The Royal School Wolverhampton

Inclusion and Special Educational

Needs and Disability (SEND) Policy

Author Susanne Afifi

Job title SENCO

Signed

Date 12.09.2017

Version no. 2 Review frequency Annually

Approving body/committee

Data, Standards and Achievement Committee

Date approved 27.09.2017

Target audience All staff

Introduction

At The Royal School, we endeavour to achieve maximum inclusion of all children whilst meeting

their individual needs. Teachers provide differentiated learning opportunities along with materials

appropriate to children’s interests and abilities. This ensures that all children have full access to the

school curriculum.

Every teacher at The Royal School is a teacher of all pupils, including those with Special Educational

Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as an additional language (EAL). Thus

teaching children with SEND or EAL is a whole school responsibility. We are committed to offering

an inclusive curriculum to ensure the best possible progress for all of our pupils whatever their needs

or abilities. Not all pupils with barriers to learning and achievement have special educational needs

and not all pupils with SEND meet the definition of disability. Whilst for instance pupils who speak

English as an additional language might face language barriers and hence might need support to

access the curriculum, they are not automatically classed as having special educational needs

unless they do so.

Pupils of all abilities can have special educational needs and many of them achieve within average

levels despite the barrier to learning. However, at The Royal all pupils are supported to aspire to

fulfil their potential. Consequently receiving SEND support is not restricted to pupils who work below

the levels of their peers.

The government’s definition of an EAL learner includes anyone who has been exposed to a

language other than English during early childhood “and continues to be exposed to this language

in the home or in the community”. The term EAL is used to describe a very diverse group of pupils

for whom English is an additional language. What they have in common is that they use one or more

languages other than English at home or in their community. Many EAL learners at The Royal have

developed a very high level of fluency in English. However, those learners who have arrived at the

school from overseas within the last couple of years are often vulnerable because they need

additional support to access the curriculum and hence are provided with a differentiated curriculum

that meets their individual needs.

This inclusion policy covers all pupils who, for whatever reason, are vulnerable.

Our Objectives

• To ensure that all pupils receive their entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum

• To recognise that vulnerable children and those with special educational needs and

disabilities are entitled to appropriate support and provision to enable them to progress

• To provide a range of support and provision for the wide variety of individual needs in the

school

• To ensure that pupils’ special educational needs or EAL are identified, assessed and

provided for at the earliest possible stage and that their progress is monitored regularly, in

accordance with the SEND Code of Practice

• To integrate vulnerable children and those with special educational needs into school life,

providing appropriate support when necessary

• To seek the active participation of and partnership with parents and carers through regular

updates on their child’s progress and an open door policy that encourages active parent

participation.

• To seek support and advice from specialist services and agencies when necessary

• To ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities for the education of children with

special educational needs and disabilities

• To regularly review the school’s policy and procedures

• To make parents/carers aware of facilities and procedures within school whereby any

concerns or complaints regarding provision for their child may be addressed

• To ensure that the inclusion of all children, including those who speak English as additional

language (EAL) and those who are adopted in local authority care is carefully monitored

• To comply with the requirements of The Education Act 1996, The SEND Code of Practice

2014, the Equality Act 2010 and the Children and Families Act 2014.

Roles and Responsibilities

The identification of and provision for pupils with SEND is a matter for the school as a whole. The

governing body seeks to ensure that the needs of all pupils are met and that provision made for

pupils with SEND is appropriate and effective. The governing body, the Head Teacher, the SENCO

and all other members of staff have important operational responsibilities:

Head Teacher

The Head Teacher has responsibility for the day to day management of all aspects of the school,

including provision for pupils with SEND.

SENCO

The 2008 Education (SENCO) Regulations (England) prescribe that a school’s SENCo has to be a

qualified teacher and holder of the National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-ordination.

The school’s SENCO will:

• oversee the operation of this policy

• liaise with and advise colleagues

• ensure that provision for pupils is arranged

• liaise with parents/carers/teachers/support staff as appropriate

• liaise with external agencies

• keep up to date with new initiatives to support pupils with SEND and EAL and share

good practice with teachers

• contribute to the in service training of staff

• write educational advice, for instance in order to apply for a statutory assessment of a

pupil

• organise and attend target setting and review meetings for pupils with special

educational needs

• monitor and review pupils’ SEND provision and progress

• plan with colleagues what and how resources are prioritised for pupil support

• provide guidance on SEND interventions

• monitor and evaluate this Inclusion and SEND policy and initiate any revision of it with

staff, pupils, parents and governors

The SENCO for pupils from Early Years through to KS 5 is Mrs. Afifi.

Heads of House

Heads of House collaborate closely with the SENCO to monitor wellbeing and progress of all children,

in particular those who have been classified as vulnerable learners. They inform the SENCO of

pastoral issues that prevent pupils from accessing the curriculum and feedback vital information

merits and behaviour points of vulnerable learners across the whole of the school.

Form and Class Teachers

Form and Class teachers have the particular responsibility of making themselves aware of any

children in their forms who have been identified with SEND or who have been recorded as causing

concern and / or being vulnerable. At the beginning of each term they should ensure that they have

read the SEND Provision Maps of pupils with SEND in their form and any other information on the

pupils such as that passed on by Heads of House the school nurse or parents.

Provision Maps (PM) of pupils in Early Years, KS 1 and 2 are written and updated by class teachers.

They share these Provision Maps with parents at each parents’ evening and keep the parents and

the SENCo informed of progress towards curriculum targets.

Teachers

All teachers are teachers of pupils with SEND. Teachers have the responsibility of:

• checking the SEND lists of pupils on a termly basis to ensure that they are familiar with the

special educational needs of the children they teach

• reading the SEND Provision Maps of each student on the list to ensure that they teach to take

note of each pupil’s strengths, weaknesses, appropriate teaching strategies and change in

need

• planning appropriate differentiation

• sharing insights into successful teaching strategies and differentiation techniques for

individual pupils with other members of staff

• contributing to the continuous development of a pupil’s provision map

• identifying pupils who are causing concern

• responding to pupils who are causing concern by highlighting concerns to parents and by

providing quality first teaching along with at least one learning cycle of evidenced intervention

to meet the pupil’s needs

• completing a referral form to the SEND department for any pupils who fail to progress after

at least one cycle of clearly evidenced teacher intervention

• liaising with the SENCO, teaching and non-teaching staff

• giving TAs clear instruction on how to support pupils in lessons

• liaising with tutors and Heads of House regarding vulnerable pupils and their support needs

Higher Level Teaching Assistants

Higher Level Teaching Assistants play an important role in raising standards of SEND support

across all areas of the school. They complement the SENCO’s support work and contribute to the

development of other support staff, pupils, school policies and strategies.

In essence HLTAs provide:

• assistance to the SENCO in managing the SEND department

• assistance to the teachers in the planning cycle and the management/preparation of

resources, in particular those that are designed to raise standards for all pupils such as

SEN, EAL, GT and other underachieving groups.

• supervision of whole classes occasionally during the short-term absence of teachers

• advanced levels of knowledge and skills when assisting with planning, monitoring,

assessing and managing classes

• a point of contact for parents to discuss additional support and progress

• a set number of hours of guaranteed weekly administrative support for the SEND department

Teaching Assistants

Teaching Assistants have a crucial role to play in supporting the inclusion and achievement of pupils

with special educational needs and disabilities. In essence, they provide:

• support for the pupil

• support for the teacher

• support for the curriculum

• support for the school

The TAs work with the SENCO and teachers in providing support for children with special

educational needs and disabilities across the school, liaising with subject teachers, maintaining

records of the children they work with, and attending reviews and meetings as requested. All TAs

receive regular CPD and regular training on issues surrounding SEND, EAL and the curriculum.

Teaching Assistants have the responsibility of:

• ensuring that they are aware of the needs of all pupils who they support

• ensuring that they are aware of their role in the lessons as indicated on the information sheet

shared by the teacher

• ensuring that they are fully aware of instructions on how to provide SEND intervention

programmes and how to record these accurately

• keeping accurate records of progress as well as ongoing difficulties that pupils encounter

• keeping accurate notes on pupils’ homework habits and engagement with SEND support

provided

• feeding back to the teacher, HLTAs and SENCO on any difficulties that they might encounter

when working with pupils

• attending any meetings that they are requested regularly and on time

• ensuring that they carry out all duties on time and in the fashion expected by the school

• ensuring that they support pupils holistically in and outside the classroom. This includes

offering support during unstructured times or organising games and structured activities when

on playground duty

Parents of Pupils with SEND

‘Partnership with parents plays a key role in promoting a culture of co-operation between parents,

schools, LEAs and others. This is important in enabling children and young people with SEND to

achieve their potential’ (2:1 SEND Code of Practice 2002)

In accordance with the SEND Code of Practice, the school provides user friendly information and

strives to ensure that parents understand the procedures and are aware of how to access advice

and support.

Parents are supported and enabled to:

• recognise and fulfil their responsibilities as parents and play an active role in their child’s

education

• have knowledge of their child’s entitlement within the SEND framework

• make their views known about how their child is educated

• have access to information, advice and support during assessments and any related decision

making processes about special educational provision

• support the target setting process for their child

In general terms, The Royal School expects all parents to fully support any SEND intervention

programmes that their child receives through school. Parents are therefore expected that they:

• ensure that their child regularly completes any homework that is set in relation to the

intervention programme.

• ensure that their child attends any intervention support offered on time. In some cases this

might for instance mean that pupils would need to be dropped at school at 8 am for the time

that an intervention is offered

• ensure that their child brings along the right equipment needed for school and / or the

additional SEND support sessions

• ensure that they attend review meetings and parent evenings

The School Nurse and other health professionals

The school nurse and other health services are involved as and when appropriate. The school nurse

may be able to provide relevant health-related information and, with parental consent, can arrange,

for sight, hearing or other medical checks.

The school nurse has the responsibility of:

• writing any medical support plans for pupils with medical needs

• keeping staff updated on any changes in relation to a pupil’s medical need

• providing appropriate staff training on basic medical emergency support such as Epipen

training on a regular basis and for all new staff when needed

Provision of SEND Support

The school is committed to providing maximum access to a balanced and broad curriculum for all

pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Curriculum planning seeks to provide a range

of differentiated activities so that effective learning can take place for pupils with special educational

needs.

In lessons, pupils, including those with special educational needs, are mainly taught in mixed - ability

classes. However there is some setting for Mathematics and English and pupils may be withdrawn,

individually or as a group, from a class situation for specific targeted support.

Where appropriate, additional resources are made available to SEND pupils. Resourcing priorities

are based on accessing the curriculum and enabling pupils to experience success through their use.

Pupils who have fallen behind will in the first instance receive intervention support by their regular

subject teacher. However, if after at least one cycle of class teacher intervention, there has not been

satisfactory progress, the school will investigate if the pupil may have difficulties that amount to

special educational needs.

Provision that is additional to or different from that available to all pupils will be recorded, so that

judgements on progress towards targets can be made. Children who receive such provision will be

placed on the school’s SEND support list. Targets of withdrawal support will usually be recorded in

group education plans or, if required, in individual provision maps. Children who have a Statement

of Special Educational Need or an Education, Health and Care Plan have their targets recorded in

an individual provision map which is reviewed on a termly basis. At Key Stage 1 and 2, Individual

Provision Maps and Group Education Plans are written by the class teacher in consultation with

pupils and parents/carers. When necessary this may also involve support from the SEND team or

consultation and advice from external agencies such as an educational psychologist or the Child

and Adolescent Mental Health Support Service (CAMHSS).

At Senior School, Provision Maps are written and reviewed by the SENCO and HLTA with support

from the form tutor, teachers and appropriate teaching assistants. Parents are invited to attend

review meetings to participate to the process and to receive an update on their child’s progress. As

with younger pupils, this may also involve support from outside agencies.

Provision for Pupils with Medical Needs

The school recognises that pupils with medical conditions must be properly supported so that they

have full access to education, including school trips and physical education. Some children with

medical conditions may be disabled and where this is the case, the school complies with its duties

under the Equality Act 2010.

Some pupils with medical conditions may also have special educational needs (SEND) and may

have a Statement or Education, Health and Care Plan which brings together a pupil’s health and

social care needs, as well as their special educational needs.

Support of pupils who have medical needs as well as special educational needs is planned in

collaboration between the school nurse, the SENCO and the form tutor. These pupils will usually

have a provision map as well as a medical support plan.

Identification of Special Educational Needs

The school recognises the importance of early identification of special educational needs so that

pupils’ difficulties do not become compounded. Its procedures for identifying and assessing pupils’

special needs are guided by the government’s SEND Code of Practice 2014.

A pupil who, despite high quality class teaching and at least one cycle of documented Wave 1

interventions, does not make sufficient progress, is flagged up to the SENCO. Together with the

subject teacher they consider an alternative approach to improve pupil outcomes and discuss this

with the parents/carers. If however the difficulties continue, the school discusses with the parents

and the pupil possible SEND interventions. At this stage a pupil is usually added to the SEND support

list of the school and recognised as having special educational needs.

However, the main provision for pupils who have SEND remains through high quality class teaching,

differentiated appropriately for individual pupils. Teachers provide a careful balance of differentiated

lessons that are differentiated by task, by outcome or by additional support. Additional SEND

interventions are designed to support access to the wider curriculum and help overcome barriers to

learning.

Where necessary, we undertake relevant diagnostic assessments for pupils

• whose prior record of attainment is significantly below average

• who present with a considerable learning concern

• who, despite appropriate SEND intervention, have not made expected progress

If a child has sensory or physical difficulties, the relevant outside agencies are involved from the

outset. Advice is also sought from the area SENDCO or MAST Services whenever it is appropriate

to seek further advice.

To measure progress, SEND pupils are assessed regularly and their progress is closely tracked.

If a pupil continuous to have very significant barriers to learning and progress over a prolonged

period of time, the school may consider applying for a formal statutory assessment of the child’s

learning. Such an assessment is usually carried out by the child’s home LA and may lead to an

Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC).

Identification and support of pupils who are classed as vulnerable

It is important that difficulties that pupils may encounter, academic or pastoral, are identified as early

as possible. The Deputy Head for Pastoral Care, the Heads of House, Boarding Staff and the EAL

subject leader all play vital roles in monitoring progress and wellbeing of vulnerable groups of

learners.

The Deputy Head for Pastoral Care has a specific responsibility for all vulnerable pupils, in particular

those who are on the child protection list or who are looked after.

Boarding staff monitor boarding pupils closely and ensure that any concerns pastoral or academic

are passed on to appropriate staff.

The subject leader for EAL has a particular responsibility in assessing levels and progress of all

learners who speak English as an additional language. She also advises staff on differentiation for

pupils whose English is not yet fluent enough to access the curriculum without being differentiated.

She line manages any EAL support staff and oversees implementation of additional support as well

as in class support for pupils who speak English as a foreign / additional language.

As with pupils who have SEND needs, all teachers are teachers of vulnerable pupils and are

responsible to ensure that all pupils they teach can access their lessons. It is therefore the

responsibility of each individual teacher to differentiate lessons, monitor progress and the wellbeing

of all pupils in their class and act upon concerns appropriately.

FUNDING

The SEND/EAL Department receives an annual capitation which is managed by the SENCO in

collaboration with the head of EAL.

The Royal School funds all SEND and EAL support through notional SEND funding streams and

EAL allocation as well as through funding streams that are targeted at specific groups of pupils.