SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS Back

Help from the SENCo

The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is Sarah Deale. She is responsible for managing the Special Educational Provision across the school.

The school operates a vast range of support and intervention for pupils in each year group.

Please feel free to pop in to see Sarah Deale - alternatively make an appointment via the school office.

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS POLICY 2009-2011

OUR VISION

At Coppetts Wood School we welcome all children including those who have different learning styles and may be identified as having Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Learning Difficulties and Disabilities (LDD). We have high expectations for our pupils and will ensure that all children make progress in their academic as well as social and emotional development.

Inclusion is at the centre of our schools aims and values. We are committed to a whole school approach – SEN/LDD (including the Language Resource Provision) is a shared responsibility by the whole school and all members of the school community.

We believe that inclusion is successful when attitudes are welcoming, positive and empathetic; when there is sufficient and appropriate support for the child, the parents and the school, ensuring the establishment of good links. Our priority is to ensure that a child with special educational needs has access to the right support and to this end, we work hard to maintain links with parents and health, social care and education professionals.

The school follows the national guidance on SEN and LDD, which is set out in the revised SEN Code of Practice (2001) as well as Every Child Matters and the Disability and Discrimination Act.

DEFINTION OF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS (SEN)

At Coppetts Wood School a child is defined as having special educational needs when their learning needs require support above and beyond that normally provided in classrooms in terms of Wave 1 Quality Teaching. The needs might be associated with social, emotional, behavioural, physical, communication, sensory needs or a combination of these. The SEN Code of Practice describes four areas of difficulty. It is recognised that some children will experience difficulties in more than one area.

Learning
Behaviour, Social and Emotional Development
Language, speech and communication (including children with autistic spectrum condition)
Physical and medical needs (including sensory difficulties – sight and hearing)

We believe that the Five Outcomes set out in Every Child Matters Agenda are important for all children but are especially so for our most vulnerable children. The Five Outcomes - stay healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic wellbeing - inform our thinking about curriculum, classrooms and the care, guidance and support we provide for our children.

A shared vision of inclusion permeates all policies e.g. our School Educational Visits Policy - we always plan school journeys and educational visits making reasonable adjustments to include all pupils. This policy should be read in conjunction with other policies that describe how we provide support, guidance and encouragement to learners in our schools. We have a School Accessibility Plan, an Equalities Scheme and a Disability Equalities Scheme Action Plan, which describe how we are improving the school for children and adults with disabilities and sit within the whole School Improvement Plan. These are all available from the school office.

THE OVERALL AIM OF OUR POLICY

The aim of this policy is to communicate with parents/carers, staff, the local community and the Local Authority how we will make high quality provision for children with SEN/LDD and remove barriers to their progress.

This policy reflects how we ensure access for all children to the full life at Coppetts Wood School, for example:

Academically – access to and progress in a broad and balanced curriculum including the National Curriculum.
Socially and emotionally - encouraging friendships and cooperation
Through extended services – e.g. before and after school clubs, lunch clubs
Thorough promoting community cohesion - e.g. a sense of belonging for all, developing a curriculum which challenges prejudice, bias and stereotypes

THE OBJECTIVES OF OUR SEN POLICY

The objectives of the governing body are to:

Ensure the best outcomes for all pupils in both progress and attainment
Continue to involve parents in the school’s SEN/LDD provision
Ensuring a whole school approach – for example, further developing differentiation across the school and the implications of the Disability Discrimination Act
Continue to develop the monitoring and assessment of needs and the tracking progress of pupils with SEN/LDD
Continue to assess needs and provide appropriate intervention and support
Support transition for children with SEN/LDD between years and into the next stage of education or alternative type of education if required
Develop our approach to disability equality issues in the light of the new legislation

We will review the policy annually and report on our successes and plans for improvement in our School Profile and Governors newsletter to parents/carers in the summer term.

ADMISSION AND INDUCTION ARRANGEMENTS FOR CHILDREN WITH SEN/LDD (INCLUDING THOSE WITH STATEMENTS OF SEN)

We welcome children with SEN/LDD into our school. The Local Authority’s SEN department inform us when parents/carers of a child with a Statement of SEN want a place at our school. All other requests for places for children with SEN/LDD, who do not have a Statement, are dealt with using the Local Authority admission criteria for allocating places for all children.

Our school Induction arrangements for children with SEN/LDD include:

The SENCo gathering information from the parents and outside agencies (including early years providers) involved with the child
The SENCo making appropriate admission arrangements for the child. These may include visiting the child in their previous school, providing the child with visual information about our school, and arranging for the child to visit the school prior to starting.
Home visits to all children starting in the Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception)
Buddy systems

We are committed to working in partnership with parents to ensure a smooth start to their child’s time with us.

OUR SPEECH AND LANGUAGE RESOURCE PROVISION

We are an additionally resourced school for pupils with speech and language difficulties. All children placed in the resource provision have statements of special educational needs and are placed here by the local authority. Please see our separate Language Resource Provision policy for further details.

HOW WE IDENTIFY, ASSESS AND PLAN SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN WITH SEN/LDD

At Coppetts Wood School we cater for different needs through careful planning. We record all pupils’ progress as part of our monitoring and assessment practices. In the Foundation Stage these include the Foundation Stage Profile, child observations and record of achievement books. In Key Stage One and Two, we carry out half termly tracking of progress in literacy and numeracy and science. Class teachers communicate any concerns early on to parents/carers.

The school takes great care over the identification and assessment of children whose first language is not English. We do not assume that lack of progress in English means that a child has a special educational need. However, we are aware that for some children, slow progress may be a result of a special educational need.

EarlyYears/ School Action

A child will be considered for School Action if the concerns continue for a period of longer than one term and the intervention provided by the class teacher or the school is not having a sufficient impact. Generally a child’s attainment will be at least one level below national expectations in one core subject and/or they may exhibit difficulties in one of the following areas:

Speech and Language difficulties as assessed by a Speech Therapist

Inability to focus and attend in class

Significant gross and fine motor difficulty

Significant other physical or medical difficulties

Significant behaviour difficulties that affect the child’s progress

Significant social or emotional difficulties

Targeted action is taken. This is additional to or different from those normally provided as part of the school’s differentiated curriculum. The SENCo and the class teacher inform parents/carers of concerns. The class teacher and SENCo will decide on appropriate support. This may include:

Wave three interventions
Increased liaison with parents
Special equipment or materials
Individual Education Plans
Support from the Learning Mentor
Deployment of staff to provide additional support to individuals or groups.

The provision we make will be recorded and shared with the parent/carer and the child.

Early Years/ School Action Plus

The following factors will result in a move to Early Years/School Action Plus:

The child continues to make little or no progress despite interventions in place to support them
The child continues to work at National Curriculum levels substantially below those those expected of a pupil of a similar age
The child has emotional or behavioural difficulties which substantially and regularly interfere with their learning, despite having an individualised behaviour management plan
The child has sensory or physical needs, and requires additional specialist equipment, advice or visits, providing direct intervention to the pupil or staff, by a specialist service
The child has ongoing communication or interaction difficulties that impede the development of social relationships and cause substantial barriers to learning.

If the level of intervention being provided in school is not helping to overcome the child’s difficulties the school will refer to outside agencies. These include the High Incidence Support Team, the Educational Psychology Team and the Specialist Teams for visual, hearing and physical impairment and autistic spectrum condition. New IEPS are written for the child in consultation with the parents to incorporate the advice from the external agencies.

Pupils described as having SEN and/or disabilities are actively involved in making decisions about their own learning and support. They know their personal targets as these are communicated in a child-friendly format to them (e.g.’ My targets’ sheet, behaviour reward chart etc.). Children also express their views on their progress and support prior to an Annual Review.

Statutory Assessment

A child will only obtain a statutory assessment if the school is able to prove that the child has significant, lifelong and complex needs.

Individual Education Plans

IEPS are currently written for all children on Early Years/School Action or Early Years/ School Action Plus and for those with a statement. They are written three times a year by the SENCo and class teacher in consultation with parents/carers. Targets are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time limited. There is generally a maximum of four targets on an IEP. Pupils in one class with similar needs may have a Group IEP. We record a child’s targets with them on a ‘My Targets’ sheet. IEPs are kept in the class SEN file. These should be monitored weekly by the class teacher and the Teaching Assistant.

If we feel that the child is making adequate progress, he or she may no

longer need to receive SEN provision. We consider a child to have made adequate progress when s/he no longer meets our criteria for SEN/LDD. We will record this discussion in the SEN Records and we will keep these SEN Records for reference in the pupil’s office file and pass them on when he or she transfers to another school.

HOW WE HELP CHILDREN WITH SEN/LDD

We have a graduated response to need using three ‘waves’ of support for children, as described below:

Wave One: Effective in class teaching using a differentiated curriculum.

Wave Two: Small group intervention for pupils who can be expected to catch up with their peers as a result of the intervention. These are not primarily SEN interventions.

Wave Three: These are specifically targeted interventions for children identified as requiring SEN support.

The variety of provision we make for children includes:

A curriculum differentiated by class teacher
Intervention groups run by Teaching Assistants
Teaching Assistants supporting individual work
Small group teaching of individuals and groups
Social skills groups
Support from Learning Mentors for individuals, groups and whole classes
Splitting classes for literacy/numeracy between two teachers

Individual Education Plans assist class teachers and Teaching Assistants in differentiating the curriculum. Through this varied provision and with high expectations, we aim to maximise progress whatever a child’s starting point.

HOW WE TRAIN OUR TEACHING AND SUPPORT STAFF ON SEN MATTERS We understand the importance of training in special needs, inclusion and disability equality. We recognise that teaching and non-teaching staff will need regular training on aspects of special needs and inclusion in order to update policy and inform practice.

We keep training needs under review. All staff discuss their individual training needs at Performance Management review meetings annually.
The SENCo meets regularly with Teaching Assistants.. We hold regular SEN training sessions for all staff. The SENCo is available for informal discussions during the school day.
The school regularly sends staff on Local Authority and SENJIT training, balancing the current needs as well as more long-term requirements and the need to build capacity. At times, we also have whole school training on particular issues and we invite members of the Local Authority into school to provide training and support to staff. Staff can request to attend training at any time.
- Recent training includes:
- Disability Equality Scheme training
- Introduction to the Inclusion Development Programme
- Support for staff working with children with autistic spectrum disorders
- Makaton training for early years staff

HOW WE WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS/CARERS

We understand the importance of working in close partnership with parents and carers of children with SEN/LDD and work hard to ensure good communication with parents. Parents/carers are valued as the people who know their children best and their views and needs are taken into consideration

Parents/carers are also involved in making a positive contribution to the education of their children through:

a systematic effort to support parents/carers through periods of transition, by clearly explaining all the procedures, paying visits to new settings (internal or external), having interviews with newcomers and making sure that all needs are communicated effectively so that they can be followed up successfully. The Learning Mentor plays an important role in supporting both children and parents/carers in transition to secondary school
Good communication including telephone, email and face to face conversations, Annual Review meetings, and through home school books where these are appropriate. We will meet parents/carers to discuss any questions and and/or concerns that they may have about their children’s education in our schools.
Parents/carers of pupils with SEN and disabilities can approach school staff to discuss the progress of their children and to seek information and advice and are also given the space to express concerns and complaints about any issue around their children’s provision formally and informally. The school responds to these concerns by arranging meetings with the stakeholders and possibly external professionals to clarify matters.

HOW WE WORK WITH EXTERNAL SERVICES TO SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH SEN

The school works successfully with many outside agencies:

The EP meets regularly with the SENCO (and sometimes the Head) to agree a programme of support for the school. Sometimes this will involve statutory assessment work and participation in assessments and reviews for children with statements. However, it is the intention of the school that the EP should be provided with an overview of the school’s special educational needs and may be engaged in other forms of intervention such as support for parents and training for staff.
As we are a resourced school for Speech and Language, we have two Speech and Language Therapists on site for part of the week. They also deal with our mainstream caseload. They assess children who have been referred, consults with parents, train Teaching Assistants, advise the SENCo and work with children.

There are also links and collaboration with the following agencies that make a contribution to the efforts of the school to create a happy and meaningful environment for all:

Parent Support Advisor
Education Welfare Officer providing attendance support
Health Service, particularly through the school nurse, Occupational and Physio therapists
Social Services, if necessary
Parents’ Line Plus
Children’s Centre including Family Outreach work
High Incidence Support Team
Specialist Teams for visual and hearing impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum condition

HOW WE LINK WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS AND SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH SEN THROUGH TRANSITION INTO SECONDARY EDUCATION

Children from Coppetts Wood School move on to a variety of secondary schools. We carry out a transition project for all children in Year 6, lead by our Learning Mentors. Additional support for individual children will be provided as necessary. As part of the transition project the Learning Mentor will try to arrange an additional visit to their new school for any vulnerable children.

When children with statements transfer to secondary school or to a special school, the SENCo and Year 6 teacher invite the SENCo of that school to attend either an Annual Review or IEP review. We pass on all the SEN records to the receiving school.

For children with special educational needs who do not have statements, the Year 6 teacher/SENCo will meet with the Y7 transition teacher of the new school to discuss the child’s particular needs with this teacher. We pass on all the records to the receiving school.

When a child transfers to another primary school we pass on the SEN records and the SENCo will, if possible, speak to the teacher with responsibility for SEN/LDD at the new school.

HOW WE HELP CHILDREN WITH SEN/LDD TO MAKE THE TRANSITION BETWEEN YEAR GROUPS

There are a number of measures in place that support a smooth transfer of all children to the next school year. In addition to these, we have the following measures for children with SEN/LDD:

The SENCo ensures that all records are passed to the next class teacher
At the hand-over meeting in the summer term the current class teacher shares detailed information with the new class teacher using an Inclusion check list. Behaviour management plans for BESD are communicated with class teacher and if needed with whole school
We put in place additional strategies for individual children e.g extra visits to the new classroom, photo books, buddying with older child/sibling/learning mentor support
Use of social stories for within school transitions-change of teacher or TA etc. during the year (especially for children who work one-to-one with adults)

HOW WE FUND OUR SEN/LDD PROVISION

The school receives funding for pupils with SEN/LDD from the Local Authority based on factors such as the percentage of children receiving free school meals and the general level of attainment in the schools. In addition, the school is committed to using its general and personalisation budget to support children with SEN.

We endeavour to meet the needs of all children at School Action and School Action Plus from within our allocated resources. The school requests Statutory Assessment for any child we believe has significant, lifelong and complex needs.

HOW WE MONITOR THE IMPACT OF PROVISION FOR INCLUSION

Pupil progress and the effectiveness of provision is monitored in a number of ways:

Teachers are able to identify pupils early who need additional support.
Teachers and teaching assistants can provide support using a range of intervention programmes.
Teachers show clear differentiation in their planning, which also reflects high but realistic expectations of pupils’ progress.
Regular IEP reviews to monitor targets and their effectiveness
Analysis/tracking of data (RAPT’s)
Formal assessments carried out by the SENCo to obtain reading and spelling ages.
Reports and assessments from outside agencies
Teaching Assistant feedback on intervention programmes and progress
Teacher assessments
Monitoring of IEP targets by teachers and Teaching Assistants
Parents views- formal and informal.
Use of P-levels for children with SEN working at pre national curriculum levels.
Use of IEPS for all Early Year/ School Action and Early Years/School Action Plus and children with statements.
SEN Governor liaising with the SENCo to have an understanding of how the policy is being implemented.

Ratified:: April 2009

Review Date: April 2011

Parent Support

We endeavour to support parents in a variety of ways. We are always happy to meet with parents. Parents are always invited to meetings with other professionals about their child.

Parents can also reeive support from outside agencies. Parents can be referred to the Parent Support Advisors from Barnet or to Barnet Primary Project (part of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service).

Our Learning Mentors also run Parents Workshops. Many of these have an SEN focus. For example, this year we hosted a series for workshops run by Annie Etherington, from the Specialist Team for Autism in Barnet