Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy

Policy details

• Date created - 11/12/2023
• Date reviewed - 11/10/2014
• Date approved - xx/xx/xxxx
• Next review date - 11/12/2025
• Policy owner - Louise Haywood [Penny Oaks]

Introduction

This policy links with the SEND Code of Practice by recognising that:

- SEND Code of Practice now covers 0-25 years

- Single school SEND categories Graduated approaches to provision

- Local Authorities will have a Local Offer and schools will contribute to that offer

- There will be Joint Commissioning roles between Education, Health and Social Care.

Co-op Academy Penny Oaks recognises that there is a significant overlap between children and young people with Special Educational Needs and those with Disabilities, and that many such children and young people are covered by both SEND Code of Practice and equality legislation such as the Equality Act 2010 towards individual disabled children and young people. We will make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services for disabled children and those with medical conditions, to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage.

Objectives 

- To ensure equality of opportunity and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against young people with special educational needs.

 - To continually monitor the progress of all children, to anticipate and identify needs as they arise and to provide support as early as possible.

- To provide access to a relevant and exciting curriculum through planning and provision by Class Teachers, SENDCo and Senior Leaders.

- To make effective arrangements to support and care for our children so that their complex individual needs do not become a barrier to learning and progress.

- To enable children to move on from school with the skills they need to become successful in their lives after school, whichever pathway they follow.

 - To involve parents, and young people themselves wherever possible, in planning for any decisions that inform the child’s preparation for adulthood.

Definition of Special Educational Needs 

For the purposes of its policy the schools adopt the legal definition provided by the 1996 Education Act: “A child has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.” The SEND Code of Practice states that a child has a learning difficulty if he or she;

a) Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of young people of the same age

b) Has a disability which either prevents or hinders the child from making use of educational facilities of a kind provided for young people of the same age in schools within the area.

c) Under the SEN Code of Practice 2014, the categories of need were redefined and are now: 

We believe that children may have special educational needs in some areas of their learning but that they can also be identified as gifted and talented in others.

Context 

The 'Aims of the Academy', which underpin Co-op Academy Penny Oaks SEND Policy are:

- To enable optimal social experiences for each student by using the full facilities of the Academy for the benefit of all students;

- To create a caring, supportive environment in which everyone may develop confidence, self- esteem and mutual respect;

 - To help each child to reach their full potential by discerning their physical, intellectual and emotional needs and providing opportunities and experiences which will develop the whole person.

Our SEND policy and information report aims to:

• Set out how our school will support and make provision for pupils with special educational needs (SEN)
•  Explain the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in providing for pupils with SEN

Principles

Co-op Academy Penny Oaks is committed to providing an appropriate and high quality education to all the young people that we serve. We believe that all children, including those identified as having special educational needs and disabilities, have a common entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum, which enables all relevant aspects of school life to be accessible to them. We aim to provide an environment in which all individuals are respected and encouraged to reach their full potential.

The Academy is committed to ensuring success for all, in line with our Equal Opportunities policy. We believe that all children should be equally valued at the Academy. We will strive to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, and to develop an environment where all young people can flourish and feel safe. We aim to engender a sense of community and belonging, and to offer new opportunities to learners who may have experienced previous barriers. This does not mean that we will treat all learners in the same way, but that we will respond to learners in ways which take account of their varied life experiences, strengths and needs. We believe that educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, difficulty, sexuality, disability, attainment levels and background.

We pay particular attention to the provision for and the achievement of different groups of learners;

- Children who demonstrate some independence as learners because they have some understanding of abstract concepts and can access learning through spoken word and text. - Supported children who need a more concrete experience and often have an additional communication need.

- Children with more complex needs who rely on adult mediation to enable them to have a meaningful learning experience.

- Girls and boys when they need different types of curriculum or provision, for example through Sex and Relationships Education.

- Minority faith groups.

 - Recently arrived communities such as economic migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.

- Children who need support to learn English.

- Children who are gifted and talented in a particular skill or area of interest.

- Children who are looked after by the local authority.

- Any children who are at risk of exclusion.

 - Any children who are at risk of radicalisation or exploitation.

We recognise that children learn at different rates and that there are many factors affecting achievement, including ability, emotional state, age and maturity.

We are particularly aware that the needs of our children change as they develop and we try to ensure that we respect and reflect their changing age and maturity.

Co-op Academy Penny Oaks sees the inclusion of children with special educational needs and disabilities in the full life of the Academy as critical to the success of our Academy.

Responsibilities 

The Senior Leadership Team of Co-op Academy Penny Oaks will ensure high quality education and support for all, when deciding how to allocate resources and to prioritise access to services and accommodation within the Academy.

The Local Governing Bodies (LGBs) will identify a Named Governor for SEND who will fulfil their responsibility to scrutinise the work of the SENDCo.

All teaching and learning support staff have a responsibility to ensure that each child is given every opportunity to fulfil their potential within the normal classroom situation.

All staff should be aware of the learning support needs of all children they teach, and should ensure that the needs of each child is addressed.

Our Differentiated response

In our setting we will provide differentiated approaches to the provision of support for children with SEND. This is achieved under the leadership of the SENDCo who is responsible for:

Co-op Academy Penny Oaks

- Liaising with and advising school staff about individual students' profile of needs and supporting their planning for individual programmes;

- Giving clear guidelines for standard operating procedures when there is a need to do so;

- Co-ordinating specialist provision for students with particular categories of SEND;

- Maintaining the school's SEND register and overseeing records of all children with SEND;

- Liaising with parents of children with SEND;

- Contributing to in-service training of staff;

- Liaising with external agencies including the Educational Psychology Service and other SEND support services, medical and social services and voluntary bodies;

- Consulting with SENDCOs from other schools to ensure effective transition arrangements are made for students who are moving to the Academy.

All pupils receive full-time education in classes, with additional help and support by class teachers through a differentiated curriculum where needed. This can include additional small groups or 1:1 interventions, within the classroom. These are either delivered by the class teacher or another adult.

Some pupils may need additional support to the above alongside what they receive in the classroom. In this case additional, time-limited, small group or 1:1 intervention programmes are timetabled which target learners according to need, to accelerate their rates of progress and secure their learning.

Some children need a further level of support that cannot be delivered in the context of the whole class or small groups. This can take the form of  individual teaching, delivered by school based or external expertise. Such teaching supplements existing learning and does not replace it and must ensure that children or young people apply their learning to maintain the progress made when they return to class. This will be provided by a Support Assistant in conjunction with the class teacher. This type of intervention might include other alternative specialised provision.

The SENDCo, in collaboration with teachers and senior leadership, will monitor the provision/interventions to ensure the children or young people make progress.

Further specialist support

We will request a Statutory Assessment from the Local Authority when, despite an individualised programme of sustained intervention, the child remains a significant cause for concern. A Statutory Assessment might also be requested by a parent or outside agency.

The Academy will have the following information available:

Co-op Academy Penny Oaks

- The action followed within the range models for individual need

- The child’s Provision Plans and Provision Maps

- Records and outcomes of regular reviews undertaken

- Information on the child’s health and relevant medical history

- Academic progress

- Other relevant assessments from specialists such as Educational Psychologists

- The views of parents/carers

- Where possible, the views of the child

- Social Services/Educational Welfare Service/Multi-Professional reports

An Education, Health and Care Plan will normally be provided where, after a Statutory Assessment, the Local Authority considers the child or young person requires provision beyond that which the school can offer. However, the Academy recognises that a request for a Statutory Assessment does not inevitably lead to an EHCP. Parents have the right of appeal and can contest such decisions, at which point the Academy would provide evidence as/when/if requested.

Intervention and Support

Interventions which are additional to those provided as part of the schools’ usual differentiated curriculum offer and strategies will be employed to enable the child to progress. These will be coordinated by the SENDCo and will be recorded in a Personal Provision Plan.

Support from external specialist services and agencies will be sought and referrals made as required, using local, regional and national specialists as the need arises.

Partnership with Parents/Carers 

The best results are achieved where parents/carers, schools and LA services work in partnership. In working towards this principle the Academy will do the following;

- Assist parents/carers in their understanding of SEND procedures, school- based provision, and other support available for their child and additional sources of help and information, for example, voluntary organisations and childcare information services.

- Provide opportunities for mediation and discussion where necessary.

- Meet parental/carer preference for school placement subject to the requirement that the individual child’s special educational needs can be met; that the education of other young people will not be adversely affected and that resources are efficiently used.

- Ensure that assessment and review processes seek and take account of the views of parents/carers and the child (wherever possible).

- Provide clear and informative written advice for parents/carers about all aspects of the Code of Practice on the identification and assessment of young people with special educational needs and the range of different disabilities.

- Provide clear sign-posting of the support services available for young people with special educational needs within the school and the local area.

- Recognise that families have valuable knowledge of their child which service providers should encourage them to share.

- Encourage families to be actively involved in relevant training/planning appropriate to their child’s needs.

Promoting High Expectations 

Co-op Academy Penny Oaks will set high standards for children with special educational needs and disabilities, with an expectation that they will achieve their full potential. In working towards this principle, the academy will ensure that;

- Children with SEND have equal access to extracurricular activities provided by Co-op Academy Penny Oaks.

- The use of assessments provides effective measures of the performance of children with special educational needs.

The intended outcomes at Co-op Academy Penny Oaks are for children to become:

a) Confident - to face the challenges

b) Resilient - to cope with difficulties that may come

c) Independent - to create the life that they deserve to lead

This is all driven through the academy’s core values:

• Experiences
• Aspirations
• Healthy Lifestyles

Identifying children with SEND 

Identifying children with SEND and for monitoring their progress will be clear, effective and straightforward. All procedures will take account of the Code of Practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs. In working towards this principle, the academy will;

- Ensure Education Health and Care Plans and Personalised Pupil Plans are reviewed regularly and the appropriate action taken where required.

- Ensure procedures are in place to ensure the views of parents/carers and young people are sought during the statutory review process, as well as those of the professionals involved.

- Offer a person-centred approach to review procedures with the most effective mode of contribution identified for each individual child.

- Monitor and evaluate the academy’s performance in relation to children with special needs using feedback and surveys to gather their views and those of their parents/carers in addition to assessment data.

- Recognise that effective action for learners with SEND will often depend on close co-operation between the schools, families, health/therapy services and social care services.

We are committed to implementing such co- operative arrangements so that services for individual children and their families can be as seamless as possible.

Planning, review and evaluation 

Individual teachers have day-to-day responsibilities with regard to planning and managing the care and learning for students with SEND in their classes. The SENDCO is responsible for the coordination of specialist provision and interventions. The Safeguarding governor will report to the LGB annually about the scope and findings of the scrutiny work undertaken.