Special Educational Needs Policy

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Policy

Mission Statement

We aim to provide every possible opportunity for every child to develop their full potential. Children with Special Educational Needs must be valued as individuals and should be encouraged to integrate with their peers, both socially and academically. They should have access to the whole school curriculum. At all times, consideration will be given to maintaining and enhancing the self-esteem of children with Special Educational Needs.

This policy was reviewed and updated in line with the revised Code of Practice.

Chaterhouse Square school provides a broad and balanced curriculum for all children. When planning, teachers set suitable learning challenges and respond to children's diverse learning needs. Some children have barriers to learning that mean they have special needs and this will require particular action by the school.

These requirements are likely to arise as a consequence of a child having special educational needs (SEN). Teachers take account of SEN requirements and make provision, where necessary, to support individuals or groups of children and thus enable them to participate effectively in curriculum and assessment activities. Such children may need additional or different help from that given to other children of the same age.

Children may have special educational needs either throughout or at any time during their school career. This policy ensures that curriculum planning and assessment for children with special educational needs takes account of the type and extent of the difficulty experienced by the child.

The School has a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO), who is responsible for children at Key Stage 1 and 2.  She is Rebecca Rouse.

The objectives of the SEN policy are:

• provide a framework for the provision of teaching and support for children with learning difficulties. The framework refers to entitlement, access and partnership.
• Identify SEN at the earliest possible opportunity. The assessment process will involve partnership with all those concerned with the child, including parents/carers, teachers and other professionals.
• Use the current Code of Practice for SEN (Code of Practice, January 2002, DFES) to guide details of provision and areas of responsibility
• Keep the Headmistress and staff informed of those children on the Register for Special Educational Needs.
• That all staff are aware of their particular responsibilities with respect to the SEN Policy, and seek advice from the SENCO whenever necessary.
• That as children progress through the school, all information and records relating to their Special Educational Needs are transferred with them.
• The needs of gifted or more able children should be met within the classroom, following the School's policy for gifted/talented children.

Our SEN policy helps us to:

• create an environment that meets the special educational needs of each child;
• ensure that the special educational needs of children are identified, assessed and provided for;
• make clear the expectations of all partners in the process;
• identify the roles and responsibilities of staff in providing for children's special educational needs;
• enable all children to have full access to all elements of the school curriculum;
• ensure that parents are able to play their part in supporting their child's education;
• ensure that our children have a voice in this process;
• achieve educational inclusion.

In our school we aim to offer excellence and choice to all our children, whatever their ability or needs. We have high expectations of all our children. We aim to achieve this through the removal of barriers to learning and participation. We want all our children to feel that they are a valued part of our school community. Through appropriate curricular provision, we respect the fact that children:

• have different educational and behavioural needs and aspirations;
• require different strategies for learning;
• acquire, assimilate and communicate information at different rates;
• need a range of different teaching approaches and experiences.

Teachers respond to children's needs by:

• providing support for children who need help with communication, language and literacy;
• planning to develop children's understanding through the use of all available senses and experiences;
• planning for children's full participation in learning, and in physical and practical activities;
• helping children to manage their behaviour and to take part in learning effectively and safely;
• helping individuals to manage their emotions, particularly trauma or stress, and to take part in learning.

Children with special educational needs have learning difficulties that call for special provision to be made. Children may have special needs at some time in their lives if:

• they have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age;
• they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities that are provided for children of the same age;
• they are under school age and fall within the definitions above.

Many of the children who join our school have already attended an early education setting. In many cases children join us with their needs already assessed. We use this information to provide starting points for the development of an appropriate curriculum for all our children.

If our assessments show that a child may have a learning difficulty, we use a range of strategies that make full use of all available classroom and school resources. This level of support is called School Action. The child's class teacher will offer interventions that are different from or additional to those provided as part of the school's usual working practices. The class teacher will keep parents informed and draw upon them for additional information. The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO), if not already involved, will become involved if the teacher and parents feel that the child would benefit from further support. The SENCO will then take the lead in further assessments of the child's needs.

We will record the strategies used to support the child within an Individual Education Plan (IEP). The IEP will show the short-term target set for the child and the teaching strategies to be used. It will also indicate the planned outcomes and the date for the plan to be reviewed. In most cases, this review will take place once a term. 

If the IEP review identifies that support is needed from outside services, we will consult parents prior to any support being actioned. In most cases, children will be seen by external specialists.  The school will act upon receipt of these professional reports.   

The SENCO has overall responsibility for the co-ordination of SEN provision. In our school the SENCO:

• manages the day-to-day operation of the SEN policy;
• co-ordinates the provision for and manages the responses to children's special needs;
• maintains the SEN register;
• has overall responsibility for IEPs;
• supports and advises colleagues, keeping them informed of children with SEN;
• oversees the records of all children with special educational needs, and ensures assessments are carried out;
• has responsibility for statemented children and annual reviews;
• acts as the link with parents;
• acts as link with external agencies and other support agencies;
• monitors and evaluates the special educational needs provision and reports to the Headmistress;
• liaises with the Headmistress to:
  • ensure that resources, including staff are available to meet SEN provision
  • in-staff training is available to maintain skills and expertise
• manages a range of resources, human and material, to enable appropriate provision for children with special educational needs;
• contributes to the professional development of all staff.

The role of the Headmistress

• The Headmistress has due regard to the Code of Practice when carrying out her duties toward all children with special educational needs.
• The Headmistress provides the necessary provision for any child identified as having special educational needs. She ensures that all teachers are aware of the importance of providing for these children.
• The Headmistress has specific oversight of the school's provision for children with special educational needs. The Headmistress ensures that all those who teach a child with a statement of special educational needs are aware of the nature of the statement.
• The Headmistress must be aware of the school's SEN provision, equipment and personnel.

Allocation of resources

The SENCO is responsible for the operational management of the specified and agreed resourcing for special needs provision within the school, including the provision for children with statements of special educational needs.

Assessment and monitoring

The assessment and monitoring of children with Special Educational Needs, as well as the provision of support, evaluation and record-keeping will be guided by the Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs (January 2002).  Parents should be kept informed at every stage. The views of the child should also be sought where possible.

Acting on the expression of an initial concern, the class teacher should be responsible for collecting information regarding the child, including evidence to support their concerns.

If a child's needs cannot be met by differentiation within the classroom, the child's teacher should seek advice from the SENCO. The SENCO then takes the lead in collecting relevant information, further assessments and planning support.

Following evaluation, various options are available:

• SENCO advises class teacher; use of resources, strategies, and differentiation. Class teacher monitors progress.
• SENCO plans support programme, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) will be formulated. SENCO monitors progress, liaising with other staff, parents & the child.
• The SENCO may seek further assessment and advice from external specialists.

Individual Education Plans will be discussed with the child's parents, and will be reviewed every term or more frequently as needed.

Children are assessed using current standardised tests. Other specialist tests may be used to gain a more detailed individual profile. In some cases, external specialists may carry out further assessment, such as an educational psychologists, behavioural optometrist or speech therapists.

Once a learning support need has been identified, support will be given whenever possible, within the constraints of staff expertise and timetabling.

Early identification is vital. The class teacher informs the parents at the earliest opportunity to alert them to concerns and enlist their active help and participation.

The class teacher and the SENCO assess and monitor the children's progress in line with existing school practices. This is an ongoing process.

The SENCO works with parents and teachers to plan an appropriate programme of support.

The assessment of children reflects as far as possible their participation in the whole curriculum of the school. The class teacher and the SENCO can break down the assessment into smaller steps in order to aid progress and provide detailed and accurate indicators.

Access to the curriculum

All children have an entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum, which is differentiated to enable children to:

• understand the relevance and purpose of learning activities;
• experience levels of understanding and rates of progress that bring feelings of success and achievement.

Teachers use a range of strategies to meet children's special educational needs. Lessons have clear learning objectives; we differentiate work appropriately, and we use assessment to inform the next stage of learning.

Individual Education Plans, which employ a small-steps approach, feature significantly in the provision that we make in the school. By breaking down the existing levels of attainment into finely graded steps and targets, we ensure that children experience success.

We support children in a manner that acknowledges their entitlement to share the same learning experiences that their peers enjoy. Wherever possible, we do not withdraw children from the classroom situation. There are times, though, when to maximise learning, we ask the children to work in small groups, or in a one-to-one situation outside the classroom.

Partnership with parents

The school works with parents in the support of those children with special educational needs. We encourage an active partnership through an ongoing dialogue with parents.  Parents have much to contribute to our support for children with special educational needs.

We have meetings each term to share the progress of special needs children with their parents. We inform the parents of any outside intervention, and we share the process of decision-making by providing clear information relating to the education of children with special educational needs.

Child participation

In our school we encourage children to take responsibility and to make decisions. This is part of the culture of our school and relates to children of all ages. The work in the Foundation Stage recognises the importance of children developing social as well as educational skills.

Children are involved at an appropriate level in setting targets in their IEPs and in the termly IEP review meetings. Children are encouraged to make judgements about their own performance against their IEP targets. We recognise success here as we do in any other aspect of school life.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The SENCO and the Headmistress hold regular meetings to review the work of the school in this area.

Accessing learning support

Most teaching takes place in small groups, although programmes of work are designed to meet individual needs. Individual support may be advised for some children.

Complaints

Parents are encouraged to discuss any concerns with the child's class teacher or the SENCO.  The SENCO and the Headmistress should always be aware of any concerns.

The school also has an official complaints procedure.

Speech and Language Therapy

Teaching staff should alert the Headmistress if they feel that a child may be in need of intervention in this area. 

Curriculum

Dyslexic children at Charterhouse Square School are given access to a complete age-appropriate curriculum. Our curriculum documentation is kept in the Staff study for reference and gives the aim, policy and programme of study for subjects taught.  It also details many resources. The literacy and numeracy programmes of work vary slightly from year to year according to the presenting needs of the children in a given form. 

Small group or one-to-one provision may be provided for dyslexic children with less severe needs who require minimal support with Literacy and/or Numeracy. These children are usually assessed 'in-house' by the SENCO, and parents may thereafter seek an Educational Psychologist's Report.

Teachers are responsible for tracking child progress in Literacy and/or Numeracy throughout their time at Charterhouse Square School.

As far as Literacy is concerned the emphasis is on reading and the sub-skills needed for reading, and improving phonological processing. All children receive help with spelling, composition and written comprehension.

Individual Education Plans

The Senco is responsible for preparing I.E.P.s once attainment tests have been completed and writing levels established at  the beginning of the academic year. 

A copy of the blank template is available from the Senco. I.E.P. targets should be kept under constant informal review, but will be formally reviewed once a term. New targets will then be set.  There will be liaison with parents whose input will be sought.

Children should be made aware of any targets set where this is judged to be useful and appropriate. Caution should be exercised where children  are new to Charterhouse Square School since we need to ensure that targets are realistic for the individual. 

OFSTED noted that the four most common weaknesses in I.E.P.s were:-

• imprecise terminology (with frequent use of phrases such as 'improved reading', 'increased confidence', 'improved self-esteem');
• failure to indicate which teachers and subjects would be involved;
• lack of child involvement;
• failure to link them with other areas of assessment and recording procedures in the school.

The five most frequent strengths in I.E.P.s were that they:-

• were based on sound knowledge of the child;
• took account of children' strengths and interests;
• stated realistic time scales;
• were linked to resources in school;
• involved parents at some stage (either in their setting and/or review).

Distribution of I.E.P.s - copies should be made for:

Parents

The Headmistress

The Senco

Teachers

Disability Discrimination Act

In the light of the Disability Discrimination Act we have carefully considered what we might do to make our building more accessible to those who have special needs.  We have thought about whether we could teach without the need for a physically disabled child to go upstairs.  Unfortunately, we have had to conclude that this would not be possible because of the physical structure of the school.