SEND Policy 2024 - 2025

SEND POLICY 2024

“I will be to the people of Israel like rain in a dry land. They will blossom like flowers.” (Hos. 14: 5)  

This SEND Policy has been approved and adopted by the Governing Body in July 2024 and will be reviewed in July 2025.

SENCO: Mrs Horrell

senco@st-john-andover.hants.sch.uk

At St. John the Baptist we recognise and celebrate the uniqueness of every child, including those with SEND.  We know that every teacher is a teacher of SEND children. As such, St John the Baptist School adopts a 'whole school approach' to special educational needs which involves all the staff adhering to a model of good practice. The staff of the school are committed to identifying and providing for the needs of all children in a wholly inclusive environment. Inclusion is regarded as crucial to the policy, in line with that of the Local Authority.

The school operates an equal opportunities policy for children with special educational needs who are afforded the same rights as other children. This includes both those children with Education, Health and Care plans and those with additional needs.  As such, this policy should be read in consultation with the school Equality Policy.

Defining SEN

We also recognise the importance of home-school links and recognise that parents are important co-educators of their children. We seek to work together for the best outcomes for all children.  Our SEND policy reflects the SEND Code of Practice.

“A child or young person has SEN 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, or

• 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 mainstream post-16 institutions “(SEND Code of Practice Jan 2015)

AIMS

All children are entitled to an education that enables them to:

• become confident young children with a growing ability to communicate their own views and ready to make the transition into the next phase of education
• become confident individuals living fulfilling lives
• achieve their best (educational and other outcomes)

SEN AT ST JOHN THE BAPTIST SCHOOL

OUR OBJECTIVES:

1. To identify at the earliest possible opportunity, barriers to learning and participation for pupils with SEND
2. To work within the guidance outlined in the SEND Code of Practice 2015
3. To create a caring environment which promotes positive outcomes where each child’s contribution is valued and respected
4. To ensure all children are valued equally, regardless of ability or behaviour, and that they all have equal opportunities to integrate fully into the academic and social life of the school
5. To work with parents/ carers at every stage in supporting their child’s additional needs
6. To provide access to a broad and balanced curriculum through quality first teaching and differentiated planning according to need

 THE LAW

As legislation is often amended and Regulations introduced, the references made in this Guide may be to legislation that has been superseded. For an up to date list of legislation applying to schools, please refer to the DFE Website https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education and the Special Education Needs and disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years 2015.

MANAGING AND IMPLEMENTING

Educational provision for pupils with SEND is arranged by the SENCO in liaison with professional agencies, parents and staff. There is a named Inclusion governor, who monitors all forms of inclusion, including SEND provision in school.

The SENCO is responsible for the day to day operation of the SEND policy and maintaining a register of children with SEND, which is reviewed regularly.

In-service training for teaching assistants on all SEND issues is on-going and this training is planned to develop expertise across the school.

TRANSITION ARRANGEMENTS

TRANSITION INTO AND WITHIN SCHOOL

When children move into a new class or a new school we do what we can, according to the individual needs of the child, to make transitions between classes as smooth as possible.

These may include, for example:

• Additional meetings for the parents and child with the new teacher
• Additional visits to the classroom environment to identify where things are etc.
• Story time visits in the summer term
• SEND surgeries between class teacher and SENCO within the first month of  transition
•  Transition booklet – “A day in the life of…”

Enhanced transition arrangements are tailored to meet individual needs.

TRANSITION ARRANGEMENTS

Transition reviews for year 6 pupils are generally held in the summer term of Year 6. The secondary school SENCO is invited to Annual Reviews and other review meetings. Additional transition arrangements may be made at these reviews e.g. extra visits, travel training etc.

GRADUATED APPROACH TO SEN

Teachers, with support of the SENCO and senior leadership team, make regular assessments of progress for all pupils. These seek to identify pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances. This can be characterised by progress which:

• is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
• fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
• fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers

Parents know their children best so it is important that all professionals listen to and understand when parents express concerns about their child’s development. It is equally important that we listen to and address any concerns raised by children and young people themselves.

Identifying and assessing SEN for children or young people whose first language is not English requires particular care. Staff observe all aspects of a child’s performance in different areas of learning and development or subjects to establish whether lack of progress is due to limitations in their command of English or if it arises from SEN or a disability. Difficulties related solely to limitations in English as an additional language are not SEN.

Special educational needs and provision falls under four broad areas:

• Communication and Interaction
• Cognition and Learning
• Social, mental and emotional health
• Sensory and/or physical

PROVISION OF SEN SUPPORT

• We use a cycle of Assess-Plan-Do-Review involving the class teacher, SENCO, child and parents.
• Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of pupils within their class, including where pupils access support from support staff or specialist staff.
• High quality inclusive teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to the needs of pupils with SEND.
• Beyond this, targeted interventions are introduced as needed.

ASSESS

Despite high quality inclusive teaching and whole school systems for assessing planning, implementing and reviewing progress, a child is not making expected progress, information is gathered by:

Drawing of information from whole school systems

• Pupil Progress Meetings
• Triangulating attainment evidence – data, books, observations, professionals discussions
• SENCO surgeries
• Safeguarding review
• Parental voice
• Review of targets met/not met at My Support Plan Meetings (MSP)
• Review of screening tests or assessments (i.e. Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Language Link)
• Meetings between SENCO and LSAs delivering intervention

View of the child and parent

• Annual ‘All About Me’ completed with the child
• Termly SEND drop-in meetings with SENCO to discuss emerging concerns

External services to assess against external criteria

• Educational Psychologists
• Primary Behaviour Support Team
• Early Help Hub
• Link Speech and Language therapists
• Link Occupational Therapists
• EMTAS
• Outreach SEND School Support (Norman Gate, Icknield, Wolverdene)
• Charities (Let’s Go, AndoverTwenty1, Autism Hampshire)

PLAN

The teacher, SENCO, parent and child meet to agree interventions and support, including expected outcomes:

• MSP meetings with parents, class teacher and SENCO each term
• MSP meetings with class teacher and SENCO each half term
• Termly SEND drop-in meetings with SENCO to discuss emerging concerns
• Targets are set within MSP meetings and evaluated every six weeks.
• Parents complete pre-ELSA questionnaires to identify area of need and support the planning of a programme

DO

Class teacher remains responsible for working with the child on a daily basis and tracking and assessing the impact of the plan. Where the interventions involve group or one-to-one teaching away from the main class, the teacher retains responsibility for the pupil. They work closely with any teaching assistants or specialist staff involved, to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and how they can be linked to classroom teaching.

The SENCO supports the class teacher in the further assessment of the child’s particular strengths and weaknesses, in problem solving and advising on the effective implementation of support.