SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS POLICY

Introduction

At Mount St Mary's Catholic High School we value all students and acknowledge that they have an equal right of entitlement to an appropriate and worthwhile education. All members of our school community possess a basic dignity that comes from God, not from any human quality or accomplishment, not from race or gender, age or economic status. Our commitment is to meet the needs of every student as a unique individual.

This policy seeks to describe the ways in which the needs of students who experience barriers to their learning are met at Mount St Mary’s. These needs may be related to the inherent difficulties or disabilities of students or may be related to factors within their environment. Any student may be identified as having a special need at any point during their career at Mount St Mary’s.

SEN is seen as a whole school issue and, as such, is the responsibility of everyone.

All teachers are teachers of special needs.

The school will have regard to the 2001 SEN Code of Practice when carrying out its duties towards all students with special educational needs.

Who has Special Educational Needs?

Students have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

Students have a learning difficulty if they have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age, or if they have a disability which hinders them from making use of educational facilities provided for children of the same age.

Students will not be regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because the language of their home is different from the language in which they are taught.

Objectives for SEN Provision

Governors and staff at Mount St Mary’s will do their best to meet the Special Educational Needs of all students. This will be achieved by:

• Admitting all students to the school on the basis of the school’s published admissions procedures, welcoming all students including those with SEN.
• Enabling all students to be offered access to a broad and balanced curriculum with the greatest possible inclusion for all.
• Identifying resources to implement the identified policy and procedures.
• Enabling teachers to make appropriate provision for all their students by the provision of appropriate support, information and advice.
• Developing a partnership between parents, students and school in which each has an active role to play.
• Developing a wider involvement in SEN through multi-agency and community links.
• Providing a caring and supportive environment for all.
• Identifying, at the earliest opportunity, those students whose needs necessitate intervention beyond normal classroom differentiation.
• Arranging appropriate assessment and developing or matching available resources.
• Reviewing SEN provision and policy annually as part of the brief of the SEN support group.

Responsibility for co-ordination of SEN provision

The Governing body, working with the Headteacher is responsible for:

• Determining the school’s general policy and approach to meet the needs of SEN students.
• Establishing appropriate staffing and funding arrangements.
• Maintaining oversight of provision through the school’s self review procedures.
• Reporting annually to parents on the school’s SEN policy.
• Designating a particular Governor with the specific role of SEN oversight. At present Mrs Bernadette Longbottom has this role.

The Headteacher is responsible for:

• Day to day management of all aspects of the school’s work, including provision for students with SEN.
• Keeping the Governing body informed.
• Working closely with the SENCO.

The key responsibilities of the SENCO include:

• Overseeing the day to day operation of the school’s SEN policy and co-ordinating provision.
• Managing the SEN team of teaching assistants (TAs).
• Liaising with and advising teaching colleagues and support staff.
• Disseminating SEN information to all staff.
• Working with colleagues towards early identification of student’s special needs.
• Co-ordinating provision for students with SEN through school action and school action plus.
• Overseeing the records of students with SEN.
• Organising the necessary review process.
• Liaising
  • - with parents of students with SEN
  • - with other schools and colleges
  • - with external agencies and community groups
• Contributing to the in-service training of staff.

Each department has a SEN representative whose responsibilities include:

• Meeting half termly as the SEN support group, to discuss problems as they arise, to review SEN students and access SEN information and advice.
• Disseminating information from SEN group meetings to their departmental colleagues.
• Maintaining the departmental SEN file.
• Giving guidance on departmental responsibility regarding SEN students.

Subject teachers have responsibility for:

• Being familiar with a particular student’s individual needs.
• Devising strategies and identifying appropriate methods of access to the curriculum.
• Planning for and working with the student to provide appropriate help.
• Working with support staff to enhance the learning experience.

All teachers are teachers of special needs.

Teaching Assistants are responsible for:

• Supporting the teaching and learning of individuals and groups of students throughout the school.
• Supporting students in achieving their identified targets.
• Supporting teachers in the differentiation of work for particular students.

Admission Arrangements

Students with SEN have equal access to the school’s normal admission procedures.

The SENCO attends any Y5 or Y6 reviews prior to admission – where invited. Colleagues in all feeder primary schools are contacted by the SENCO in the summer term prior to transfer, to arrange any necessary discussions concerning the particular needs of individual students.

All students transferring from Y6 to Y7 are invited to visit MSM for a taster session prior to admission. SEN students may be invited to make further visits as appropriate. Teaching Assistants may also visit students in their primary schools.

The SENCO will make every effort to meet with parents where this is requested.

Specialist SEN Provision

Mount St Mary’s has no specialist SEN provision.

Facilities for students with SEN or who are disabled

Mount St Mary’s is a school with a rich history and an interesting, unique building which has evolved over time. Difficulties in physical access are recognised.

In line with the Disability Discrimination Act 2001 we will endeavour to:

• Not treat disabled students less favourably.
• Make reasonable adjustments to the school to enable access for all curriculum and social activities.

Rooms E39 and E22 are the SEN bases on the East site and W43 and W45 on the West Site. Rooms have stores of resources which may be used by students and colleagues, and clusters of computers are available. Records are stored in the SEN offices. The rooms are used for a variety of purposes including:

• Small group work led by TAs.
• Paired reading – including Reading Matters for Life Links.
• 1:1 support/counselling.
• EAL (English as an Additional Language) support.
• Successmaker (ILS [Individual Learning Support]) sessions.
• Reading workshops.
• Students who cannot attend timetabled lessons for particular reasons.
• Reintegration of students returning after long absence.

Allocation of resources for students with SEN

Mount St Mary’s is funded to meet the needs of all students through its core budget. Additional funding to support provision for SEN is delegated through Leeds Funding for Inclusion.

Staffing:
SEN Co-ordinators – East and West sites.
Teaching Assistants
Departmental SEN representatives
Teaching Assistants provide in class support, lead small groups and assist in the development of resource materials. Departments have representatives who liaise with the SEN team and offer advice to colleagues as appropriate.

Identification, number of assessment and provision

Teachers plan lessons taking into account the wide range of abilities, interests and aptitudes of their students, and the majority will learn and progress with these arrangements.

However, a number of students may require an enhanced level of provision to support their learning. At Mount St Mary’s, a graduated response will be employed to meeting these students’ needs.

Early identification
Prior to transfer there is liaison with all feeder schools to identify students with particular needs. Assessments and reading screening early in Year 7 add to this information which is shared with all staff to inform their lesson planning.

Assessment is a continuing process which can identify students who may have special educational needs. Students’ progress will be measured by referring to :

• Teacher observation and assessment
• Standardised screening tests
• Progress against objectives in the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy Frameworks
• Performance against level descriptors within the National Curriculum

Subject teachers may request advice from the SENCO if they feel that a student has a ‘significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age’, and that the strategies they are currently employing are not resulting in adequate progress.

School Action
School action will be initiated where students are deemed to be failing to make adequate progress: interventions will be provided that are different or additional to those provided as part of the usual differentiated curriculum. Such students may

• Make little progress despite teaching approaches being targeted to the identified area of weakness.
• Have particular difficulty in developing literacy or numeracy skills which then impacts on other subject areas.
• Have physical problems which persists in being problematic despite the provision of suitable equipment.
• Have sensory problems which persist in being problematic despite suitable equipment being available.
• Have problems with social communication/interaction with peers which persist.
• Present with persistent emotional/behavioural difficulties which are not contained by the usual behaviour management methods used in school.

If it is decided, after discussion with all concerned, that the student may need further help in order to progress, the Senco and subject teachers will devise a plan of action. This might include any of the following:

• Provision of different equipment or learning resources
• Provision of some individual or group support
• Provision of sessions to address particular issues
• Provision of staff training/advice on alternative strategies which may be more effective.
• Request for advice from LEA support services re equipment, resources or strategies.

An individual education plan (IEP) will be produced to highlight particular targets for the student in order to help them to progress: it will be reviewed at least twice a year, when the views of all involved will be considered.

School Action Plus
Where students fail to make adequate progress despite additional provision at School Action, the school, in conjunction with parents, will seek the advice/involvement of external support services:

• Behaviour and Inclusion Service
• School Support Service and Specialist Support Services
• EWO (Educational Welfare Officer)
• CAMHS (Community and Mental Health Services)/Medical services if involved
• Social services if involved.

These agencies may be asked to:

• Observe the students in class
• Provide specialist assessments
• Work directly with the student
• Give advice on teaching strategies or materials
• Provide short term support or training for staff
• Meet with parents/carers

The IEP will be revised and new strategies/resources put in place. It will be reviewed at least twice yearly.

Request for Statutory Assessment
For a few students the help given at School Action Plus may not be sufficient to enable adequate progress to be made and there is a significant cause for concern. The school, in conjunction with parents/carers and other agencies involved may consider asking the LEA to initiate statutory assessment. Where such a request is made, the school must provide written evidence to the LEA containing:

• The school’s interventions at School Action and School Action Plus.
• Recent IEPs.
• Details of meetings/discussions with parents/carers and other professionals.
• National Curriculum levels.
• Health/medical details only if relevant.
• Assessments from other professionals and details of their involvement.
• Views of parents/carers and student.
• EWO or social services involvement.

If the LEA receives such a request, it must decide whether to proceed within six weeks.

Statutory Assessment of Special Educational Needs
Where the evidence suggests that the student’s difficulties have not responded to measures taken by the school and outside agencies, and that special provision which cannot reasonably be provided within the normal resources of the school may be needed, the LEA may decide that the student’s special educational needs provision should be formally assessed and a statement of SEN may be written. Short term targets will be detailed in an IEP, and education should take place, as far as possible, within the normal classroom setting. The delivery of the curriculum continues to be the responsibility of the subject teacher, with advice from the Senco and other agencies as appropriate. All statements of SEN will be reviewed at least annually to consider any amendments needed to details of provision or the student’s needs. At this time, achievements will be considered as well as areas of difficulty. The transition review in Year 9 will involve a representative from the Connexions Service.

Access to the Curriculum

There is close liaison between the SEN and Pastoral teams to ensure that all students, whatever their ability, have full access to the National Curriculum. The SEN team also works closely with representatives from departments to develop differentiated resources to help the school meet the learning needs of all students.

Students are allocated to mixed ability form groups according to information provided by feeder schools and are taught in these groups in most curriculum areas. Setting arrangements in Mathematics enable those students with weaker numeracy skills to be taught in smaller groups and the work to be more practically based where appropriate. Setting in Science and Modern Foreign Languages is arranged from Year 8 to support students in developing at an appropriate rate. Some students who need to develop literacy skills will be withdrawn for limited periods for paired reading, reading workshops or Successmaker (ILS) sessions.

These sessions will be arranged so that the student does not continually miss the same lesson and close liaison with the teaching group will be maintained to ensure that reintegration is as painless as possible. There will be in-class support to enhance access to the curriculum for some groups as appropriate.

Inclusion

Prior to transfer to Mount St Mary’s considerations of the students’ abilities, friendships, cultures and behaviour are taken into account before they are allocated to mixed ability forms. Teachers, teaching assistants and mentors are involved in ensuring that all students settle into Mount St Mary’s by being available to guide students, helping them to understand their timetables and pointing them in the right direction should there be a problem.

The ethos of the school, which permeates all curricular areas, encourages all students to recognise the basic God given dignity of each individual, to be sensitive to their differing needs, to accept that everyone has strengths and to make efforts to recognise these.

To ensure equality of access for students who have hearing, visual, physical or other impairments, Mount St Mary’s High School, with the SEN department has carefully considered the implications of meeting the needs of such students. Arrangements made have included:

• In-service training in the use of radio aids and teaching techniques for students with a hearing impairment.
• Adaptation of resources – enlarged and modified texts.
• Access to lap tops for students with fine motor skill difficulties and those with injuries.
• Staff training on Autistic spectrum condition, ADHD and attachment problems.
• Adaptation of teaching environment and flexibility in movement between lessons.

Evaluating provision for students with SEN

The following points may be taken into account when evaluating the success of provision:

• Progress measured by National Testing in KS3 SATs and GCSE.
• Results from class tests and exams and standardised tests for reading.
• Attendance and punctuality record.
• Behaviour improvement – monitored by reporting and planner.
• Development of independent working skills – reported reduction on in-class support by teacher or teaching assistant.
• Annual reviews.
• Monitoring by mentors.

Complaints Procedure

Parents/carers are encouraged to use the student planner to communicate low level concerns, in the first instance. For more serious issues, the Senco or HOY can be contacted directly, as appropriate to the problem. If the outcome is felt to be unsatisfactory, reference should be made to the Head or Deputy Headteachers. Where appropriate, annual reviews can be brought forward or case conferences called, including all agencies involved. Complaints may also be addressed to the Governing Body c/o the school if parents/carers still find themselves not satisfied. The appropriate governor would be informed and act as a mediator prior to reference to the Appeals Committee of the Governing Body if necessary. If a parent/carer has a grievance with the LEA, the appropriate responsible office should be contacted and the Special Educational Needs Tribunal will hear appeals if the matter remains unresolved.

In Service Training

A training programme for new teaching assistants is provided by the LEA and arrangements are made for colleagues to avail themselves of this opportunity. Courses for Teaching Assistants at NVQ Level 2 and Level 3 are available and links have been forged with suitable providers. Training for Higher Level Teaching Assistants is becoming available and details can be provided for colleagues. In-house training has been arranged for Teaching Assistants and available teaching staff: topics include ADHD, Autistic Spectrum Condition, Attachment Disorder, Child Protection Procedures, Circle Time, Circle of Friends and Specific Learning Difficulty. Regular meetings with Teaching Assistants (twice half termly) provide the opportunity for informal sharing of expertise.

Half termly meetings with representatives from each of the departments provide for INSET within a cascade structure, and representatives returning to their departments to pass on information and ‘train’ their colleagues. Training days and twilight sessions offer opportunities for INSET on topical issues e.g. different teaching and learning styles and strategies useful in the teaching of students with a hearing or visual impairment.

There is a whole school approach to meeting the needs of students with varied special needs and this results in an active interest in a variety of short courses organised at other venues by a variety of providers.

Links to Support Services

An Educational Psychologist from Leeds Behaviour and Inclusion Service visits the school at least half termly in addition to involvement in reviews and ongoing work with particular students. Students are referred by the Senco in conjunction with the Head of Year for academic, behavioural or other reasons and can be referred following parental concern. The Educational Psychologist may advise the involvement of a behaviour support worker in certain instances, who could observe a student in class and feed back suggestions as to new strategies/ approaches to staff involved and the parents/carers. The Educational Psychologist may also be involved in:

• Discussing behaviour strategies and the preparation of IBPs (Individual Behaviour Plans) with Heads of Year and Senco.
• Discussing particular learning problems and IEP targets with subject teachers and Senco.
• Assessing students to pinpoint areas of difficulty.
• Delivering training to targeted groups e.g. TAs or form teachers from a particular year.
• Meeting with students and parents about particular difficulties.

The school may request specific advice or training from the Leeds Schools Support Service about particular issues or students if this is appropriate. There is a close liaison between the school and specialist teachers from the Deaf and Hearing Impaired Service and the Visual Impairment Service to gain advice about students with particular sensory impairments.

Students who have speech, communication and language difficulties have their progress overseen by the Speech and Language Therapy Service. Arrangements for visits are made as required. Assessments are undertaken and recommendations given about appropriate programmes of work.

Partnership and Parents/Carers

The school actively seeks to work with parents/carers and values the contribution they make: their knowledge, views and experience are vital and their involvement is highly valued. Prior to students starting Mount St Mary’s in Year 7, the Senco (or Senior Teaching Assistant in her absence) will endeavour to attend any reviews, visit the student in primary school and meet the parents/carers as requested. SEN staff will be present at the New Parents’ Evening in the Summer term.

Parents/Carers are encouraged to contact the Senco as soon as a difficulty occurs rather than waiting for it to develop. Also, the Senco will always aim to contact parents/carers quickly should a problem become apparent in school. We aim to be flexible when making arrangements for meetings or reviews to give parents/carers the best chance of attending and considerable efforts have been made to ensure that the SEN rooms are attractive and welcoming.

Links with other schools

Close liaison is maintained with other mainstream schools through the Senco network and Wedge based activities. Attendance at Year 5 and Year 6 reviews in addition to annual liaison visits with all of our feeder primary schools ensures that strong links are maintained. Prior to our students leaving in Year 11, meetings are arranged with the colleges concerned to ensure a smooth transfer.

Links with other agencies and voluntary organisations

Mount St Mary’s school co-operates closely with the Behaviour and Inclusion Services of Leeds Education Authority. The school also works with Health Services and Social Services.

The school doctor visits on a regular basis and liaises with the Senco to discuss students who may require medical examinations. Parents are invited; the Senco provides details of any known problems and is informed of outcomes/proposed actions to follow.

The school nurse visits weekly and is available for students to see informally. The Senco and Heads of Year may refer students if they have concerns for any aspect of their well being.

Specialist health services are involved in the care of particular students, and the Senco liaises closely with 0-16 team, CAMHS and the Child and Family Unit, as well as specialist epilepsy and coeliac nurses as appropriate.

The EWO meets with Heads of Year weekly. Persistent attendance problems may then be discussed with the Senco who may arrange for the Educational Psychologist to become involved.

The Senco monitors the progress of students who are in Local Authority care for case conferences, attending whenever possible. Close links are maintained with their carers and responsible social workers and a personal education plan is produced jointly.

Some students attending Mount St Mary’s are of Traveller Heritage and the Senco maintains links with the Traveller Education Service to support these students as appropriate.

Students may find that discussing problems with an adult who is not a member of the teaching staff is beneficial, and to this end a social worker from Catholic Care visits the school weekly. Appointments are arranged by the Senco or Head of Year via the Senior Learning Mentor.

The Senco meets regularly with the school’s Connexions Advisor particularly prior to the transition review in Year 9, and during Careers decisions during Year 11 to ensure that the students have realistic expectations and that their path to further education, training or employment is eased.

The remit of the transitions team, based at St Mary’s Hospital, is to support students with more complex difficulties as they prepare to leave school, entering further training, work and young adulthood. The Senco may refer students to the Transitions Team and work with them in supporting these students through Key Stage 4, prior to leaving Mount St Mary’s.

A number of other agencies are accessed through links with the Learning Mentors in school, for example Base Ten, Youth Workers and Faith in School Workers.

The Senco is one of the designated Child Protection Officers in school and liaises with members of the Area Child Protection Committee at Inter Agency Forum, organised quarterly, with the aim of improving inter-agency links so supporting vulnerable children more cohesively.

SEN Staff 2009/2010:

SENCO Mrs L Horton