Special Needs Policy

At St. Peter's we aim to provide our children with the opportunity to fully develop their abilities and skills in all areas of the curriculum, with special emphasis on the moral, spiritual, and social aspects of school life. We aim to develop an effective and positive partnership between home, school and the church and to encourage a sense of worth in everybody involved in the school community. ( From St. Peter's School Mission Statement )

At St. Peter's we aim to provide effective education for all pupils, including those with special educational needs. St. Peter's is a single storey building and there are shower and toilet facilities which can be used to meet the needs of children with physical difficulties.

What are Special Educational Needs?

Special Education Needs refer to any circumstances resulting in an individual pupil requiring additional or alternative provision in order to take full advantage of the educational opportunities offered to children within the same year group. This may include children with physical difficulties, emotional and behavioural difficulties, sensory impairment or learning difficulties.

Special Educational Needs and the National Curriculum

It is important to stress that the National Curriculum is meant for all pupils, even those with significant learning difficulties. All pupils must have a broad, balanced curriculum, which is also relevant to their individual needs. It is accepted that some pupils with complex Special Educational Needs may require particular modifications to the normal National Curriculum, if their individual needs are to be met. A statement about Special Educational Needs will be included in all curriculum policies.

Objectives

In order to provide effective education for the children with Special Education Needs, the school will :

1 acknowledge the responsibility of each member of staff to consider the accessibility of the curriculum for all children and its relevance, so that each child can reach his/her potential.

2 provide opportunities for class teachers to discuss pupils with Special Educational Needs, with the Special Educational Needs Coordinator.

3 operate a system of early identification and assessment of children who experience difficulties in accessing the curriculum.

4 ensure that there is evidence in teachers planning of differentiated work and specific learning programmes, to cater for the needs of individual children.

5 make sure that resources are available to cater for the needs of children and to meet the needs of specific learning programmes.

6 use a system of monitoring progress and recording planning decisions for children with Special Educational Needs.

7 consult outside agencies for help or advice.

8 seek the cooperation of parents, in meeting the needs of children, by involving them in regular discussion and informing them of the child's progress.

9 ensure that all staff receive appropriate in-service training.

Identification and Assessment of children with Special Educational Needs

The school will operate a staged process in line with the Code of Practice. Identification and assessment of pupils with the Special Educational Needs will arise from and be based upon:

1 teacher's concern and judgement based on the observation of a child's performance.

2 the child's attainment in assessments related to core subjects of the National Curriculum in comparison to the attainment of the majority children of his/ her age.

3 the results in any other tests given to the child eg. N.F.E.R. tests, reading tests etc.

4 the child's health or medical problems.

5 any social, emotional or behavioural difficulties.

6 a parental concern.

Arrangements for coordinating educational provision for pupils with Special Needs

If a child is causing concern, the teacher should use "The Register of Concern" (see Appendix) to monitor and record their concerns over half a term. The S.E.N. Coordinator should be informed and the concern noted on the school's S.E.N. register.

If a child is assessed as being at Stage 1,2 or 3 (see Appendix) the class teacher must inform the headteacher, the parents and the S.E.N. Coordinator. In order to ensure that these children receive entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum, including the National Curriculum, work will be differentiated at Stage 1 and this will be evident in the teacher's planning and records of provision made to meet individual pupil's needs.

At Stages 2 and 3, where children have a particular difficulty, a specific learning programme will be initiated by the teacher in consultation with the S.E.N.C.O. This will be evident in the teacher's planning and be recorded on "SENCAR 1" form. At Stage 3 outside specialist help eg. Educational Psychologist, Support Teachers, Teachers of the Visually impaired etc. may be called in. Any involvement by support agencies should be recorded on "SENCAR 3" form. (see Appendix).

Written information and evidence must be kept at all stages, together with written information on the views of the parents, child, medical agencies and any other relevant information.

At Stages 2 and 3 the S.E.N. Coordinator liaises and advises the class teacher and oversees the records of pupils with Special Educational Needs and is responsible for monitoring the arrangements (including the recording procedures), setting up and recording the Review Meetings on "SENCAR 2" form (see Appendix) and keeping parents informed.

If a child is moved to Stage 4 the evidence collected at previous stages will be valuable when making a Statutory Assessment.

Review Meetings

A regular programme of review meetings between the S.E.N. Coordinator and the class teacher will be arranged, where they can discuss both children who are already targeted as having Special Educational Needs and any others who are causing concern. Allocation of available resources will also be reviewed. Parents views will also be noted. This meeting will be recorded on the "SENCAR 2" form (see Appendix) by the S.E.N. Coordinator.

Record Keeping

Every child who is recorded on a Stage 1,2,3,4 or 5 will have an S.E.N. folder stored in the headteacher's room. This can then be accessible to the headteacher, S.E.N. Coordinator, support teacher/ N.N.E.B. and classteacher. This will contain the " Initial Meeting with Parents" form, "SENCAR 2" form, "SENCAR 3" form, written reports made by the class teacher and the statement, where applicable. (see Appendix).

In addition the classteacher will have a folder to contain "Register of Concern", (for his/her class), "SENCAR 1" and any relevant samples of work.

Allocation of Resources

The allocation of resources will be based upon the following principles:

1 Making the most efficient use of resources.

2 Raising standards of work by pupils with S.E.N.

3 Raising quality of teaching through the provision of appropriate training.

These will include:

a Teacher made resources.

b Adapting published material to cater for individual needs.

c Differentiated work.

d Resources available specifically for children with S.E.N.

e Support Service N.N.E.B.

f Teacher from Salford Support Services.

g Parent helpers.

h G.E.S.T. funding.

The Support Service N.N.E.B. and teacher from Salford Support Service will be timetabled to work with the Statemented children and with others as agreed with the Support Service. This may be either within or outside the classroom depending upon the nature of the activity and the needs of the children.

Reference may be made to all outside agencies for advice and practical support.

Parental Partnership

It is very important that parents are consulted, and kept up to date with developments and are given the opportunity to give their views when a teacher is concerned about a child's progress. Parents may be asked to support the child in a particular way, to work alongside the school. If support is negotiated it should be clearly explained,be sensitive, to the family situation. Once a child has been recorded as having a Special Educational Needs, then regular contact with parents is vital. Before referral for formal assessment there must be a "face to face" meeting.

Links with other Schools

On admission to the school information will be sought from previous schools, including Nursery Schools, about children who may have Special Educational Needs.

Liaison will take place between schools, both when a child with Special Educational Needs is new to the school and if they change schools in terms of records, evidence and advice.

If any of our children attend a special unit, liaison will be made with that unit for advice, support and any records.

Roles and Responsibilities

Headteacher:-

He/she has responsibility for the day to day management of all aspects of the school's work, including the provision for children with Special Educational Needs. He/she will keep the governing body fully informed . At the same time, the headteacher will work with the S.E.N. coordinator and staff to ensure that the policy is put into practice.

S.E.N. Coordinator:-

He/she has responsibility for:

a The day to day operation of the school's S.E.N. policy.

b Liaising with and advising other teachers.

c Coordinating provision for children with Special Educational Needs.

d Maintaining the school's S.E.N. register and overseeing the records on all pupils with Special Educational Needs.

e Liaising with parents of children with Special Educational Needs.

f Contributing to the in-service training of staff.

g Liaising with external agencies.

Teaching and non teaching staff:-

They should be involved in the development of the school's S.E.N. policy and be fully aware of the school's procedures for identifying, assessing and making provision for the pupils with Special Educational Needs.

The Governing Body :-

Should determine the school's policy and general approach to the provision for children with Special Educational Needs, maintain a general oversight of the school's work and report annually to parents on the school's policy for pupil's with Special Educational Needs.

Evaluation

When this policy has been in place for 12 months, we will evaluate it. Data will be collected to assess the success of the policy and a report will be prepared for the Governing Body. This report will form the basis for the S.E.N. section of the Governors' Annual Reports to parents. The policy will also be evaluated in order to ascertain whether the procedures are manageable, workable and effective. We will revise it in the light of our findings.

Complaints

Any complaints about Special Educational Provision within the school will be dealt with through the normal complaint procedures.

Special Needs Coordinator:- Mrs. R. Walker.

Named Governor for Special Needs:- Mrs. B. Windle.