Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND) Policy
PHILOSOPHY
The school aims to meet the needs of each and every child, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, so that they may reach their full potential and enjoy their learning.
DEFINITION
A pupil has Special Educational Needs (SEN) where their learning or disability calls for special educational provision, that is provision different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age.
Difficulties related solely to limitations in English as an additional language are not SEN.
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Our work with children with SEND is guided by the ‘Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years,’ published by the Department for Education in Jan 2015. Copies of this document are available on the DFE website. The school also adheres to the principles of the Equality Act 2010.
- The needs of children with SEND are identified, assessed and provision planned
- Children with SEND are given access to a broad and balanced curriculum
- Roles and responsibilities of staff are identified, including a school SENCO
- Parental consultation plays a crucial role in delivering this additional provision
- The views of the child are sought and taken into account
- Achievement is regularly measured to monitor progress against targets
- Advice from external agencies is used to meet needs as necessary.
- Additional support is sought and/or an Education, Health Care (EHC) Assessment is applied for if the needs of a child cannot be met within the school’s resources.
SEND COORDINATION
Class teachers retain the responsibility for the progress of all pupils in their class, including those with SEND. Teachers are supported in this role by Teaching Assistants (TAs).
The school's SENDCO is Mr David Gibbons . The SENDCO is responsible for:
- Overseeing the implementation of the SEND policy
- Monitoring the provision for SEND pupils.
- Liaising with parents of pupils with SEN
- Working with the Headteacher and the governors to ensure the school meets its responsibilities for ‘reasonable adjustments’ and ‘access arrangements’
- Coordination of support from external agencies and professionals
- Supporting transition arrangements for children with SEN
- Advising on the deployment of resources and the SEN budget
- Ensuring records and plans are kept up-to-date
The SENDCO’s work is monitored by the Headteacher and the SEN Governor.
The school is committed to an ongoing programme of training to continually improve staff expertise in SEND. This is provided by external agencies or by the school SENDCO. The school also invests in an experienced and dedicated team of teaching assistants.
PARTNERSHIPS WITH PARENTS
Parents are entitled to be kept informed and encouraged to play an active part in meeting their child’s needs. The school regards the support of parents very highly in being able to help their child make good progress. For example, they may be asked to do specific tasks at home as part of the Support Plan outcomes.
Pupils are asked about their views on their learning and social skills. These are usually recorded before formal meetings and shared as part of the review meeting process. Pupils may participate in meetings, if considered appropriate.
The SENDCO is available to give SEND advice to parents when they request it. The Local Authority also funds the ‘Liaise’ service, should a parent wish to seek independent advice on SEND issues.
ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR PUPILS WITH SEND
Our school is an inclusive school which welcomes all children, providing their needs can be met in our mainstream facility. If a child is registered with SEND, the Headteacher will discuss needs with parents and ensure that all necessary support and/or resources are in place before the child is admitted.
If physical adjustments or adaptations are needed to the school building, these will be assessed by the appropriate Local Authority Officer or an Occupational Therapist.
ASSESSMENT AND PROVISION
Our work for children on the SEND register will follow the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycle.
- Assessment: Early identification of children with SEND is important. Initial concerns regarding a child’s progress or specific difficulty might be raised by the class teacher, who will discuss this with parents to gain further information. If there is significant concern, the class teacher will then discuss the issues with the SENDCO and complete a Cause for Concern form. Assessment information, pupil views and any information from external agencies will be considered as part of this process.
If more specialist SEND monitoring and provision is needed, with parental permission, the child will be placed on the SEND register.
- Plan and Do: The next step is to create a Support Plan to outline needs, set desired outcomes, SMART targets and plan additional interventions or adjustments to the classroom routines and tasks as needed.
The Support Plan will contain:
- Information about strengths and needs
- Pupil/Parent views
- Desired outcomes for the child
- SMART Targets to support the achievement of outcomes
- Teaching strategies /resources to be used
- Assessment information
A child may transfer to our school with SEND needs already identified. There will be consultation with the previous school, parents and any other appropriate agencies to determine the level of support needed.
There are two distinct levels of support once a child has been placed on the SEND register:
- SEN Support: Support that is planned and managed in school. In some cases, external agency advice will also be sought.
- Education Health Care (EHC) Plan: An EHC assessment can be requested where ’purposeful action’ has been taken and the child has not made expected progress and/or the child’s needs are severe, complex and long term.
Children who have an EHC Plan have their needs and provision outlined in detail in this document. This may also be supplemented by ‘top up’ funding for the school.
REVIEW
Progress will be monitored through school assessment data and Pupil Profile outcomes in review meetings held 3 times a year. These are in addition to the usual Parents’ Evenings offered.
SEN pupils will also be highlighted as a specific cohort of children, in the normal assessment and ‘tracking’ procedures used in school, when analysing data for planning and provision. There may also be class observations from the SENDCO or Headteacher.
RECORD KEEPING
The school will keep records of meetings and of the steps taken to meet a child’s SEN needs. These will be openly shared with parents. Professional reports will also be kept with these records and shared with the relevant staff in school.
If a child has an EHC plan, this will also be reviewed through the ‘Annual Review’ process once a year and papers submitted to parents and the Local Authority.
EXTERNAL SUPPORT SERVICES
Many external services are used to seek advice and support in our SEND work. These are provided by Children’s Services, from either the Education, Health or Social Care sectors. Examples include: Educational Psychologists, Social Communication Outreach Workers and Speech and Language Therapists. The school also tries to help and advise parents on voluntary and charitable services which might prove to be useful.
Sources of support are listed in the council’s ‘Family Services Directory’ website:
www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/sendlocaloffer
Parental consent will be sought before their child is seen by an external agency.
TRANSFER OF SCHOOLS
The school liaises with our link secondary schools in the summer term to share information on children transferring to Year 7. Key Staff from the feeder schools are invited to review meetings to meet parents. Children on the SEND register may also have access to ‘enhanced’ transition arrangements, if needed.
If a child, at any point, transfers to another school, all their SEND records are sent by the administrator, when a formal request from the school is received.
POLICY REVIEW
The SEND policy is reviewed every year to ensure it reflects current legal guidelines and school practice. Any significant changes are shared with the SEN Governor. All staff are responsible for making the policy effective and should seek clarification from the SENDCO or Headteacher, if they have any queries regarding provision.
COMPLAINTS
Complaints should be addressed to the relevant class teacher in the first instance and then to the SENCO/Headteacher if not resolved. If this is also unsuccessful, complaints can then be taken to the school’s Governing Body.
REFERENCES
- Special Educational Needs Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years – DFE Jan 2015
- Equality Act 2010
REVIEW
- Refer to Policy Review Timetable
- Policy Last Updated: July 2023
