School Ethos

We work together to nurture an inclusive family of hard-working, respectful individuals who have a lifelong love of learning.

 “Life in all its fullness” (John 10:10)

Objectives and Aims

This policy is written to ensure everyone working in our school is clear about the ethos, principles, procedures and practice for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Every adult within our school must follow this policy. We use ‘must’ when referring to a statutory requirement.

All items in italics are taken directly from the SEND Code of Practice 2015:

  • 6.1 All children and young people are entitled to an appropriate education, one that is appropriate to their needs, promotes high standards and the fulfilment of potential. This should enable them to:
    • achieve their best
    • become confident individuals living fulfilled lives, and
    • make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training

Things we must do:

    • use our best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEND gets the support they need – this means doing everything we can to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND
    • ensure that children and young people with SEND engage in the activities of the school alongside pupils who do not have SEND
    • designate a teacher to be responsible for co-ordinating SEND provision – the Special Educational Needs co-ordinator, or SENCo
    • inform parents when we are making special educational provision for their child
    • prepare a SEN information report, which we publish on our school website 
    • state our arrangements for the admission of disabled children,
    • state the steps being taken to prevent disabled children from being treated less favourably than others,
    • provide facilities to enable access to our school for disabled children and publish our accessibility plan on our school website showing how we plan to improve access progressively over time
    • have due regard to the general duties to promote disability equality.

A member of our governing body has specific oversight of the school’s arrangements for SEN and disability. This person is identified on the front page.  All school leaders will regularly review how expertise and resources to address SEN can be used to build the quality of whole-school provision as part of our approach to school improvement.

The quality of education and the progress made by pupils with SEN is a core part of our school’s performance management arrangements and its approach to professional development for all teaching and support staff. In addition, this also contributes to our school self-evaluation.

How Do Teachers Identify Pupils with SEND

See Flowchart for teachers

  • 6.2 Every school is required to identify and address the SEN of the pupils that they support.
  • 6.36 Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff.

The identification of SEN is built into our overall approach to monitoring the progress and development of all our pupils.

The steps below outlines the process that you as a teacher will follow to identify pupils with SEN.

  1. Where any child causes you a concern whether it is due to a lack of academic progress, development or social need, this should be noted and dated on the child’s record on CPOMs. This is referred to as a ‘short note’ in the SEND CoP. It is imperative that your initial concern is logged and dated. You should inform Mrs Prest of your concern within 2 working days. (If there is a child protection issue then our school’s safeguarding procedures MUST be followed)
  2. If a parent or pupil also raises a concern, this must be taken seriously and we must listen to these concerns. These again should be noted and dated on the child’s records, as above. Again, inform Mrs Prest of their concern within 2 working days. (If there is a child protection issue then our school’s safeguarding procedures MUST be followed)
  1. N.B. At this point the child is not regarded as having SEN. How well the child responds or otherwise to the adjustments will determine if s/he has SEN.
  1. You should discuss the concerns informally with the parent and gather information about what the possible barrier to learning is. Mrs Prest will support you, if required. You will make any reasonable adjustments to your teaching that are required and report at the next pupil progress meeting on the impact of your adjustments (or at the next agreed time – this will be a maximum period of one term).
  • 6.21 Persistent disruptive or withdrawn behaviours do not necessarily mean that the child has SEN. Where there are concerns this needs to be logged and an assessment made by the class teacher, supported by the SENCo, if required. This is to determine whether there are any causal factors such as unidentified learning difficulties, difficulties with communication or mental health issues.

If appropriate, the SENCo may approach others such as Early Help as per the guidance in North Yorkshire County Council’s (NYCC)  Ladder of Intervention. Any child in our school with SEND will not be discriminated against, sanctioned or disciplined due to their special educational need.

  • 6.17 Class and subject teachers, supported by the senior leadership team, should make regular assessments of progress for all pupils. These should seek to identify pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances. This can be characterised by progress which:
    • is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
    • fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
    • fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
    • widens the attainment gap
  • 6.18 It can include progress in areas other than attainment – for instance where a pupil needs to make additional progress with wider development or social needs in order to make a successful transition to adult life.
  • 6.23 Slow progress and low attainment do not necessarily mean that a child has SEN and should not automatically lead to a pupil being recorded as having SEN. However, they may be an indicator of a range of learning difficulties or disabilities. Equally, it should not be assumed that attainment in line with chronological age means that there is no learning difficulty or disability. Some learning difficulties and disabilities occur across the range of cognitive ability and, left unaddressed may lead to frustration, which may manifest itself as disaffection, emotional or behavioural difficulties.
  1. At this point, a decision as to whether the child has SEN will be made in conjunction with the SENCo. The child or young person (CYP) is now described as being at ‘SEN Support’. They will appear as Code K on our school census. If required, we can seek advice from the local SEND Hub manager to clarify our decision. This will be undertaken by the SENCo.
  1. The SENCo will maintain a list of pupils who have been identified as having SEN on our SEN list. This is kept on SharePoint in an area only accessible by the Senior Leadership Team. Anyone accessing this list must treat the content in confidence and in line with General Data Protection Act 2018 and Protection Regulations 2017 (GDPR). Access will be given to class teachers where necessary via links on SharePoint.

Areas of Need

There are 4 broad areas of need

  • Communication and Interaction
  • Cognition and Learning
  • Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
  • Sensory and/or physical needs

If you would like further clarification of these areas of need, then consult the SEND CoP 6.28- 6.35 or discuss with our SENCo. To assist us, NYCC has banding descriptors for each area of need.

Banding descriptors - Dec 2020.pdf (northyorks.gov.uk)

Special Educational Provision

Once the CYP has been identified as having SEN then the formal process begins. We must take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place.

This is called the Graduated Response. It is a 4-part cycle: Assess, Plan, Do and Review.

Parents must be informed that their child has SEN and that additional and different provision is being provided for their child. Parents will be signposted to NYCC special educational needs and disabilities advisory and support service (SENDIASS) and the local offer . A link to this can also be found on our school website.

The graduated response is outlined below:

  1. Assess. Assess CYPs needs – this happens at the start of each termly cycle to ensure we obtain a clear analysis of the CYP’s need. The SENCo will support if required. We will ensure that the assessment informs any adjustments, approaches, resources, intervention and/or support required.
  1. Plan. This will be reviewed at least termly with the parents and CYP . The views of parents and pupils are of paramount importance. This will be recorded on the plan.

The plan is written by the class teacher, supported by the SENCo if required. The focus will be on how to overcome the barriers to learning identified in the assessment. An agreed date to review the plan with the parents will be made at this meeting. If additional adult support is to be provided whether in-class or outside of class, it must be clear how, what and when this will be undertaken. The class teacher is responsible for monitoring the impact, supported by the SENCo. The additional adult support is someone who must be suitably trained to undertake the intervention.

Plans will be reviewed by October half term, February half term and in July, with an update as children move into their new classes. The SENCo will monitor the quality and appropriateness of the plans.

  1. Do. The class teacher remains responsible for the child. Where provision is provided by teaching assistants (TAs) or specialist teachers, the responsibility remains with the class  teacher. TAs must supplement and not replace teachers. Teachers are still required to work with the child in order to plan and assess the impact of any adjustments support or interventions. The SENCo will support the class teacher in the further assessment of the child’s particular strengths and needs, by problem solving and advising on the effective implementation of support. The SENCo will monitor this provision.
  1. Review The class teacher will review the plan with the parents and CYP on the agreed date. The impact and quality of the support and interventions will be evaluated. This will feed back into the analysis of the pupil’s needs. Parents will be given clear information about the impact of the support and interventions provided, enabling them to be involved in planning next steps.

Involving Specialists

If at any point the class teacher in consultation with the SENCo feel they need additional advice and support from an outside agency then the consent of the parent must be obtained first.

This would be undertaken by the SENCo, in consultation with parents and teachers when a pupil continues to make little or no progress or where they continue to work at levels substantially below those expected of pupils of a similar age despite evidence-based interventions/adjustments. These interventions/support will be delivered by appropriately trained staff.

The class teacher will be asked to support the completion of the application.  Class teachers are expected to engage with the outside agency the school has approached, incorporate their recommendations into their plans, and facilitate information sharing between the parents/carers and the outside agency.

Transition

SEN support will include a plan for effective transition between phases of education.

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP)

Where a child is in in receipt of an EHCP, the provision in Section F of the EHCP must be provided. Our teachers remain responsible for the CYP’s progress. There will still be termly reviews and the graduated response will remain in place. In addition, there will be an ‘Annual Review’ held each year. This must be before the date of the anniversary of the plan being issued. The SENCo or member of our senior leadership team will chair the meeting and complete the required paperwork. For further details about this process and who is invited, please discuss this with the SENCo.

Confidentiality

Staff may have access to personal data about pupils and their families which must be kept confidential at all times and only shared when legally permissible to do so and in the interest of the CYP. Records should only be shared with those who have a legitimate professional need to see them. Staff should never use confidential or personal information about a CYP or her/his family for their own, or others advantage (including that of partners, friends, relatives or other organisations). Information must never be used to intimidate, humiliate, or embarrass the child. Confidential information should never be used casually in conversation or shared with any person other than on a need-to-know basis. In circumstances where the CYP’s identity does not need to be disclosed the information should be used anonymously. There are some circumstances in which a member of staff may be expected to share information about a CYP, for example when abuse is alleged or suspected. In such cases, individuals have a responsibility to pass information on without delay, but only to those with designated safeguarding responsibilities or to statutory services. If a CYP, or their parent / carer makes a disclosure regarding abuse or neglect, the member of staff should follow our school safeguarding procedures.

Roles and Responsibilities

Our school leaders and teaching staff, including the SENCo, will analyse data to identify any patterns in the identification of SEN, within the school and in comparison with local and national data. We will then use this information to reflect on and improve the quality of education. The SENCo will use the data dashboards to compare our school with local and national data annually and report to our senior leadership team. (The January census is used and the data is supplied by NYCC at the end of the summer term or early autumn term each year).

Role of the Governors

Our Governing Body will work with our Headteacher to ensure that our school meets its responsibilities under the Children & Families Act 2014 particularly section 66 regarding using their best endeavours and  Equality Act 2010.

Our Governors must have regard to the SEND Code of Practice.

Our Governors must ensure that a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) is appointed and that they are qualified, i.e. they are a qualified teacher and have the national award for special educational needs and disabilities (NASENCo). If our SENCo does not have this award on the day they are appointed then our Governing Body must ensure it is achieved within 3 years of their appointment. This also applies to the Headteacher if they take on the role of SENCo.

  • 6.3 There should be a member of the governing body or a sub-committee with specific oversight of the school’s arrangements for SEN and disability. School leaders should regularly review how expertise and resources used to address SEN can be used to build the quality of whole-school provision as part of their approach to school improvement.
  • 6.97 They should consider their strategic approach to meeting SEN in the context of the total resources available, including any resources targeted at particular groups, such as the pupil premium.

In our school, this means that a SEN Governor is appointed to work directly with the SENCo and other members of the senior leadership team and report to the governing body about matters related to SEND.

The Governors must publish at least annually a SEN Information report.

  • 6.79 The governing bodies of maintained schools and maintained nursery schools and the proprietors of academy schools must publish information on their websites about the implementation of the governing body’s or the proprietor’s policy for pupils with SEN. The information published should be updated annually and any changes to the information occurring during the year should be updated as soon as possible.

The report must contain as a minimum the 14 bullet points listed in section 6.79 of the SEND CoP and will include arrangements for supporting CYP who are looked after by the local authority and have SEN. Therefore, we will produce this annually and it will be uploaded onto our school website in the SEND section.

  • xxi School governing bodies and proprietors must also publish information about the arrangements for the admission of disabled children, the steps taken to prevent disabled children being treated less favourably than others, the facilities provided to assist access of disabled children, and their accessibility plans.

Role of the SEN Governor 

Our SEN Governor will:

  • be familiar with the SEND Code of Practice 2015 particularly Chapter 6
  • be a critical friend to our SENCo by visiting at least once a term
  • be aware of the numbers of CYP at our school with SEN and disabilities
  • be aware of our SEND action plan

Monitor:

  • the progress and attainment of our CYP with SEND
  • attendance rates of our CYP with SEND
  • fixed term and permanent exclusion rates of our CYP with SEND
  • any internal exclusions including the frequency and length of time our CYP with SEND are sent out of lessons as a behaviour management strategy
  • that our CYP are not being unfairly treated due to their SEND, for example being disproportionally being sent out of lessons, or excluded from taking part in wider educational experiences
  • that our CYP receive a broad curriculum and social experiences, including that they don’t disproportionately miss out on curriculum content, creative activities and break times in order to access additional support
  • that all policies are non-discriminatory regarding pupils with SEND

Investigate:

  • the gaps or differences in our performance, attendance or exclusion (including internal exclusions) levels between our CYP with and without SEND
  • our strengths and areas for development regarding SEND provision
  • how SEND is represented in our school development plan, and whether progress is being made towards targets
  • obtain the views of our parents of CYP with SEND, about their experience of the school's SEN provision
  • obtain the views of our CYP with SEND including their enjoyment and experience of learning
  • obtain the views of our teachers, about their ability to implement the SEND plan

Report:

  • each term to our full governing board on their findings

Role of the Headteacher

The Headteacher is responsible for the strategic development, policy and provision in our school.

They are responsible along with the governing body to ensure our school meets its responsibilities under Children and Families Act 2014 and the Equality Act 2010.

The Headteacher along with other members of our senior leadership team and SENCo will publish a clear picture of the resources (e.g. a whole school provision map) that are available to the school.

Our Headteacher will ensure that any member of staff working with any CYP who has SEND is aware of their needs and have arrangements in place to meet them.

Role of the SENCo

  • 6.87 The SENCo has an important role to play with the Headteacher and governing body, in determining the strategic development of SEN policy and provision in the school. They will be most effective in that role if they are part of the school leadership team.
  • 6.88 The SENCo has day-to-day responsibility for the operation of SEN policy and co-ordination of specific provision made to support individual pupils with SEN, including those who have EHC plans.
  • 6.89 The SENCo provides professional guidance to colleagues and will work closely with staff, parents and other agencies. The SENCo should be aware of the provision in the Local Offer and be able to work with professionals providing a support role to families to ensure that pupils with SEN receive appropriate support and high quality teaching.
  • 6.90 The key responsibilities of the SENCo will include:
  • overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy
  • co-ordinating provision for children with SEN
  • liaising with the relevant Designated Teacher where a looked after pupil has SEN
  • advising on the graduated approach to providing SEN support
  • advising on the deployment of the school’s delegated budget and other resources to meet pupils’ needs effectively
  • liaising with parents of pupils with SEN
  • liaising with early years providers, other schools, educational psychologists, health and social care professionals, and independent or voluntary bodies
  • being a key point of contact with external agencies, especially the local authority and its support services
  • liaising with potential next providers of education to ensure a pupil and their parents are informed about options and a smooth transition is planned
  • working with the school governors to ensure that the school meets its responsibilities under the Equality Act (2010) with regard to reasonable adjustments and access arrangements
  • ensuring that the school keeps the records of all pupils with SEN up to date

Our school will ensure that the SENCo has sufficient time and resources to carry out these functions. We will provide our SENCo with sufficient administrative support and time away from teaching to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities in a similar way to other important strategic roles within a school.

Our SENCo has a strategic and operational aspect to their role.

Operational

Strategic

Day to day systems

Knowing our school data and types of SEND and respond according with CPD for staff

Paperwork

Report to SLT/Governors

Liaise with agencies

Monitor and review provision  and impact

Liaise with parents and teachers

Budget – Value for money

Teaching assistants deployment

Review processes and systems

Transitions

Line management of Tas

The monitoring of SEND provision in our school is an essential role of our SENCo, as it will inform any areas for development.

This will be undertaken in a variety of ways such as, but not limited to:

    • classroom observation with a focus on: SEND provision, resources and environment
    • scrutiny of all SEND support plans content, implementation and impact
    • quality assure the delivery of any interventions
    • ongoing assessment of progress and impact made by intervention groups
    • work sampling of pupils with SEND at least termly via book scrutinies 
    • attendance at pupil progress meetings
    • CYP questionnaires/discussions: after interventions, about support/provision in class and homework
    • teacher/TA questionnaires/discussions
    • effective deployment, preparedness and practice of TAs including teaching assistant interactions and questioning skills
    • informal/formal feedback from staff, parents and CYP
    • CYP progress tracking, using assessment data (whole-school processes)
    • attendance records of pupils with SEND
    • whole school provision map
    • pupil premium scrutiny and impact (similarly for Covid catch-up funding if appropriate)
    • supporting CYP and staff with effective transition
    • consider examination/test access arrangements
    • support CPD with a focus on SEND in school
    • termly meeting with our SEN Governor and report to our senior leadership team

Role of class teachers

  • 6.36 Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff.

The role of the class teachers is to:

  • support the SENCo and our senior leadership team to implement this policy and have due regard to the SEND CoP
  • support and engage with the SENCo in regard to the SEND monitoring role
  • identify pupils with SEND
  • write effective SEN support plans, and implement and review them, as set out in this policy
  • set high expectations for every CYP including those with SEND
  • liaise effectively with parents and listen and act upon their concerns
  • use appropriate assessments to identify barriers to learning and set targets that are ambitious for all CYP
  • plan lessons that will address potential areas of difficulty and remove barriers to achievement.
  • use their best endeavours to meet the needs of CYP with SEND
  • make reasonable adjustments to overcome barriers to learning
  • remain responsible for working with the CYP on a daily basis
  • keep abreast of SEND initiatives and CPD

Role of all support staff (including MSAs)  

The role of the support staff is to:

  • ensure CYP become independent, resilient learners
  • promote self-esteem and social inclusion
  • develop their knowledge of the curriculum
  • work collaboratively with class teachers to overcome any barriers to learning
  • report any observations about the CYP they are supporting to the class teacher
  • contribute to reports for reviews of CYP with SEND
  • attend CPD and keep abreast of initiatives
  • follow the TA Standards (if appropriate)