SEND

Miss Button is our SENCO in school and she can be contacted for any specific questions you have relating to your child for her attention to office@st-marks.w-sussex.sch.uk

St. Mark’s C. E. Primary School

Special Educational Needs and

Disability Policy

Review Date: October 2023

Next Review: October 2024

his policy complies with the statutory requirement laid out in the SEND Code of Practice 0 – 25 (August 2014) and has been written with reference to the following guidance and documents:

Equality Act 2010: advice for schools DfE Feb 2013
SEND Code of Practice 0 – 25 (August 2014)
Schools SEN Information Report Regulations (2014) (Local Offer)

Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) – Miss M Button (BA Hons Degree with QTS, NASENCO)

Middle Leader attending Senior Leadership meetings when appropriate

Inclusion Statement

At St Mark’s Primary School, we are committed to giving all our pupils every opportunity to achieve the highest of standards. We do this by taking account of pupils’ varied life experiences and needs and implementing research-informed provision to meet the needs of pupils with additional needs. We offer a broad and balanced curriculum and our dedicated staff team have high expectations for all pupils. The achievement, attitude and well-being of every child matters, and inclusion is the responsibility of every person within the school community. We work closely with parents to support all our pupils.

Educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all members of the school community regardless of their ability, age, gender, ethnic origin, religious belief, resident status, heritage language, impairment, looked-after status, sexuality, health, social or economic background. Particular attention is paid to the provision made for, and the achievement of, different groups of learners and different members of the community. Our aim is to be adaptable in order to meet the needs of our pupils, staff and other community members and provide the resources to enable this to happen.

Definition of Special Educational Needs

A pupil is considered to have Special Educational Needs if he or she has defined difficulties over and above those generally experienced by the majority of his or her peer group. The 2015 SEND Code of Practice identifies four broad areas of special educational need and support: Cognition and Learning, Communication and Interaction, Social, Emotional Mental Health and Physical and Sensory. Some children present with needs across the spectrum and require personalised provision to ensure their primary needs are met; this policy aims to address the needs of these pupils. Children with EAL (English as an Additional Language) should not be regarded as having SEND, although pupils with EAL may also have SEND.

The revised SEND Code of Practice emphasises the importance of meeting these needs in the classroom: at St Marks, we accept that the responsibility for meeting the educational needs of all children in our classroom lies with us:

‘All teachers are teachers of children with special educational needs’.

All staff have the responsibility to meet the needs of each individual in their class to the best of their ability with or without a formal assessment. If there is a concern, a referral to the SENCO should accompany an individual and research-informed programme of provision to meet the child’s additional needs.

Definition of Disability

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 states that a person has a disability for the purpose of the Act if they have a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Special Educational Needs, Disability Admissions

As a Local Authority maintained primary school, admissions are organised and controlled by Area Office.

A Graduated Response to SEND

All staff have a responsibility for identifying children with Special Educational Needs. Class teachers have the overall responsibility of ensuring that the curriculum will be differentiated and delivered in an inclusive way. Parents must be involved within the whole process. It is important to note that we look at the needs of the whole child, paying particular attention to attendance and punctuality and health and welfare. We also understand that although these are not areas of SEND, the following factors could affect a child’s learning:

English as an Additional Language

Pupil Premium grant children

Children who are Looked After

Being a child of servicemen or women.

The aim of this Policy is to ensure that:

We identify and assess pupils with SEND as early as possible.
All procedures for identifying pupils with SEND are known and understood by everyone.
We provide differentiation within a balanced and broadly based curriculum, in a way that supports pupils with SEND.
We provide well targeted Intervention work and using the Assess Plan Do review cycle to monitor progress and measure the impact of our provision. Key children are also discussed every week at our Teaching Assistant and Learning Support Assistant meeting.
We analyse Pupil Progress data on a regular basis and use this data to inform our teaching
Records relating to SEND follow the child through the school, which are clear, accurate and up to date. Eg Individual Learning Plans (ILPs), Individual Risk Assessment Plans, Intimate Care Plans.
We raise staff awareness of and expertise with SEND through INSET. Teaching Assistants and Learning Support Assistants receive half-termly continued professional development, delivered by the SENCO.
We work in partnership with parents throughout each stage of the graduated response. Parental voice is central to our practice and termly SENCO consultation meetings with parents of children with SEND are provided.
We maintain close links with the support services and other professionals and agencies; e.g. the Speech and Language team (SALT), Learning Behaviour and Advisory team (LBAT), Autism and Social Communication team (ASCT), Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and Educational Psychologists.
All pupils access the curriculum at an appropriate level and each child’s learning and achievements are maximized at every stage of their primary school career.
There is adequate resourcing for SEND.

Roles and Responsibilities

St Mark’s CE Primary School recognises that provision for children with Special Education Needs and Disability is a matter for the school as a whole. Roles and Responsibilities with regard to SEND are designated in the following way:

Headteacher

Allocate roles and responsibilities to staff so that special needs are met.
Delegate the coordination and organisation of Inclusion provision including review meetings with SENCO and Staff
Undertake the commitments of the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and work closely with other DSL colleagues.
Undertake the commitments of the role of Designated Children Looked After Officer

SENCO

To undertake the coordination and organisation of Inclusion provision including review meetings.
To undertake the coordination and monitoring of Pupil Premium and Free School Meals (FSM)
To report to governors on the needs of the SEND pupils and Pupil Premium
To ensure that the needs of SEND pupils are met within the school.
To play a key role in delivering the strategic development of the SEND policy and provision. To keep up to date with the changes in the New Code of Practice and plan strategically for its implementation
To oversee the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEND policy.
To monitor the needs of SEND pupils together with the Head teacher and class teachers.
To meet regularly with the Head teacher to discuss individual pupils, progress data, resources and use of time.
To report to governors as requested by the Head teacher.
To meet regularly with the SEND governor.
To lead the annual review of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy.
To liaise with teachers, pupils and parents.
To manage Teaching Assistants and Learning Support Assistants, and introduce training linked to the School Improvement Plan.
To lead INSET on SEND in school as appropriate.
To ensure that the school’s SEND register and provision maps are updated termly.
To organise annual and termly reviews.
To ensure Individual Learning Plans are written and reviewed on a termly basis.
To ensure that provision for pupils with SEND is mapped and continually measured for impact.
To ensure that the impact of SEND interventions are assessed for each pupil and that this is fed into Whole School Data. The SENCO will have awareness of data measured against National trends.
To give advice on the level of support and on appropriate resources and strategies to support learning.
To make contact with the Educational Psychologist and other support services in consultation with the Head teacher, Pupils, Parents and class teachers.
To meet with parents and pupils to discuss and support needs and progress.
To work in conjunction with the class teachers.
To keep own skills updated by reading, researching & attending INSET on SEND and appropriate related external courses.
To liaise with SENCOs within the Locality and share expertise, with reference to Local Offer
To attend all appropriate training.

Class teachers

To raise concerns about the needs of pupils in their class.
To know which pupils in their class are Pupil Premium children and to know which children are on the SEND Register
To maintain SEND information for their class reflecting this information for each individual child and copies of all relevant ILPs.
To write individual Learning Plans (ILPs) for pupils in consultation with the SENCO and contribute to those with an Education and Health Care plan.
To keep detailed records of pupils’ SMART targets, including the strategies adopted and their relative success for each child with special needs.
To ensure TAs and LSAs are supporting pupils in their class, as directed.
To ensure that the Head teacher and other colleagues are aware of pupils’ needs.
To provide learning experiences which are appropriate to the needs of the pupil. To show specific planning for SEND children within the weekly plans.
To attend appropriate INSET and courses.

Teaching Assistants and Learning Support Assistants

Under the guidance of the class teacher to:

Carry out activities and learning programmes planned by the class teacher and the SENCO.
To share in the Assessment of the Intervention work.
To keep records of this work as requested.
To support children in class or by withdrawing individuals and small groups.
To attend INSET and courses where appropriate.
To be fully aware of the school’s SEND policy.

Governors

A named governor to have responsibility for the implementation of the SEND policy.
To be fully involved in developing and monitoring the SEND policy.
To have up to date knowledge about the school’s SEND provision, including funding.
To know how equipment and personnel resources are deployed.
To ensure that SEND provision is an integral part of the School Improvement Plan.
To ensure that financial resources are available to carry out the SEND policy.
To ensure the quality of SEND provision is continually monitored
To ensure the SEND policy is subject to a regular cycle of monitoring, evaluation and review.

To liaise with the Head teacher, Pupils, SENCO and staff
To report annually to parents on the implementation of the SEND policy and any changes during the academic year

Allocation of Resources

The Headteacher is responsible for the operational management of the specified and agreed resourcing for special needs provision within the school, including the provision for children with statements or Educational, Health and Care Plans.

The Head Teacher/SENCO agrees with staff how to use funds directly related to needs and data. This is linked to the school improvement plan.

Assessment

Early identification of special educational needs is vital. The class teacher informs the parents at the earliest opportunity to alert them to concerns and to enlist their active help and participation.

The class teacher and the SENCO assess and monitor the children’s progress in line with existing school practices.

The SENCO works closely with parents and teachers to plan an appropriate programme of intervention and support.

The SEND Process

The process:

Encourages the participation of pupils and their families;
Integrates the work of education, health and care providers;
Follows a cyclical, graduated approach.

Plan

Review

Assess

Plan

The school uses the following graduated approach to respond to children’s special educational needs:

1. Placing children on our ‘Monitoring’ list.

Where a pupils’ attainment or progress is a cause for concern; teachers will share their concern with the child’s parents and the SENCO. The quality of teaching and learning these children receive will be monitored and they may be offered some additional support. Their progress will be closely monitored. Pupils will be ‘monitored’ for a term where it will then be decided whether the child requires escalated targeted additional support to meet their needs.

2. Placing children on the school’s Inclusion Register and initiating their personalised provision map.

Where there is concern that ‘everyday’ high-quality teaching is not enough to support their needs, there is a discussion with relevant staff, parents/carers and the child as appropriate. Class teachers are expected to evidence the universal and personalise teaching strategies that have been used in accordance with West Sussex’s ‘Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice’ framework. If it is decided that additional provision is required, targeted intervention programmes (in addition to those usually on offer in the classroom) are devised. The provision is recorded on the pupil’s personalised Provision Map and the child’s progress is carefully monitored. An Individual Learning Plan is devised, taking into account the voice of the pupils and parents/carers. SMART targets are established and monitored throughout the course of the term where they will be reviewed. Here, the child’s progress will be plotted through a Graduated Response approach of plan, do, assess, review.

3. Personalised provision and Provision Mapping

If, despite receiving adapted learning opportunities a child:

makes little or no progress even when teaching approaches are targeted particularly in a child’s identified area of weakness
shows signs of difficulty in developing English or Mathematical skills, which result in poor attainment in some curriculum areas
presents persistent emotional or underlying response behaviours, which are not met by the behavioural management techniques usually employed in the school
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

There is often the need for greater involvement of external agencies e.g. the Speech and Language team (SALT), Learning Behaviour and Advisory team (LBAT), Autism and Social Communication team (ASCT), Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), Educational Psychologists, Family Link workers, Learning Mentors, Sensory support team, Occupational Therapists. The advice sought from specialists will further inform the pupil’s Individual Learning Plan (ILP) and the provision they receive from the school.

Where schools seek the help of external support services, 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. They can then advise on new and appropriate targets for the child. The targets set may require specialist assessment arrangements to measure the child’s progress. If so, outside specialists, may be required for this. The SENCO will liaise with the educational psychologist making sure that the Child Psychology Service gives appropriate advice and support to both parents and colleagues.

The SENCO, class teacher, and external specialists, should consider a range of different teaching approaches and appropriate equipment and teaching materials, including the use of information technology. The external specialist may act in an advisory capacity, or provide additional specialist assessment or be involved in teaching the child directly. The delivery of the interventions recorded on the pupil’s personal provision map continues to be the responsibility of the class teacher and SENCO.

4. Application for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

Where a child’s needs are considerable and there is little progress following interventions and support from professional agencies, the decision may be taken to request an EHC Plan. This process will involve presenting to County detailed records of our provision and its impact for their consideration. Parents and carers will be fully involved in the process and have the opportunity to contribute to the reports.

Partnership with parents/Co-production

St Marks Primary Local Offer-SEND Information report, can be found on the school website. The school prospectus also contains details of our policy for special educational needs and disability, and the arrangements made for these children in our school. A named governor takes a special interest in special educational needs and is willing to talk to parents.

At all stages of the special educational needs process, the school keeps parents fully informed and involves both parents and pupils. We take account of the wishes, feelings and knowledge of pupils and parents at all stages. We encourage parents to make an active contribution to their child’s education.

We have regular meetings to share progress with children and their parents/carers. We inform the parents of any outside intervention, and we share the process of decision-making by providing clear information relating to the education of children with Disability and special educational needs.

The SENCO’s working day is Thursday and will be available for consultations on this day.

Monitoring and evaluation

The SENCO monitors the movement of children within the Graduated Response to SEND.
The SENCO provides staff and governors with regular summaries of the impact of the policy on the practice of the school.
The SENCO is involved in supporting teachers, children and parents in the writing of the Individual Learning plans.
The named governor with responsibility for Special Needs and Disabilities is kept informed of developments by regular meetings
The Governing Body reviews implementation of the policy regularly

Transitions

On joining St Mark’s Primary School, any pupil with identified needs will be known to the SENCO and all information shared. The Early Years leader liaises with all other feeder settings in order to gather any relevant information about children who join us from those settings. This information is passed to the SENCO as appropriate.

As pupils on the SEND register progress to secondary school, the SENCO will liaise with the various receiving schools. This will include inviting the SENCO from the secondary schools to the Year 6 Annual Reviews and arranging visits for pupils and parents to look at prospective schools. This will include specialist provision in the case of some pupils with statements and Education Health and Care plans.

Supporting pupils at school with Medical conditions

We recognise that pupils at school with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they have full access to education, including school trips and physical education. Some pupils with medical conditions may be disabled and we would comply with duties under the Equality Act 2010.
For further information, please refer to the School Policy for supporting children with medical conditions.
Our Head Teacher is responsible for managing the schools responsibility for meeting the medical needs of pupils.

Monitoring and Evaluation of SEND

SEND provision is regularly monitored and evaluated by:

Monitoring children as they progress through the Graduated Response.
Annual SEND monitoring review conducted by the SENCO and SEND Governor.
Pupil elicitation activities, adapted to meet the needs of pupils with significant SEND.
Termly consultation reviews with parents of SEND children.
Termly staff meetings to discuss the SEND policy in practice.
Termly governors meeting with a focus on monitoring SEND provision.

Storing and managing information

All SEND records are stored in locked filing cabinets.
All staff read and adhere to the confidentiality policy.

Comments, Complements and Complaints procedures

If a parent wishes to make a comment, complement or complaint about any aspect of provision for their child’s needs, please speak to the Head teacher or SENCO first by contacting the school office. A meeting will be arranged as soon as possible.

Alternatively, our SENCO is available to speak to parents on Thursday between 9am and 5pm. Please arrange a consultation meeting with her if you would like to discuss anything relating to SEND.