Special Education Needs and Disability

SEND

If you have any concerns or questions about your child and their learning and development, your first port of call is the class teacher.  

Aims

We value all the children in our school equally and we recognise the entitlement of each child to receive the best possible education. Within a caring and mutually supportive environment we aim to:

• Build upon the strengths and achievements of the child
• Create an environment in which all individuals are valued, have respect for one another and grow in self-esteem.
•  Give equal access to all aspects of school life through academic, social and practical experiences. This will allow all children to experience success regardless of SEN, disability or any other factor that may affect their attainment. This is in so far as it is reasonably practical and compatible with the child receiving their special educational provision and the effective education of their fellow pupils.
•  Ensure that effective channels of communication are sustained so that all persons including parents and carers are aware of the pupil’s progress and Special Educational Provision made for them.
•  Assess children regularly so that those with SEN are identified as early as possible.
•  Enable pupils with special educational needs to make the greatest progress possible.
•  Work towards developing expertise in using inclusive teaching and learning strategies.

 

A Graduated Approach to SEN Support

 

The school is committed to early identification in order to meet the needs of children with SEN. Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff. Teachers’ ongoing assessment will provide information about areas where a child is not progressing satisfactorily. These observations may be supported by formal assessments such as Baseline Assessment, PIPs, SATs or the use of PIVATS. Teachers will then consult the SENCO to consider what else might be done – the child’s learning characteristics; the learning environment, the task and the teaching style should always be considered. Progress for children will be achieved by focussing on classroom organisation, teaching materials, teaching style and differentiation. If subsequent intervention does not lead to adequate progress then the teacher will consult the SENCO to review the strategies that have been used. This review may lead to the conclusion that the pupil requires help that is additional to or different from that which is normally available. This would constitute Special Educational Provision and the child would be registered as receiving SEN Support. We seek to identify pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances. This can be characterised by progress which:

• is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
• fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
•  fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
•  widens the attainment gap

• fails to make progress with wider development or social and emotional needs
•  fails to make progress in self-help, social and personal skills

 

The school will use the graduated approach as advised in the Code of Practice 0-25 Years – ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’. This process is initiated, facilitated and overseen by the SENCO, whilst the class teacher is responsible for carrying out the process of assessing, planning, doing and reviewing. Where external agencies are involved, the SENCO will be responsible for liaising with those agencies. The SENCO will also provide advice and guidance throughout the process, and may carry out some additional assessment. The SENCO will update all records of provision and impact of that provision. The teacher will maintain the personalized plans and keep them updated.

Roles and Responsibilities

 

The Headteacher

The Headteacher is the school’s ‘responsible person’ and manages the school’s special educational needs work. The Headteacher will keep the Governing Body informed about the special educational needs provision made by the school. The Headteacher will work closely with the SENCO, the Special Needs Governor and Staff to ensure the effective day-to-day operation of the school’s special educational needs policy. The Headteacher and the SENCO will identify areas for development in special educational needs and contribute to the school’s improvement plan.

 

The Governing Body

The SEN Governor will support the Governors to fulfil their statutory obligations by ensuring:

• the Curriculum Committee receives a report at every curriculum meeting to update progress on SEN issues,
• the SEN policy is reviewed annually,
•  the governors’ annual report details the effectiveness of the SEN policy in the last year, any significant changes to the SEN policy, why they have been made and how they will affect SEN provision,
•  the school prospectus explains how the school implements the special educational needs statutory requirements reflecting what the school has in place and actually provides for pupils with special educational needs.

 

The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) - Andrew Jackson

• The SENCO is responsible for:
•  co-ordinating SEN provision for children.
• liaising with and advising teachers
• maintaining the school’s SEN register and overseeing the records of all pupils with special educational needs
• liaising with parents of children with special educational needs
•  liaising with external agencies including the educational psychology service and other support agencies, medical and social services and voluntary bodies
• consultation with the class teacher to ensure that IEPs are written and that reviews take place.

 

Role of Class Teacher and Support Staff

 

Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff. Both the teaching staff and the support assistants have an integrated role in curriculum planning and in supporting the child’s learning. They are fully involved in the identification, curriculum differentiation and assessment of pupils with SEN. They work together with the SENCO to formulate and review IEPs and to maintain a class SEN file that is kept in the classroom for reference by staff including supply staff and students as appropriate.

 

Further Information

The school has access to various organisations that can offer additional support to parents of children with Special Educational Needs. A great deal of help is available from the Local Education Authority, Social Services and the Health Service but families are sometimes unsure where to turn to or who to ask for help beyond the school. The Lancashire Parent Partnership offers an independent, impartial and confidential service and is an independent organisation that ensures that parents are kept fully informed of the services and options open to them. They can be contacted on 0845 6014284, email sen.info@ed.lancscc.gov.uk. Their website is www.lancspp.org.uk

 

A copy of the full SEND report is available at the top of this page. This policy complies with the statutory requirement laid out in the SEND Code of Practice 0 – 25 (September 2014) 3.65 and has been written with reference to the following guidance and documents:

•  Equality Act 2010: advice for schools DfE Feb 2013
•  SEND Code of Practice 0 – 25 (September 2014)
•  Schools SEN Information Report Regulations (2014)

 

The Lancashire Special educational needs and disabilities Local Offer can be found here

This indicates the type of provision the school currently offers to pupils with SEN and disability. It is reviewed annually. The level and type of provision decided on for individual pupils is that which is required to meet the planned outcomes. The SENCO records the provision made through provision mapping.