The Heath – A SpecialistTechnologyCollege
Inclusion Protocol
Inclusion
This is a key integral part of our Framework for College Development in promoting a positive climate for learning. To develop a fully inclusive ethos with attention to outlook and practice.
School Vision
“A College for the 21st Century. A Centre of Excellence where everyone has aspirations to learn, progress and achieve. A co-operative, innovative, dynamic community with a clear sense of purpose and pride in promoting personalised learning for all.”
Definition
An inclusive school establishes a safe, secure and welcoming environment that provides and protects opportunities for learning and personal development for all students within their entitlement and related to their needs and abilities towards their full potential (emotional/spiritual, academic, physical, social and cultural) and meets the outcomes of the Every Child Matters Agenda.
Aims
To develop systems to implement promotion of equalities
To enable maximum student participation in school life.
To create inclusive cultures, policies and practices within the school, including Dyslexia Friendly approaches.
To recognise students likely to be excluded and develop strategies to prevent this.
To support the vulnerable students.
To facilitate reintegration into mainstream classes.
To reduce fixed term exclusions.
To improve attendance.
To have a learning environment that promotes diversity.
Objectives
To manage inclusive schooling for all through the curriculum pathways structure.
To ensure differentiation is incorporated into lesson planning.
To demonstrate commitment to equal opportunities and to promote spiritual, social, moral and cultural development.
To create a resource base to support students to meet identified needs.
To set up efficient structure, with clear roles and responsibilities to facilitate removing barriers to learning for vulnerable students.
Inclusion Officer to profile students referred and allocate service i.e. Learning Support, Mentoring Service, Social Inclusion Support, Behaviour Unit, Counselling etc.
To use CSI in overcoming barriers to learning.
Students at Risk of Exclusion/Vulnerable Student Groups
Such students will be identified early by the Behaviour Officer, Progress Co-ordinators, Behaviour Liaison Officer, SENCO, LSAs, Mentors and Departments will be made aware of the special needs of these students and appropriate strategies to deal with them via the CSI team and the Assistant Headteacher Inclusion. Students are initially referred through the Inclusion Officer.
Cont’d …
Written by MCReviewed: March 2012 Next Review: March 2013
The Heath – A SpecialistTechnologyCollege
Inclusion Protocol
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Departments should respond proactively and constructively to the advice on promoting effective inclusion contained in the National Curriculum Orders published in 2000 with this response clearly evident in Schemes of Work and Department Handbooks.
Whole school systems operate and monitor the effect of the areas of support for students demonstrating evidence of improvement or deterioration.
Documentation for these systems will be regularly updated in the Staff Handbook.
Centre for Student Intervention (CSI)
The Centre for Student Intervention encompasses the work of a number of effective practitioners including the Inclusion Officer, SENCO, Behaviour Officer, Pastoral Officer, Learning Support and Dyslexia Specialist teacher, Behaviour Liaison Officer, Counsellors, Mentors and LSAs. Together the team meets the needs of the students in dealing with barriers to success be they learning, behavioural or emotional. The team encompasses a mental health team from its members. The team deals with all outside agencies such as Education Welfare, the IWST team and CAMHs etc. They complete IBPs, PSPs and CAFs as well as being responsible for Child Protection referrals.
Student Intervention for Behaviour
The school operates CSI behaviour as a practical alternative to fixed term exclusion as a sanction point, where the student has the opportunity to explore how to behave appropriately, be given strategies to manage themselves, to focus on areas of weakness, to be supported in making measurable progress and to develop social skills and change behaviour to succeed. It also has a key role to play in reintegrating students following a fixed term exclusion.
The Centre for Student Inclusion will operate to the principles laid down in the Halton “Excellence in Cities” guidance and the recent Steer Report.
The Centre accommodates up to a maximum of 10 students at any one time including some on a part time basis and will be available for 5 days a week if required. It provides short term teaching and support programmes tailored to the needs of the most difficult students. The Centre has within it a Nurture Facility.
The Centre is staffed by a Behaviour Mentor, alongside the Behaviour Officer and Assistant Behaviour Officer.
The Behaviour Officer has direct responsibility for identifying the most appropriate intervention for students, co-ordinating staffing, referral arrangements and has clear responsibility for curriculum and conduct in the Centre, reporting to the Assistant Head Inclusion. The Behaviour Officer organises 6th Day Exclusion provision as well as reintegration from exclusion. The Behaviour Officer tracks and monitors behaviour and reports to Within School Variation Committee.
Cont’d …
Written by MCReviewed: March 2012 Next Review: March 2013
The Heath – A Specialist Technology College
Inclusion Protocol
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Inclusion Procedure
There are clear written criteria for placement of students in the Behaviour Centre as a result of referrals from lessons.
Breaches of school rules that previously would have led to a fixed term exclusion also result in the placement of students in the Centre.
There is an agreed exit strategy for each student prior to their being admitted.
The reintegration process is carefully planned with receiving staff fully aware of what the student has achieved and what further support is required, using e-mail to communicate. The impact of interventions is measured.
Curriculum
Our curriculum, PSHE schemes, assemblies and Thought for the Day promote respect for diversity – religious, cultural and philosophical. The SEAL ethos also creates a positive foundation. Personalised Learning is incorporated in our pathway options which meet a variety of needs.
The entitlement to an appropriate curriculum is not compromised through placement in the Inclusion area for the vulnerable or the behaviour unit.
There will be high expectations of student behaviour and the Behaviour Officer will make arrangements for timetables, which allow for students in the area to be operating separately from other students to minimise difficulties.
Monitoring of achievement, personal and in comparison to targets, takes place.
Monitoring of behaviour is undertaken.
Other Vulnerable Groups
The Centre (CSI) further promotes inclusion by protecting the vulnerable including school phobics, poor attenders, young carers, looked after students, the bullied, transgender, the emotionally insecure and those with learning disorders. The practitioners provide support, security, a safe base and access to external experts and outside agencies. Monitoring of this group using SDQ’s and qualitative data is carried out more often than the general school population.
Included in their support are the provision of alternative pathways and college courses alongside outreach work.
Working with Staff
A huge part of increasing the school’s capacity to include is to develop parental involvement; also to increase staff resourcefulness and capacity to understand the power of positive working relationships. The aim of the whole climate is the active promotion of self-control and supportive relationships to raise self-esteem. Systems of communication from SIS will promote staff understanding and knowledge.
Cont’d …
Written by MCReviewed: March 2012 Next Review: March 2013
The Heath – A Specialist Technology College
Inclusion Protocol
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Parents
School works positively with parents, offering support through the CSI intervention team and external agencies. Integrated working is promoted through the CAF and PSP process.
Exclusion
School reserves the right to exclude, fixed term or permanent, for appropriate infringements of its disciplinary code and in the interests of all students, but only after all relevant and appropriate strategies have been exhausted. Safety of all on site has to be paramount, so instances of violent or unsafe behaviour are likely to result in immediate exclusion. However the vulnerability of a child will have been taken into consideration.
Monitoring
The Assistant Headteacher Inclusion monitors for evidence of:
-promotion of equalities
-effective work of officers
-success of placements
-development of Departmental Inclusion policies/frameworks
-practical responses to inclusion advice in National Curriculum Orders
The Assistant Headteacher Inclusion monitors compliance with systems through analysis of data, regular communication with Progress Co-ordinators and through regular reviews with the Headteacher.
The aim strategically is to maintain Inclusion Quality Mark status.
Governors
The Inclusion Sub Committee will also be responsible for monitoring. Assistant Headteacher Inclusion will report to them. The Chair of the Inclusion Committee is the direct link to the CSI team and takes a keen, practical interest in the work.
See also Single Equality Policy