification and early intervention
- Information about the school's policies for the identification, assessment and provision for pupils with special educational needs, whether or not pupils have EHC Plans, including how the school evaluates the effectiveness of its provision for such pupils. This should also include what additional learning support which is available, activities and emotional support which is additional to those available for all pupils.
What is our evidence base for the interventions we are using?
What process have we got in place for children with an EHC plan or statement currently?
How are we deploying the Pupil Premium and monitoring effectiveness? (DfE monitoring form)
How is this reflected in our deployment of the delegated SEN Budget? / Schools would need to have in place policies on graduated response to the identification and assessment of children falling behind age appropriate expectations as per the draft Code at 6.5. Systems need to be in place for evaluating interventions and how they are working. School needs to paint a picture of what typical interventions are and what levels for different needs and how it assesses and evaluates progress.
Relevant policies: new draft code guidance on schools 6.5. and Chapter 7 on ECH plans; Pupil Premium Guidance including guidance on effective use of Pupil Premium from Sutton Trust and AfA; links to schools overall use of its SEN budget up to 10k and any banding guidance; any policies relating to EHC plans from DfE; OFSTED guidance on progression.
- Information on the kinds of special education provision made in the school.
- Information about the expertise and training of staff in relation to children and young people with special educational needs and about how specialist expertise will be secured.
What are the arrangements for triggering additional support in the school and are there any specialist local resources which the school uses?
Is there a CPD plan in place to fill any current gaps in specialist support at the school level? / Picture of school’s overall level of expertise and approach to SEN. Information about specialist resources within the School or which the school has access to. How it deploys learning assistant support and the level of training of that support in respect of SEN. What arrangements and access they have to outside support.
Relevant Policies: Draft Code of Practice 6.5; Relevant banding requirements from LA; specific resources connected to delivery EHC Plans; school’s role in relation to local offer e.g. location of specialist unit or area of expertise Chapter 5. Consideration of online resources through NASEN, DfE, Dyslexia, Comms, Autism Trusts, NatSIP, AfA and other voluntary sector resources.
Quality First Teaching and Personalisation.
- Information about the school’s policies for making provision for pupils with SEN including, evaluation of effectiveness, assessment and reviewing progress, adaptions to curriculum, additional support and wider support.
What plans are in place when provision or interventions need to be escalated?
What wider provision is available for supporting emotional needs and wider engagement? / Schools need to have a clear framework on the assessment of children they suspect fall into the SEN category. Focus on ensuring the schools basic offer is good and meet the needs of children who are falling behind and can differentiate well before having to introduce additional support. Clarity about what does trigger additional support and how the school is going to assess progress. Ensuring that interventions are assessed for their effectiveness.
Relevant Policies: Draft Code as above; pupil tracking data and use of raise online and other tracking data; monitoring and reporting requirements; AfA type approach to data.
- Information about how equipment and facilities to support children and young people with special educational needs will be secured.
Relevant Policies: Auxiliary Aids requirements-Equality Commission guidance; Equality Act Access Plans, Code of Practice. Personal Budgets guidance and approach-regs and draft code.
Early Intervention and the Education Health and Care Plan
- How the Governing body involves health and social care bodies, local authority support services and other bodies in meeting the needs of pupils with SEN.
- The contact details of support services for the parents of pupils with special educational needs, including those for arrangements made in accordance with clause 32.
Relevant Policies: Indicative Code of Practice; Guidance on Clause 32-Advice and information for parents and young people.
- School arrangements for supporting pupils transferring between stages of education and preparing for independent living.
What arrangements are in place between school and colleges?
What arrangements are in place between School and Social Care and other adult services? / Code of Practice; Social Care Legislation.
Appendix
Who do we mean when identifying a Child as having Special Educational Needs or Disability?
Children who have a special educational need are those who;
“A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:
(a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
(b) have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
A child under compulsory school age has special educational needs if they fall within the definition at (a) or (b) above or would so do if special educational provision was not made for them (Clause 20 Children and Families Bill).
Further the Government have extended the duty to consult with children and young people about the provision they are responsible for. “The provisions in the local offer would include disabled children and young people, both in relation to the information to be published and in developing and reviewing the local offer and publishing comments. In Clause 32, the requirement on local authorities to arrange for young people with SEN and parents of children with SEN to receive advice and information on SEN would be extended to include provision for disabled young people and the parents of disabled children to be provided with information about matters related to disability.” Lord Nash 17th December.
Draft Code of Practice on Schools Information and relationship to the local offer.
“In addition to the information in the local offer about the special educational provision the local authority expects to be available in early years providers, schools and post-16 institutions, schools are required to publish, under the Special Educational Needs (Information) Regulations, more detailed information about their arrangements for identifying, assessing and making provision for pupils/students with SEN. The school-specific information should reflect the local offer and elaborate on it. The local offer must make clear where this information can be found. The local offer should also make clear how young people and parents can find relevant information published by post-16 institutions about their SEN provision.”
P 46
Draft Code of Practice-Key Requirements on SEN
Maintained nursery schools, mainstream schools (maintained schools and academies and free schools that are not special schools), 16 – 19 academies, further education institutions, pupil referral units and alternative provision academies must:
• use their best endeavours to ensure that the necessary provision is made for any individual who has SEN;
• co-operate generally with their local authority in developing the local offer (described in Chapter 5).
Maintained nursery schools and mainstream schools, including academies and free schools, must also:
• designate an appropriate member of staff (the SEN co-ordinator, or SENCO) as having responsibility for co-ordinating provision for children with SEN;
• ensure that children with SEN take part in the activities of the school together with children who do not have SEN as far as possible;