Search this site

7days since
Half Term

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Procedures‎ > ‎

Special Needs Policy

 Headteacher  

 Miss Alison Collins

 Address Maidenbower Infant School, Harvest Road, Maidenbower RH10 7RA
 Telephone     01293-886324
 Fax 01293- 887056
 Email office@maidenbowerinfant.w-sussex.sch.uk
Inclusion Manager/ Dyslexia Link Person  Mrs Kate Ayres
Inclusion Governor  Mrs Rosemary Cordan
 

 Aims of the School

 At Maidenbower Infant School we aim to provide an inclusive environment in which the teaching and learning achievements and well being of every pupil matters. All children will have access to the curriculum and appropriate and adequate access to the premises.
 
The Special Needs Policy aims at providing a systematic approach to the identification and assessment of pupils with special educational needs in our school. We make provision for these pupils so that:
 
  • The needs of all children are met and that the most vulnerable children are not overlooked. 
  • There is a coordinated whole school awareness of the systems and opportunities available to the teachers, parents and pupils involved. 
  • The needs of all children are equally considered.
  • Teachers will work to develop ideas for planning individual programmes to allow full and effective curriculum access for all children. 
  • Teachers know the procedures for evaluating a child’s progress.
  • Teachers can develop ideas for helping individual children to modify their behaviour and social skills. 
  • Staff are trained in identifying children with specific learning difficulties e.g Dyslexia. This enables them to plan for them, with the support of the Inclusion Manager.
The responsibility for the day to day learning lies with the teacher. The policy must therefore enable staff to ensure that:
 
  • The child maintains access to the whole curriculum and that the curriculum is modified to develop specific skills, concepts or attitudes as appropriate for the individual. 
  • The teacher/ child/parent relationship reflects a feeling of mutual trust and confidence. There will be agreement of purpose and clarity of role in an atmosphere of commitment and co-operation.
  • The support programme is geared to the current identified needs of the individual and is regularly reviewed and evaluated over a set period of time. 
  • Work develops from the child’s success.
  • Demands on the child are appropriate to the individual’s cognitive and academic development.
  • The development of the child’s self-esteem and confidence are central to the programme planned for the individual.

Definition of Special Educational Needs 

 
Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty that calls for special educational provision to be made for them. Children have a learning difficulty if they:
 
  • Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age.
  • Have a disability that prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the local education authority. 
  • Are under compulsory school age and fall within the definitions above or would so do if special educational provision was not made for them.
This SEN policy details how this school will do its best to ensure that the necessary provision is made for any pupil who has special educational needs and those needs are made known to all who are likely to teach them. We will endeavour to ensure that staff in the school are able to identify and provide for those pupils who have special educational needs and to allow pupils with special educational needs to join in all activities.
  
We will have regard to the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice when carrying out our duties towards all pupils with special educational needs and ensure that parents are notified of a decision by the school that SEN provision is being made for their child.
 
Partnership with parents plays a key role in enabling children and young people with SEN to achieve their potential. We recognise that parents hold key information and have knowledge and experience to contribute to the shared view of a child’s needs and the best ways of supporting them. All parents of children with special educational needs will be treated as partners and supported to play an active and valued role in their children’s education.
 
Children and young people with special educational needs often have a unique knowledge of their own needs, and their views about what sort of help they would like to help them make the most of their education will be ascertained. They will be encouraged to participate in all the decision making processes and contribute to the assessment of their needs, the review and transition processes.
 

Identification, Assessment and Provision

 
Provision for children with special education needs is a matter for the school. In addition to the governing body, the school’s Headteacher, the SENCO and all other members of staff have important day to day responsibilities. All teachers are teachers of children with special educational needs. Teaching such children is therefore a whole school responsibility. At the heart of the work of every primary school class is a continuous cycle of planning, teaching and 
assessing which takes account of the wide range of abilities, aptitudes and interest of children. The majority of children will learn and progress within these arrangements. Those children whose overall attainments or attainment in specific subjects falls significantly outside the expected range may have special
educational needs and may require additional support.
 
 

Provision

Each child’s current level of attainment is assessed on entry to the reception class in order to ensure that we build upon the pattern of learning and experience already established during the child’s pre-school years. If the child already has an identified special educational need, this information may be
transferred through Early Years Action and Early Years Action Plus from the Early Years setting and from Year 1 onwards School Action and School Action Plus. The SENCO and the child’s class teacher or supervisor will endeavour to liaise with pre-school settings and use this information to:
 
  • Provide starting points for the development of an appropriate curriculum.
  • Identify and focus attention on action to support the child within the class.
  • Use the assessment processes to identify any learning difficulties.
  • Ensure ongoing observation and assessment and provide regular feedback about the child’s achievements and experiences to form the basis for planning the next steps in the child’s learning.
  • Involve parents in supporting their child’s individual targets.
 
Children must not be regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because the language or form of language of their home is different from the language in which they will be taught.
 
The identification and assessment of the special educational needs of children whose first language is not English, requires particular care. Where there is uncertainty about an individual child, staff will look carefully at all aspects of a child’s performance in different subjects to establish whether the problems they have in the classroom are due to limitations in their command of the language that is used there or arise from special educational needs. We will endeavour to acquire assessments of the children’s proficiency in their first language (See Racial Equality Policy).
 
In order to help children who have special educational needs, the school will adopt a graduated response that recognises there is a continuum of special educational needs and brings increasing specialist expertise to bear on the difficulties that a child may be experiencing. We will record the steps taken to 
meet the needs of individual children. The SENCO and class teacher or supervisor will have responsibility for ensuring that the records are kept and available as needed. If staff refer a child for a statutory assessment, they should provide the LEA with a record of their work with the child including the arrangements they have already made.
 
Children with Special Educational Needs may be supported in class or nursery or withdrawn by a Learning Support Teacher, Teaching Assistant or parent. Children with a recognised medical condition and who may not necessarily have special educational needs will be monitored by a qualified First Aider with the responsibility for day to day care. There will be regular liaison between relevant staff, parents and SENCO and when necessary, referral to other health professional or outside agencies will be made. Provision has been made within our budget to purchase additional access to the Speech & Language Therapy Service.
 

Roles and Responsibilities

 The Governors have responsibility for: 
  • Appointing a responsible person to ensure that proper provision is made for children attending the school who have substantial learning difficulties. 
  • Liaising with the Headteacher over the arrangements made for children who require special help.
  • Informing the parents of the name of the designated Governor and how he/she can be contacted
  • Ensuring that the school has an approved Special Needs Policy.
  • Ensuring that the school has a Special Needs Co-ordinator.
  • Ensuring that the school have procedures for identifying and assessing the needs of children with learning difficulties.
  • Ensuring that an appropriate proportion of the school’s resources are allocated to meet identified special needs.
  • Ensuring that parents are familiar with the school’s policy of special needs.
  • Ensuring that appropriate strategies are developed to implement the principle of parents as partners.
  • Ensuring that any child who has a statement for special educational needs is as fully integrated into the normal classroom activities as possible.

The Headteacher has responsibility for:

  • Ensuring that the SEN policy is implemented.
  • Providing facilities for In-Service training.
  • Ensuring that the SENCO and SEN Governor are informed of current issues and provision.
  • Attending interviews with parents as necessary.
  • Liaising with SENCO and contacting outside agencies as and when necessary and informing all involved with the child of the action taken. 

The Class Teacher or Nursery Supervisor has responsibility for:

  • Teaching the range of pupils within the class effectively across all curriculum areas.
  • Identifying children who have special educational needs and completing the appropriate documentation.
  • Keeping detailed and accurate records.
  • Making special arrangements in the classroom to meet children’s needs.
  • Keeping parents informed of their child’s progress, any concerns and action to be taken.
  • Informing colleagues and those concerned with the child of any relevant information pertaining to the child’s progress in school which has been given by the parents.
  • Writing and implementing IEPs. 

The SENCO has responsibility for:

  •  Overseeing the day to day operation of the SEN policy.
  • Co-ordinating provision for children with special educational needs. 
  • Liaising with and advising fellow teachers, supervisors and support staff.
  • Managing learning support assistants. 
  • Overseeing the records of all children with special educational needs. 
  • Liaising with parents of children with special educational needs.
  •  Contributing to the in-service training of staff.
  • The SENCO will take responsibility for his or her own professional development and that of his/her colleagues in order to extend knowledge of Special Educational Needs throughout the school.
  • Liaising with external agencies including the LEA’s support and educational psychology services, health and social services and voluntary bodies.

 The Learning Support Teacher has responsibility for:

  • Providing appropriate individual programmes for children alongside the Class Teacher or Nursery Supervisor.
  • Ensuring that all individual programmes are followed.
  • Attending meetings with staff and/or parents as necessary.
 The Teaching Assistant has responsibility for:
  • Assisting class and/or Learning Support Teacher in implementing individual programmes.
 

Monitoring Children's Progress

Our system for observing and assessing the progress of individual children will provide information about areas in which a child is not progressing satisfactorily. Under these circumstances, staff may need to consult the SENCOto consider what else might be done. This review may lead to the conclusion that the child requires help over and above that which is normally available within the particular class or subject. If staff conclude that progress is inadequate, further action will be taken. This action may involve observation orinformal assessment by SENCO, Learning Support Teacher, Class Teacher or Teaching Assistant. Parents may not be informed until initial assessments have been made. Adequate progress can be defined in a number of ways.
 
It might be progress which:
  • Closes the attainment gap between the child and their peers.
  • Prevents the attainment gap growing wider 
  • Is similar to that of peers starting from the same attainment baseline, but less than that of the majority of peers. 
  • Matches or betters the child’s previous rate of progress. 
  • Ensures access to the full curriculum. 
  • Demonstrates an improvement in self help, social or personal skills. 
  • Demonstrates improvements in the child’s behaviour.

School Action/Early Years Action 

When a class teacher or the SENCO identifies a child with special educational needs, the class teacher will provide interventions that are additional to, or different from, those provided as part of the school’s usual differentiatedcurriculum. This will be called School Action/Early Years Action. The triggers for intervention through School Action will be concern, underpinned by evidence, about a child who despite receiving differentiated learning opportunities makes:

  • Makes little or no progress even when teaching targets a child’s identified area of weakness.
  • Shows signs of difficulty in developing in one or more curriculum areas. 
  • Presents persistent emotional or behavioural difficulties which are not improved by the behaviour management techniques usually employed in the school (see Behaviour Policy). 
  • Has sensory or physical problems and continues to make little or no progress despite the provision of specialist equipment. 
  • Has communication and/or interaction difficulties and continues to make little or no progress despite the provision of a differentiated curriculum. 

In some cases outside professionals from health or Social Services may already be involved with the child. Where these professionals have not already been working with the staff, the SENCO may contact them if the parents agree. The SENCO will support the further assessment of the child, assisting in planning future support for them in discussion with colleagues and monitoring the action taken. The child’s class teacher will remain responsible for working with the child on a daily basis and for planning and delivering an individualised, or group programme. Parents will always be consulted and kept informed of the action taken to help the child and of the outcome of this action.

Nature of Intervention 

The SENCO and the child’s class teacher will decide on the action needed to help with the child to progress in the light of their earlier assessment.
This may include:
  • Different learning materials or special equipment.
  • Some group or individual support. 
  • Extra adult time to devise the nature of the planned interventions and to monitor their effectiveness. 
  • Staff development and training to introduce more effective strategies. 
  • Access to LEA support services for one off or occasional advice on strategies or equipment e.g. Planning and Review Meetings (PARM) with Educational Psychologist and member of Learning Support Team.

Individual Education Plans

Strategies employed to enable the child to progress will be recorded within an
 
Individual Education Plan (IEP). The IEP will include information about:
 
  • The short term targets set for the child.
  • The teaching strategies to be used, which may take account of individual learning styles or strengths and weaknesses.
  • The provision to be put in place.
  • When the plan is to be reviewed.
  • Success and exit criteria.
  • Outcomes (to be recorded when IEP is reviewed).
The IEP will only record that which is additional to, or different from, the differentiated curriculum and will usually focus on up to three or four individual targets that match the child’s needs. Parents will be given the opportunity to discuss the IEP with a member of staff. The child will be involved where appropriate. The IEP will be reviewed at least twice a year and parents’ views on their child’s progress will be sought. Wherever possible, the child will also take part in the review process and be involved in setting the targets.
 

School Action Plus/Early Years Action Plus

 A request for support from external services may follow a decision taken by the SENCO and colleagues in consultation with parents. At School Action Plus/Early Years Action Plus external support services will often see the child so that they 
can advise teachers on IEP targets and accompanying strategies, provide more specialist assessments to inform planning and the measurement of a pupil’s progress, give advice on the use of new or specialist strategies or materials and, in some cases, provide support for particular activities.
 
The triggers for School Action Plus will be that, despite receiving individualised support under School Action, the child:
 
  • Continues to make little or no progress in specific areas over a long period. 
  • Continues working at National Curriculum levels substantially below that expected of children of a similar age. 
  • Continues to have difficulty in developing literacy and mathematics skills. 
  • Has emotional or behavioural difficulties which substantially and regularly interfere with the child’s own learning or that of the class group, despite having an individualised behaviour management programme. 
  • Has sensory or physical needs and requires additional specialist equipment or regular advice or visits by a specialist service. 
  • Has ongoing communication or interaction difficulties that impede the development of social relationships and cause substantial barriers to learning.
 When the help of external support services is sought, those services will need to see the child’s records in order to establish which strategies have already been employed and which targets have been set and achieved. The external
specialist may act in an advisory capacity, or provide additional specialist assessment or be involved in teaching the child  directly. The resulting IEP for the child will set out suitable strategies for supporting the child’s progress. These will be implemented, at least in part, in the normal classroom or nursery setting. The delivery of the interventions recorded in the IEP continues to be the responsibility of the class teacher.
 

School Request for a Statutory Assessment

Where a request for a statutory assessment is made by the school to an LEA, the child will have demonstrated significant cause for concern. The LEA will need information about the child's progress over time and will also need documentation in relation to the child’s special educational needs and any action taken to deal with those needs, including any resources or special arrangements put in place. The school will provide this evidence through School Action and School Action Plus. This information may include: 
  • Individual education plans for the pupil. 
  • Records of regular reviews and their outcomes. 
  • The pupil’s health including the child’s medical history where relevant. 
  • National Curriculum level attainments in literacy and mathematics. 
  • Educational and other assessments, for example from an advisory specialist support teacher or an educational psychologist. 
  • Views of the parents and of the child, if appropriate. 
  • Involvement of other professionals such as Health, Social Services or Education Welfare Service.
 

Statutory Assessment of Special Educational Needs

Statutory Assessment involves consideration by the LEA, working co-operatively with parents, the child’s school or nursery and as appropriate, other agencies, as to whether a statutory assessment of the child’s special educational needs is necessary. A child will be brought to the LEA’s attention as possibly requiring an assessment through a request by the child’s school, from a parent or a referral by another agency. Where the evidence presented to the LEA suggests that the child’s learning difficulties have not responded to relevant and
purposeful measures taken by the school and external specialists and may call for special educational provision which cannot reasonably be provided within the resources normally available to mainstream schools, the LEA will consider the case for a statutory assessment of the child’s special educational needs. The LEA may decide that the degree of the pupil’s learning difficulty and the nature of the provision necessary to meet the child’s special educational needs is such as to require the LEA to determine the child’s special educational
provision through a statement.
 
A Statement of Special Education Needs will include: 
  • The pupil’s name, address and date of birth. 
  • Details of all of the pupil’s special needs. 
  • Identify the special educational provision necessary to meet the pupil’s special educational needs. 
  • Identify the type and name of the school or nursery where the provision is to be made. 
  • Include relevant non-educational needs of the child. 
  • Include information on non-educational provision. 
All children with statements of special educational needs will have short term targets set for them that have been established after consultation with parents and child and include targets identified in the statement of educational need. These targets will be set out in an IEP and be implemented, at least in part and as far as possible, in the normal classroom setting. The delivery of the interventions recorded in the IEP will continue to be the responsibility of the 
class teacher.
 

Annual Review of a Statement of Special Educational Needs

 All statements must be reviewed at least annually with the parents, the pupil, where appropriate, the school and professionals involved invited to consider whether any amendments need to be made to the description of the pupil’s
needs or to the special educational provision specified in the statement. The annual review should focus on what the child has achieved as well as on any difficulties that need to be resolved. The SENCO of the receiving school should be invited to attend the final annual review in primary school of pupils with statements, to allow the receiving school to plan an appropriate IEP to start at the beginning of the new school year and enable the pupil and the parents to be reassured that an effective and supportive transfer will occur.
 

Success Criteria

 
Children will be identified as having special educational needs at the earliest possible opportunity. Staff will liaise with pre-school settings.
 
There will be a continuum of provision to meet the needs at different levels.
 
Teachers will feel confident about identifying and assessing children and there will be a coherent system throughout the school.
 
Parents will feel involved and informed about the provision being made for their children.
  
Where appropriate children will be involved in setting their own targets and taking some responsibility for their learning.
 
Children will achieve the targets set in their Individual Education Plans.
 

Admission Arrangements

 
At Maidenbower Infant School the admissions policy for children with Special Educational Needs is the same for all other children.
 

Complaints Procedure

 
The Complaints Procedure is the same as for any other aspect of the work of the school (see Prospectus).
 
Reviewed and adopted 1 July 2008

Sign in|Report Abuse|Print Page|Remove Access|Powered By Google Sites