Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Policy

Policy details

• Date created - 4 July 2018
• Date reviewed - 9 January 2024
• Date approved -
• Next review date - January 2025
• Policy owner - Jessica Field & Liz Jones

1. Key members of staff
2. Academy Vision Statement
3. Student Support Vision Statement
4. Mission statement
5. Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
6. Overview of SEND provisions
7. SEND Support
8. SEND Team
9. SEND Provision
10. Identifying SEND
11. Identifying SEND with EAL students
12. Graduated response
13. Quality Assurance
14. SEND Learning Enquiries
15. Partnership with outside agencies
16. Admission Arrangements
17. Arrangements for Transition
18. Accessibility
19. Complaints
20. Glossary

Key members of staff

Academy Vision Statement

At Co-op Academy Leeds we are ambitious for ourselves and our diverse communities - we will endeavour to make the world a better place through our actions.

We will be determined to succeed and show respect, kindness and integrity to everyone, everyday.

Student Support Vision Statement

Overcome barriers to engagement and learning by equipping staff, families and students with the knowledge and skills they need to challenge the consequences of social and educational disadvantage.

Mission statement

As an inclusive school, the Academy strives to ensure that ALL students are able to fulfil their  potential.

The Academy will endeavour to support students master basic literacy and numeracy skills as well  as developing life skills by promoting self-help and self-responsibility at any given opportunity.

All members of staff have a responsibility for maximising achievement and opportunity of  vulnerable learners - specifically, all teachers are teachers of pupils with SEND.

Our aim is to ensure high quality teaching is delivered which is differentiated and personalised,  meeting the individual needs of the SEND cohort. Where individual needs cannot be met by  quality first teaching, a graduated response of support will be implemented with specialist support and interventions, withdrawal groups and delivery of alternative curricula.  

The Academy will ensure students are making progress  through regular tracking of attainment data and by ensuring additional support is deployed  effectively. Regular quality assurance of teaching and support staff will also be conducted to  promote equity and high standards.

The SEND team will ensure all staff are regularly updated with the individual needs of students with SEND and are aware of the most effective strategies to support them.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

A student has SEND if he/she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.  

A student 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
• 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  

Many children and young people who have SEND may have a disability under the Equality  Act 2010 - that is ‘…a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial  adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.

This definition provides a relatively low threshold and includes more children than many realise: ‘long-term’ is defined as ‘a year or more’ and ‘substantial’ is defined as ‘more than  minor or trivial’. This definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight  or hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and cancer.  Children and young people with such conditions do not necessarily have SEND, but there is a  significant overlap between disabled children and young people and those with SEND.  Where a disabled child or young person requires special educational provision, they will also  be covered by the SEND definition.  

SEND Code of practice 2015

Overview of SEND provisions

In addition to high quality teaching, the Academy offers a range of provisions to support the  needs of our students:

• Bridge group - A smaller cohort of students receiving a high level of support; taught in the same  class for the majority of the time following a differentiated curriculum. They will  work towards achieving appropriate entry level qualifications and vocational studies  which may include ASDAN and functional.
• Specialist interventions - Regular targeted withdrawal sessions with the principle aim of accelerating learning or bridging learning deficits in literacy, numeracy and social skills.
• In class support from support staff - SEND staff are strategically deployed in  various subject areas to support key students in accessing mainstream curriculum.

SEND Support

To support high quality teaching, information is shared through various forms. All teachers  are responsible and accountable for the progress of students in their classes, including those  who access additional intervention. 

Additional needs registers: comprehensive lists of all students who have SEND with  descriptions of the needs. This is located on Arbor.

Pupil passports: personalised information on every student with SEND, including strategies to support, bassline assessment data and exam access arrangements. These are created in conjunction with students, parents and key staff. These are located on Arbor.

Exit criteria for additional needs register: Where students overcome barriers to learning  and no longer require any additional support, they are removed from the additional needs  register. These decisions will also be based on progress data, pupil voice and parental input  and will be made by the SENDCo.

SEND Team

SEND Provision

Identifying SEND

Early identification of SEND is widely recognised and crucial to ensuring effective provisions are in  place to improve long-term outcomes for students. Regular and accurate assessments from subject  teachers should seek to identify students making less than expected progress.  

Where progress continues to be less than expected, the member of staff should complete a SEND referral form which includes the views of parents and students; this will be reviewed by the SENDCo who will then make suggestions for further support from teaching staff and the SEND team. The SENDCo will also decide on appropriate further assessment in order to accurately identify learning needs. While informally gathering evidence (including the views  of the pupil and their parents) schools should not delay in putting in place extra teaching or other  rigorous interventions designed to secure better progress, where required. The pupil’s response to  such support can help identify their particular needs.  

The purpose of identification is to work out what actions the Academy needs to take, not to fit a  pupil into a category. Where there are concerns around students’ progress, a detailed assessment  of need may take place to gain a full understanding of particular strengths and difficulties. The  following skills may be assessed:

• Speed of processing  

• Memory (short term auditory sequential and working memory)

• Phonological awareness

• Basic literacy skills

• Basic numeracy skills

Slow progress and low attainment do not necessarily mean that a child has SEND and should not  automatically lead to a pupil being recorded as having SEND. However, it may be an indicator of a  range of learning difficulties or disabilities.  

In the same way, persistent disruptive or withdrawn behaviours do not necessarily mean that a  child or young person has SEND. 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.  

All staff should also be alert to other events which can lead to learning difficulties or wider mental  health difficulties, such as bullying or bereavement. Such events will not always lead to children  having SEND but it can have an impact on well-being and sometimes this can be severe.  

Identifying and assessing SEND for children or young people whose first language is not English  requires particular care. All aspects of a student’s performance in different areas of learning and  development should be investigated to establish whether a lack of progress is due to limitations in  their command of English or if it arises from SEND or a disability. Difficulties related solely to  limitations in English as an additional language are not SEND (see next page).

Where a student’s needs cannot be met under universal and targeted provision, parents and the Academy may request an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) Needs Assessment from the Local Authority. The Local Authority has 6 weeks from the date the request is made to decide whether they will provide an EHCP Needs Assessment, if they decide to assess, the Local Authority have 20 weeks from the date of the application for a Needs Assessment being made to finalise an EHCP. This will be done in collaboration with parents, students, the academy and all professionals involved in working with the student. EHCPs are reviewed annually and co-produced by parents with the young person at the centre of all decisions. If parents are unhappy with the decisions of the Local Authority at any stage of the process, the SENDCo will be able to advise and advocate for them and their child.

Identifying SEND with EAL students

‘A pupil has SEND where their learning difficulties or disability calls for special educational provision, that is provision different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age’

(SEND Code of Practice 2015)

The Academy will ensure SEND support takes the form of a graduated response in a four-part cycle through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised with a growing understanding of the pupil’s needs and of what supports the pupil in making good progress and securing good outcomes.

Assess

Where an EAL pupil has made little or no progress over a period of six months, an analysis of the pupil’s needs will take place providing an indication of whether the pupil has SEND.

The following skills will be assessed:

• Speed of processing

• Memory (short term auditory sequential and working memory)

• Phonological skills

• EDL Numeracy and Literacy Interventions

• Observation feedback from teachers/support staff on learning, social and emotional concerns.

Plan

Following the outcome of the assessments, the SENDCo and the Leader of EAL (G Vince) will agree in consultation with the parent and the pupil the adjustments, interventions and support to be put in place, as well as the expected impact on progress/development, together with a clear date for the review.

Do

The class or subject teacher should remain responsible for working with the child on a daily basis and monitoring interventions. Where the interventions involve group or one-to-one teaching away from the main class or subject teacher, the subject teacher should still retain responsibility for the pupil.

Review

The impact and quality of the support and interventions will be evaluated, together with the views of the pupil and their parents. This should feed back into the analysis of the pupil’s needs. The subject teacher and the Leader of EAL working with the SENDCo should revise the support in light of the pupil’s progress and development, deciding on any changes to the support and outcomes in consultation with the parent and pupil. Where a pupil continues to make little or no progress, despite evidence-based support and interventions which are matched to the pupil’s area of need, the Academy will involve specialists, including those secured by the school itself or from outside agencies.

Graduated response

The Academy uses a graduated approach to respond to the needs of SEND students in the form of a four-part cycle:

Graduated response in practice - a suggested support and timescale example:

Joe is struggling to retain information and has difficulties acquiring basic concepts. This manifests itself in poor behaviour and avoidance strategies. He is underachieving in most subjects. Please note - the time scales differ for each individual case.

Quality Assurance

To ensure high standards for SEND are maintained, the following measures are in place:

• Quality Assurance within department areas to develop the quality of teaching and learning.
• Learning enquiries are conducted to investigate standards that require further investigation. This may encompass various aspects of Teaching and Learning.
• Individual observations of Para-professionals and SEND provisions to inform CPD and ensure consistency of support across the Academy.
• Various observations of students with SEND including those with EHCPs - conducted by the SENDCo with the support of the Academy Leadership Team through the learning enquiry model.
• Interventions delivered by support staff, monitored on a regular basis in line with data collection points to review impact.

SEND Learning Enquiries

Rationale

SEND covers a wide breadth of standards in the Academy including teaching, learning, assessment, personal development, behaviour and welfare, and therefore cannot solely be developed by the SEND department. The SEND code of practice stipulates a shared accountability with the main principle of improving outcomes for students with SEND. In line with national policy changes for SEND and following recommendations from Ofsted, key areas for development have been identified. High quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have SEND. In order to facilitate changes, the outline below provides a suggested framework to drive standards, improve transparency as well as supporting the development of staff, to enable all staff to be confident in meeting the needs of students with SEND.

Outline

• Monitor and evaluate a specific focus of SEND practice/provision and the impact.

• Learning enquiries are done ‘with’ and not ‘to’ staff - shared planning takes place prior to the LE, led by SENDCo with the support of ALT.

• Developmental rather than judgemental - general feedback on strengths and areas for development shared with all.

• Builds expertise, respect and trust amongst colleagues - transparency and community of practice.

• The spirit of monitoring is one of the shared aims of better outcomes for children.

• High quality feedback is provided to all staff.

• LEs identify best practice which can be shared; LEs inform future professional development.

• Gain a holistic picture of standards across the Academy.

• Evidence is compiled through various channels - learning walks, observations of identified students, book scrutiny, pupil voice etc

• Empower staff to work collaboratively through the community of practice.

• Provide a deeper understanding of how children learn and develop.

• Facilitate overall inclusive school improvement.

Partnership with outside agencies

The Academy is proactive in identifying sources of support as students develop through their school life. We seek to respond quickly to emerging need and work closely with other agencies including:

• Complex needs service

• Educational psychology team

• SENSAP

• Speech and language services

• STARS

• Social services

• SENDIASS

• Inner East Cluster

• CAMHS

• DAHIT

• VIT

In accordance with the SEND Code of Practice 2015, we invite all relevant agencies to annual review meetings, transition meetings and specific provision planning meetings involving pupils with special educational needs in our school. For pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans, we comply fully with requests from independent facilitators to provide information and cooperate fully with other agencies.

Often at the request of families, we liaise with voluntary bodies in order to be as familiar as possible with best practice when the special educational needs of a pupil are very specific (e.g. autism, visual impairment etc.)

We have a clear point of contact within the school who will coordinate the support from outside agencies for each pupil. Most often this will be the SENDCo, but in some cases it can be another member of staff who we have identified as a key worker.

The SEN Information Report published on the academy’s website can be accessed by clicking on the link here:

SEN Information Report

The Local Offer from the Local Authority can be accessed by clicking on the link here:

Leeds Local Offer

Admission Arrangements

No child will be refused admission to school on the basis of his or her special educational need, ethnicity or language need. In line with the Equality Act 2010, we will not discriminate against disabled children and we will take all reasonable steps to provide effective educational provision (see Admission policy for the school, as agreed with the Local Authority).

Arrangements for Transition

• The Academy has a year 7 SEND transition in place to provide a clear path for supporting the engagement of students in mainstream lessons and to help bridge the gap between nurture and mainstream. This involves additional visits to the Academy for students with high level needs or those who are lacking in confidence. Students are encouraged to take part in a variety of social skills and team building activities to support them feel more confident in preparation for their arrival in September.

• For post-16 transitions our SENDCo liaises with the local authority’s Transition Advisor to ensure students with high levels of need have a secure transition to the next phase of their education. With the support of key staff, this may entail visits to educational establishments with students and parents. The Academy also ensures students have regular support from our in-house careers advisor to support with post-16 pathways - parents/carers are encouraged to support this process.

• Some Year 11 SEND students are supported with applications for vocational level 1 or level 2 courses, some of which include motor vehicles, hair and beauty, digital arts, business, media and electrical installations.

Accessibility

The Academy is a fully accessible building which is compliant with the Equality Act 2010. The Academy has adequate disabled access and facilities including lifts and ramps to enable access to most areas. To promote inclusion, further adaptations as appropriate are put in place including, but not limited to:

• Overlays to support reading

• Access to word processors (Word processor Policy)

• Auxiliary aids (e.g. radio aid)

• Written materials in alternative formats

• Alternative arrangements for exams

• Adaptations to lessons and inclusion of alternative curriculums

Complaints

If there are any complaints relating to the provision for children with SEND these will be dealt with in the first instance by the class teacher and our SENDCo, then, if unresolved, by the Principal. The governor with specific responsibility for SEND/inclusion may be involved if necessary. In the case of an unresolved complaint, the issue should be taken through the general Governors complaints procedure (see separate Complaints Policy).

Glossary

ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ASC - Autistic Spectrum Condition

BRIDGE – Building Resilience Independence Determination Growth mind-set and Emotional Intelligence

CLA – Children Looked After

DAHIT – Deaf and Hearing Impairment Team

EHCP - Education Health and Care Plan

EHP – Early Help Plan

EP - Educational Psychologist

GSP - Group Support Plan

HI - Hearing Impairment

MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty

OT - Occupational Therapist

PD - Physical disability

SaLT - Speech and Language Therapist

SEMH - Social Emotional and Mental health

SEND - Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

SENDIASS – Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service SENIT - Special Educational Needs Inclusion Team

SENSAP – Special Educational Needs Statutory Assessment and Provision

SLCN - Speech Language or Communication Need

SLI - Specific Language Impairment

SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty (e.g. dyslexia)

STARS - Specialist Teachers Autism Response Service

VI - Visual Impairment