SEN

SEN

“At Quarry View Primary School we believe that all children are entitled to quality education”.

Every child has an entitlement to the National Curriculum and a caring, positive atmosphere is created in school, so that each child has a good self-image and is able to reach their potential.  In doing this we incorporate the five outcomes contained within the Every child Matters frame work.

Aims

1. To identify children at an early stage who have special educational needs through standardised, observational & diagnostic assessment.
2. To differentiate our curriculum to meet every child’s needs through year group termly and weekly planning to provide IEPS for all children with special needs..
3. To work with relevant agencies and professionals to meet the individual needs of the child.
4. To provide a consistent approach to children who have learning, medical, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

This is provided by using:

· Positive Rewards and Sanctions
· Inset & opportunities for staff to attend courses
· Positive Discipline Plan
· Efficient and effective Classroom Organisation and Management
· Quality and accessible resources around school
· High standard/quality of environment
· High expectations
· Advice & support from Inclusion Team & outside agencies

At Quarry View we appreciate the wide spectrum of special needs within our school.  These include physical and medical difficulties, learning difficulties, emotional and behavioural difficulties and speech language difficulties. The aims of this policy are to address each child s individual needs and to enable them to achieve their full potential.

 Inclusion Team

The school has appointed SENCO who together with the SEN Team and the Head Teacher are responsible for administering the Code of Practice within the school.

The team’s responsibilities are:

· Liaison with the LEA/external agencies and schools
· Regular Team meetings fro information sharing
· Supporting in Nursery, key stage Secondary transition
· Organising resources through liaison with other staff
· Assisting with liaison with parents
· Supporting staff development
· Record keeping
· Contributing to evaluative reports
· Overseeing implementation of Code of Practice
· Organising Reviews of statemented pupils and children at Early Years Action Plus and School Action Plus     
·  Formulating I.E.P.’s (in conjunction with class teachers).
· Overseeing Curriculum Access Provision (CAP Class)
· Organising and implementing TA support within CAP

Management and Organisation

There is a whole school approach to the management of special needs.  The Inclusion team meet with their allocated year groups at the beginning of each term to plan and book reviews, prioritise children to be seen by outside agencies and look at the records of new children who have been admitted to school. The Inclusion team comprises of SENCO and five other staff members who have CAP, KS1 and KS2 SEN experience.

Meetings

The SEN team meet to discuss the needs of children on the register, monitor progress throughout the school, update records and keep up to date with information.

REVIEWS

Early Years Action+ Reviews and School Action+ Reviews

Parents are invited to attend to discuss progress with the class teacher and a member of the SEN team.  Parents and all professionals involved are invited to these reviews with the class teacher and the SENCO.  Written reports are provided by all involved.

Statemented Pupil Reviews

These are held annually.  Parents and all professionals involved are invited with the class teacher and SENCO.  Written reports are provided by all involved and are forwarded to the Education Authority.

Transition Reviews / Statemented Pupils

Transition reviews take place in the Spring term of Y5.  Parents and all professionals involved are invited as well as an officer from the L.E.A. and the SENCO from the school which the child is likely to transfer to.  Reports are provided by all involved and are forwarded to the Education Authority.  Nursery transition reviews for Early Year action+ children are attended by a member of the Inclusion team.  In some circumstances there are transition reviews fro vulnerable Y6 pupils with representation from feeder secondary
 

Review Procedures

Early Year action +, School action+ statement reviews will be chaired by a member of the SEN team. All other reviews are minuted on the school review sheet and recommendations carried out with support from the Inclusion Team and outside agencies, if appropriate.  Reviews for these children are held each term, incorporated into parents evening.  Reviews at Early Years Action Plus and School Action Plus are held at least annually.  The Inclusion team is responsible for issuing invitations to all professionals’ involved and ensuring distribution of reports.  The responsible person chairs meeting and takes minutes.  It is the leading team member’s responsibility to ensure that the recommendation’s from these meetings are carried out and that minutes etc are forwarded to the Education Authority if appropriate.  Reviews for statemented are pupils held annually.  The SENCO is responsible for sending invitations to all professionals involved and ensuring distribution of reports.  The SENCO chairs the meeting and takes minutes.  It is the SENCO’s responsibility to ensure that recommendations are carried out and to liase with other professionals.  The SENCO also ensures that reports and minutes are forwarded to the Education Authority.  Transition Reviews for statemented pupils also follow these guidelines.

 
I.E.Ps

IEP’s will be produced for all children with specific needs.  IEP’s are written termly and evaluated half termly.

The IEP will 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/or exit criteria
. outcomes (to be recorded when IEP is reviewed).

Both parents and pupils are invited to be part of the process in deciding targets which are appropriate.
Parents are provided with a copy of the IEP so that they can support the pupil at home.

HOME SCHOOL LIAISON

Establishing and maintaining positive links with home is a fundamental principle of the school’s ethos.  All parents of children with special educational needs are frequently involved in meetings to discuss progress and share concerns about their child in accordance with the Code of Practice.  There are home/school contact books if the school and parents feel it will be beneficial.  There is regular telephone contact with the parents / carers of children who are taxied to school.  Home visits are arranged as/when necessary.

MONITORING

Pupil progress will be regularly monitored.  Through discussion with the class teacher and parent/s a decision will be made as to whether the child needs more or less support.  Reviews are held in accordance with the Code of Practice.  Pupil progress is monitored through both summative and formative assessment.  If a child is not making the expected progress, support is put into place and then if this is not effective outside agencies are involved to give advice and support.  Pupil progress is reported to parents at review meetings and open evenings.

EVALUATION

Within the school we aim to evaluate the following areas:

· The Curriculum Access Provision
· IEP’s / GEP’s
· Staff roles and responsibilities within the SEN Team.
· The integration of children from CAP into mainstream classes.

IEP’s and GEP’s are updated regularly (half termly in CAP) by class teachers.  SEN files are collected in termly to monitor the evaluations and to ensure that IEP’s/GEP’s are evaluated, that targets set are being achieved and that subsequent IEP/GEP’s reflect this.  Inclusion team staff are available to offer support /advice to staff when setting new targets for children.

Through regular Inclusion Team meetings and discussions the roles and responsibilities of each person are reviewed and monitored.  The SENCO is responsible for allocating areas of responsibility and for monitoring the performance of the Inclusion Team.  In turn, his role is reviewed by the Headteacher

The effectiveness of the integration of CAP children into mainstream is evaluated in a variety of different ways.

· Relevant Staff meet informally to discuss needs and outcomes of integration time.
· Questionnaires/evaluation sheets are completed by class teachers on a termly basis.
· The effect in the child is noted by both CAP and Class teachers.
· Children are actively encouraged to feedback to teachers and to evaluate their own time in mainstream class on an informal, regular basis.

The Inclusion Team has identified as an area for development the monitoring and evaluation CAP integration. 

EXTERNAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY

· Educational Psychology –
· Speech and Language Therapy –
· Learning Support Service –
·  CAMHS
· BEST
· School Health Service
· Vision & Hearing impaired service
·  E.S.W
· Autism Outreach service
·  Child and Family Psychology –
· Occupational Therapy
·  Physiotherapy

The school has worked to develop good working relationships with all the support services and there is now an expectation that a written report will be provided for school once a child has been seen.  This is so that school knows the type of work completed with the child and if there are any suggestions for the child’s I.E.P.

GIFTED AND TALENTED CHILDREN

The needs of these children are recognised and their individual needs are catered for through differentiation.  Enrichment activities are promoted and children are encouraged to take part in out of school activities and clubs.
The opportunities offered to children include:

· Y6 Saturday and holiday clubs at specific times of the year.
· Summer sports camps
· Music at activities including instrument lessons, clubs and choir.
· Competitions.
· Visits.

ASSESSMENT

The school has a policy for assessment in place for all children.  All children with special needs are assessed at the beginning of , and throughout the academic year.  PIVATS are used in CAP and mainstream to help access children with special educational needs.  They are ongoing throughout the year in CAP and are used to inform planning, I.E.P’s and reviews on children.  PIVATS are evaluated in the Autumn and Summer Term within mainstream classes.  Individual Education Plans are in place and continually evaluated based on progress and further assessments.
There are diagnostic assessments available in school to facilitate assessment and enable IEPs to be written.  The Learning Support Service has assessment packages available to be used in school.
Depending on the needs and strengths of each child within CAP.  An individual integration programme is planned to ensure inclusion wherever possible.

We envisage that both mainstream teachers and CAP staff have a role within the assessment process.  Similarly it is recognised that parents and relevant support services will have major contributions to make.

We assess our children as an ongoing process in accordance with the Code of Practice by :

· Quality markings
· PIVATS
·  teacher observation (whole school/CAP)
·  CAP teacher/class teacher discussion
·  pupil/teacher discussion
·  formal discussion with parents (in accordance with the Code of Practice)
·  liaison with external agencies
·  National Curriculum assessment
·  setting, monitoring and evaluating individual targets which happen on a half termly basis
· Variety of  summative and formative assessments.