Introduction
This document is a statement of the aims, principles and strategies for supporting children with Special Educational Needs..
At Hadfield Nursery School.
- We welcome and value all children equally
- We aim to provide all children with a safe, secure and stimulating environment and learning opportunities within the framework of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum
- We are aware that some children may have special needs and we take steps in partnership with parents and other relevant agencies and services, to ensure that their needs are assessed and addressed.
Definition
A child has Special Educational Needs (SEN) if he/she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him/her.
A child has a learning difficulty if he/she has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age or has a disability (emotional, social, behavioural or physical) where special educational provision has to be made, that is anything that is additional to or different from what is normally available.
Aims
At Hadfield Nursery School we aim to
Follow the procedure for identification, assessment and meeting the needs of children with SEN as set out in the Code of Practice and the Special Educational Needs & Disability Act 2001,
- Provide for all children with a disability, taking into consideration parental wishes and the compatibility with the efficient education of the other Nursery children, as set out in ‘Inclusive Schooling’ guidance, 2001.
- Offer a broad and balanced curriculum which can be accessed by children with special needs.
- Identify and assess children with SEN as early as possible.
- Work in close partnership with parents and other agencies, learning from and building on their knowledge and experience of their child. (Children Act 2004, ‘Every Child Matters’, 2003)
- Seek the views of the children where possible.
The Co-ordination of Provision
SENCO responsibility
The SEN Co-ordinator (SENCO), the head teacher, is responsible for:
- The SEN Policy and its development.
- Ensuring the guidelines contained in the Code of Practice are followed.
- Ensuring liaison with parents and other professionals in respect of children with SEN.
- Ensuring Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are in place
- Supporting other practitioners within the Nursery with the identification, assessment and planning for children with special educational needs
- Supporting the training needs of staff.
- Prepare and submit applications for Temporary Additional Early Years (TAEYS) funding.
- Ensuring that relevant background information about individual children with SEN is collected, recorded and updated.
- Attending relevant courses and meetings and disseminating information to the staff
- Informing governors on matters concerning special educational needs within the school
Governor Responsibility
- To ensure that they have an understanding of this policy.
- To regularly review and discuss this policy and strategy at governors’ meetings.
- To promote the principles of this policy
- To ensure that appropriate records, are kept of children with special educational needs.
- To ensure that appropriate provision, including any necessary financial provision, is made for any child who has special educational needs.
- To ensure that those pupils with special educational needs join in all the activities of the school.
- To consult the LA, the funding authority and the governing bodies of other schools, when it seems necessary or desirable in the interests of co-ordinated special educational needs.
The named governor with responsibility for special educational needs within the school is Stephanie Bland.
Admission Arrangements for Children with SEN
The admission policy will apply to all applications for admission.
We work closely with health visitors, the pre-school advisory teacher for children with special needs, other SEN advisory teams, the Children’s Centre, other pre-school settings and parents to identify children’s special needs.
Facilities for children with SEN
Hadfield Nursery School has wheelchair access to all entrances of the building.
There is one toilet suitable for use by disabled children in the Nursery, complete with hand rails and electric hoist.
There is provision for adjusting leg height on tables and the sand tray.
Area bays and small rooms are available for withdrawal of individual or small groups of children.
The Nursery has a large outdoor area suitable for wheelchair access.
Identification and Assessment of Special Needs
We may be alerted to the special educational needs of a child by parents, health visitors, social services, advisory teachers for children with special
needs, speech therapists, other settings, the routine observations of the Nursery staff or the outcome of the initial assessment.
At Hadfield Nursery School individual children’s progress is continuously monitored. Where we have been alerted to the special needs of a child or when a child appears not to be making progress, either generally or in a specific aspect of learning, then it may be necessary to present different opportunities or use alternative approaches to learning. This is known as EARLY ACTION – part of the graduated approach adopted in the Code of Practice. Provision for a child with special needs will match the nature of their needs. Individual Education Plans (IEPs) will be drawn up by the Senco with the class teachers and shared with the whole staff including mid-day staff where relevant. There will be regular half-termly or termly reviews, depending on individual needs, of action taken and the outcomes. These will be recorded on the IEPs.
Ongoing difficulties may indicate that additional help is needed above that which is already available. This is known as EARLY ACTION PLUS.
At this stage the help of external agencies will be sought.
However, despite receiving an individualised program and support from external agencies, the child may:
- Continue to make little or no progress in specific areas over a long period
- Have emotional or behavioural difficulties which substantially interfere with their own learning or that of their peers despite having an individualised behaviour management programme.
- Have sensory or physical needs requiring specialist equipment or advice/visits from a specialist service and/or individual support.
- Have a severe ongoing communication or interaction difficulty.
Then a referral for statutory assessment will be made to the LEA (refer to SEN Recording Handbook). The LEA may decide to issue a statement of SEN detailing short term targets and the form of support which will be provided. The strategies to meet these targets will be set out in an IEP which will be reviewed termly. Statements will be reviewed annually.
Access to the Curriculum
Pupils with SEN will work alongside their peers and will be involved in the full curriculum wherever this is feasible, with reasonable adjustments for some children being made. Activities may be adapted or special resources provided and in some situations the child may need individual or small group support from the teacher or another adult. We aim to integrate children with special needs as fully as possible into the life of the Nursery.
Success Criteria
- All children’s needs are met
- Children’s special needs are identified early
- The views of the child are taken into account
- A close working partnership with the parents is established and their views are taken into consideration.
- The targets for the child are reviewed regularly with staff, parents and other involved agencies in order to assess their impact on the child’s progress.
- A close working relationship with all other agencies is established, taking a multi-disciplinary approach to resolve issues.
The role of the staff
- To assess the individual child’s special needs at the earliest opportunity, either on entry or when teacher/key worker/support staff observes any difficulty a child is experiencing with nursery school life.
- To involve other relevant people and outside agencies in assessment, such as parents and carers, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, district and practice nurses and social services, in order to ensure as full an understanding of any difficulty and its implications as possible.
- To provide special help within the school situation to enable children with special educational needs to have full access to a broad and balanced curriculum.
- To assess and review progress according to the Code of Practice.
- To collaborate with planning and writing specific learning programmes (I.E.P. –‘individual education plan’ or I.B.D. – ‘individual behaviour plan) to enable the child to have access to a balanced and broadly based curriculum.
- To plan appropriate teaching strategies with appropriate resources.
- To develop specific skills relevant to individual children.
- To set appropriate ‘next steps’ to ensure success, and promote high self-esteem.
- To consult with parents and carers to explain the child’s support at school, to co-ordinate work at home and school, to plan strategies and to involve them in the review process.
- To ensure that any child with special educational needs has equal access to facilities within the school, while out on educational visits, and equal access to staff.
- To include a child as a member of the school/key worker group/class, ensuring that they are able to contribute and work alongside and with other children.
- To be aware of their own influence and act as a positive role model in their interactions with and attitudes to children.
We recognise that all practitioners are teachers of children with SEN and that they must all receive appropriate support and training. Training
opportunities are provided within Derbyshire for the SENCO and all practitioners and attendance at courses will be supported and encouraged within the staff development plan.
The SENCO will also disseminate information through school based in -service sessions.
External Resources
Meetings are arranged with the educational psychologist, the SENCO and any other involved staff and agencies to discuss any children with identified special needs.
Children with SEN will have access to appropriate resources and teaching
These may include
- Support of an Educational Care Officer
- Access to services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, hearing impaired and/or sight-impaired
- ICT resources
- Physical aids
- Adapted materials
- Adapted facilities
- Temporary additional early years support funding as appropriate
The Role of the Parent
At Hadfield Nursery School we aim to work in close partnership with parents adopting user-friendly information. All members of staff will bear in mind the pressures a parent may be under because of the additional emotional and physical needs of the child. We aim to:
Feed back regularly on an informal basis
- Recognise the personal and emotional investment of parents and be aware of their feelings
- Focus on children’s strengths as well as areas of additional need
- Ensure parents understand procedures and are offered support in preparing for meetings
- Respect parents different viewpoints and seek constructive ways of reconciling these
- Respect the differing needs parents themselves may have, such as a communication barrier or disability
- Recognise the need for flexibility in the timing and structure of meetings
- Respect a parents request for confidentiality
Complaints Procedure
Parents should, in the first instance, contact either their child’s class
teacher or the SENCO if they are unhappy with the provision arranged to meet their child’s SEN. We aim to respond to these issues raised by parents quickly and in a positive manner. Parents also have the right to refer directly to the panel that determines SEN provision for individual cases.
Where parents are dissatisfied with the results of these procedures, the LEA has in place independent conciliation arrangements which aim to help all parties involved to work towards early and informed resolutions of disputes. These arrangements do not interfere with the parent’s right to appeal.
Transition Arrangements
If a child leaves Hadfield Nursery School their records, including any SEN information, will be transferred to the new setting or school as quickly as possible.
Links with Other Settings
Where a child attends other early years settings in addition to our Nursery School, joint meetings are arranged to plan and review IEPs, together with parents, so there is a consistent approach for the child and family.
Related policies: Admissions Policy, Behaviour Policy, Learning & Teaching Policy, Policy for Equalities, Differences and Cohesion, Monitoring, Assessment, Target setting and Reporting Policy, Health and Safety Policy