Co-op Academy New Islington

SEND Policy

Approving Body: AGC

Ratified: October 2023

Next review:  October 2024

Introduction

Co-op Academy New Islington provides a broad and balanced curriculum that is designed to be inclusive for all pupils.  This curriculum is based on the International Primary Curriculum and National Curriculum programmes of study. These meet the specific needs of individual and groups of pupils through three principles:

Setting suitable learning challenges

Responding to pupils’ diverse learning needs and styles

Overcoming the potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.

Mission Statement

At Co-op Academy New Islington all pupils, regardless of their particular needs, are provided with inclusive teaching which will enable them to make the best possible progress and feel that they are a valued member of the wider school community. We expect that all pupils with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) will meet or exceed the high expectations we set for them against national data and based on their age and starting points. We will do our best to give pupils with SEND the support they need, whilst having access to a broad and balanced curriculum. Working in partnership with families, it is our aim that pupils will become confident individuals able to make a successful transition on to the next phase of their education.

New Islington provides sufficient support and individualised arrangements to ensure all pupils with SEND have equal access to the Curriculum, in consultation with parents when necessary. We aim to achieve the highest possible standards to strive to ensure each child fulfils their potential, irrespective of ability. 

Our SEND policy sets out how we endeavor to provide appropriate intervention and support for children who have needs which are additional to and different from that provided within the differentiated curriculum.

Objectives

• To ensure a clear process for identifying, assessing, planning, providing and reviewing for SEND pupils with the pupils and their parents/carers at the centre.
• To develop effective whole school provision management of support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
• To deliver training and support for all staff working with pupils with SEND in order to develop our practice within the guidance set out in the Code of Practice, 2015.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

• SENDCo: The SENDCo, with support of the Head Teacher has day-to-day responsibility for the operation of SEND policy and co-ordination of specific provision made to support individual pupils with SEND; including those who have EHC plans.

• The SENDCo at Co-op Academy New Islington is Mrs Jenni Topham. She can be contacted on 0161 273 8007 or via email: jenni.topham@coopacademies.co.uk 

• Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): The Deputy Head Teacher, Mrs Topham, has specific responsibility for safeguarding and is the DSL or, in her absence, the Deputy Safeguarding Leads (DDSL) are Mr Joshua Berry (Head Teacher) and Mrs Jen Holt (Assistant Head Teacher)

• Teaching Assistants (TAs) will be appointed and used as appropriate to enhance the SEND provision in the classroom. The SENDCo and Head Teacher will be responsible for appointment, training and deployment of any SEND specialist TAs.

• At Co-op Academy New Islington, we ensure that our SEND policy works within the schools inclusion policy, The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice (2015), The Equality Act (2010), the Local Authority and other policies current within the school.

Definition of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

The SEND Code of Practice (2015) states that:

“A child or young person has SEND if they have 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:

• has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age.

• 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.”

For these children, we will provide educational provision, that is different from or additional to that made generally for other children of the same age.

The SEND Code of Practice (2015) states that:

“special educational provision is a provision that is different from or additional to that normally available to pupils or students of the same age. which is designed to help children and young people with SEN or disabilities to access the National Curriculum at school or to study at college.”

The Equality Act (2010) states that:

“A child is defined as having a disability when they have, 'a physical or mental impairment

which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day- to-day activities.”

For these children we will make reasonable adjustments, including making our best endeavours to provide supporting aids and services, to ensure that our disabled children are not at a substantial disadvantage compared with their peers

A number of children at some stage during their education at New Islington will have special educational needs, e.g., difficulty in acquiring learning skills, emotional and/or social difficulties, communication difficulties or physical difficulties. As special educational needs exist along a continuum, pupils’ needs may vary from being temporary and /or slight, to severe and/or long lasting.

Identification of SEND

Early identification of children with special educational needs is crucial so that action can be taken to help pupils. All class teachers have a key role in the identification of pupils’ needs and monitoring all aspects of pupil performance.

The identification of SEND is embedded in the whole school process of monitoring the progress and development of all pupils. We recognise the benefits of early identification and making effective provision in improving the long-term outcomes for children with SEND. The purpose of identification is to work out what action the school needs to take, not to fit the pupil into a category. It is also important to identify the full range of needs, not simply the primary need of an individual pupil.

The SEND Code of Practice (2015) refers to four broad areas of need:

• Social, emotional and mental health difficulties-children may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self- harming, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) or attachment disorder.

• Communication and interaction-these children have a difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. For example, children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD), including Asperger syndrome, are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.

• Cognition and learning-children with learning difficulties learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs from moderate learning difficulties (MLD) to children with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD).Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.

• Sensory and/or physical needs-some children require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. Many children with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and /or equipment to access their learning.

A Graduated Approach to SEND Support

How the school decides whether to make special educational provision

A process of on-going teacher assessments and termly pupil progress meetings with the leadership team identifies those pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances. The school’s first response is quality first teaching by the class teacher. Where progress continues to be less than expected, the class teacher will discuss their concerns with the SENDCo. In deciding whether to make special educational provision, the teacher and SENDCo will consider all of the information gathered from within the school about the pupil’s progress, alongside the views of parents/carers and pupil. During this stage extra teaching or interventions may be put in place as a pupil’s response to such support can help to identify their particular needs.

Where pupils have higher levels of need, and with parental permission, the school may seek advice from external agencies such as:

• Educational Psychology Service (EPS)
• Learning Support Service (LSS)
• Speech and Language Therapy Service
• Educational Welfare Team
• Children’s Services
• School Nurse/Paediatric health team
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
• Outreach services – The Grange or Camberwell Park
• NHS O.T. service
• Post Adoption Services
• Any other appropriate agency of whom we may require the services

If the support needed can be provided by adapting the school’s core offer then a child might not be considered SEN or placed on the SEND register. If, however, the support required is different from or additional to what is ordinarily offered by the school, the child will be placed on the SEND register at SEN Support. The school will then seek to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place. This begins a cycle of assess, plan, do, review with the child/young person at the centre of the process.

The four part cycle:

Assess: We will ensure that we regularly assess all pupils’ needs so that each child’s progress and development is carefully tracked compared to their peers and national expectations. We will listen to the views and experience of parents/carers and the pupil. In some cases we will draw on assessments and guidance from other education professionals e.g. Educational Psychologists (EP) and from health and social services.

Plan: Where SEN Support is required the teacher and SENDCo will put together a plan outlining the adjustments, interventions and support which will be put in place for the pupil as well as the expected impact on progress and outcomes, including a date when this will be reviewed. Targets for the pupil will be shared with her/him using child friendly language and with parents/carers. All staff who work with the pupil will be made aware of the plan.

Do: The class teacher is responsible for working with the pupil on a daily basis. She/he will also liaise closely with TAs or specialists who provide support set out in the plan and monitor the progress being made. The SENDCo will provide support, guidance and advice for the teacher.

Review: The plan including the impact of the support and interventions will be reviewed each term by the teacher, SENDCo, parent/carer and the pupil. This will inform the planning of next steps for a further period or where successful the removal of the pupil from SEN Support.

This four part cycle through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised with a growing understanding of the pupil’s needs and what supports the pupil in making good progress is known as the graduated approach. It draws on more detailed approaches and more specialist expertise in successive cycles

Parents/carers and pupil involvement in the process

We believe in a person centred approach to information gathering and the cycle of assess, plan, do, review. Termly reviews and target setting meetings are planned with parents where targets are shared with pupils and successes are celebrated. Pupils with a Statement or EHC plan will send an invitation to their parents to attend their annual review and will attend part of the meeting to share their achievements for the year and aspirations for the future.

Criteria for removing pupils from the SEND Register

When a child has made sufficient and sustained progress towards achieving their personal targets and it is felt that they are able to maintain this with quality first teaching, they may be removed from the SEND register. The school will continue to monitor pupils recently removed from the register to ensure good progress is maintained.

SEND Provision

SEN support can take many forms. This could include:

• identification on a teacher’s targeted academic support plan
• an individual learning programme which may include: bespoke 1:1 SEMH intervention with skilled adult, bespoke 1:1 music intervention with skilled adult, bespoke 1:1 Forest School intervention with skilled adult
• evidence based learning interventions such as Talk Boost
• evidence based Speech and Language interventions such as Lego Therapy
• individual plans to allow special arrangements to meet need such as private use of calm corner at lunchtime
• trauma informed support of children with ACES (see ACES timetable)
• extra help from a teacher or a learning support assistant
• making or changing materials, resources or equipment
• working with a child in a small group
• maintaining specialist equipment
• observing a child in class or at break and keeping records
• helping a child to take part in the class activities
• making sure that a child has understood things by encouraging them to ask questions and to try something they find difficult
• helping other children to work with a child, or play with them at break time
• supporting a child with physical or personal care difficulties, such as eating, getting around school safely, toileting or dressing

Managing the needs of Pupils on the SEND Register

Each pupil with SEND is an individual and their plan is tailored to meet their particular needs. Plans are reviewed termly with parents and pupils. Decisions regarding the level of support provided are needs led, working within the constraints of the school budget.

The class teacher is responsible for:

• the progress and development of all pupils including those with SEND
• ensuring the plan is implemented in the classroom
• regular liaison with parents and the SENDCo
• effective deployment of additional adults
• supporting the SENDCo in the writing and reviewing of targets for pupils with SEND

The SENDCo is responsible for:

• the SEND policy and its implementation
• co-ordinating support for children with SEND
• updating the SEND register and maintaining individual pupil records
• monitoring the quality of provision and impact of interventions
• attending network meetings and updating staff
• referrals to and liaison with outside agencies
• line managing TAs with responsibility for SEND
• liaising with and advising staff
• maintaining regular liaison with parents/carers
• co-ordinating annual reviews
• supporting staff in identifying pupils with SEND.
• mapping provision throughout the school
• maintaining links and information sharing with receiving schools

The SEND Governor is responsible for:

• monitoring the effective implementation of the SEND policy
• liaising termly with the SENDCo
• reporting to the governing body on SEND
• ensuring that pupils with SEND participate fully in school activities

Requesting an Educational, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) needs assessment

A small number of pupils, whose needs are complex and long term, may require a greater level of support than that provided at SEN Support from the school’s own resources. For these pupils a request will be made to the local authority to conduct an assessment of education, health and care needs. This may result in an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) being provided. This brings together the child’s health and social care needs as well as their special educational needs.

Supporting parents/carers and children

We provide support in the following ways:

• the Head Teacher and SENDCo operate an open door policy for parents/carers seeking support and advice
• the dedicated SEND Governor who is available as a contact point
• individual arrangements can be made for phased entry into Reception class
• additional time and special arrangements for SATs
• support for transition between classes
• a transition period can be organised for vulnerable Y6 pupils transferring to secondary school
• inviting the SENDCo of the receiving secondary school to the final Annual Review in year 6.

Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions

The school recognises that pupils with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they have full access to education, including school trips and physical education. Where it is the case that a medical condition meets the criteria of disability, the school will comply with its duties under the Equality Act 2010. Reasonable adjustments will always be made to promote access to all areas of the school curriculum for pupils with a disability, e.g. an extra adult to accompany a child on a school trips/residentials.

Specific staff have training to support particular needs, e.g.: technical knowledge to administer an epi pen.  The trained first aiders are responsible for the administration of medicines and health care plans/protocols. Medication such as asthma inhalers and creams are kept in a safe and known place in the classroom of the children whom require it. Controlled medication in the form of tablets, liquid medicines or injections are kept in the office in a secure place. All staff who work with the named children will be aware of where the medication is kept and will have immediate access to it at all times.

Monitoring and evaluation of SEND

The Head Teacher and the SLT regularly monitor and evaluate the quality of provision for all pupils. The school aims to use interventions in school that have proven outcomes and are evidence based.

The impact of SEND provision on the progress and outcomes for children on the SEND register is measured through:

• analysis of pupil tracking data and test results
• progress against national data and based on their age and starting points.
• interventions baseline and exit data
• progress against individual targets
• pupils’ work and interviews

The SENDCo maps provision for each class and uses provision mapping to cost provision. Decisions are made as to whether specific interventions are proving to be effective in terms of impact, time spent on them and the finance used in providing them. Each year we will review the needs of the cohort and if necessary make changes to our provision.

Training and development

Training needs are identified in response to the needs of pupils currently on the SEND register. The SENDCo attends network meetings to share good practice with colleagues in the Local Authority and to keep up to date with SEND developments.

Managing Information

Pupil records and SEND information may be shared with staff working closely with pupils with SEND to enable them to better meet the individual child’s needs. We are grateful to parents for their information sharing and openness and respect their confidentiality. All staff need to be aware of their responsibilities for safeguarding confidentiality and preserving information security and are bound by a duty of confidence to protect personal information they may come into contact with during the course of their work. It is important that staff protect and safeguard person- identifiable and confidential information that they gather, create process and disclose. Person-identifiable information is anything that contains the means to identify a person, e.g. name, address, postcode, date of birth. Information can relate to children, families and staff (including temporary staff).

Every effort will be made to obtain reports from previous schools.  Co-op Academy New Islington will endeavour to develop effective relationships with feeder nurseries and Sure Start centres etc. to facilitate good management of the transition for children already assessed as having SEND.  When children transfer to their next school, Co-op Academy New Islington will send a report concerning the SEND, the progress of the child and successful strategies used to ensure a smooth transition.

Accessibility

It is the policy of Co-op Academy New Islington to endeavour to make all areas of the site and the curriculum accessible to all children irrespective of their special need.  It must be recognised, however, that there will be practical limits to what can be done in this respect and where individual cases approach those limits, advice will be sought from Manchester Children’s Services.

Reviewing the SEND Policy

The SEND policy is reviewed annually by the governing body.

Complaints

We urge parents/carers with any concerns regarding the SEND policy or the provision made for their child at Co-op Academy New Islington to speak to us as soon as possible. In the first instance, please speak to the class teacher or the SENDCo. If parents/carers feel their child's needs are still not being met they should make an appointment to see the head teacher.

Access to this policy

You can get a copy of our policy in a number of ways:

• The school website.
• A hard copy on request at the school office

Please let us know if you need this policy to be made available to you in a different format e.g. enlarged font or a language other than English.

Compliance

This policy complies with the statutory requirement laid out in the SEND Code of Practice 0–25 (2015) and has been written with reference to the following related guidance and documents:

• Equality Act 2010: advice for schools DfE (May 2014)
• School SEN Information Report 2016
• The National Curriculum in England Key Stage 1/2 (September 2013)
• Safeguarding Policy
• Teachers’ Standards 2011
• Disability Equalities Scheme 2016