2002 Policy

Introduction

Objectives

Roles and Responsibilities

Allocation of resources

Identification, Assessment, Provision and Review

Specialised Provision

Admission Arrangements

Access to the Curriculum

Monitoring and Evaluating the Success of the Education Provided for Pupils with SEN

Arrangements for IN-Service Training

Introduction

St. Andrew's Church of England School values the contribution that every child and young person can make and welcomes the diversity of culture, religion and intellectual style. The school seeks to raise the achievement, remove barriers to learning and increase physical and curricular access for all. All children and young people with SEN are valued, respected and equal members of the school.
All such provision for pupils with SEN is a matter for the school as a whole. All teachers are teachers of pupils with SEN. The Governing body, Headteacher, SENCO and all other members of staff have important responsibilities. Back to top

Objectives

-To ensure that the culture, practice, management and deployment of resources are designed to meet the needs of all pupils with SEN.
-To enable pupils with SEN to maximise their achievements.
-To ensure that the needs of pupils with SEN are identified, assessed, provided for and regularly reviewed.
-To ensure that all pupils with SEN are offered full access to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum including the foundation stage and the National Curriculum as appropriate.
-To work in partnership with parents to enable them to make an active contribution to the education of their child.
-To take the views and wishes of the child into account.
-To promote continuity through a whole school approach.
-To provide an atmosphere of warmth and support in which self confidence and self esteem can flourish. Back to top

Roles and Responsibilities

-The Governing body determine the school's policy and approach to provision for children with SEN. The link Governor for SEN is Mrs. Priscilla Burris. The named Governor will take a particular interest in and closely monitor the School's work on behalf of children with SEN. The Governing body must report to parents annually on the school's policy on SEN.
-The Governors must ensure that a pupil with special educational needs joins in the activities of the school together with pupils who do not have special education needs, so far as is reasonably practical and compatible with the child receiving the special educational provision their learning needs call for and the efficient education of the pupils with whom they are educated and the efficient use of resources. They must ensure that parents are notified of a decision by the school that SEN provision is being made for their child.
-SEN provision is an integral part of the school development plan.
-The quality of SEN provision is continually monitored.
-The Headteacher, Mrs. T. Buck, has responsibility for the day to day management of all aspects of the school's work, including provision for children with SEN. The Headteacher should keep the governing body fully informed of work with SEN.
-All teaching and non-teaching staff should be involved in the development of the school's SEN policy and be fully aware of the school's procedures for making provision for pupils with SEN.
-The SENCO, Mrs. M. Floyd, working closely with the Headteacher, is closely involved in the strategic development of the SEN policy. The SENCO is responsible
- for co-ordinating provision for pupils with SEN particularly through School Action and School Action Plus. Back to top

Allocation of resources

The SEN allocation of the base budget is used for the SENCO teaching time and resources.
Standards fund, School Improvement 101B, is used for resources.
Funds allocated to pupils with statements for SEN is used on LSW's time and individual resources. Back to top

Identification, Assessment, Provision and Review

Our aim is to recognise and identify at the earliest opportunity those children who are not reaching their full potential (see 5 p.44-p58 Code of Practice)

The class teacher is responsible for identifying the child with special needs and initiating discussion about the child with relevant staff. This will include gathering information from a number of sources.

From the School
1. Class records, including any other school that the child has attended in the previous year.
2. National Curriculum attainments. SATS.
3. Standardising test results or profiles.
4. Records of achievement.
5. Reports on the child in school settings.
6. Observations about the child's behaviour.

From the Parents
1. Views on the child's health and development.
2. Perceptions of his performance, progress and behaviour at school and at home.
3. Factors contributing to any difficulty.
4. Their suggestions for action the school might take.

From the Child
1. Personal perception of any difficulties.
2. Opinion of how they might be addressed.

From Other Sources
Any information already available to the school from health, social services, etc.
Once this information has been collected the class teacher determines in consultation with the co-ordinator whether any special action is required. Forms will be filled in at the appropriate stages following the Code of Practice on Special Needs and a programme of work will be planned relevant to the areas of need and monitored by the class teacher, support teacher, SENCO and Governor.
Parents will be informed and involved at an early stage and throughout all procedures.
Regular reviews of assessment will take place and will focus on:-
1. The progress made by the child.
2. The effectiveness of the IEP - Individual Education Plan.
3. The contribution made by parents at home.
4. Updated information and advice.
5. Future action.

A decision will then be made as to whether to continue the programme as planned or to contact relevant outside support agencies or whether the child no longer requires special help. Back to top

Specialised Provision

Under review due to proposed building works. Back to top

Admission Arrangements

The Headteacher is responsible for the admission arrangements which accord with those laid down by the local education authority. The school acknowledges in full its responsibility to admit pupils with already identified special educational needs, as well as identifying and providing for those not previously identified as having SEN. Back to top

Access to the Curriculum

All pupils have the entitlement to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum. All pupils with SEN are taught for most of the week with their peers in mainstream classes by class teachers and study the curriculum appropriate for their age. All teaching and support staff are aware of the National Curriculum Inclusion Statement and in their planning and teaching they strive to:
-Provide suitable learning challenges
-Meet the pupils' diverse learning needs
-Remove the barriers to learning and assessment.

With advice from the support of the SENCO, teachers match the learning to the needs and abilities of the pupils. They use a range of strategies to develop the pupils' knowledge, understanding and skills. Where appropriate, materials are modified or support is provided to enable pupils with SEN to access the learning or the assessment processes.

The school acknowledges that its practices make a difference. Because of this the school and teachers regularly review issues related to pupils with SEN and classroom organisation, teaching styles and methods, materials and tasks to determine how these could be improved.

Pupils are made to feel special and have a feeling of self worth when going to their SN withdrawal sessions.

Access to the Wider Curriculum
In addition to the statutory curriculum the school provides a wide range of additional activities. These include Clubs - Art, Science, Drama. Orchestra, Football, Netball, Summer Sports, French, Recorders. Pupils with SEN are actively encouraged and supported to join in and benefit from these activities. The participation of pupils with SEN in these activities is monitored carefully. Back to top

Monitoring and Evaluating the Success of the Education Provided for Pupils with SEN

The school, including the governing body is committed to regular and systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of its work. In this respect, the governing body report annually to the parents upon the quality of education provided for, and the achievements of pupils with SEN. The school employs a series of methods to gather data for analysis including:

-Regular observation of teaching by the Headteacher, Governors, Link Inspector and subject co-ordinators.
-Analysis of the attainment and achievements of different groups of pupils with SEN
-Success rates in respect of IEP targets
-Scrutiny of teachers' planning and pupils' work.
-The views of parents and pupils
-Regular monitoring by the Governing body/SEN Governor
-Maintenance of assessment records (e.g. reading and spelling ages) that illustrate progress over time
-Regular meetings between SENCO, Headteacher, class teachers, subject co-ordinators and learning support workers.

As a result of the above the school reports annually upon its successes and identifies aspects for future development. Back to top

Arrangements for IN-Service Training

SENCO attendance at local and national courses/conferences including cluster meetings.
Opportunity to take accredited courses e.g. diplomas, certificates, degrees
Training for LSWs and non teaching staff e.g. midday supervisors.

In school we have termly whole team staff meetings to discuss children with SEN and the appropriate ways in which to deal with them.
Governors also attend SEN courses to update themselves on the Code of Practice of any new regulations.

The SENCO will inform teachers at Staff Meetings about the provision and update of SEN provision.

Each week the SENCO will liase with class teachers on the work programme set for the SEN child.

All newly qualified teachers and staff will be supported by the Headteacher and SENCO in all areas of delivering the SEN curriculum. Back to top