Gateshead LEA : Meeting Special Educational Needs

Fellside Community Primary School

We provide an inspiring, caring environment in which we are all challenged and supported to maximise our potential

Fellside Community Primary School

SEND

Policy and Guidelines

Address: Fellside Community Primary School,

Fellside Road

Whickham,

Newcastle upon Tyne,

NE16 5AY

Telephone: 0191 4887486

E-mail:

Head Teacher: Mrs Kerrie Hood

Special Educational Needs Team:

SENCO: Mrs Sue Scott (working towards National SEN Coordination Award)

Learning Support Teaching Assistant: Mrs Rachelle Watson

Chair of Governors: Mrs Louise Levy

Designated Governor for SEND: MsKirsty Owen

Links to other Documents, Guidelines and Policies

This document complies with the statutory requirement laid out in the SEND Code of Practice 0-25 (2014) and should be read in conjunction with the following:

• SEND Code of Practice 0-25 (2014)
• Equality Act 2010:advice for schools DfE(2013)
• Schools SEN Information Report Regulations (2014)
• Statutory Guidance on supporting pupils at school with medical conditions (2014)
• Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001)
• LEA Policy and Guidelines
• Inclusive Schooling: Children with SEN (2001)
• Accessible Schools (2002)
• Teachers Standards (2012)
• School specific policies on:

• Teaching and Learning
• Assessment
• Behaviour
• Child Protection
• Medicines Policy
• Anti-Bullying
• Equal Opportunities

MISSION STATEMENT

We provide an inspiring, caring environment in which we are all challenged and supported to maximise our potential.

Policy Aims and Rationale

• To ensure that all pupils have access to a broad and balanced curriculum.
• To provide a differentiated curriculum appropriate to the individual’s needs and ability.
• To ensure the identification of all pupils requiring SEN provision as early as possible.
• To ensure that pupils with SEN take as full a part as possible in all school activities.
• To ensure that parents of pupils with SEN are kept fully informed of their child’s progress and attainment.
• To ensure that pupils with SEN are involved, wherever practical, in decisions affecting their SEN provision.

We recognise that many pupils will have special needs at some time during their school life. Our overall aim is to ensure that all children are supported in order that they may work confidently towards reaching their full potential. In implementing this policy, which reflects the philosophy and fundamental principles of the Code, we believe that pupils will be helped to overcome their difficulties.

Close regard is paid to the three key principles of inclusive education:

• Setting suitable learning challenges
• Responding to pupils’ diverse learning needs
• Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.

To achieve our main aims it is necessary to:

• Adopt a whole school approach to identification, assessment and provision for children with special educational needs
• View our special needs provision as an ongoing, developing process
• Provide appropriate in-class support which enables all children to have access to the whole curriculum, including the National Curriculum
• Incorporate special educational needs procedures including individual learning and intervention plans (SEN Support Plans).
• Develop an effective partnership between school, parents and outside agencies
• Encourage children and parents/carers to participate in decision-making about provision to meet their special educational needs
• Ensure that the assessment and record-keeping system provides adequate means of recording attainment and achievement and gives sufficient information for carefully planned progression at every stage
• Involve the Governing Body and all staff, both teaching and non-teaching, in the regular review, development and evaluation of policy and guidelines
• Ensure all those involved with children with special educational needs work as a team with the school’s main aim in mind
• Monitor those procedures which have been put into place to ensure children with SEN make significant progress as they move through the school

Definitions

Definition of Special Educational Needs in the SEN Code of Practice 2014

A child or young person has special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:

has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or

has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream or mainstream post 16 institutions (Section xiv Code of Practice 2014)

Special educational provisionmeans:

for children of two or over, special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for other children or young people of the same age by mainstream schools, maintained nursery schools, mainstream post 16 institutions or by relevant early years providers. For children under 2 years of age, special educational provision means educational provision of any kind

(See Section xv Code of Practice 2014)

A child may be covered by either one, or both, of the above definitions.

The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice

Fellside Community Primary School will have due regard for the SEN Code of Practice 2014 when carrying out duties towards all pupils with SEN and ensure that parents are notifiedand involved in decision making when SEN provision is being made for their child.

Areas of Need

The SEN Code of Practice identifies four distinct areas of special educational needs. Children may have needs that fall within one area or have needs that fall across two or more. The nature and severity of the needs will impact to varying degrees upon the child’s ability to function, learn and succeed.

The identified areas of need are:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
• Sensory and/or physical/medical.

Children whose difficulties are solely due to the home language differing from the language in which she/he is taught are not identified as having SEN. However, should language acquisition continue to be problematic after a reasonable period of time set in agreement with staff and parents then SEN procedures will be followed.

Communication and Interaction Difficulties

Children and young people may have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and may have difficulty communicating with others.This may be due to difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said or not understanding or using the social rules of communication. Every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time having difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language and communication at different times in their lives.

Children and young people with ASD, including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism, are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others. (Code of Practice 2014 6.28 and 6.29)

Cognition and Learning Difficulties

Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD) where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) where children are likely to have severe andcomplex learning difficulties as well as physical disability or sensory impairment.

Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This includes a range of conditions such asdyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. (Code of Practice 2014 6.30 and 6.31)

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties

Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder. (Code of Practice 2014 6.32)

Sensory and/or Physical Needs

Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or rehabilitation support.(Code of Practice 2014 6.34)

Children experiencing difficulties in any one or a combination of these areas may be registered on the school’s SEND register.

Admissions and Inclusion

Children or young people who have SEN and do not have a statement or EHCP must be educated in a mainstream school.

The Governing Body believes that the admission criteria should not discriminate against pupils with SEND and has due regard for the practice advocated in the Code of Practice 2014. The Schools Admissions Code of Practice requires children and young people with SEN to be treated fairly (Code of Practice 2014 1.27)

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits schools from discriminating against disabled children and young people in respect of admissions for a reason related to their disability. (Code of Practice 2014 1.28)

Fellside Community Primary School is a fully inclusive school and the Governing body endeavours to provide for and accommodate a range of additional needs. These include:

• Hearing Loop
• Wheelchair access around school with a ramp up to the main door
• Accessible parking space
• Accessible toilet
• School is all on one level and so there are no steps
• Ramps to playground areas
• Access to a range of support services such as: Hearing Impairment team, Visual Impairment team, Emotional and behavioural difficulties team, Specific Learning Difficulties team, Speech, Language and Communication team, Educational Psychologists as some examples.
• Should there be a need for information to be available in a different form we are able to accommodate this (e.g.braille)
• All children, regardless of their needs, are given the opportunity to take part in extracurricular activities.
• All children, regardless of their needs, are able to participate in educational school visits. Full risk assessments are made through Evolve.

Parents or carers seeking the admission of a pupil with SEND are invited to approach the Head teacher and/or SENCo to discuss requirements.

Supporting Children with Medical Conditions

The Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on schools to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions. Individual healthcare plans will normally specify the type and level of support required to meet the medical needs of such pupils. Where children and young people also have SEN, their provision should be planned and delivered in a co-ordinated way with the healthcare plan. (Code of Practice 2014 section 6.11)

Schools are required to have regard to statutory guidance ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions 2014’. With this in mind, the Governors and staff of Fellside Primary School follow the procedures outlined below:

• The staff at Fellside Community Primary School receives relevant training in order to administer any emergency medication which children with identified medical conditions may require. This includes administration of: epi pens, Bukcolam, Asthma inhalers and recovery position.
• There are designated members staff in school who have been trained as first aiders.
• Should a child have any medical condition such as a nut allergy or suffer from migraines or Asthma, the school nurse in conjunction with parents will develop a care plan which will be kept in school and all staff will be made aware of it.
• For children who suffer from any medical condition, which may impact more widely on their school life, a full risk assessment of their needs will be undertaken and in turn an emergency individual healthcare plan developed to ensure the safety of the child concerned in all situations. It will identify the medical condition, its triggers, signs, symptoms and treatments. The resulting plan will then be shared with all staff as supporting a child with a medical condition during school hours is not the sole responsibility of one person.

Allocation of Resources

The Governing Body will ensure that resources are allocated to support appropriate provision for all pupils requiring SEN and in meeting the objectives set out in this policy.

Schools are expected to provide additional support which costs up to £6, 000 per pupil per year. The local authority should provide top up funding where the cost of the special educational provision required to meet the needs of the child or young person exceeds this threshold. (Code of Practice 2014 6.99)

Arrangements for the funding of pupils with a Statement of SEN or EHCP will vary depending on their needs.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Governing Body

The Governing Body, in consultation with the Head Teacher, determines the school’s general policy and approach to provision for pupils with special educational needs, establishes the appropriate staffing and funding arrangements and maintains a general overview of the school’s work.

The Governing Body, having regard to the New Code of Practice (2014):

• Ensures appropriate provision is made for any child with SEN
• Ensures all children, including those with SEN have access to a broad, balanced and appropriately differentiated curriculum
• Appoints a representative of the Governing Body to oversee SEN provision
• Ensuring that pupils with SEN are fully involved in all school activities
• Ensure they are fully involved in developing and subsequently reviewing SEN policy

The Head Teacher

The Head Teacher’s responsibilities include:

• The day-to-day management of the school including the SEN provision
• Keeping the Governing Body well informed about SEN within the school
• Working closely with the SENCO/SEN team
• Informing parents of the fact that SEN provision has been made for their child
• Ensuring that the school has clear and flexible strategies for working with parents, and that these strategies encourage involvement in their child’s education.
• Reporting annually to governors about all aspects of SEN provision, including expenditure of resources

The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO)

The SENCO plays a crucial role in the school’s SEN provision. This involves working with the Head Teacher and Governing Body to determine the strategic development of the policy.

Other responsibilities include:

• Overseeing the day-to-day operation of the SEN policy
• Co-ordinating the provision for pupils with SEN
• Liaising with the Learning SupportTeaching Assistant
• Liaising with and giving advice to fellow teachers
• Managinglearning support assistants (LSAs)
• Overseeing pupils’ records
• Liaising with parents
• Contributing to the in-service training of staff
• Liaising with external agencies, LA Support Services, Health and Social Services
• To lead, in consultation with SEN specialists, on the development of Learning Plans at School Based Support
• Ensuring liaison with parents and other professionals in respect of children with SEN
• Advising and supporting other practitioners in the setting
• Ensure that relevant background information about individual children with SEN is collected, recorded and updated
• Collaborating with subject co-ordinators to ensure all available resources are used to maximum effect.

The Governing Body and Head Teacher will give due consideration to the SENCO’s timetable and allocate appropriate non-contact time to enable the SENCO to fulfil the main responsibilities of the role. The Governing Body will also ensure that the SENCO has an appropriate level of administrative support to ensure that the role can be exercised efficiently and effectively.

The Class Teacher

The SEN Code of Practice clearly acknowledges the important role fulfilled by the class, whose responsibilities include:

• Delivering high quality, differentiated teaching for individual pupils as the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN
• Being accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class even where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff
• Being aware of the school’s procedures for the identification and assessment of, and subsequent provision for, pupils with SEN
• Working with the SENCO to decide the action required to assist the pupil to make progress
• Working with the SENCO to collect all available information on the pupil
• In collaboration with the SENCO, develop SEN Support Plans for pupils with SEN (School Based Support)
• Developing strong relationships with parents
• Encouraging pupils to participate in decision-making
• Being involved in the development and review of the school’s SEN policy

Identification, Assessment and Provision – Whole School Approach

At Fellside Community Primary School we have adopted a whole school approach to SEN policy and practice. Pupils identified as having SEN are, as far as is practicable, fully included in mainstream classes. The school makes every effort to ensure pupils with SEN have full access to the National Curriculum and that they are actively involved in all aspects of school life.

The SEN Code of Practice makes it clear that all teachers are teachers of pupils with special educational needs. We recognise that all teachers are responsible for identifying pupils with SEN and, in collaboration with the SENCO, for ensuring that those pupils requiring different or additional support are identified at an early stage.