Inclusion and Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) Policy

Stoke Primary School Inclusion and Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) Policy
Date Reviewed by Governors	Summer 2018
Date of next review	Summer 2020
Appendices included
Appendix 1	Support Plan (Nursery)
Appendix 2	Support Plan (My Profile)
Appendix 3	Provision Map example+
Modifications
Key Contacts
New Appendix 2
KEY CONTACTS FOR INCLUSION WITHIN THE SCHOOL
HeadTeacher: Ann Marrs SENCO Anke Brooker (Assistant Head) Contact: 024 7645 1724, a.brooker@stoke.coventry.sch.uk Nominated SEND Governor:  Bill Gallagher   Inclusion Team SENCO: Anke Brooker (Assistant Head) (currently working towards NASEN award) Family Support Worker: Caroline Monkton-Bull Learning Mentors (Pastoral support & attendance):  Rebecca Fenlon & Michelle Rowland HLTA interventions – Michaela Burns Speech and Language Support: Harjinder Sagoo   LA SEND Officer: Contact Number: Emma Briscoe    024 7683 1599 Link Educational Psychologist: Contact Number: Alex Tesoi 024 7678 8400 SEMH&L Link Teachers:   Contact Number: Lesley Patel (Learning) Tahira Marlow (Behaviour)       024 7678 8400 Speech & Language Therapist: Contact Number: Angela Popham 024 7696 1453 CCT Contact Number: Becci Cain 024 7678 8400

 

Introduction

 

Stoke Primary School is located on the North-East side of the City and serves a relatively disadvantaged neighborhood.  We are proud to reflect the diversity of the City’s population with over 60% of our children coming from Minority Ethnic communities and around 30% having Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND).

 

Stoke Primary School is committed to providing an inclusive education for all.  This policy outlines the ways we meet the needs of children who experience barriers to learning, particularly in relation to the provision for specific groups of learners, including:

 

• Children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND)
• Children who have English as an additional language (EAL)
• Children who are newly arrived from overseas, including refugees and asylum seekers
• Children from black and minority ethnic groups (BME)
• Children who are able, gifted or talented (A,G &T)
• Children who are looked after (LAC)
• Children with disabilities
• Children who are transient (mobile)
• Children who are infrequent attendees
• Children excluded or at risk of exclusion
• Disadvantaged children eligible for Pupil Premium Funding

 

Many children will face barriers to learning at some point in their school career and at Stoke Primary School we recognise that children may fall into more than one of the groups identified above.   Whilst this policy describes provision for groups of children, all interventions are based on individual pupil’s needs.

 

Objectives of this policy

 

• To ensure equality of opportunity for, and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against, children with barriers to learning
• To continually monitor the progress of all children, to identify needs as they arise and to provide support at the earliest opportunity
• To continuously develop our ways of working in order to provide the highest quality of teaching provision for all our children with the resources available.
• To identify the role and responsibilities of staff in ensuring the inclusion of children at Stoke Primary School
• To provide clear guidance for all the school’s stakeholders regarding the implementation of the Code of Practice within the school
• To enable children to move on from us well equipped in the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and social independence
• To involve parents / carers at every stage in plans to meet their child’s additional needs
• To involve children themselves in planning and in any decision making that affects them.

 

 

SECTION 1  - Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND)

 

This section of the policy complies with the statutory requirement laid out in the SEND Code of Practice 0 – 25 (2014) 3.65 and has been written with reference to the following guidance and documents:

 

 

• Equality Act 2010: advice for schools
• SEND Code of Practice 0 – 25 (2014)
• Schools SEND Information Report Regulations (2014)  Statutory Guidance on Supporting children at school with medical conditions April 2014
• The National Curriculum in England Key Stage 1 and 2 framework document Sept 2013
• Safeguarding Policy
• Accessibility Plan
• Teachers Standards 2012

•  

Teachers Standards 2012

Definition of Special Educational Needs or Disability (SEND)

 

A pupil is considered to have Special Educational Needs if he or she has defined difficulties over and above those generally experienced by the majority of his or her peer group. These difficulties may be sensory, cognitive, physical, social or emotional and some students may have complex needs, which cover a range of difficulties. This policy aims to address the needs of these children.

 

It is important to note that all staff have a responsibility of meeting the needs of each individual in their class to the best of their ability with or without a formal assessment. If there is a concern, a referral to the SENCO should accompany a structured and well differentiated teaching program.

 

The SEND Code of Practice 2014 provides guidance on the duties of schools, local authorities and others working with children who have SEND must have regard. The Code sets out four broad areas of SEND:

 

• Cognition and Learning
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
• Communication and Interaction
• Sensory and/or Physical Needs

 

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 states that a person has a disability for the purpose of the Act if they have a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-today activities.

Stoke Primary School acknowledge that the following may impact upon a child’s progress and attainment, however do NOT solely constitute an SEND;

• Disability
• Poor Attendance and Punctuality
• Health and Welfare
• EAL
• Being in receipt of Pupil Premium Grant
• Being a Looked After Child

 

Roles and responsibilities

 

The Headteacher at Stoke Primary will:

 

• Allocate roles and responsibilities to staff so that special needs are met
• Liaise with staff, Inclusion leader, support services, parents and children
• Report to governors on the needs of the SEND children in her care
• Delegate the organisation of review meetings to the Inclusion leader
• Ensure that the needs of SEND children are met within the school

 

 

The Inclusion leader at Stoke Primary will:

 

• Play a key role in delivering the strategic development of the SEND policy and provision.
• Oversee the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEND policy.
• Monitor the needs of SEND children together with the Headteacher and class teachers.
• Assist with and advise on, the teaching and assessment of children with SEND.
• Organise annual and termly reviews for children and parents where appropriate, at least 3 times a year.
• Ensure SEN Support and/or provision maps are written and reviewed at least termly by class teachers, parents and Inclusion Manager where appropriate.
• Meet regularly with the Headteacher to discuss individual children, resources and use of time.
• Give advice on the level of support and on appropriate resources and strategies to support learning.
• Ensure that the school’s SEND register & provision map is updated regularly.
• Lead the review of the SEND Policy.
• Make contact with other support services in consultation with the Headteacher and class teachers.
• Report to governors as requested by the Headteacher.
• Work in conjunction with the class teachers.
• Lead INSET on SEND in school as appropriate.
• Keep their own skills updated by reading, researching & attending INSET on SEND and appropriate related external courses.

 

Teachers at Stoke Primary will;

 

• Provide every child with access to a broad and balanced education. This includes planning differentiated work that is appropriately matched to learning needs and ensures progression

• Identify children experiencing difficulties using a range of evidence, for example progress data, formal assessments and informal observations
• Discuss children with the Inclusion Leader and parents / carers and contribute to the planning and provision to meet identified needs
• Produce, monitor and evaluate support plans and/or provision maps on at least a termly basis
• Meet with parents of children with SEND at least 3 times per year to review provision and progress. 
• Monitor the effectiveness of interventions at least termly 
• Maintain an SEND section in their Inclusion File for their class
• Create a welcoming atmosphere for parents and providing regular feedback on their child’s progress through meetings at least three times a year
• Set aspirational yet attainable targets for learning
• Create effective learning environments in which children achievements are celebrated and independence is fostered
• Respond flexibly to children according to their difficulties
• Support children’ learning without making them feel different or inferior to their peers
• Enable each pupil to become an independent and confident student

 

Governors at Stoke Primary will;

 

• Identify at least one governor with a responsibility in SEND
• Use their best endeavours to ensure that children’ special educational needs are identified and provided for
• Ensure that the schools has effective procedures for ensuring that parents/carers are informed when special provision is made for children

 

Arrangements for Identification of SEND

 

 

Identification of SEND

 

Class teachers, supported by the senior leadership team, make regular assessments of progress for all children to identify those making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances.  

 

If a class teacher or parent has concern about a child these concerns will be discussed in the first instance with the Inclusion Manager, who will offer advice and support, and may suggest that either further evidence of monitoring are needed over a period of time or that the child should be placed on the SEND Register and therefore receive SEND Support.  

 

Stoke Primary School have adopted a ‘3 Wave’ approach to identifying SEND support.

 

Wave 1 – Universal Provision

 

All children have an entitlement to ‘Quality First Teaching’ at Wave 1 and teachers are responsible for ensuring this happens.  Wave 1 describes quality inclusive teaching which takes into account the learning needs of all the children in the classroom.  Before any additional provision is considered, staff will consider what is already available to all children through differentiated work and an inclusive learning environment.  Where progress is not adequate despite this being in place, it will be necessary to take some ‘additional to’ or ‘different from’ action to enable the child to learn more effectively. 

 

SEND Support at Wave 2

 

The triggers for intervention through SEND Support could be the teacher’s or other’s concerns, underpinned by evidence about a child who, despite receiving ‘Quality First Teaching’, including differentiated learning opportunities:

 

• Makes little or no progress even when teaching approaches are targeted particularly in a child’s identified area of weakness.
• Shows signs of difficulty in developing literacy and mathematics skills which result in poor attainment in some curriculum areas.
• 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 a communication and/or interaction difficulty.

 

If the class teacher is still concerned after a period of monitoring a decision will be made, in conjunction with the Inclusion leader about whether the child needs to go on to the SEND register at the level of SEND Support.  The class teacher must then inform the parents about the child’s needs, offering them a meeting if required.

 

A decision may be reached at that meeting to begin SEND Support, in which case the child’s name must be entered on the SEND Register and the class teacher must include that pupil in their provision map where details of extra interventions and support should be recorded. 

 

This support should be communicated to the Inclusion Manager and Senior Managers at pupil progress meetings alongside a discussion about progress and fed back to parents at consultation meetings.

 

 

SEND Support at Wave 3

 

It is likely that a child will progress to SEND Support at Wave 3 after it becomes clear that, despite appropriate interventions at Wave 2, the pupil is failing to access the curriculum at an appropriate level.  It may be that the child;

 

• Continues to make little or no progress in specific areas over a long period.
• Continues working at National Curriculum levels substantially below that expected of children of a similar age.
• Continues to have difficulty in developing literacy and mathematics skills.
• Has an emotional or behavioural difficulty, which substantially and regularly interferes with the child’s own learning or that of the class group, despite having an individualised behaviour management programme.
• Has sensory or physical needs, and requires additional specialist equipment or regular advice or visits by a specialist service.
• Has ongoing communication or interaction difficulties that impede the development of social relationships and cause substantial barriers to learning.
• Interventions put in place at SA have had little or no impact on learning or progress.

 

At SEND Support Wave 3 external support services, both those provided by the LEA and by outside agencies, will usually see the child, in school if that is appropriate and practical, so that they can advise teachers on targets and accompanying strategies.

 

Stoke Primary School invites and seeks advice and support from external agencies in the identification, assessment and provision of SEND. The Inclusion Leaders and Headteacher are the designated persons responsible for liaising with the following:

 

• Education Psychology Service
• Learning and Welfare Support Service (LAWSS)
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Pre-School SEND Team
• Coventry and Interaction (including Autism) Support Services (CIASS)
• Primary Integrated  Mental Health Team
• Access and Technology Sensory and Physical Support Team
• Dyslexia Liaison Team
• Looked After Children Team (where appropriate)
• SEND Information, advice and support services. (IASS)
• Occupational Health and Physiotherapy services.

 

Representatives from other external agencies are invited to meetings throughout the year to discuss SEND provision and progress and keep staff up to date with legislation.

 

Progression to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHC plan):

 

A request for an EHC plan can be made by parents, school, health or social care.  At Stoke Primary School, if after advice from the Educational Psychologist (EP) or other professionals, the school and parents consider that help is needed from outside the school’s resources the SENCO completes the form for a Statutory Education, Health and Care Needs (EHCNA) which will be submitted to the Local Authority Panel.  The panel will decide whether to proceed with Statutory Assessment.  New EHC Plans have additional paperwork that involves recoding parental and child views. 

 

If the Panel agrees to proceed with Statutory Assessment the SENCO prepares further documentation about the child, which is sent to the Special Needs department in the local authority where, in consideration with similar documents from other involved professionals, an EHC Plan is issued.

 

The class teacher, in conjunction with the SENCO is then responsible for drawing up an IEP to meet the objectives set out in the EHC Plan. The Plan must be formally reviewed at least annually with the SENCO, parents and an Education Officer present, and preferably with the class teacher also.

 

 

Provision Maps (Appendix 3)

 

All Children on the SEND register at SEND Support Wave 2 will be included on the Provision Map for the class.  Provision maps should demonstrate arrangements and be specific about groups of children, times, frequency, cost and impact.  This is to enable judgements to be made around effectiveness and value for money.  Pupil Progress meetings are held at least termly with the Inclusion Manager and Class Teachers, and in some instances Standards leaders, to share information about the progress of children; in the Foundation Stage, the key worker will attend the meeting.  This will also support colleagues through accountability to ensure that data is used to inform decisions about appropriate interventions and involvement of outside agencies.

 

 

SEN Support Plans (IEPs) (Appendix 1 & 2)

 

All children on the SEND register at SEND Support Wave 3 or with an EHC Plan must have an SEN Support Plan.

 

These must be reviewed at least three times a year, with the parent and the child if it is appropriate to include the child. The reviews are organised by the Inclusion Manager and class teachers.

 

If a pupil is making good progress the review can be used to consider removing a child from the SEND register.

 

If targets have not been met and all the required support has been in place the review may be the first part of the process to move the pupil to the next level of support, for example from Wave 2 to Wave 3, or from Wave 3 to a request for EHCNA.  There must be clear evidence in each class teacher’s SEND file of when Support Plans have been reviewed and the outcome of that review, including which targets have been met and the new targets which have been set. This evidence is very important in supporting the pupil to make progress, but also in providing evidence of the interventions by the school in the event of a move to a request for an EHCNA.

 

Annual Reviews of Statements of Special Educational Needs or EHC Plans:

 

If a child has a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an EHC Plan they must be called to a review annually.  The Annual Review will be chaired by the SENCO.  Reports will be submitted by the Class teacher and anyone else working with the child, for example an Educational Psychologist or Speech Therapist.  If there are concerns about a child’s progress or behavior, then school or parents can call additional reviews to be held at any time during the year and more than one can be held in the course of a year.

 

The Annual Review can be used to request additional support or changes to the Statement or EHC Plan.  In the unfortunate event of a pupil with at statement or EHC Plan facing Permanent Exclusion, an Annual Review must be held at the earliest opportunity prior to the exclusion meeting.  In this instance, this would typically be organised by school.  

 

 

Graduated Approach to SEND Support

 

SEND support at Stoke Primary School takes the form of a four-part cycle – assess, plan, do and review.  Through this cycle, actions should be revisited, refined and revised to ensure the pupil is making progress and the identified outcomes are achieved. 

 

Assess

 

In identifying a child as needing SEND support, the teacher should carry out a clear analysis of the child’s needs. This should draw on assessments, teacher observations, progress and attainment data, the views and experience of parents and child as well as advice from external support services.

 

Plan

 

Planning will involve consultation between the teacher, parents and children where appropriate to agree the interventions and support that are required; the impact on progress, development and or behaviour that is expected and a clear date for review. 

 

Do

 

The class teacher remains responsible for working with the pupil on a daily basis.  They will retain responsibility even where the interventions may involve group or 1:1 teaching away from the class.

 

Review

 

Reviewing pupil progress will be made at termly support plan meetings. The review process will evaluate the impact and quality of the support and interventions.  Class teachers will also review progress at least 3 times per year during extended parent consultation meetings. 

 

High quality trained staff

 

Children with SEND, and their families, have a right to be supported by high quality, skilled professionals.  Stoke Primary will support this principle through ensuring staff have access to a Professional Development Programme which directly addresses the development of expertise in SEND.

 

This programme will be a comprehensive and appropriate staff development programme, which addresses the skills and knowledge staff will need to fully support and teach all learners who attend the school.  This will be available not only to teaching staff but also to support staff and all those involved in managing the assessment process.

 

Transitions

 

Stoke Primary takes the majority of its children from the onsite school Nursery.  In the Summer term prior to children from the nursery joining the school the SENCO will liaise with the nursery to establish which of the children who are progressing to the Reception class are on the Early Years SEND register.  This information will be collated by the SENCO in order to draw up the SEND register for the Reception class.

 

Wherever possible the SENCO will liaise with other Nursery settings in order to enable smooth transition for all children.

 

As children on the SEND register progress to secondary school the SENCO will liaise with the various receiving schools.  This will include inviting the SENCO from the secondary schools to Y5 & Y6 Annual Reviews and arranging visits for children and parents to look at prospective schools. This will include specialist provision in the case of some children with statements.

 

 

Partnership with Parents/Carers

 

Families are the prime educators of their children.  The best results are achieved where parents/carers, schools and LAs work in partnership.

 

In working towards this principle the school will do the following;

 

• Assist parents/carers in their understanding of Special Educational Needs 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.
• Ensure that assessment and review processes seek and take account of the parents’/carers’ and young person’s views 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 written descriptions of the support services available for young people with special educational needs within the school and the local area
• Provide information in a variety of formats about the range of voluntary and statutory agencies, which may be able to assist parents/carers of young people with special educational needs
• 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
• Promote mutual respect as the basis for communication between the school and families. This should include sensitivity to families’ needs, desires and understanding
• Develop and promote open, honest and effective means of communication about the needs of young people who have SEND/disabilities
• Deliver information in an appropriate and accessible form

 

Monitoring and Evaluation

 

All teachers have day-to-day responsibilities with regard to children with special needs, and the care of such children is seen as a whole school responsibility. The SENCO is responsible for the co-ordination of provision and is responsible to the Headteacher in the first instance.  Learning support provision is planned, monitored and evaluated by the SENCO working with the staff team.  Other professionals including inclusion team staff and External Agencies may become involved when practicable and/or necessary.

 

Stoke Primary will conduct internal reviews of SEND provision at least annually to complement the on-going monitoring and evaluation of provision and outcomes.

 

The SENCO will report regularly to the Headteacher and the Governing Body

 

Parents/carers also have a role to play though their contribution to reviews of their young people’s learning, working with the school in relation to targets within their child’s individual education plans.

 

In carrying out its responsibilities towards young people with SEND the school will;

 

• Keep its arrangements and provision for SEND under review
• Review the effective use of its resources
• Review and evaluate the school’s arrangements for individual education planning and reviewing, including parental and Support Services involvement
• Internally monitor all SEND arrangements and curricular provision against published criteria Such monitoring will take account of the school’s Development Plan and SEND policy, the LA’s SEND policy and the finance delegated under SEND arrangements

 

The monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of provision towards meeting the additional needs of young people who have special needs covers a range of important and interrelated areas. In particular:

 

• Allocation and effective use of resources

• The performance of LA support services as experienced by children and staff
• The provision for children with special needs within the school including annual review of statements and individual learning plans
• Individual children’s progress as measured against set targets
• Use of delegated funds

 

SECTION 2 – Supporting other vulnerable groups of children

 

English as an Additional Language (EAL) or newly arrived to the country

 

Stoke Primary School works in close partnership with the Minority Group Support Service (MGSS).   MGSS support the school during the admission process of children and families new to the country and in identifying and providing multi-lingual assistants (MLAs) to work with children in their first language.  

 

Where appropriate, the school employs MLAs on a sessional basis.   Under the direction of the Class Teachers, MLAs work with children within the classroom to support their acquisition of English and also work on a one to one basis to preview and review work, with a focus on understanding key vocabulary and concepts.   MLAs are also used to initiate children in the routines and organisation of the school, ensuring they have a basic understanding of what is expected in school.   Where possible, MLAs support parents, for example by attending parents’ evenings, translating key letters and transferring important information from teacher to parent and vice versa.  

 

MGSS also work alongside the school to monitor provision for EAL and BME children.   As part of this partnership, MGSS offer specific training to identified members of staff.

 

As much as possible, all children, including newly arrived children and their families, are welcomed to the school by either the Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher through an induction meeting. 

 

Assessment for children learning EAL and with SEND needs will be looked at using the following indicators:

 

• Slow work rate compared with peers and children who arrived at the same time
• Little response to intervention
• Specific weaknesses in language development and literacy skills (this includes home language difficulties)
• Poor listening and attention skills
• Parental concern
• Emotional and behavioral difficulties

 

Race equality

 

We are categorically opposed to all forms of racism and racist behaviours.   At Stoke Primary School we work hard to ensure that all languages and cultures are given equal status and respect.  

As such, the curriculum reflects the context of the school community and children and staff are given opportunities to celebrate diversity.

 

We are aware that not all conflict between children from different ethnic backgrounds is of a racist nature.   However, where racist incidents do occur, staff will follow the agreed procedures:

 

• Act immediately to stop or prevent any incident
• Inform the Headteacher or a member of the senior leadership team, who will investigate the incident further, where appropriate

 

The Headteacher or member of the leadership team will:

 

• Make a log of the incident and inform parents, including any further actions to be taken
• Follow up the incident with the class teacher, who may choose to address the issue during PSHE
• Report serious incidents to the Local Authority and Governors

 

Able, Gifted or Talented (AG&T)

 

Stoke Primary School offers a rich and diverse curriculum to all of its children.  Through this varied curriculum, children are able to demonstrate strengths in particular subjects or aspects of learning.   Gifted generally refers to academic success, whereas talented describes a particular aptitude in sports or the arts.  

 

As part of the on-going assessment procedures, teachers may identify children who are performing significantly higher than their peers.   In such cases, teachers speak to subject leaders for advice on differentiation and match, and also speak with the Inclusion Manager who will place the child on the AG&T register.  Parents are informed if their child has a particular flair in a subject and encouraged to support this further out of school.  

 

Class teachers are responsible for planning provision for children who are placed on the AG&T register.  This includes providing an adequate level of challenge within the classroom, which may be through questioning, the nature of the task or level of support.  We also use our local Secondary School to offer advice and support for challenging more able children.  Other provision may include ‘one-off’ activities, for example taking part in specific visits, inter-school sports challenges and competitions.   Stoke Primary School also provides extra-curricular activities for talented children to access. 

 

Children eligible for Pupil Premium Funding

 

We will ensure that these children are treated equally and as favourably as others and that the additional funding is used well to address the challenges they face.  The school will use the additional funding to promote the achievement and progress of all entitled children.  Through the use of this additional funding we are fully committed to ensuring that the individual needs of each entitled child are met.  As a result of the additional funding, these children will make better progress and achieve higher standards that would have been likely without it.

 

The school will report on the effectiveness and impact of Pupil Premium Funding and publish this in their website.  Please refer to this for further details on how this funding is used to support children.  

 

Looked After Children (LAC)

 

When children are accommodated away from the family home, they are referred to as being looked after.   It is vital that all adults who are working with looked after children are aware of the circumstances and are sensitive to the needs of the child.  

 

A monitoring form is completed termly and discussed at meetings with Educational Psychologist and Inclusion Manager and returned to the Local Authority in order to safeguard the child’s educational opportunities and to ensure that they achieve.

 

The Inclusion Manager is also responsible for carrying out termly PEP meetings to ensure that provision is in place to ensure successful outcomes for the child. 

 

Children with disabilities

 

Stoke Primary School is a single level site.   Entrance to the school is level and is wheelchair accessible.   There is currently a hygiene suite for children and adults who require this.

 

Some of our classrooms (currently Years 4, 5 & 6) are fitted with a Soundfield system which is used by teachers when required for children with a Hearing Impairment.   The use of interactive whiteboards and high quality interactive screens increases visibility for all learners.

 

The school works alongside the Sensory Support Service (SSS).   The school receives support for children with specific hearing loss and/or visual impairments, and staff have undergone specific training to support these individuals.  

 

Learning opportunities are absorbing, rewarding and highly differentiated.   Schemes of work for each area of the curriculum are in place and differentiated to include appropriate learning outcomes for all children.   Children with sensory or mobility impairments or a specific learning difficulty may access the curriculum through specialist resources, such as ICT or specialist equipment.

 

Children who are transient

 

The school works closely with parents / carers of children at the school to avoid mid-year transfers to other schools where possible.

 

Where children transfer to Stoke, a formal admission meeting is organised with either the Head or Deputy Headteacher.   During this meeting, information is sought about previous educational experiences and personal circumstances that may be relevant.   This meeting is also an opportunity to discuss the school’s aims and values and the desire to work in partnership with parents / carers.

 

Information from previous schools is sought as a matter of urgency.   This enables staff to quickly plan work that is matched to pupil need, provides details of whether external agencies were involved with the pupil at their previous school and also ensures any social care involvement is maintained.

 

Learning mentors support the integration of transient children, for example, ensuring they have a known ‘buddy’ on the playground, encouraging new children to join lunchtime clubs, working alongside new children both formally and informally, to make certain children are welcomed and feel part of the school community.

 

Children who are infrequent attendees

 

Our learning mentors contact families on the first day of absence to ensure that there is an appropriate reason for children not being in school. 

Where necessary, learning mentors will also make home visits, bringing children into school if this is appropriate. For children who have missed significant periods of time from school, every effort is made for appropriate catch-up programs to be put into place.

 

The school works in partnership with the Children and Families First Team for families that are hard to reach or when attendance has dropped below 90%.   Further information can be found in the school’s attendance policy.

 

Children who are excluded or at risk of exclusion

 

Every effort is made to find alternatives to exclusion.   However, as identified in the behavior management policy, certain behaviors, particularly those that put children at risk of harm, will not be tolerated.

 

Where children are excluded from school, appropriate work is provided for children to complete.   Where possible, this links to the work that the rest of their peers will undertake during the time of the exclusion.

 

On their return to school, children and their families must attend a meeting with the Headteacher.   During this meeting, the rewards and sanctions systems are reiterated, additional provision, if appropriate, is discussed and a home school contract may be drawn up.

 

For children at risk of exclusion additional support may be sought, for example input from the Learning and Wellbeing Support Service, or interventions from the school’s learning mentors.   It may be appropriate to draw up an individual intervention plan which details the specific response to the behaviors being presented.   It is the school’s policy to inform parents / carers of concerns as they occur.   However, it is vital that these are balanced by news of successes and achievements.

 

Evaluating the success of the Inclusion Policy

 

• All children are set challenging individual targets for literacy, numeracy and science.   Each half term we monitor the progress made by children against these targets. For any children or groups of children who have not made sufficient progress, additional provision is made available  

 

• At least every year we analyse data relating to achievement and attainment, linking this specifically to the groups identified within this policy.   The outcome of this analysis drives provision and interventions for the coming year

 

• Provision management is the tool used to monitor and evaluate the impact of interventions

 

• Each term we analyse the number of fixed-term exclusions, paying attention to potential barriers to learning

 

• We report progress to Governors through the Quality and Standards committee and through the headteacher’s report to Governors

 

• The Inclusion Manager meets with the Governor with responsibility for Inclusion to discuss current concerns

 

• Whole school monitoring and evaluation procedures include lesson observations, work and planning scrutinies and discussions with children.   During these procedures, raising standards for all children is paramount

 

 

 

APPENDIX 1

SUPPORT PLAN (Nursery)

 

 

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX 2

 My Profile (Support Plan)

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX 3– Provision Map Example