SEN

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Policy

Introduction

This policy reflects not only the School’s mission statement which is to make Hartford Church of England High School the school of first choice for any child in the community, but also its core values.
It has been developed in accordance with DCSF statutory guidance.

‘Schools must have a written SEN Policy’
(SEN Code of Practice 2001)

The policy must contain the information as set out in the Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations 1999
The information that must be included in a policy covers:

Basic information about the School’s special educational provision.
The School’s policies for the identification assessment and provision for all pupils with SEN.
The School’s staffing policies and its policy on partnership with bodies beyond the school.

Governing bodies must publish information about and report on the School’s SEN policy. This must be available to parents. The whole School should be involved in the development of the policy and it should be subject to a regular cycle of monitoring, evaluation and review.

Definition of special educational needs:

A. Pupils have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

B. Children have a learning difficulty if they:

Have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age or
Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making full use of the educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in school within the LA.

C. Special Educational provision means:
…….educational provision which is additional to or otherwise different from the educational provision made generally for children of their age in schools maintained by the LEA other than special schools.
Education Act 1996 section 312.

D. Definition of disability
A disabled person is defined as someone who has a physical or mental impairment which has an effect on his or her ability to carry out day to day activities. The effect must be :

Substantial – more than minor or trivial
Long term – likely to last at least a year or for the rest of the life of the person affected
Adverse

NB: For more detailed information regarding the School’s response to the Disability Equality Duty (DED) please consult the Disability Equality Scheme.

Criteria for SEN: See appendix 3
The Code stipulates that all pupils with SEN must have their needs addressed via a broad and balanced education mostly in mainstream schools. This will involve engaging SEN pupils in all the regular activities of the school as far as is reasonably practicable and compatible with:-

The pupil receiving the special educational provision which his /her learning difficulty requires.
The efficient provision of education for pupils with whom he or she will be educated.
The efficient use of resources.

We at Hartford Church of England High School believe that each pupil is unique and has individual needs. Whilst most pupils will reach their potential through the normal strategies and support offered at school, we recognise that there will be a number of pupils who may require extra provision if they are to make progress and gain personal success. This provision may be short term or long term. Hartford High School aims to provide all pupils with learning strategies within a supportive environment and to give them meaningful access to the National Curriculum. In particular we aim to:-

Enable every pupil to experience success.
Promote self confidence, self respect and a positive attitude to learning.
Ensure that all pupils, whatever their special educational needs, receive appropriate educational provision through a broad and balanced curriculum that is relevant, differentiated and demonstrates coherence and progression in learning.
Give pupils with SEN equal opportunities to take part in all aspects of the School’s provision as far as is appropriate.
Identify, assess, record and regularly review pupil progress and needs.
Involve parents / carers in planning and supporting at all stages of their child’s development.
Work collaboratively with parents, other professionals and support services.
Ensure that the responsibility held by all staff and Governors for SEN is implemented and maintained.

Relationship to other policies

This policy should be read in conjunction with policies on Equal Opportunities, Child Protection, Behaviour, Curriculum Issues, Teaching and Learning and Assessment. The Disability Equality Scheme is an integral part of this policy.

Roles and responsibilities of the Headteacher, Staff and Governors

Provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs is a matter for the School as a whole. All staff are responsible for helping to meet an individual‘s special educational needs.
It is each teacher’s responsibility to:

provide for pupils with SEN in his/her class.
be aware that these needs may be present in different learning situations.
follow the school’s procedures for identifying, assessing and making provision to meet those needs.

The Governing Body in co-operation with the Headteacher has a legal responsibility for determining the policy and provision for pupils with SEN. It maintains a general overview but nominates one governor who takes particular interest in this aspect.

The Headteacher has responsibility for:

The management of all aspects of the School’s work, including provision for pupils with SEN.
Keeping the governing body informed about SEN issues.
Working closely with the SEN personnel within school.
Ensuring that the implementation of this policy and the effects of inclusion policies on the school are monitored and reported to governors.

The Governing body must ensure that:

The necessary provision is made for any pupil with SEN.
All staff are aware of the need to identify and provide for pupils with SEN.
Pupils with SEN join in school activities alongside other pupils, as far as is reasonably practical and compatible with their needs and the efficient education of other pupils.
They report to parents on the implementation of the school’s SEN policy.
They have regard to the requirements of the SEN Code of Practice ( 2001).
Parents are notified if the school decides to make special educational provision for their child.
They are fully informed about SEN issues so they can play a major part in school self review.
They set up appropriate staffing and funding arrangements and oversee the School’s work for pupils with SEN.
SEN provision is an integral part of the school development plan.
The quality of SEN provision is regularly monitored.

The SEN Co-ordinator (SENCO) is responsible for:

The development of the SEN strategy in accordance with DCSF and LA guidelines.
Monitoring and evaluating its effectiveness.
Liaising with the Governors, Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
Overseeing the day to day operation of the SEN policy.
Co-ordinating the provision for pupils with SEN.
Carrying out detailed assessments and observations of pupils with specific learning problems.
Managing the learning support staff.
Maintaining the school’s SEN register.
Ensuring that an agreed, consistent approach is adopted.
Liaising with and advising other staff.
Helping staff to identify pupils with SEN
Supporting class teachers in devising strategies, drawing up Individual Education Plans (IEPs), setting targets appropriate to the needs of the pupils, advising on appropriate resources and materials for pupils with SEN and on the effective use of materials and personnel in the classroom.
Liaising closely with parents of pupils with SEN, so that they are aware of the strategies that are being used and are involved as partners in the process.
Liaising with outside agencies, arranging meetings, and providing a link between these agencies, class teachers and parents.
Maintaining the school’s SEN records.
Assisting in the monitoring and evaluation of progress of pupils with SEN through the use of existing school assessment information, e.g. class –based assessments/ records, end of year tests, and Cognitive Ability Tests (CATs).
Contributing to the in service training of staff.
Ensuring that relevant admin / support staff are given the necessary information relating to supervision of pupils in and out of lesson time, in relation to behaviour management and other issues for particular pupils.
Liaising with the SLT member responsible for admissions to help provide a smooth transition from one school to the other.
Taking part in LA moderation.

Teachers are responsible for:

Providing an appropriately differentiated curriculum for all pupils.
Using the structures and personnel in school for advice on assessment and strategies to support inclusion.
Making themselves aware of this policy and procedures for identification, monitoring and supporting pupils with SEN.
Giving feedback to parents of pupils with SEN
Contributing to IEPs and giving feedback for reviews and case conferences.

Learning Support staff should:

Be fully aware of this policy and procedures for identifying, assessing and making provision for pupils with SEN.
Give feedback to parents of pupils with SEN.
Contribute to IEPs and give feedback for reviews and case conferences.
Use the school’s procedures for giving feedback to teachers about pupil responses to tasks and strategies.

Arrangements for Complaints:
Should pupils, parents/carers be unhappy with any aspect of provision, they should discuss the problem with the class teacher or form tutor in the first instance. Anyone who feels unable to talk to the teacher or is not satisfied with the teacher’s comments should ask to speak to the Head of Learning Development and Support (LDS). Appointments with all staff should be booked through the school office, who will try to arrange a mutually convenient time.

Arrangement for monitoring and evaluation
The success of the school’s SEN policy and provision is evaluated through:

Monitoring of classroom practice by the SENCO, SLT and Curriculum Leaders.
Analysis of pupil tracking data and test results for individual pupils and for cohorts.
Value Added data for pupils on SEN register.
Annual monitoring of procedures and practice by the SEN Governor, and Governor’s Curriculum Committee.
School Self Evaluation.
The school improvement plan which is used for monitoring provision in the school.
Visit from LA personnel and OFSTED inspection arrangements.
Feedback from parents and staff, both formal and informal, following meetings to produce IEPs and targets, to revise provision and celebrate success.

APPENDIX 1
Key extracts DFES policy that have determined the policy

‘Removing Barriers to learning’
‘We want all children, wherever they are educated, to have a good education that enables them to achieve to the full and provides a firm foundation for adult life. We want all pupils to have regular opportunities to learn, play and develop alongside each other, within their local community of schools, with shared responsibility and a partnership approach to their support.
We want parents to have confidence that their children’s needs will be met effectively in school without feeling that the only way to achieve this is through a statement. In time ,through action at local and national level to build the skills and capacity of schools to meet diverse pupil needs, we would expect that only those children with the most severe and complex needs, requiring support from more than one specialist agency, to need the protection a statement provides.’

‘We want to see Schools with the confidence to innovate and with the skills and specialist support they need to meet the needs of all pupils successfully
Schools working together to support the inclusion of all children from their local community backed up by good quality specialist advice from the local authority and health services, working in multi disciplinary teams as proposed in ‘EVERY CHILD MATTERS.’
Parents with confidence that in choosing a local mainstream school, their child will receive a good education and be a valued member of the school community.’

‘We are committed to removing the barriers to learning that many children encounter in school. This will require sustained action over a number of years. The National Curriculum contains a statutory statement, Inclusion – providing effective learning opportunities for all pupils. All OFSTED inspections report on how schools are implementing this requirement. The statement forms a required baseline and over time, with the implementation of the disability discrimination and planning duties introduced by the SEN and disability Act 2001,will bring significant improvements in access to education for disabled children and those with SEN. ‘

Sharing expertise between special and mainstream schools.
We want to break down the divide between mainstream and special schools to create a unified system where all schools and their pupils are included within the wider community of schools, through:

Greater staff movement
Federation, cluster, twinning arrangements
Specialist school and leading edge partnership
Building schools of the future – co-locations.

The proportion of children educated in special schools should fall over time as mainstream schools grow in their skills and capacity to meet a wider range of needs. Only a small number of children with complex and severe needs will require specialist provision.
We will put children with SEN at the heart of personalized learning, helping schools vary the pace and approach to learning to meet individual children’s needs.

ALSO
BIBLIOGRAPHY
EXCELLENCE FOR ALL CHILDREN; MEETING SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS ( DFES) GREEN PAPER 1997
PROGRAMME OF ACTION ( DFES) 1998
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITYACT 2001 ( DFES)
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS CODE OF PRACTICE 2001
INCLUSIVE SCHOOLING –CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS – DFES GUIDANCE 2001
EVERY CHILD MATTERS ( DFES ) SEPT 2003
REMOVING BARRIERS TO ACHIEVEMENT ( DFES)
FEBRUARY 2004
SEN AND DISABILITY OFSTED : 2004

APPENDIX 2
PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED BY ALL STAFF

SEN Code of Practice
General information
The SEN Code of Practice sets out how we should identify, assess and make provision in school for pupils with Special Educational Needs.
The guidance focuses on mainstream schools and on the additional or different forms of action teachers could take to enrich and extend their normal range of teaching strategies for pupils who need extra help. Differentiation is no longer seen to be SEN provision as defined by the Education Act 1996.
For most pupils, extra help will be provided within the classroom, managed by the class or subject teacher. Where it involves spending time outside the ordinary classroom, it will nonetheless, be in the context of the inclusive curriculum.
The National Curriculum Handbooks
These provide statutory guidance on developing a more inclusive curriculum that is based on the principles of:

Setting suitable learning challenges
Responding to pupils diverse learning needs
Overcoming potential barriers to learning.

The expectation is that we will all, at some time teach pupils who may have additional needs and that our planning and teaching will reflect this. It is our responsibility, whatever our role, to ensure that we identify and meet pupils’ needs.

Most pupils make progress within an inclusive curriculum without any great difficulties. As skilled teachers, we can usually meet whatever learning needs pupils may have even when pupils have more persistent or serious difficulties. The more flexible and responsive our strategies are, the more likely it is that the pupils with a range of learning needs will make adequate progress.

When additional or different action is needed to help pupils with particular learning needs make adequate progress, the resources and expertise already available in our school will usually be able to cover this.

We will need to consider for each pupil with SEN, what form of action is most appropriate. This means looking at pupils’ progress in the round, attainments, difficulties, success and strengths. It will involve assessing learning needs and how these might be more effective.

Action to meet pupils’ special educational needs.
This falls within four broad areas:

Assessment, planning and review.
Grouping for teaching purposes
Additional Human resources
Curriculum and teaching methods

Relating Action to Special Educational Needs
We need to organize these strands of action so we can call upon progressively more powerful interventions to meet increasing need or reduce the range, type and intensity of interventions as a child makes adequate progress.

Progress
The key test of the need for further action, whatever the level of the pupils’ difficulties, is evidence that the pupil is not making adequate progress.
Not all pupils will progress at the same rate. A judgement has to be made in each case as to what is reasonable for a particular pupil to achieve.
The SEN Code of Practice states that adequate progress might be progress that;

Closes the gap between the child and their peers
Prevents the attainment gap from growing wider
Is similar to that of peers starting from the same attainment base line, 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 improvements in the child’s behaviour
Is likely to lead to accreditation
Is likely to lead to participation in further education, training and/or employment.

Where progress is not adequate, some additional or different action will need to be taken to enable the pupil to learn more effectively.

Relating action to individual needs. What you have to be aware of:
1. Assessment against the NC level descriptions for each subject, enable us to consider individual pupil’s attainments and progress against the expected levels for the majority of their peers. Pupils whose attainments fall significantly outside the expected range may have special educational needs.
2. If a pupil is known to have SEN when they arrive at school our SEN team, Departmental and Pastoral Heads should:

Use information from the primary or other school to provide a starting point to develop an appropriate curriculum for the pupil
Identify and focus attention on the pupil’s skills and highlight areas for early action to support the pupil within the class.
Ensure that ongoing observation and assessment provide regular feedback to all teachers and parents about the pupil’s achievements and experiences, and that the outcomes of such assessments form the basis for planning the next step of the pupil’s learning.
Ensure that our pastoral system supports the pupil.
Involve the pupil in planning and agreeing targets to meet their needs
Involve parents in developing and implementing a joint learning approach at home and in school.

3. Early identification and assessment for any pupil who may have SEN is vital. Assessment should be seen as a continuing process not a single activity.
If difficulties prove to be temporary, the pupil will be able to learn and progress alongside their peers. Subject teachers are responsible for differentiation and intervention at this stage. If difficulties are less responsive to the intervention provided by school, then an early start can be made in considering the kinds of additional help that may be required.

4. To help identify pupils who may have SEN, we can measure children’sprogress by referring to:

Evidence from teacher observation and assessment
Their performance against the level descriptions within the NC at the end of a key stage
Their progress against National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy frameworks.
Standardised screening or assessment tools

Other information may come from parents, the pupils themselves or other agencies such as Connexions.

School Action
The triggers for intervention through School Action could be the teacher’s or others’ concern, underpinned by evidence, about a young person who despite receiving differentiated learning opportunities;

Makes little or no progress even when teaching approaches are targeted particularly in a pupil’s identified area of weakness
Shows signs of difficulty in developing literacy or mathematics skills that result in poor attainment in some curriculum areas
Presents persistent and/or behavioural difficulties which are not ameliorated by the behaviour 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.

1.   If you conclude, after consulting parents, that a pupil may need further support to help them progress, you should seek the help of your Head of Department or SENCO. They will consider your reasons for concern alongside any information about the pupil already available to the school.
2.   SENCO will facilitate further assessment of the pupil’s particular strengths and weaknesses; plan future support for the pupil in discussion with colleagues; monitor and subsequently review the action taken. You, the pupil’s subject and pastoral teachers will remain responsible for working with the pupil on a daily basis and for planning and delivering an individualized programme.
3.   An important part of School Action is the collection of all known information about the pupil and seeking new information from the parents and others.
4.   Co-ordinating the planning of the pupil’s IEP especially setting appropriate targets, should be the responsibility of the SENCO. Implementing strategies and employing appropriate methods of access to the curriculum should lie within the area of expertise and responsibility of individual subject teachers.
5.   All of our staff are involved in providing further help to pupils through School Action. For this reason arrangements for devising and recording IEPs need to be planned and agreed with all the staff.
6.   Parents should always be consulted and kept fully informed of the action taken to help the pupil, and of the outcome of this action. Parents may be the prime source of further information about their child.

Individual Education Plans
When we identify a child with SEN we should provide interventions that are additional to or different from those provided as part of the school’s usual differentiated curriculum. These should be recorded in an IEP.

These should include information about;

The short term targets set for or by the pupil
The teaching strategies to be used
The provision to be put in place
When the plan is to be reviewed
Success and/ exit criteria
Outcomes – recorded when the IEP is reviewed.

1. The IEP only records that which is additional to or different from the differentiated curriculum provision which is in place as part of provision for all pupils
2. The IEP should be crisply written and focus on 3 or 4 individual targets, chosen from those relating to the key areas of communication, literacy, mathematics, and behaviour and social skills to match the pupil’s needs.
3. Strategies may be cross curricular or subject specific.
4. The IEP should be discussed with the pupil and parents.
5. IEPS should be reviewed twice a year with parents and pupils.

School Action Plus

The triggers for School Action Plus could be that despite receiving an individualised programme and/or concentrated support, the pupil:

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 pupils of a similar age
Continues to have difficulties in developing literacy and mathematical skills
Has emotional or behavioural difficulties which substantially and regularly interfere with their own learning or that of a class group, despite having an individualized behaviour management programme.
Has sensory or physical needs and requires additional specialist equipment or regular advice or visits ,providing direct intervention to the pupil or advice to the staff, by a specialist service.
Has ongoing communication or interaction difficulties that impede the development of social relationships and causes substantial barriers to learning.

This should lead to the direct involvement of outside agencies to see the child and parents / carers, to advise teachers on new targets and strategies and provide more specialist assessment.
The resulting IEP will set out new strategies for supporting the pupil’s progress. Although developed with the help of the outside agencies, the strategies suggested should be implemented as far as possible in the normal classroom setting and hence are the responsibility of subject teachers.
If further advice is sought, it should be noted in the pupil’s records and the support provided pending the receipt of further information/advice.

Individual Pupil Funding (IPF)

IPF has been introduced to reduce waiting times and identify the child’s needs earlier.

Schools are allocated more funding from the Local Authority (LA) for earlier intervention thus reducing the need for statutory assessment.

Pupils with more complex needs continue to be funded via a Statement through the statutory assessment process. Hartford High School will set aside 5% of its budget for:-

General SEN.
Children at School Action or School Action Plus.
Statemented children who receive 5 hours support or less.

If despite this, the children’s needs have still not been met, school will apply for IPF funding. Evidence will need to be supplied to a resource panel to demonstrate what the school has been doing to meet these needs.

Funding will be allocated according to the following level of need.

Level IPF 1	5% of Age Weighted Pupil Unit funding from school budget for School Action and School Action Plus
Level IPF 2	An identified SEN additional funding over Level 1
Level IPF3	Higher level funding above Level 2
Level IPF4	Needs to have led to a statutory assessment with a mainstream school setting
Level IPF5	As Level 4 except a special school may be required

School request for statutory assessment

For a few pupils the help given by schools through School Action Plus may not be sufficient to enable the pupil to make adequate progress. The school, in consultation with the parents and any external agencies, will ask the LA to initiate a statutory assessment.
The pupil will have demonstrated significant cause for concern and the school will be in the position of providing information about:

The school’s action through School Action and School Action Plus.
IEPs for the pupil.
Records of regular reviews and their outcomes.
The pupil’s health including the pupil’s medical history where relevant.
National Curriculum Levels.
Attainments in literacy and numeracy.
Educational and other assessments, for example from an educational psychologist.
Views of the parent and of the pupil.
Involvement of any other professionals.
Any involvement of Social Services or the Education Welfare Service.

On the basis of this information, the LEA will decide whether or not to proceed.

Statemented Pupils

All these pupils have IEPs and an Annual review.

APPENDIX 3
DEFENITION OF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

A. Pupils have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

B. Children have a learning difficulty if they;

Have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age or
Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making full use of the educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in school within the LEA”

Within our context pupils have a Special Educational Need if :

On transfer from key stage 2 or other educational establishments a pupil has a Statement, is on the previous school’s SEN register as School Action plus or School Action.

Pupils within school will be considered for School Action or School Action Plus if:

They are identified through individual or group assessments to be working at a level 2 in Maths, English or Science
They are identified through individual or group assessments to have a reading or spelling age at below 8.00 years
They are identified through individual or group assessments to have a non verbal score below 85
Make little or no progress when teaching approaches are particularly targeted to improve the child’s identified areas of weakness and/or
Present persistent emotional and/or behavioural difficulties which are not ameliorated by behaviour management techniques usually employed in the setting and/or
Have sensory or physical difficulties and continues to make little progress despite the provision of personal aids and equipment and / or
Have communication or interaction difficulties and makes little progress despite the provision of a differentiated curriculum.

Extra provision will be made for pupils who have reading and/or spelling ages below 8.00 years.

APPENDIX 4
A GRADUATED APPROACH TO THE IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Triggers for intervention through School Action

The subject teacher has concerns, (underpinned by evidence) that despite receiving differentiated learning opportunities over a period of time, the pupil:

Makes little or no progress when teaching approaches are particularly targeted to improve the child’s identified areas of weakness and/or
Shows signs in developing literacy or mathematical skills which hinder progress in curriculum areas and /or
Presents persistent emotional and/or behavioural difficulties which are not ameliorated by behaviour management techniques usually employed in the setting and/or
Has sensory or physical difficulties and continues to make little progress despite the provision of personal aids and equipment and / or
Has communication or interaction difficulties and makes little progress despite the provision of a differentiated curriculum

Teacher consults SENCO+ parent
SENCO meets with parent
Pupil put on SEN register at School Action if warranted
IEP developed
Review date set.

IEP should be continually kept under review, but success should be evaluated at least twice a year.
In review future action should be considered, whether there is a need for more information or advice about the pupil and how to assess it.

Moving a pupil from School Action to School Action Plus (involvement of outside agencies).

Triggers:

Continues to make little progress in specific areas over a long period of time
Continues to work at a NC level substantially below that expected of a child at similar age.
Has emotional or behavioural difficulties that substantially and regularly interfere with pupil’s own learning and that of group despite having an individualised behaviour management programme
Has sensory or physical needs and requires additional / specialist equipment or regular advice to the staff by a specialist service
Has ongoing communication or interaction difficulties that impede the development of social relationships and cause substantial barriers to learning.
Continues to have difficulty in developing literacy and maths.
SENCO to arrange review meeting with parent
Collate all evidence
Decide on key issues

Arrange with parents to consult external support agencies so they can help in devising a new IEP.

Articles