BeecholmePrimary School

Special Education Needs and Disability Policy

Implementation Date: September 2015

Review Date: September 2016

Signed:Chair of Governors

Contents:

  1. Mission Statement - Page3
  1. Aims and objectives - Page3
  1. Responsibility for the coordination of SEND provision - Page4
  1. Arrangements for coordinating SEND provision - Page4
  1. Admission arrangements - Page4
  1. Specialist SEND provision - Page5
  1. Facilities for pupils with SEND - Page5
  1. Allocation of resources for pupils with SEND -Page5
  1. Identification of pupils’ needs - Page5
  1. Access to the curriculum, information and associated services - Page8
  1. Inclusion of pupils with SEND - Page9
  1. Evaluating the success of provision - Page9
  1. Complaints procedure - Page9
  1. In service training (CPD) - Page9
  1. Links to support services - Page10
  1. Working in partnership with parents - Page10
  1. Links with other schools - Page11
  1. Links with other agencies and voluntary organisations - Page11

The coalition government reformed the way in which provision and support is madeforchildren and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities in England.Newlegislation (The Children and Families Act 2014) enacted on the 13thMarch came intoforceon 1stSeptember 2014. A new SEND Code of Practice also accompanied thislegislation.

More details about the reforms and the SEND Code of Practice can be found on theDepartmentfor Education’swebsite:

One significant change arising from the reforms is that Statements of SpecialEducationalNeeds, for those children with the most complex needs, have now been replaced with anewEducation, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. Beecholme children with existing Statements will transfer to EHC Plans when they are in Year 5, in line with Merton’s timeline. Information about assessment for an EHC Plan can be found on Merton’s website:

The SEND Local Offer is a resource which is designed to support children and young peoplewithspecial educational needs and/or disabilities and their families. It describes the servicesandprovision that are available both to those families in Merton that have anEducation,Health and Care Plan and those who do not have a plan, but still experience some form ofspecialeducational need. The SEND Local Offer includes information about public servicesacrosseducation, health and social care, as well as those provided by the private, voluntaryandcommunitysectors.

1.Missionstatement

Learning together

At Beecholme Primary School, the learning community of pupils, staff, governors and parents works together to provide the highest possible standard of education. In order to achieve this we welcome each person into a safe and stimulating learning environment that encourages their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. We provide a broad, balanced and creative curriculum where children are encouraged to think independently and to solve problems both individually and collaboratively. Challenging targets are set for all children in order for them to be successful in their learning. The school community values and respects each person as an individual and seeks to facilitate the development of self-confidence and cooperation, thus providing them with the skills to make a positive contribution to the school and the wider community, both now and in their futures.

2.Aims andobjectives

Aims

We aim to provide every child with access to a broad and balanced education in order to raise the aspirations of and expectations for all pupils, whether or not they have SEND. This includestheNationalCurriculuminlinewiththeSpecialEducationalNeedsCodeofPractice and focuses on outcomes.

Objectives

  • Staff members seek to identify the needs of pupils with SEND as earlyaspossible. This is most effectively done by gathering information fromparents,education, health and care services and early years settings prior to the child’sentryinto theschool.
  • Monitor the progress of all pupils in order to aid the identification of pupilswithSEND. Continuous monitoring of those pupils with SEND by their teachers will helptoensure that they are able to reach their fullpotential.
  • Make appropriate provision to overcome all barriers to learning and ensurepupilswith SEND have full access to the National Curriculum. This will be co-ordinatedbythe SENCo and Headteacher and will be carefully monitored and regularlyreviewedin order to ensure that individual targets are being met and all pupils’ needsarecatered for.
  • Workwithparentstogainabetterunderstandingoftheirchild,andinvolvetheminall stages of their child’s education. This includes supporting them in termsofunderstanding SEND procedures and practices and providing regular feedbackontheir child’sprogress.
  • Workwithandinsupportofoutsideagencieswhenthepupils’ needscannotbemetby the school alone. Some of these services include Educational Psychology Service, Speech and LanguageTherapy,Children and Adult Mental Health Service CAMHS. Merton network ofSENCos,Virtual Behaviour Service, Hearing Impaired Service, local hospitals and Children’s Centres.
  • Create a school environment where pupils can contribute to their ownlearning.

This means encouraging relationships with adults in school where pupils feel safeto voice their opinions of their own needs, and carefully monitoring the progress ofallpupils at regular intervals. Pupil participation is encouraged through school bywideropportunities such as school council, residential visits, school plays, sports teams andmini leaders in theplayground.

3.Responsibility for the coordination of SENDprovision

  • The person responsible for overseeing the provision for children with SEND is Kaye Seamer,(Headteacher)
  • The person co-ordinating the day to day provision of education for pupils with SENDisAngela Ellis[SENCO]

4.Arrangements for coordinatingSEND provision

The SENCO will hold details of all SEND records for individual pupils

All staff canaccess:

  • The Beecholme Primary School SENDPolicy;
  • A copy of the full SENDRegister.
  • Guidance on identification of SEND in the Code ofPractice
  • Information on individual pupils’ special educational needs, including pupil profiles,targets set and copies of their provisionmap.
  • Practical advice, teaching strategies, and information about types of special educationalneeds anddisabilities
  • Information available through Merton’s SEND LocalOffer

In this way, every staff member will have complete and up-to-date information aboutallpupils with special needs and their requirements which will enable them to provide fortheindividual needs of allpupils.

This policy is made accessible to all staff and parents in order to aid the effective co-ordination of the school’s SENDprovision.

5.Admissionarrangements

Please refer to the information on the Merton website.

Theadmissionarrangementsforallpupilsareinaccordancewithnationallegislation,includingthe Equality Act 2010. This includes children with any level of SEND; those withEducation,Health and Care Plans and thosewithout.

6.Specialist SENDprovision

We are committed to whole school inclusion. In our school we support children with a range ofspecialeducationalneeds and disabilities.WewillseekspecialistSENDprovisionandtrainingfromSENDserviceswherenecessary.

7.Facilities for pupils withSEND

The school complies with all relevant accessibility requirements. Please see theschoolaccessibility plan for moredetails.

8.Allocation of resources for pupils withSEND

All pupils with SEND will have access to Element 1 and 2 of a school’s budget which equatesto

£6,000. Some pupils with SEND may access additional funding. This additional funding isadministeredbytheLocalAuthority,whowill determine whether the level and complexity of need meets the threshold for thisfunding.It would then be the responsibility of the SENCO, senior leadership team and governorstoagree how the allocation of resources isused.

9.Identification of pupilsneeds

Identification

At Beecholme Primary, we will give additional support to your child if he or she has needs that are:

  • Academic – learning difficulties, dyslexia, autism, developmental delay
  • Social
  • Emotional – attachment, bereavement, well being
  • Physical – hearing, vision, mobility, gross and fine motor, specific medical
  • Behavioural

Behavioural difficulty in itself is not a special educational need but may present in conjunction with one or more of the above.

Needs are identified through:

  • Concerns raised by parent/carer
  • Concerns raised by child
  • Liaison with previous nursery/school
  • Teacher observation of your child in school
  • Analysis of assessments
  • Tracking over time
  • Liaison with other professionals

Class teachers and subject leaders understand age related expectations and have ongoing training in identifying pupils with SEND. The school has a Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) and has access to specialists within the London Borough of Merton. The school will monitor and support your child and, if additional and different provision is needed, will meet with parents/carers and child on a regular basis to plan appropriate support and to evaluate progress.

A graduatedapproach:

QualityFirstTeaching

a)Any pupils who are falling significantly outside of the range of expectedacademicachievement in line with predicted performance indicators and grade boundaries willbemonitored.

b)OnceapupilhasbeenidentifiedaspossiblyhavingSENDtheywillbecloselymonitoredbystaff in order to gauge their level of learning and possibledifficulties.

c)The child’s class teacher will take steps to provide differentiated learningopportunitiesthat will aid the pupil’s academic progression and enable the teacher to betterunderstandthe provision and teaching style that needs to beapplied.

d)The SENCO will be consulted as needed for support and advice and may wish to observethepupil inclass.

e)Through (b) and (d) it can be determined which level of provision the child will needgoingforward.

f)If a pupil has recently been removed from the SEND register continued monitoring will benecessary to ensure needs continue to be met.

g)Parents will be informed fully of every stage of their child’s development andthecircumstances under which they are being monitored. They are encouraged toshareinformation and knowledge with theschool.

h)The child is recorded by the school as being under observation due to concern by parent orteacher but this does not automatically place the child on the school’s SEND register.Anyconcerns will be discussed with parents informally or during parents’evenings.

i)Parents’ evenings are used to monitor and assess the progress being made bychildren.

SEND Support

Where it is determined that a pupil does have SEND, parents will be formally advised of thisandthe decision will be added to the SEND register. The aim of formally identifying a pupil withSENDis to help school ensure that effective provision is put in place and so remove barrierstolearning. The support provided consists of a four – partprocess:

  • Assess
  • Plan
  • Do
  • Review

This is an ongoing cycle to enable the provision to be refined and revised as theunderstandingof the needs of the pupil grows. This cycle enables the identification of thoseinterventionswhich are the most effective in supporting the pupil to achieve good progress andoutcomes.

Assess

This involves clearly analysing the pupil’s needs using the class teacher’s assessmentandexperience of working with the pupil, details of previous progress and attainment,comparisonswith peers and national data, as well as the views and experience of parents. The pupil’sviewsand where relevant, advice from external support services will also be considered. Anyparentalconcerns will be noted and compared with the school’s information and assessment data onhowthe pupil isprogressing.

This analysis will require regular review to ensure that support and intervention is matchedtoneed, that barriers to learning are clearly identified and being overcome and thattheinterventions being used are developing and evolving as required. Where external support staff are already involved their work will help inform the assessment of need. Where they arenotinvolved they may be contacted, if this is felt to be appropriate, following discussionandagreement fromparents.

Plan

Planning will involve consultation between the teacher, SENCO and parents to agreetheadjustments,interventionsandsupportthatarerequired;theimpactonprogress,developmentand or behaviour that is expected and a clear date for review. Parental involvement maybesought, where appropriate, to reinforce or contribute to progress at home.

All those working with the pupil, including support staff will be informed of theirindividualneeds, the support that is being provided, any particular teaching strategies/approachesthatare being employed and the outcomes that are beingsought.

Do

Theclassteacherremainsresponsibleforworkingwiththechildonaday-to-daybasis.Theywillretainresponsibilityevenwheretheinterventionsmayinvolvegrouporone-to-oneteachingawayfrom the main class teacher. They will work closely with teaching assistants to planandassess the impact of support and interventions and links with classroom teaching. Supportwithfurther assessment of the pupil’s strengths and weaknesses, problem solving and advising oftheimplementation of effective support will be provided by theSENCO.

Review

Reviews of a child’s progress will be made regularly. The review process will evaluate theimpactand quality of the support and interventions. It will also take account of the views of thepupiland where necessary their parents. The class teacher, in conjunction with the SENCO willrevisethe support and outcomes based on the pupil’s progress and development making anynecessaryamendments going forward, in consultation with parents and thepupil.

ReferralforanEducation,HealthandCarePlan

If a child has lifelong or significant difficulties they may undergo a StatutoryAssessmentProcess which is usually requested by the school but can be requested by a parent. Thiswilloccur where the complexity of need or a lack of clarity around the needs of the child aresuchthat a multi-agency approach to assessing that need, to planning provision andidentifyingresources, isrequired.

The decision to make a referral for an Education, Health and Care Plan will be taken ataprogressreview.

The application for an Education, Health and Care Plans will combine information from avarietyof sourcesincluding:

  • Parents
  • Teachers
  • SENCO
  • Social Care
  • Health professionals

Information will be gathered relating to the current provision provided, action points thathavebeen taken, and the preliminary outcomes of targets set. A decision will be made by a panelofpeople from education, health and social care about whether or not the child is eligible for anEHCPlan. Parents have the right to appeal against a decision not to initiate a statutoryassessmentleading to an EHCPlan.

Further information about EHC Plans can found via the SEND LocalOffer:

or by contacting the Parent Partnership Serviceon:

020 8274 5819

Email:

Education,HealthandCarePlans[EHCPlan]

a.Following Statutory Assessment, an EHC Plan will be provided by Merton Local Authority, if it is decided that the child’s needs are not being met by the support thatisordinarily available. The school and the child’s parents will be involved in developingandproducing theplan.

b.Parents have the right to appeal against the content of the EHC Plan. They may alsoappealagainst the school named in the Plan if it differs from their preferredchoice.

c.Once the EHC Plan has been completed and agreed, it will be kept as part of thepupil’sformal record and reviewed at least annually by staff, parents and the pupil. Theannualreview enables provision for the pupil to be evaluated and, where appropriate, forchangesto be put in place, for example, reducing or increasing levels ofsupport.

10.Access to the curriculum, information andassociated services

Pupils with SEND will be given access to the curriculum through the specialist SENDprovisionprovided by the school as is necessary, as far as possible, taking into account the wishesoftheir parents and the needs of theindividual.

Every effort will be made to educate pupils with SEND alongside their peers in amainstreamclassroom setting. Where this is not possible, the SENCO will consult with the child’sparentsfor other flexible arrangements to bemade.

Regular training and learning opportunities for staff on the subject of SEND and SENDteachingare provided both in school and across the Local Authority. Staff members are kept up todatewith teaching methods which will aid the progress of all pupils including those withSEND.

In class provision and support are deployed effectively to ensure the curriculumisdifferentiated where necessary. We make sure that individual or group tuition is availablewhereit is felt pupils would benefit from thisprovision.

We set appropriate individual targets that motivate pupils to do their best, and celebratingachievement at alllevels.

11.Inclusion of pupils withSEND

The Headteacher and SENCO oversee the school’s policy for inclusion and are responsibleforensuring that it is implemented effectively throughout theschool.

Theschoolcurriculumisregularlyreviewedtoensurethatitpromotestheinclusionofallpupils.This includes learning outside theclassroom.

The school will seek advice, as appropriate, around individual pupils, from externalsupportservices.

Advice will be sought from the Virtual Behaviour Service for children whohavebehavioural concerns. Where a behavioural incident warrants exclusion, schools have a dutytoinform thisservice.

12.Evaluating the success ofprovision

In order to make consistent continuous progress in relation to SEND provision theschoolencourages feedback from staff, parents and pupils throughout the year. This is done intheform of an annual parent and pupil questionnaire, discussion and through progress meetingswithparents.

Pupilprogresswillbemonitoredona half-termlybasisinlinewiththeSENDCodeofPractice.

SEND provision and interventions are recorded on an individual SEND Support Plan, which is updatedwhen the intervention is changed. These are updated termly by the class teacher and are monitoredbythe SENCO. Information is shared with the staff, parents, governors and individual pupils where appropriate.Thishelps to identify whether provision iseffective.

13.Complaintsprocedure

If a parent or carer has any concerns or complaints regarding the care or welfare of theirchild,an appointment can be made by them to speak to the Headteacher or SENCO, who will beableto advise on formal procedures forcomplaint.

14.In service training

Weaimtokeepallschool staffuptodatewithrelevanttraininganddevelopmentsinteachingpractice in relation to the needs of pupils withSEND.

The SENCo attends relevant SEND courses andfacilitates/signpostsrelevant SEND focused external training opportunities for allstaff.

We recognise the need to train all our staff on SEND issues and we have funding availabletosupportthisprofessionaldevelopment.TheSENCO,withtheseniorleadershipteam,ensures thattrainingopportunitiesarematchedtoschooldevelopmentprioritiesandthoseidentifiedthrough the use of provision management.

15.Links to supportservices

The school continues to build strong working relationships and links with externalsupportservices in order to fully support our SEND pupils and aid schoolinclusion.