Kinsley Primary School

Kinsley Primary School

Special Education Needs Policy

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator: Mrs Clare Perry

Special Educational Needs Governor: Mrs Jane Gosney

Reviewed: March 2012

OUR SCHOOL VISION

Kinsley Primary School is a happy place where we all feel safe, valued, cared for and everyone matters. We have the highest expectations for all, encouraging everybody to achieve and be the best that they can be. We are constantly learning together in new and exciting ways and strive to improve each and everyday. We are a school which promotes pride, respect and understanding of ourselves and others and where independent thinkers and learners thrive, making choices about our own learning. Our global world is an ever changing place and we evolve in order to prepare all learners for whatever the future may hold.

Identifying and Assessing Special Educational Needs

Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

Children have a learning difficulty if they:

·  have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age.

·  have 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 LA

·  are under compulsory school age and fall within the definitions above or would do so if special education provision were not made for them.

Children are not regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because the language or form of language of their home is different from the language in which they will be taught.

Special educational provision is that which is additional to, or otherwise different from, the educational provision and quality first teaching made generally for children of their age in maintained schools in their LA, other than Special Schools.

The Code of Practice sees SEN as four areas:

·  communication and interaction

·  cognition and learning

·  behavioural, emotional and social development

·  sensory and/or physical

Definitions in the Children’s Act 1989 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995

A child is disabled if he is blind, deaf or dumb or suffers from a mental disorder of any kind or is substantially and permanently handicapped by illness, injury or congenital deformity or such other disability as may be prescribed.

Section 17 (11) Children’s Act 1989

A person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Section 1 (1) Disability Discrimination Act 1995

A child may fall within one or more of the definitions. The SEN Code helps us meet or responsibilities for children with SEN. Guidance relating to Part 4 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 helps us to meet our responsibilities for any disabled children in our school.

The Role of the Special Needs Co-ordinator

·  to liase with parents and other professionals in respect of children with special educational needs including conducting Annual Review meetings

·  to advise and support class teachers and support staff

·  to ensure that appropriate Individual or Group Education Plans are in place and that relevant provision is being made for each child

·  to ensure that relevant background and information about individual children with special educational needs is collected, recorded and updated

·  to take the lead in further assessment of the child’s particular strengths and weaknesses and plan future support in discussion with colleagues

·  to monitor and review the action taken

·  to consult and inform parents of provision being planned for their child

·  to consult with the SENCo at the transfer school to ensure efficient transfer of records of any Year 6 pupils on the SEN register

Identification, Assessment and Provision of SEN

At the heart of every class is a continuous cycle of planning, quality first teaching with appropriate differentiation and assessing which takes account of the wide range of abilities, aptitudes and interests of children.

Most children will learn and progress within these arrangements.

Assessment against National Curriculum level descriptions for each subject enable teachers to make judgements about children’s performance, which may indicate areas of concern where progress on the school tracking sheets is significantly outside the expected range. The use of Optional SATs and baseline assessments may be tools used which provide evidence that the current rate of progress is inadequate. We must not assume that all pupils will progress at the same rate, nor should we assume all pupils can learn to capacity when the same teaching approach is used.

However, when we are considering whether progress is inadequate in spite of the differentiation already taking place in the classroom, we need to look at the definition of ‘adequate progress’ which can be defined as:

·  that which closes the attainment gap between child and peers

·  prevents the attainment gap growing wider

·  is similar to that of peers starting from the same attainment baseline but less than the majority of peers

·  matches or betters the child’s previous rate of progress

·  ensures access to the full curriculum

·  demonstrates an improvement in self-help, social or personal skills

·  demonstrates improvements in the child’s behaviour

School Action

Having decided that a child is making inadequate progress and is therefore identified as having SEN, then SCHOOL ACTION is the next strategy. Parents continue to be kept informed about their child’s rate of progress and the class teacher, assisted by the SENCo, will devise an Individual Education Plan. Extra help may be given to the child by class teacher, support staff and different learning materials may be provided. LSS and EPS may help in advising or providing this sort of help at a consultative level dependent upon the child’s level and stage.

Individual Education Plans

The strategies we use to enable a child with SEN to progress needs to be recorded in an Individual Education Plan (IEP). This is a planning, teaching and review tool which sets out the “what”, “how” and “how often” particular knowledge, understanding and skills should be taught through additional or different activities provided through the differentiated curriculum. Copies are then placed in each child’s file in the SEN filing cabinet, with the other names on the GEP erased, for security purposes. The class teacher keeps a copy of all IEP’s in the class SEN file accessed by the teacher and support staff attached to that class.

An IEP

This should focus on up to 3 or 4 key individual targets and should include information about:

·  the short-term targets set for or by the pupil which are extra to or different from those for most pupils, e.g. relating to communication, literacy, numeracy, behaviour or physical skills

·  the teaching strategies to be used

·  the detail of the provision to be put into place which is different from or additional to that which is generally available for all pupils

·  when the plan is to be reviewed

·  success and/or exit criteria

·  outcomes – to be recorded when the IEP is reviewed

IEPs must be manageable and seen as a working document, kept under review and evaluated during the first half of each term. IEPs need to be shared with the pupil and parents, to give it ownership. Hopefully the IEP will result in the achievement of specified learning goals for pupils with SEN. If this is not the case, then a decision may be made, after consultation with parents and colleagues, to alter the provision through School Action Plus. A child can only be regarded as School Action plus if other outside agencies are involved.

School Action Plus

At School Action Plus the consent of parents must be sought and then the SENCo will liase with external support agencies, e.g. the Educational Psychologist, advisory teachers from LSS, who will provide more specialist assessments to inform our planning and measurement of a child’s progress. The resulting IEP should set out fresh strategies for supporting the child’s progress. Although developed with the help of outside specialists these strategies will usually be implemented as far as possible in the normal classroom. The interventions and their recording continue to be the responsibility of the class teacher.

Statutory Assessment of SEN

If the child’s needs remain so great that we feel we cannot meet them effectively within our normal resources, then we may request a statutory assessment, following consultation with parents. All records we have kept will be sent to the LA so that they can decide whether an assessment will be carried out. Assessment in itself will not always lead to a Statement although the information gathered may indicate ways in which we may meet the child’s needs, for example, by the provision of a special piece of equipment and expert guidance on its’ use. If a Statement of SEN is written for a child, it must be reviewed at least annually, which means that the pupils, parents, LA, school and other professionals involved meet together to consider the progress made and any amendments which need to be made.

Support Available in School for Pupils with SEN

Support for all children with SEN remains the responsibility of the class teacher, through appropriate differentiation and resources recommended for that child. We have experienced support staff who lead some interventions such as Catch Up and their role is to support the teacher in supporting the child. The SENCo will lease regularly with other professionals to ensure the best education is provided for children on the SEN register. The SENCo will ensure termly that the targets on IEP’s are appropriate and that the provision in place is ensuring children are making expected progress.

Support Available outside of School for Pupils with SEN

We currently work very closely with an advisory teacher, Mrs Jane Soar from LSS based at Normanton Town Hall.

Our Educationalist Psychologist is Mr Niall Devlin. We make referrals to both agencies at our joint planning meetings which take place twice a year. Both services offer a needs-led support to the school and individual teachers, rather than focus on a small number of children.

Complaints Procedure Regarding SEN Provision

If parents have a concern about their child’s educational provision which the class teacher, SENCo or Headteacher have not been able to resolve, then the complaint needs to go to the Governing Body using the procedure in the school prospectus.

If the complaint is still not resolved, then the parents need to consult County Hall in Wakefield, where there is an independent officer specifically appointed to resolve differences between parents and school or between parents and the LA

Working with Parents and Pupils

We believe parents need to be fully involved in their children’s learning and we recognise that children have their own point of view.

“They have a right to receive and make known information, to express an opinion and to have that opinion taken into account in any matters affecting them”

Articles 12 and 13, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Good, clear communication is vital between school staff, parents and children so that concerns are dealt with as soon as possible. When special interventions are planned, parents can play an active part in helping implement their child’s IEP, for instance by helping their child with any programmes to be followed at home. We recognise the value of such input and the unique contribution that parents can make. If, despite the additional support provided by the school, parents feel their child requires more help, they have the right to request a statutory assessment from the LA.

Policy approved by Head Teacher: Paul Birdsall

Date: 7th March 2012

Policy approved by Governing Body: Mrs J. Gosney (Chair of Governors)

Date: 21st March 2012

The date for the next policy review is March 2013