Carmountside Primary Academy

Objectives of the SEN policy:

The purpose of this policy document is to;

• Clearly define the precise meaning of the term Special Educational Needs with reference to the pupils of Carmountside Primary Academy, the Cities guideline and the DFEs regulators.
• Confirm the procedures to be adopted in establishing the recognition of those needs.
• Confirm the provision available to staff and pupils to address these needs.

 

Policy development

The policy was devised and developed by all members of staff with added information drawn from the New DfES Code of Practice 2014 (revised 2015) and knowledge gained from the coordinators special needs training.

 

Principles

• A child with special educational needs should have their needs met
• The special educational needs of children will normally be met in mainstream schools or settings
• The views of the child should be sought and taken into account
• Parents/carers have a vital role to play in supporting their child’s education
• Children with special educational needs should be offered full access to a broad, balanced and relevant education, including an appropriate curriculum for the Early Years and the National Curriculum.

 

Aims

The aims of the special needs provision at Carmountside Primary Academy are:

• To enable pupils to reach an appropriate level of cross-curricular Reading and Writing appropriate with their ability, but not necessarily their chronological age.
• To support pupils with greater difficulty in learning than majority of the children of that year group.
• To define the need as early as possible in the pupil’s schooling and as soon as the need becomes evident.
• To address the individual needs of children with specific learning difficulties through a structured and well-defined system.

 

The Role of the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator

• Children may enter school with a SEN and the parent/carers are invited to discuss their child’s needs with the SENCo.
• Teaching staff identify children with SEN and discuss their concerns with the SENCo and parent/carer.
• The SENCo is there to advice and support teaching staff and parents/carers with the necessary support.
• The SENCo works and seeks advice from external support partners to support children’s needs.
• The SENCo monitors, evaluates and reviews SEN practice in school.

 

Management

The school proposes to demonstrate the effective implementation of the policy by ensuring that:

• The staff successfully operate a target and review system
• The children are more confidently making progress towards their potential
• There is good communications between the Head teacher, staff, parents and the SENCo
• Advice from outside agencies is being used with effect
• Learning Support Assistant support is working effectively
• SEN practice is monitored by head teacher and SENCo

 

Carmountside Primary Academy has:

• Ramp access for wheelchair access to some areas of the school
• Access to a disabled toilet in the main building and in the preschool
• The Governors and staff welcome all children and parents into school and are prepared to work with all agencies to allow access to the National Curriculum.
• We foster very good links with health services/Stoke on Trent Social Care and local groups
• The Governors and staff will work as effectively as possible to assist all children educated at Carmountside Primary Academy.

 

Allocation of resources to and among SEN pupils

• Specialist equipment assessments, books, schemes and programmes of study including ICT are held within the SENCo office and are available to whole staff.
• A provision map allocates time for children receiving additional ‘school support’ either individually or in specific groups.
• Learning Support Assistant time is used to support children with special educational needs for structured interventions or classroom support
• Head teacher and Governors ensure that funds available through the school budget are used effectively providing staff support for SEN pupils and specialist equipment
• Where Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) are provided, the designated funds are allocated by the Head teacher and Governors appropriately for the specified needs of the children.
• Every child on the SEN register will have their own Personalised Development Plan (PDP) to advise all of their needs.

 

Identification of those children with SEN

• Children at some stage of their schooling may develop a special need that should be addressed.  This may often be dealt with within the daily context of the school curriculum delivery by class teachers and learning support staff.
• A child will be considered to have special educational need which needs additional acknowledgement and provision if they have:

• Significantly greater difficulty learning than the majority of the children within their class
• A disability which either prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational environment provided for the children of the same age
• Differences between general intellectual skills, English and Maths skills
• A social, emotional or mental health difficulty which may or may not affect their academic progress

 

Identification and Personalised Development Plan (PDP)

Initial concerns raised by the class teacher will be addressed in the first instance in class by the class teacher.  If progress is limited following reasonable adjustments and additional strategies, then the class teacher will liaise with the SENCo to discuss suitable targets and a discussion will be held with parents/carers.  A PDP can then be put into place identifying the child’s needs and targets to enable them to make progress and develop.  They will be entered onto the Special Educational Needs Register under a SEN area of concern and onto the provision map.  Advice will be sought and needs met using school resources this will be recorded as School Based Support (B) on their PDP.  If the pupil requires support from an outside agency on order for their needs to be met then this will be recorded as Specialist Support (C) on their PDP.  Pupils with and Education, Health and Care Plan will have this stated on their PDP.  Additional support will be sought for children fulfilling the criteria through additional funding or the EHCP process.

 

Assessment

Pupils maybe assessed to reveal their reading age and spelling age using standardised tests and assessment may be requested from other professional bodies (Educational Psychologist, School Health, SEND advisory services.

Children found to be meeting the criteria advised by the LA will have a PDP set up to help them make progress.  Other diagnostic tests may be used to highlight areas where additional support is needed.  All assessments are age appropriate and recommended by specialist services.

 

Monitoring and Reviewing

• Children are set programmes of work towards achieving set target.  They are monitored by the class teachers.
• The targets set on a child’s PDP are reviewed at least 3 times a year.  New targets are set by the class teacher with the child and these are shared with the parent/carer and are welcomed to set these targets. Also where appropriate in conjunction with the SENCo.
• Children with an EHCP will also have an annual review meeting where appropriate professionals, parents/carers and the pupil will be invited to review progress and recommend changes if appropriate.  Relevant paperwork is completed and submitted to the LA in line with guidelines and timescales.

 

 

 

Inclusion and the Curriculum

As an inclusive school we follow the following principles:

All pupils including children with SEN will have access to a broad and balanced curriculum that set suitable learning challenges and respond to pupils diverse learning needs.

All children are encouraged to take an active part in the academic, social and spiritual aspects of their daily school life working towards their potential and overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of children.

They are included in all aspects of school life at Carmountside.

Pupils with special educational needs are met through a variety of contexts, quality first teaching, in class support, adjustments to provision within the classroom provision/practice.  Small group, 1:1 sessions and specialist tuition.

The SENCo will liaise with the class teacher and learning support staff to timetable additional support and group sessions and support/monitor.  The SENCo will keep the head teacher informed of the progress and relevant information regarding children on the Special Needs Register.

Where possible support is given in the classroom, where children are withdrawn, the Diamond, Elsewhere room, library and the mobiles are used.

 

Staff Training

• Information on courses offered by Stoke on Trent LA and private bodies are shred with staff.
• Courses are attended by all staff dependence on its relevance
• Information from courses attended is disseminated to other staff members at staff meetings, INSET days.
• The SENCo attends information meetings and conferences.
• Close links with the LA SEND services, Speech and Language Therapy, School Readiness Program, Occupational Health and Physiotherapy Department.

 

External Support and Relations

When children on the Special Needs Register at Carmountside Primary Academy move to another school, every effort is made to ensure the receiving school is aware of difficulties the child may be having in order that support may continue.  We also make sure that we make every effort to contact the school to obtain relevant information as soon possible so that appropriate provisions may be made.

Advice and information is gathered from additional sources:

• Inclusion Services
• Educational Psychologist
• School Health
• Educational Welfare
• EYSLES
• Speech, Language and Communication services
• Any other service available

 

Partnership with Parents

• At Carmountside pupils are assessed routinely and regularly as part of the ongoing curriculum.  These assessments form part of our ongoing tracking (pupil progress meetings) in which the progress of each child is monitored.  This tracking of pupils enables the early identification of any pupils who are not making expected progress.  Any concerns regarding progress or attainment will be raised with the parents at the earliest convenience either in informal discussions or at formal meetings/parents evenings which occur twice a year.

 

If concerns continue despite class teacher intervention, the School will speak to parents and discuss the next steps which may involve entering your child onto the Special Educational Needs Register.

• Parents are kept informed of concerns staff may have and are made aware of their children’s targets, which are reviewed termly.  Parents are encouraged to become involved with any additional support through home-school liaison.
• On PDP reviews (3 times a year), views of the child and parents/carers are obtained, valued and listened to.

 

Complaints Procedure

The SEN complaints procedure follows a staged approach:

• The parent/carer takes the matter up with the member of staff involved.  The SENCo may or may not be directly involved at this point but should always be kept fully informed.

If this does not fully resolve the complaint:

• The parent/carer takes the matter up with the SENCo if not been directly involved.
• Or they can speak to the head teacher or senior member of staff.  Again, the SENCo will be kept fully informed.

If this does not resolve the complaint:

• The parent/carer puts the complaint in writing to the Chair of the Governing Body.  The Chair of the Governors should obtain relevant information to carry out appropriate investigations of the complaint.

In the very rare case that this does not resolve the complaint:

• Parents have the right of appeal to the LA and, ultimately, to the Secretary of State of Education.
• Parents should know the time-frames within which decisions should be reached and should be kept informed how things are progressing.
• SENDIASS is a support service for parents who have children with Special Educational Needs (link to this services can be found on the schools local offer)

 

Policy Success Criteria

• Pupils with SEN will strive at school
• Increased differentiation of the curriculum is provided to meet diverse individual needs.  Staff understand the objectives of their curriculum planning for pupils with SEN.
• Regular monitoring and reviews of individual needs is to take place with clear records kept of action taken.
• Good home/school communication is established and maintained.

 

 

This policy has been agreed by the governing body:

(SEN Governor)                       (Headteacher)                         (SENCo)                       Date