SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS POLICY

 

Rationale

Watcombe Children’s Centre Nursery aims are to have regard to the DfES Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice 2001. The Code of Practice provides practical advice to Local Education Authorities, maintained schools and early years settings and other on carrying out their legal duties to identify, assess and make provision for children’s special educational needs.  We aim to provide welcome, support and appropriate learning opportunities, for all children.

 

            Definition of children with SEN:

A child has Special Educational Needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

 

            A child has a learning difficulty if they:

         1)   a) Have a significant greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age; or

            2)   b) Have a disability, which prevents or hinders the child from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in the nursery within the area of the local authority

               3)  Are under compulsory school age and falls within either definitions (a) or (b) above or would do if special educational provision was not made for that child.

 

            Special Educational Provision means:

1)   For children of two or over, educational provision which is extra to, or otherwise different from, the educational provision made generally for children of their age in schools maintained by the LEA, other than special schools, in the area.

            2)   For children under two, educational provision of any kind.                   

 

         See Section, 312 Education Acts 1996

 

Role of the SENCO

Early education settings, except specialist SEN provision need to identify a member of staff to act as the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO).

The SENCO should have responsibility for:

·         Ensuring liaison with parents and other professionals in respect of children with special educational needs

·         Advising and supporting other practitioners in the setting

·         Ensuring appropriate Individual Educational Plans are in place

·         Ensuring that relevant background information about individual children with special educational needs is collected, recorded and updated.

 

Aims

·         To identify and ensure that staff training and support is organized.

·         To ensure consistent practice with regards to work with children who have special educational needs.

·         To ensure that the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) works effectively with outside agencies and carries out their role in accordance with the Code of Practice.

·         To identify early signs of special educational needs.

·         To work in partnership with parents and other professionals helping children.

·         To ensure that all children have access to education, and that their special needs are catered for.

·         To provide appropriate support and challenges for children with special for children identified with SEN.

 

Identification and assessment arrangements, and review procedures

 

Early Years action

1.      The child’s Keyworker or SENCO identifies a child’s learning need and consults with the parents, collects and records information. The child’s Keyworker or SENCO devise appropriate activities for the child to match the child’s level of ability. The activities devised are additional to or different from those of the usual nursery curriculum offer or strategies. The child’s progress is monitored and reviewed regularly. The Keyworker must inform the SENCO about a child they identify with special educational needs. The SENCO places the child on the SEN register.

2.      If the Keyworker in consultation with parents decide that a child may need further support to help them make progress, staff should seek the help of the SENCO. The SENCO and the Keyworker, in consultation with parents, should decide on the action needed to help the child make progress in the light of their earlier assessment.  The SENCO then makes ensure that an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) is prepared. This IEP should include information about the short-term targets set for the child, teaching strategies/methods and the resources/provision to be put into place, when the plan is to be reviewed, and the outcome of the action taken. The IEP should be precise and clearly written and focus on three or four key targets. The IEP should be discussed with the parent of the child.

 

Early Years Action Plus

3.      The SENCO may seek the help of external support services who can help the setting with advice on new IEPs and targets, provide more specialist assessments, give advice on the use of new or specialist strategies or materials, and in a few cases give support for particular activities.

 

A request for help from external services may result from a review of the child’s IEP. Moreover, outside help could be that despite an individualized programme and or concentrated support the child:

 

·         Continues to make little or no advancement in specific areas over a long period of time

·         Continues working at an early years curriculum level significantly below that expected of children of a similar age

·         Has emotional or behavioural difficulties which substantially and frequently hinder the child’s own learning or that of the group, despite having an individualised behaviour management programme

·         Has sensory or physical needs, and requires extra equipment or frequent visits for direct intervention or advice by practitioners from a specialist service

·         Has a continuing communication or interaction difficulty that hinders the development of social relationships and cause considerable barriers to learning.

 

The Nursery Manager will consult with parents about the involvement of external agencies.

 

 

Requests for statutory assessment

4.      For a very small number of children the additional help provided through Action Plus will not be sufficiently effective to enable the child to progress satisfactorily. It would then be necessary for the SENCO, in consultation with parents and any outside agencies already involved, to consider whether a statutory multi-disciplinary assessment may be required. Where agreement that an assessment would be appropriate the SENCO would make a request to the LEA for a statutory assessment.

 

We would continue to work with parent/s to adapt a plan to take account of any advice given and monitor, and review.

 

5.      The child receives a statement of her/his special educational needs, setting out the provision that should be made for them, and usually naming a placement which the LEA should fund. It should be stressed that it is not inevitable that a child will move progressively through the stages. She/he may remain on stages 1 or 2 for a term, and then progress by leaps and bounds, so as not to need any further special intervention. Also, it is possible for a full assessment to be requested, and for the LEA to consider the request and, after consulting all those involved, decide that it isn’t necessary, so that the child might remain at 3, and receive a ‘note in lieu’. The note should describe the child’s special educational needs, explain why the LEA does not think it necessary to make a statement and make recommendations about appropriate provision for the child. Children may move forwards or backwards between the numbered points detailed above, as long as the process is marked by a review meeting where the parties involved agree.

 

Appendix

Named SENCO for the nursery is Keren Hele

© 2010