RALPH BUTTERFIELD PRIMARY

SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY

SEN POLICY

This SEN policy should be read in conjunction with the schools accessibility plan, admissions

policy, equal opportunity policy, complaints policy and D.E.S as they are all directly linked.

A School Arrangements The school aims to provide a caring and supportive environment in which all pupils are

valued equally and are given opportunity to develop to their full potential. The vast majority

of pupils will Learn and progress within the general teaching arrangements in the school.

Those who have difficulty in so doing may have special educational needs.

1. Definition and Aims

Definition of Special Educational Needs (The Education Act 1996)

A pupil has a Learning difficulty if he or she:

a) has a significantly greater difficulty in Learning than the majority of pupils of the same

age.

b) has a disability which either prevents or hinders the child from making use of education

facilities of a kind provided for pupils of the same age in schools within the area or the

local education authority

c) is under five and falls within the definition at a) or b) above or would do if special

educational provision was not made for the pupil

d) for children of two or over, education provision which is additional to or otherwise

different from, the education provision made generally for children of age in schools

maintained by the LA, other than special schools in the area.

A pupil must not be regarded as having a Learning difficulty solely because the language or

form of language of the home is different from the language in which he or she is or will be

taught.

Aims

1. To ensure the early identification of a child’s special educational need.

2. To give all pupils access to the whole school curriculum so they have a broad and balanced

education.

3. To ensure that all children with special needs achieve their potential.

4. To integrate children with special needs into mainstream classes as far as possible.

Objectives

1. To provide within the school a graduated response that recognises there is a continuum of

special educational need and brings increasing specialist expertise to bear on the

difficulties the child may be experiencing.

2. To maintain a system of record keeping that will facilitate, through continuous

monitoring, the identification and diagnosis leading towards the development of

individualised/grouped Learning programmes.

3. To foster and maintain links with all outside agencies and educational support services.

4. To initiate and facilitate staff development programmes concerned with special

educational needs.

5. To foster and maintain effective links with secondary and special schools to ensure

identification and successful transfer of pupils with special educational needs.

6. To ensure that parents are involved as partners in the education of their children.

7. To inform and seek the views of the child on their needs and provision.

2. Roles and responsibilities

i. The School’s Governing Body

There is a named Governor with responsibility for SEN.

The responsibility for arrangements to identify, assess and meet the special educational needs

of the pupils rests with the governors.

The Governing Body must:

do their best to secure that the necessary provision is made for any pupil who has special educational needs.

secure that, where the headteacher or the appropriate governor has been informed by the

LA that a pupil has special educational needs, those needs are made known to all who are likely to teach him or her.

secure that teachers in the school are aware of the importance of identifying, and

providing for, those pupils who have special educational needs.

draw up and report annually to parents on their policy for pupils with special educational needs. The Governing Body should report on policy implementation and have this on our

website

ensure that the pupil joins in the activities of the school together with pupils who do not have special educational needs, so far as that is reasonably practical and compatible with

the pupil receiving the necessary special educational provision, the efficient education of

other children in the school and the efficient use of resources.

when necessary or desirable in order to co-ordinate provision for pupils with special

educational needs, consult the LA and the governing bodies of other schools.

have regard to the code of practice when carrying out its duties toward all pupils with SEN.

ensure that parents are notified of a decision by the school that SEN provision is being made for their child.

Governors are involved in developing and monitoring the policy. They are kept up to date

and knowledgeable about the provision, deployment of funding, equipment and personnel

resources.

SEN provision is an integral part of the School Development Plan.

ii. The Headteacher

The headteacher is the ‘named person’ for the school whose role is to give advice,

information and support to the parents of a child with a statement.

The headteacher has responsibility for the day to day management of all aspects of the

school’s work, including provision for children with SEN. The headteacher should keep the

governing body fully informed and also work closely with the schools SEN coordinator.

ii The Co-ordinator for Special Educational Needs

The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is responsible for:

the day-to-day operation of the school’s special educational needs policy.

liaising with and advising colleagues

co-ordinating provision for children with special educational needs.

ensuring that appropriate IEPs are in place, that relevant background information about children with SEN is collected, recorded and updated

ensuring there is liaison between parents and other professionals in respect of children with SEN

liaising with external agencies including educational psychologists, medical and social

services and voluntary bodies. contributing to the in-service training of staff.

liaise with school staff to assist in transfer of children between settings e.g. preschool to primary, across different key stages, primary to secondary.

Liaise with SLT to organise the deployment of teaching assistants to support individual

progress and advise and support in their management and training.

tracking the progress of children with SEN

iv School

All staff are responsible for identifying pupils with special educational needs. All teachers

are teachers of children with special educational needs. Teaching such children is a whole

school responsibility. All staff are responsible for ensuring that children with SEN are

supported and make the progress they are capable of.

3. Coordinating and managing Provision

Parents will be kept informed of provision given

The SENCO: a) keeps Statements, IEPS up to date

b) Organises, convenes, chairs and writes up annual and interim reviews

c) Contacts support services, liaises with staff and organises meetings

d) Planning meetings

e) tracks progress of all SEN register children and is aware of the progress made

and where issues are with School

action, School Action Plus, statemented and looked after children

f) Liaises with looked after and SEN governors

g) In conjunction with SLT plans TA support for each half term and measures

impact of those interventions

h) Has working knowledge of effective intervention programmes and new

options; recommends which interventions would make most impact

SEN Provision is seen as an integral part of the SDP.

4. Admission arrangements

The school follows the York LA admissions procedures. Please refer to our admissions

policy.

Admission Arrangements for Pupils with SEN, but without Statement

The Governing Body has agreed with the LA admissions criteria which do not discriminate

against pupils with special educational needs, and its admission’s policy has due regard for

the guidance in the Code of Practice. (DfEs 581/2001 November 2001).

Admission Arrangements for Pupils with a Statement

Ralph Butterfield strives to be fully inclusive school. It acknowledges the range of issues to

be taken into account of in the process of development. All pupils are welcome, including

those with special educational needs, in accordance with the LA admissions policy.

According to the Education Act 1996 (Section 316), if a parent wishes to have their child

with a statement educated in mainstream, the LA must provide a place unless this is

incompatible with the efficient education of other children and there are no reasonable steps

to be taken to prevent the incompatibility.

5. Specialisms:

The school has experience in supporting children with a variety of needs

Highly trained TAs – ELSA training, Accelerede/write; Read, write inc

Main entrance of the school is now fully DDA compliant

B Identification,Assessment and Provision

1. Allocation of Resources

Resources are allocated for SEN under several different categories.

Human resources

The school always provides TA to cover the hours of a statemented child. The Head and F&S committee of governors decide whether it is appropriate for the benefit of all

the pupils (and whether it is financially viable) to employ TAs for more hours than the

statement.

TAs are employed to work with SEN pupils at school action and school action plus. They work with these pupils either individually or with a group of children, both in

and outside of the classroom. The work takes the form of curriculum intervention

programmes, social / emotional support or work to support the everyday class work

for the pupil.

Cover for staff to attend annual and interim reviews, as well as some discussion

meetings is provided

The SENCO has one afternoon’s SENCO time per week Central support services

The SENCO and Head hold termly planning meeting with the educational psychologist to identify pupils in need of support. Action is then taken to support and

review the progress of those children

The SENCO and Head liaise with other central support services (e.g. speech therapy;

behaviour support, mental health) as and when necessary according to the needs of the

pupils in our school.

Learning resources:

The school purchases equipment to support SEN through the school, on the recommendation of the SENCO or other TAs. Such resourcing comes from the

‘Capitation’ budget heading and although a nominal amount is put into a SEN budget

heading, the emphasis is on a needs-driven system, rather than limiting expenditure to

a specific amount. Examples of recent resources purchased are: LUCID dyslexia

screening programme

Physical resources:

The school has used some of its capital budget to part fund the physical environment

over recent years. Two disabled toilet have been part funded to facilitate the needs of

a statemented child in school and an accessible main entrance

Every year the Governors spend in excess of the Section 52 budget allocation on SEN.

2. Identification, assessment and review

The 2001 SEN Code of practice recognises that children’s needs and requirements fall

into four broad areas;

Cognition and Learning Needs

Behaviour, Emotional and Social Development Needs

Communication and Interaction Needs

Sensory and or Physical Needs

We are committed to the early identification and intervention of children who may have SEN. The school’s system for observing and assessing the progress of individuals along

with information from parents and other agencies provides information about the areas

where a child is not progressing. The graduated response, adopted in the school,

recognises that there is a continuum of needs. This is recommended in the SEN Code of

Practice and is in line with the LA policy.

Early Identification at the Foundation Stage

Currently the school assesses children’s levels of attainment on entry through the baseline

assessment. The progress of children scoring 1 or 2 in any area will be closely monitored

through the stepping stones of the foundation curriculum. If the child already has an

identified special educational need, this information may be transferred through Early Years

Action and Early Years Action Plus from the Early Years setting and the SENCO and the

child’s class teacher will use this information to:

provide starting points for the development of an appropriate curriculum

identify and focus attention on action to support the child within class

use the assessment process to identify any Learning difficulties

ensure ongoing observation and assessment provide regular feedback about the child’s achievements and experiences to form the basis for planning the next steps of the

child’s Learning

involve parents where possible in joint Learning at home.

Monitoring Children’s progress

When any child’s progress is not seen to be satisfactory their needs may be met through

appropriate differentiation or short-term support. This may take the form of wave 2

provision. Adequate progress may be considered if it:

closes the attainment gap between the child and their peers

prevents the attainment gap growing wider

is similar to that of peers starting from the same attainment baseline, but less than that

of the majority of peers

matches or betters the child’s previous rate of progress

ensures access to the full curriculum

demonstrates an improvement in self-help, social or personal skills

demonstrates improvements in the child’s behaviour.

There is no need for pupils to be registered or identified as having special educational needs

unless the school is taking additional or different action.

i) School Action

When a class teacher, SLT or the SENCO identifies a child with special educational needs,

the class teacher will provide interventions that are additional to those provided as part of the

school’s usual differentiated curriculum. The triggers for intervention through School Action

will be concern, underpinned by evidence, about a child who despite receiving differentiated

Learning opportunities makes

little or no progress when teaching approaches are targeted particularly in a child’s

identified area of weakness

shows signs of difficulty in developing literacy or mathematical skills which result in poor attainment in some curriculum areas (see appendix for LA progress matrix)

presents persistent emotional or behavioural difficulties which are not improved by the school’s behaviour management techniques

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.

At School Action the SENCO may provide further assessment of the child and in consultation

with pupils, parents, carers and the SENCO the teacher will write an Individual Education

Plan or individual behaviour plan (IEP/IBP). This may involve consultation and advice from

external agencies. The child’s class teacher will remain responsible for working with the

child on a daily basis and for planning and delivering an individualised programme.

The IEP/IBP will set targets for the pupil and will detail:

the short-term targets set for the child

success criteria

the teaching/management strategies to be used

the provision to be put in place

when the plan is to be reviewed

outcomes (to be recorded when the IEP/IBP is reviewed).

The IEP/IBP will only record that which is additional to, or different from, the differentiated

curriculum and will focus on three or four individual targets that match the child’s needs and

have been discussed with the child and the parents. The IEP/IBP will be reviewed at least

every 6 months or more often in the foundation stage, usually at parents’ evenings and

parent’s views on their child’s progress will be sought. Wherever possible, the child will

also take part in the review process.

Intervention

This may take the form of a wave 3 intervention which may involve:

the use of different Learning materials or specialist equipment

some group or individual support

staff development and training to introduce more effective strategies

access to LA support services for advice on strategies or equipment

the use of behavioural management techniques. ii) School Action Plus

When the school has evidence that a pupil is making insufficient progress despite significant

support and intervention at School Action, we may seek further advice and support from

outside professionals. Pupils and parents will be fully involved and kept informed about the

involvement of external agencies and proposed interventions.

The triggers for School Action Plus will be that, despite receiving individualised support

under School Action, the child:

continues to make little or no progress in specific areas over a long period

continues working at National Curriculum levels substantially below that expected of

children of a similar age

continues to have difficulty in developing literacy and mathematical skills ( see appendix for LA progress matrix)

has emotional or behavioural difficulties which substantially and regularly interfere with the child’s own Learning or that of the class group, despite having an

individualised behaviour management programme

has sensory or physical needs, and requires additional specialist equipment or regular advice or visits by a specialist service

has ongoing communication or interaction difficulties that impede the development of

social relationships and cause substantial barriers to Learning.

The range of support available at School Action Plus will be similar to that made for School

Action but will typically be more intensive, individualised and sustained. In addition, advice

from outside professionals will be incorporated into the IEP/IBP and these professionals will

be invited to contribute to the monitoring and review of progress. The delivery of the

interventions recorded in the IEP/IBP continues to be the responsibility of the class teacher.

iii) Statutory Assessment of Special Educational Needs

Statutory assessment involves consideration by the LA, working co-operatively with parents,

the child’s school and, as appropriate other agencies, as to whether a statutory assessment of

the child’s special educational needs is necessary. A child will be brought to the LA’s

attention as possibly requiring an assessment through a request by school, from a parent or

another agency.

The LA may decide that the degree of the pupil’s Learning difficulty and the nature of the

provision necessary to meet the child’s special educational needs is such as to require the LA

to determine the child’s educational provision through a statement.

All children with a statement of special educational need will have short-term targets set

for them that have been established after consultation with parents, child and include targets

identified in the statement of educational need. These targets will be set out in an IEP/IBP

and be implemented, at least as far as possible, in the normal classroom setting. The delivery

of the interventions recorded in the IEP/IBP will continue to be the responsibility of the class

teacher.

Annual review of a statement of special educational needs

All statements will be reviewed annually with the parents, the pupil, the LA, the school and

professionals involved invited to consider whether any amendments to the statement need to

be made.

Records

Additional to on-going records in school, which every pupil has, pupils with special educational needs also have records monitored and maintained by the SENCO.

These take the form of the SEN register, PLASC, IEP/IBP’s, review notes, reports

from outside agencies and referral forms. Copies of the children’s IEP/IBP’s are kept in Parent Consultation folders and are available for parents to view. If the school, with the parent’s agreement, refer a pupil for School Action Plus or statutory assessment, records of the pupil’s progress are made available to outside agencies and the LA. Children on track to achieve less than level 1 at end of key stage 2 will have their progress tracked using p scales.

3.Curriculum access and inclusion

Please also refer to the schools accessibility plan. All children are entitled to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum, including the

National Curriculum. Progress is continually monitored using a range of assessments

including: observations/baseline assessment/level descriptions in the National

Curriculum at the end of the key stage/objectives of the National Literacy strategy and

National Numeracy strategy/ standardised tests

All information gained is used to support planning in order to aid progress.

We strive to create a sense of community and belonging for all our pupils. We have an

inclusive ethos with high expectations and suitable targets, a broad and balanced

curriculum for all children and systems for early identification of barriers to Learning

and participation.

4.Evaluation procedures

The success of the school’s SEN Policy and Provision is evaluated through:

The SENCO and subject co-ordinators and SLT monitor classroom practice/analyse

pupil tracking data and test results/identify value added data for pupils with SEN.

The management group/governing body, will on an annual basis, consider and report on

the effectiveness of the work and if any amendments to the SEN Policy need to be made.

The broad principles and objectives set out in the policy lay the foundation for the

criteria by which we evaluate the success of our policy.

We continually review and report on the effectiveness of the policy. This includes the

numbers of children identified and their progress, the levels of parental/ carer

involvement, materials and equipment used, resource allocation, liaison with other

educational establishments, details of the staff’s continual professional development and

our priorities for the year.

SEN is part of our school self-evaluation arrangements and is a priority in the School

Development Plan.

The LA SEN moderation process

Value added data for pupils on the SEN register

5. .Complaints Procedure

Should there be a complaint parents should adopt the following procedure:

We have arrangements made by the governing body relating to the treatment of parents

concerning the SEN provision made in school or any other issue. Please refer to Ralph

Butterfield Governors’’ complaints policy.

Under the SEN and Disability Act 2002 parents may request independent disagreement

resolution. The school will make further information about this process available on request.

D Partnership within and beyond school

1. Staff Development and Appraisal

The SENCO is enabled to attend the termly SENCO day courses

The SENCO has a list of the courses offered by the LA and other agencies each term and decide which would be useful for staff to attend according to needs of current and

future pupils

Where it would be useful whole staff training is provided

TAs involved specifically with SEN pupils attend relevant training e.g. recently

Read/write inc fresh start training

All staff, including those TAs responsible for SEN pupils, are part of the performance management cycle

The policies of the school are available to all staff, including new staff and student teachers

2. Links with other agencies, Organisations and Support Services

Advice and support from outside agencies is available if requested by the school.

Multi-agency liaison meetings, are held termly at school to ensure effective collaboration in identifying and making provision for pupils with special

educational needs

The various support services available are listed as appendix.

We have links with various voluntary agencies (see appendix) that the school can contact and is available as a support for parents, if applicable.

We believe that effective action on behalf of children with SEN depends upon close co-operation between the school and other professionals, e.g. the LA, SEN

support services, health services, social services, etc.

3. Partnership with parents

Parents/carers are notified early if we have any concerns and there is always a willingness to listen to issues brought forward for discussion.

We share information with parents/carers in informal conversations and individual meetings.

Parents/carers are invited to review meetings to discuss progress and to be involved

in setting targets with appropriate intervention strategies to help the child both in

school and at home.

Parents/carers are encouraged to use the Parent Partnership Service (see appendix) for support and advice or to bring an appropriate relative/friend to meetings if they

wish to do so.

We promote a culture of co-operation between parents, schools, LAs and others. This is important in enabling anyone with SEN to achieve their full potential.

We respect the differing perspectives of all parties concerned with children with SEN and seek constructive ways of reconciling different viewpoints.

We respect the differing needs of parents/carers such as a disability or

communication and linguistic barriers.

4. The Voice of the child

Children, who are capable of forming views, have a right to receive and make known information, to express an opinion, and to have that opinion taken into account in any

matters affecting them. The views of the children in school are given due weight

according to their age, maturity and capability.

Pupils participate where possible, in all the decision making processes, including setting targets and contributing to their IEPs, discussing their choices, assessment of

needs and in the review procedures. A child centred IEP has recently been introduced

We encourage pupils to participate in their Learning by celebrating their successes.

5. Links with other schools and transfer arrangements

We have procedures in place to ensure that transfer arrangements take place with

ease and are perceived in a positive light, by all our pupils. We encourage liaison

between staff and ensure records contribute to the future planning for the benefit of

the pupils. Transfer might be between schools or key stages, as well as liaison and,

where appropriate, transition meetings between school and pre school settings

For children with statements at the review in year 5, the aim will be to make clear

recommendations as to the type of provision the child will need at secondary school.

The SENCO of the receiving school will be invited to the final annual review in year

6 to facilitate the transfer of the pupil between schools. A liaison meeting with the SENCO of each secondary school will take place before

the children’s transfer at the end of year 6 to ensure the transfer of SEN records and

information. In some cases parents may wish to attend this meeting Where necessary extra support will be given to year 6 children and their parents who

are transferring to secondary school to support specific needs. This may take the

form of extra visits to school or close liaison with external agencies.

Review Procedures for this Policy The SEN policy is subject to a regular cycle of monitoring evaluation and review.

This policy supports our school aims of:

___________________________ (Chair of Governors)

Date: Dec 2012

Policy to be reviewed in Dec 2015

Create a safe and stimulating environment where we respect the property of others

and ourselves. (Articles: 1, 2, 3, 11, 19, 24, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33-37)

Enable children to become confident and independent learners (Articles: 1, 2, 3,

7,8, 12, 13, 28, 29)

Provide a rich, enjoyable, broad and balanced curriculum, enhanced by experiences

and opportunities (Articles: 1,2, 3, 28, 29, 31, 42)

Provide a rich, enjoyable, broad and balanced curriculum, enhanced by experiences

and opportunities (Articles: 1,2, 3, 28, 29, 31, 42)

Create a safe and stimulating environment where we respect the property of others

and ourselves (Articles: 1, 2, 3, 11, 19, 24, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33-37)

Encourage everyone to have high expectations of themselves and others. (Articles: 1,

2, 3, 23, 28, 29)

Appendix Named people responsible for SEN

YOM

List of external agencies names and contact numbers

Child centred IEP

Named People Responsible for SEN

Headteacher ~ Mrs Angela Mitchell Tel 768325

SENCO ~ Ms Angela Exelby Tel 768325

SEN Governor ~

Education Social Worker ~ no longer have

Learning Support Teacher ~ no longer have

Educational Psychologist ~ Emma Truelove (Tues – Thurs)

Behaviour Support Teacher ~ Petra Henman

Speech/Language Therapist ~

Visually impaired Service ~

Parent Partnership Officers ~

School Nurse ~ Wendy Watson

Mental Health Worker- Mark Jackson Tel 552310

Hearing Impaired Service