MELLISCEVCPRIMARY SCHOOL

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS POLICY 2014

Definition of Special Educational Needs

A pupil is considered to have Special Educational Needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability that requires special educational provision, namely provision that is different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age. Children may experience difficulties in the following areas: Communication and Interaction, Cognition and Learning, Social, Emotional and Mental Health, Sensory and/or Physical. In some pupils may have complex needs, which cover a range ofdifficulties. This policy aims to address the needs of these pupils.

Although there are acknowledged links, in some instances, with pupils whohave English as Additional Language needs, this is a separate area of provisionand is, accordingly, addressed in a different policy document. Children with EALshould not be regarded as having SEN, although pupils with EAL may also haveSEN.

It is also important for schools to be alert to events that may lead to learning difficulties or wider mental health difficulties, such as bullying or bereavement. Such events will not always lead to children having SEN but they can have an impact on well being and sometimes this can be severe. We aim to ensure appropriate provision for a child.s short-term needs are made in order to prevent any problems or difficulties they may be experiencing from escalating.

The revised code of practice focuses on meeting children’s needs in the classroom, and therefore as staff, we must accept that the responsibility for meeting theeducational needs of all pupils in our classroom lies with us, ‘teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all pupils In their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff”’ (SENCode of Practice 6.36).

It is important to note that all staffhave theresponsibility of meeting the needs of each individual in their class to the best oftheir ability with or without a formal assessment. If there is a concern, a referral to the SENCo should accompany a structured and welldifferentiatedteaching programme. “ additional intervention and support cannot compensate for a lack of good quality teaching”(SEN code of practice). The Special Educational Needs (SEN) Codeof Practice, which was revised in 2014, provides guidance on the duties ofschools, local authorities, Health Professionals and others working with children who have SEN musthave regard. The Code sets out four areas of SEN:

  • Cognition and Learning
  • Social, Emotional and Mental Health
  • Communication and Interaction
  • Sensory and/or Physical Needs

The Equality Act 2010 states that schools must make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services for disabled children, to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage.

All staff have a responsibility for identifying students with Special EducationalNeeds. Class teachers have the overall responsibility of ensuring that the curriculum will be differentiated and delivered in an inclusiveway.

The aim of our Special Educational Needs Policy is to ensure

that:

  • We identify and assess children with SEN as early as possible.
  • All procedures for identifying children with SEN are known and understoodby everyone.
  • We provide differentiation within a balanced and broad and relevant curriculum, in a way that supports children with SEN.
  • Records relating to SEN follow the child through the school, which areclear, accurate and up to date.
  • We raise staff awareness ofSEN and its complexities through INSET.
  • We work in partnership with parents and guardians so that children achieve their potential.
  • We take into consideration the views of both the child and their parents.
  • We maintain close links with the support services and other professionalsand agencies.
  • We encourage children to participate in their intervention progress meetings and be part of the decision- making process and where appropriate contribute to the assessment of their needs and to review outcomes with their teachers.
  • All children are given access to the curriculum at an appropriate level and each child’s learning and achievements are maximized at every stageof their primary school career.
  • There is adequate resourcing for SEN.

Roles and Responsibilities:

MellisCEVCPSchool recognises that provision for children with Special Education

Needs is a matter for the school as a whole. Roles and Responsibilities withregard to SEN are designated in the following way:

Headteacher: Paul Ryle

  • Allocate roles and responsibilities to staff so that special needs are met.
  • To liaise with staff, SENCo, support services, parents and pupils.
  • To report to governors on the needs of the SEN children in his care.
  • To delegate the organisation of review meetings to the SENCo.
  • To ensure that the needs of SEN children are met within the school.

Special Educational Needs Coordinator: Jessica Shaw

  • To play a key role in delivering the strategic development of the SENpolicy and provision.
  • To oversee the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy.
  • To monitor the needs of SENchildren together withthe Head teacher and class teachers.
  • To assist with and advise on, the teaching and assessment of childrenwith SEN.
  • To organise annual and termly reviews.
  • To ensure SEN Support Plans are written and reviewed termly.
  • To ensure that provision for pupils with SEN is mapped
  • To ensure that the impact of SEN interventions is assessed for each pupil
  • To meet regularly with the Head teacher to discuss individual children,resources and use of time.
  • To give advice on the level of support and on appropriate resources andstrategies to support learning.
  • To ensure that the school’s SEN register & provision map is updatedregularly.
  • To lead the annual review of the Special Educational Needs Policy.
  • To make contact with the Educational Psychologist and other supportservices in consultation with the Head teacher, class teachers and child’s parents.
  • To meet with parents and pupils along with the class teacher to discuss and support needs andprogress.
  • To report to governors as requested by the Head teacher.
  • To work in conjunction with the class teachers.
  • To manage Teaching Assistants providing SEN support.
  • To lead INSET on SEN in school as appropriate.
  • To maintain an SEN file reflecting information on the SEN needs and stage of all children within the school, as well as copies of relevant individual intervention plans for each individual child.
  • To keep their own skills updated by reading, researching & attendingINSET on SEN and appropriate related external courses.

Class teachers:

  • To identify the Special Educational Needs of individual children in theirclass
  • To know which pupils in their class are on the SEN Register and if they receiving SEN Support or Education, Health Care Plans (EHC)
  • To write individual SEN support plans for pupils receiving SEN Support or with EHC’s
  • To ensure that these individual SEN support plans are reviewed with the parents (and child ifappropriate) at least three times a year.
  • To provide a detailed record of the Individual SEN support Plan targets andthe strategies of intervention adopted and their relative success for each child withspecial needs.
  • To ensure TA’s are supporting pupils in their class, as directed.
  • To ensure that the Head teacher and other colleagues are aware ofchildren's needs.
  • To provide learning experiences which are appropriate to the needs of thechild.
  • To attend appropriate INSET and courses.

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Teaching Assistants:

Under the guidance of the class teacher to:

  • Carry out activities and learning programmes planned by the class teacherand the SENCo.
  • To keep records of this work as requested.
  • To support children in class or by withdrawing individuals and smallgroups.
  • To attend INSET and courses where appropriate.
  • To be fully aware of the school’s SEN policy.

Governors:

  • A named governor to have responsibility for the implementation of theSEN policy.
  • To be fully involved in developing and monitoring the SEN policy.
  • To have up to date knowledge about the school’s SEN provision, includingfunding.
  • To know how equipment and personnel resources are deployed.
  • To ensure that SEN provision is an integral part of the SchoolImprovement Plan.
  • To ensure that financial resources are available to carry out the SENpolicy.
  • To ensure the quality of SEN provision is continually monitored
  • To ensure the SEN policy is subject to a regular cycle of monitoring,evaluation and review.
  • To liaise with the Head teacher, SENCo and staff
  • To report annually to parents on the implementation of the SEN policy andany changes during the school last year within their report.

Admission arrangements

Mellis CEVCP School aims to be fully inclusive and follows the requirements of the Inclusive Guidance DfES , The Children and Families Act 2014 and The Equality Act 2010. All pupils are welcome including those with Special Educational needs and the arrangements for their admission will be in accordance with the LEA admissions policy. The school is supportive of the rights of the parents of a child with a statement or EHC to choose a mainstream school in which to have their child educated.

Arrangements for Identification and support of Children with Special Educational Needs:

Mellis CEVCP School uses the SEN Code of Practice Criteria as guidance for the identification andassessment of children with special educational needs. We aim to identifychildren with special educational needs as early as possible in their schoolcareer and follow a four stage graduated approach to deliver their support. Children who may have SEN will be assessedin the first instance by their class teacher in conjunction with the SENCo. An intervention plan will be devised with input from the Cass teacher, Parents and SENCo. The child may also be involved in this process if appropriate. The intervention will then be carried out, (done)organized by the class teacher and overseen by the SENCo and this process along with it’s impact on progression and or attainment will be reviewed by the class teacher, SENCo and parents in the first instance. Specialists or outside professionals may be called upon at any stage of this process to offer advice and support after consultation with and permission granted from the parents.

When a class teacher identifies a child who may haveSEN s/he should inform the SENCo, using the appropriate referral form and through discussion.

If a class teacher has concern about a child these concerns will be discussed inthe first instance with the SENCo, and then the parents of the childand arrangements for the class teacher toinformally monitor the child’s progress and/ or behaviour for a period of time will be initiated.

Once this concern has been registered the class teacher will work closely withthe child in the normal classroom context, observing the child’s progress and/orbehaviour and ensuring extra help is available and targeted for the child from Teaching Assistants. The triggers for intervention could bethe teacher’s or other’s concerns, underpinned by evidence about a child who,despite receiving quality teaching and differentiated learning opportunities:

  • Makes little or no progress even when teaching approaches are targetedparticularly in a child’s identified area of weakness.
  • Shows signs of difficulty in developing literacy and mathematics skills,which result in poor attainment in some curriculum areas.
  • Presents persistent emotional or behavioural difficulties.
  • Has sensory or physical problems, and continues to make little or noprogress despite the provision of specialist equipment.
  • Has a communication and/or interaction difficulty.

If the class teacher is still concerned after a period of monitoring a decision willbe made, in conjunction with the SENCo about whether the child needsto go on the SEN register. The SENCo, will arrange for in school assessments to be carried out with the child (for example BPVS, PAT, Dyslexia Screening Test, Draw a man test) in order to pinpoint in greater detail the child’s area of weakness. The SENCo, along with the class teacher will then contact the parents about the child’s needs, offering them a visit if required.A decision may be reached at that meeting to begin SEN Support, inwhich case the child’s name must be entered on the SEN Register and the SENCo must include that pupil in their SEN file. Children at thisstage should be offered extra support from within the schools resources (for example individually planned intervention targeting the child’s specific area of need, catch up programmes, or diagnostic tests to further pinpoint the child’s specific area(s) of difficulty) and this will inform their targets on their individual SEN support plan and be recorded on aprovision map.

The school’s assigned Educational Psychologist and any other assessing professionals,for example CAMHS should be involved in considering whether to progress to EHC They should be provided with up to date information aboutthe pupil, including all previous interventions. It is likely that the decision toprogress to EHC may come after it becomes clear that, despiteappropriate interventions and support from relevant outside professionals the pupil is failing to access the curriculum at anappropriate level and/or the child is making less than expected progress.The School will always consult specialists when they takeaction on behalf of a child.External support services, both those provided by the LEA, Health and by outsideagencies, will usually see the child, in school if that is appropriate andpracticable, so that they can advise teachers on intervention targets and accompanyingstrategies.

Progression to Education Health and Care Plan:

If after advice from the EP or other professionals, the school and parentsconsider that help is needed from outside the school’s resources the SENCo

completes the form for either Suffolk or another authority (depending onwhere the child resides) requesting Education Health and Care Plan by the Authority.

Papers are forwarded to the Case Officer for the school, who with the Panel,which meets weekly, will decide whether to proceed with EHC.

Should the Panel decide against EHC it is then up to the schoolto look again at provision for the child and to formulate new strategies and intervention.

If the Panel agrees to proceed with EHC the SENCo preparesfurther documentation about the child, which is sent to the Special Needs Sectionwhere, in consideration with similar documents from other involved professionals,an Education Health and Care is completed. The class teacher, in conjunction with the SENCo is then responsible for drawing up an individual SEN support plan to meetthe objectives set out in the EHC The EHC must be formally reviewedat least annually, and the SENCo, class teacher, parent, representatives from other agencies and where appropriate the child should attend these reviews.

Individual SEN Support Plans:

All pupils on the SEN register must have an Individual SEN Support Plan. These

Individual SEN Support Plans must be reviewed at least three times a year, with theparent(s) and the child if it is appropriate to include the child. This should ideally bedone once every term. If a pupilis making good progress the intervention review can be used to consider removing achild from the SEN register. Alternatively, if targets have not been met, progress is less than expected despite all therequired support being in place the review may be the first part of the processto move the pupil to the next step on the register for example from SEN support to a request for EHC. There must be clear evidence in theSEN file ofwhen intervention has been reviewed and the outcome of that review, including whichtargets have been met, the progress that has been made and the new targets which have been set. This evidenceis very important in supporting the pupil to make progress, but also in providingevidence of the interventions by the school in the event of a move to EHC.

Annual Reviews of Education, Health and Care Plans:

If a child has an EHC, it must bereviewed annually. The Annual Review will be chaired by the SENCo. Reportswill be submitted by the Class teacher, Teaching Assistant and anyone elseworking with the child, for example the Speech Therapist. If there are concernsabout the progress or behaviour of a pupil with an EHC then an AnnualReview can be held at anytime during the year and more than one can be held inthe course of a year. The Annual Review can be used to request additionalsupport or changes to the EHC. In the unfortunate event of a pupil with anEHC facing Permanent Exclusion an Annual Review MUST be held at theearliest opportunity prior to the exclusion meeting.

Transitions

Mellis CEVCP School takes pupils from several different preschools and nurseries, including Mellis and Yaxley Preschool which is located on the same sight as the school. Pupils attending this preschool are invited into the school every Friday for assembly for the year preceding their entry. The SENCo has the opportunity to liaise with the preschool to establish which of the pupils who are progressing to the Receptionclass are onSEN register. This information will be collated by SENCo in order to draw up the SEN register for the Reception class. In the Summer term the Reception Teacher carries out preschool visits to all other preschools and nurseries with children who will be attending Mellis School and has the opportunity to identify any pupils who are on the Early Years SEN register or who their preschool are concerned about. This information will then be shared with the Mellis SENCo, who in turn will liaise with the specific preschools in order to set up a suitable individualized induction for those pupils, and arrange suitable intervention in order to meet their special educational needs. Any child with an existing Statement of Special Educational Need or EHC will have a transition meeting with the SENCo of Mellis School, the parents, the preschool manager and representatives from any other agencies involved to ensure a seamless provision of care.