New SEN Code of Practice

Principles Schools must have regard to: the views, wishes and feelings of the child or young person, and the child’s parents the importance of the child or young person, and the child’s parents, participating as fully as possible in decisions, and being provided with the information and support necessary to enable participation in those decisions the need to support the child or young person, and the child’s parents, in order to facilitate the development of the child or young person and to help them achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes, preparing them effectively for adulthood

Decision Making Local authorities must ensure that children, their parents and young people are involved in discussions and decisions about their individual support and about local provision.

High Quality Provision High quality teaching that is differentiated and personalised will meet the individual needs of the majority of children and young people. Some children and young people need educational provision that is additional to or different from this. This is special educational provision under Section 21 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to ensure that such provision is made for those who need it. Special educational provision is underpinned by high quality teaching and is compromised by anything less.

High Quality Provision ensure decisions are informed by the insights of parents and those of children and young people themselves • have high ambitions and set stretching targets track their progress towards these goals keep under review the additional or different provision that is made for them promote positive outcomes in the wider areas of personal and social development, and ensure that the approaches used are based on the best possible evidence and are having the required impact on progress

High Aspirations and Expectations All children and young people are entitled to an education that enables them to make progress so that they: achieve their best become confident individuals living fulfilling lives, and make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training

Schools should… use their best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEN gets the support they need – this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people’s SEN ensure that children and young people with SEN engage in the activities of the school alongside pupils who do not have SEN inform parents when they are making special educational provision for a child prepare an SEN information report

What is SEN? 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

Identification A pupil has SEN where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision, namely provision different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age. Making higher quality teaching normally available to the whole class is likely to mean that fewer pupils will require such support. Such improvements in whole-class provision tend to be more cost effective and sustainable.

What isn’t SEN? Persistent disruptive or withdrawn behaviours do not necessarily mean that a child or young person has SEN. Where there are concerns, there should be an assessment to determine whether there are any causal factors such as undiagnosed learning difficulties, difficulties with communication or mental health issues. If it is thought housing, family or other domestic circumstances may be contributing to the presenting behaviour a multi-agency approach may be appropriate. Professionals should also be alert to other events that can lead to learning difficulties or wider mental health difficulties, such as bullying or bereavement. Such events will not always lead to children having SEN but it can have an impact on well-being and sometimes this can be severe. Slow progress and low attainment do not necessarily mean that a child has SEN and should not automatically lead to a pupil being recorded as having SEN. However, they may be an indicator of a range of learning difficulties or disabilities.

Four Areas of need Communication and interaction Cognition and learning Social, emotional and mental health difficulties Sensory and/or physical needs Individuals may cut across these areas and their needs may change over time. Find a ‘best fit’!

Changes No longer SA or SA+ As a TRUST we have decided to use the following system: Colour Wave Input Green 1 High Quality First Teaching Additional support in class Interventions that support class work and the curriculum e.g. First Class @ Number, Phonics, Project X Code. Amber 2 As above with the inclusion of: Specialist interventions that require training and are in addition to national curriculum areas e.g. Speech & Language programs, Dyslexia programs, Occupational Therapy programs. Red 3 Regular support from outside agencies who offer advice and targets to be focused on in school e.g. Autism Service, Speech & Language. Regular multi-agency meetings where all professionals involved work together to ensure children receive the best education possible. Possible 1:1 support Purple Individual Children with a statement (soon to be Education, Health and Care plans – EHC plans). Yellow Disability Children who have a disability that does not impact on learning but for whom special support needs to be put in place e.g. ramps, assistance to the toilet.

EHC Plans Statements will eventually disappear in favour of Educational, Health Care Plans. The purpose of an EHC plan is to make special educational provision to meet the special educational needs of the child or young person, to secure the best possible outcomes for them across education, health and social care and, as they get older, prepare them for adulthood. No-one should lose their statement and not have it replaced with an EHC plan simply because the system is changing.

Documentation We would really like your help to finalise some draft documentation. It would probably be easier to split into groups in order to do this: Group 1 : SEN Policy Group 2 : Local Offer Group 3 : Mission Statement

Mission Statement Examples “Only our best is good enough!” "Inspire, Succeed, Achieve“ “All children are valued and included regardless of abilities needs and behaviours” “All teachers are teachers of children with special needs” “All our children can learn and make progress” “High expectations for ALL our children” “We aim to provide every possible opportunity to develop the full potential of every child”