SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES POLICY
Cloudside Junior School follows the policy and procedures set out in the
DfE (0-25) 2014 “Code of Practice.”
(Links to the following policies: Anti-Bullying, PSHE Policy, Equal
Opportunities, Safeguarding, Inclusion)
At Cloudside Junior School we aim to provide a safe, secure and happy
community in which children are valued as individuals. We endeavour to
create an atmosphere in school where each child can realise his or her
potential.
Aims:
 To ensure that all children have access to a broad and balanced
curriculum.
 To provide a curriculum that is relevant and differentiated to enable
each child the opportunity to succeed.
 To raise the self-esteem of all children and develop their individual
talents.
 To equip children with the skills, knowledge and understanding that will
support them for their life beyond school.
Objectives:
 Ensure the earliest identification of pupils requiring SEN provision.
 Make appropriate provision to overcome all barriers to learning and
ensure pupils with SEN have full access to the National Curriculum.
 To work in partnership with parents and involve them in all stages of
their child’s education.
 To provide a regular process of reviewing each child’s progress and
take appropriate action.
 To provide training and support for staff to enable them to play a part in
the identification of children with SEN and how best to meet their needs.
 Make full use of expert support from outside agencies such as:
Educational Psychology Services, Speech and Language Therapy,
Occupational & Physiotherapy Services etc.
 To work within the guidance provided in the SEND Code of Practice,
2014.
What is Special Educational Needs?
Definitions of special educational needs (SEN) taken from section 20 of the
Children and Families Act 2014.
A child or young person has special educational needs if he or she has a
learning difficulty or disability, which calls for special educational provision to
be made for him or her.
A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty
or disability if he or she:
a)
Has significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of
others of the same age, or
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b)
Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from
making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of
the same age in mainstream schools or maintained post-16
institutions.
c)
A child under compulsory school age has a learning difficulty or
disability if he or she is likely to be within the definition (a) or (b)
above, when of compulsory school age.
d)
A child or young person does not have a learning difficulty solely
because the language or form of language of their home is
different from the language in which they will be taught.
Learning difficulties can fall into one or more of the following categories:
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Communication and Interaction
Cognition and Learning
Social, Mental and Emotional Health
Sensory and/or Physical needs
Inclusion:
We are an inclusive school and all children have access to activities inside
and outside the classroom, wherever possible, with the provision of additional
adult support or special equipment.
Admission Arrangements:
Admission arrangements for children with SEN do not differ from those of any
other children. This policy acknowledges that all children with special
educational needs have the right to be educated in a mainstream school, with
regard to the New Code of Practice 2014.
Access Arrangements for Children with Special Educational Needs:
The school supports the policy of inclusion of pupils with special education
needs and disabilities wherever practical. At present the school is open plan
and built on two levels, which includes the following access arrangements:
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Sloping pathways around the outside of the school building.
Double doors to main entrance.
Front entrance has a wheelchair height counter.
A disabled toilet with changing area is located in both the upper and
lower parts of the school.
 We ensure that all equipment is accessible to all children.
 Advice is sought from the Physical Impairment Team to adapt and
provide additional resources for children who require this.
 Disabled parking space in the car park.
There is no suitable wheelchair access within the school between upper and
lower levels of the building. The open plan nature of the school may cause
difficulties, though not insurmountable for children or adults with hearing
difficulties. We, therefore, offer all parents who wish their child to attend our
school to visit and discuss with the head teacher the specific needs of their
child.
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Roles & Responsibilities:
The headteacher and governing body have appointed Mrs A Fitchett as
SENCO with the responsibility for the day-to-day implementation of the SEN
policy. Mrs Fitchett achieved the National Award for SEN in March 2012.
The Role of the Governors:
In conjunction with the headteacher:
 They will determine the school’s general policy with approach to
provision for children with special educational needs, establish the
staffing and funding arrangements and maintain a general oversight of
the school’s work.
 The link governor for SEN (Mrs J Hulls) will closely monitor the school’s
work on behalf of children with special educational needs.
 The link governor with work alongside the SENCO to monitor the
provision and practices within the school.
The Role of the Headteacher:
The headteacher will:
 Have responsibility for the day-to-day management of all aspects of the
school’s work, including provision for children with special educational
needs
 Will work closely with the school’s SENCO.
 Ensure that all staff are aware and suitable trained with regards to the
issues related to the safeguarding of vulnerable children, including
those with special needs.
The role of the SENCO:
The SENCO will:
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Manage the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy.
Liaise with parents of children with SEN.
Co-ordinate the provision for children with SEN.
Support and advise colleagues on the graduated response approach
to providing SEN support.
Maintain the SEN register and manage the records of all children with
special educational needs.
Liaise with the relevant designated teacher where a looked after pupil
has SEN.
Liaise and act as a key point of contact with external agencies,
especially the local authority and its support services.
Liaise with other schools, educational psychologists, health and social
care professionals, and independent or voluntary bodies.
Liaise with schools prior to transition to ensure children and their
parents are informed about the options and a smooth transition is
planned.
Work with the headteacher and school governors to ensure that the
school meets its responsibilities under the Equality Act (2010) with
regard to adjustments and access arrangements.
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Provision for children with SEN:
All teachers are responsible for ensuring that all children access the
curriculum and that this is adapted to meet the needs of all individuals. Where
children are identified as having special education needs, additional support is
achieved in a variety of ways:
 Differentiated lessons and resources.
 Teaching Assistants (TAs) work alongside the teacher to support
individual children, on a 1:1 basis or within a small group.
 Small group withdrawal working with a TA.
 Wave 3 interventions (e.g. Toe by Toe, Lexia Reading, 1+1 Maths)
 Provide practical activities or equipment to support individual children.
 Provide access to ICT to enable children to record their work in
different ways.
 Provide social and emotional support via the Nuture Group.
 Children with a Statement of Education or an Education Health and
Care Plan are allocated additional specialist support from outside
agencies. (e.g. Speech and Language, Physiotherapy)
The Graduated Response:
In order to support all children who have been identified as having SEN we
will adopt the Graduated Response approach (Appendix 1) to addressing their
needs.
Early Identification: (First Quality Teaching)
At Cloudside Junior School we recognise that early identification of special
educational needs is necessary to provide the appropriate level of support.
Initial identification is the responsibility of the class teacher. A range of
assessment methods are used to identify children with SEN concerns.
These include:
 Closely monitoring by class teacher in order to gauge the pupil’s level
of learning and possible difficulties.
 Tracking of individual pupil progress data.
 Half term assessments and end of year formative tests.
 Using screening tools or checklists.
 Following up parental concerns.
 Information passed on from the Infant school/previous school.
If a child continues to cause concern, despite intervention, then the class
teacher will consult with the parents about the child’s needs. The SENCO will
be consulted for advice.
SEN Support:
When it is determined that a child does have SEN, parents will be formally
advised of this and the child will be added to the SEN register. The class
teacher should provide interventions that are additional to and different from
those provided as part of the school’s usual differentiated curriculum.
The triggers for intervention at this stage could be that the child:
 Makes little or no progress.
 Shows signs of difficulty in developing literacy and numeracy skills.
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 Presents persistent emotional or behavioural difficulties.
 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.
 Shows persistent behavioural/emotional difficulties.
The class teacher will be responsible for the planning and delivering of the
individualised interventions/programmes. The interventions will be recorded
on the school’s provision map. The provision will be monitored and reviewed
termly by the SENCO.
If a child continues to struggle and makes limited progress, despite
interventions provided by the school, then the SENCO will consult external
support services for advice, strategies and support. Parents and the pupils
(where appropriate) are actively involved in this referral progress.
The triggers for involving external agencies to be involved are:
 Still makes little or no progress in specific area over a long period.
 Continues to work at National Curriculum levels substantially below that
expected of children of a similar age.
 Continues to have difficulty in developing literacy and or numeracy
skills.
 Has emotional/behavioural difficulties that substantially interfere with
the child’s learning.
 Has sensory/physical needs requiring additional specialist equipment
or advice from specialists.
 Has communication or interaction difficulties, that impede the
development of social relationships and cause substantial barriers to
learning.
The SENCO, class teacher, parents, pupils (where appropriate), and external
agencies will work together and an Individual Education Plan (IEP) will be
written, which should contain:
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The short term targets set
The teaching strategies to be used
The provision to be put in place
Success Criteria
When the plan is to be reviewed
Outcomes
The IEP will be shared and reviewed with parents (three times a year) in order
to assess how well the child is performing and whether the interventions in
place are effective. The interventions will be recorded on the school’s
provision map. The provision will be monitored and reviewed termly by the
SENCO.
Referral for an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC):
If a child has lifelong or significant difficulties they may undergo a Statutory
Assessment.
On the advice of the Educational Psychologist, the school may refer a child for
Statutory Assessment but parents or other outside agencies can also request
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this, via the Local Educational Authority. This will occur where the complexity
of need or lack of clarity around the needs of the child are that a multi-agency
approach to assessing that need, to planning provision and identifying
resources, is required.
The decision for an Education, Health and Care Plan will be taken at a
progress review. The application for an EHCP will combine information from a
variety of sources including:
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Parents
Teachers
SENCO
Educational Psychologist
Specialist Services
Social Care and/or
Health Professionals
Information will be gathered relating to the current provision provided, action
points that have been taken, and the preliminary outcomes of targets set. A
decision will be by a group of people from education, health and social care
about whether or not the child is eligible for an EHC Plan.
Further information about EHC Plans can be found via the SEND Local Offer:
http://www.derbyshiresendlocaloffer.org/
Education, Health and Care Plans:
Following a Statutory Assessment, an EHC Plan will be normally provided if
the LA considers the child requires provision beyond what the school can offer.
However, the school recognises that a request for a Statutory Assessment
does not inevitably lead to an EHC Plan.
Parents have the right to appeal against the contents of an EHC Plan or
against the named school in the plan, if it differs from their named choice.
Once the EHC Plan has been completed and agreed, it will be kept as part of
the child’s formal record and reviewed annually by staff, parents and involve
the child’s views.
Transition:
The school recognises that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEND
and takes steps to ensure that any transition is as smooth as possible.
The school maintains good links with both feeder and receiver schools and
makes every effort to pass on information and communicate the needs of
children with SEN.
Class to class transition:
Children visit their new classroom for two days during June and meet their
new class teacher. A planning meeting is held in July between the current
class teacher and the new teacher, where all information is shared. IEPs,
details of interventions and any special resources used are shared and
passed onto the new class teacher. We hold a meet the teacher open
evening for parents as part of the schools transition arrangements.
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Infant Transition:
A meeting is held at the start of the Summer term, between the SENCOs from
Cloudside Junior and the Infant school They will discuss each child on the
SEN register and arrange extra meetings as necessary.
Part of the transition includes:
 All children from the feeder Infant school visit Cloudside Junior School
for a taster day during the Summer term, however, should a child with
SEN need additional visits is can be arranged through the SENCOs.
 A six week transition programme is also provided for children, who may
need additional support in transferring to our school, through the
Nurture Group. The SENCO will liaise with the Infant school as to
which children would benefit from this.
Secondary Transition:
A meeting is held at the start of the Summer term, between the SENCOs from
Cloudside Junior and the feeder secondary school. They will discuss the
specific needs of children with SEN. At this meeting additional visits can be
arranged for children with SEN.
Part of the transition includes:
 All Year 6 children will attend a two day transition programme during
the Summer term.
 Children with SEN and/or vulnerable children will attend an additional
day’s transition to support them further.
 The Year 6 teachers will attend a Primary transition meeting with key
staff from the secondary school to discuss the needs of individual
children.
Partnership with Parents:
We recognise the valuable role parents have to play in the partnership
between home and school. We believe that a consultative and working
partnership between children, parents, teachers and outside agencies is
crucial in the development and implantation of a suitable curriculum for
children with SEN.
Regular termly review meetings are held with parents, teachers, support staff
and children to discuss and agree progress made and set further targets for
achievement. Parents may seek advice from teachers about their child’s
needs and difficulties just before or at the end of the school day. Further
concerns may be raised with the SENCO or headteacher at a mutually
convenient appointment.
Training & Resources:
A proportion of the school budget, including staff development funding, will be
set aside for SEN resources each year. The use and amount of this money
will be carefully monitored on an annual basis.
There is also a section on our school website under Special Educational
Needs from which information and links to useful resources can be accessed.
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Record Keeping:
Once a child has been entered on the SEN register, all records/letters to and
from parents, external agencies and professionals etc., are kept in individual
files in a locked filing cabinet. The SENCO will maintain the records and
ensure access to them.
Complaints:
Should any parent have concerns about the management of their child’s
special educational needs, they may in the first instance speak to the class
teacher, then SENCO and/or headteacher to discuss his or her concerns.
However, should any parent then feel that they wish to discuss the matter
further; they may contact the Chair of the Governing body in writing, at the
school address.
The complaints procedure is also available on our school website
(http://www.cloudside.derbyshire.sch.uk.).
Monitoring & Reviewing:
This policy will be monitored and reviewed yearly and updated as new
legislation needs to be incorporated.
Ratified by Governors:
Next review:
Appendices:
Appendix 1 – The Graduated Response approach model
Appendix 2 – Glossary of Terms
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