• To establish procedures to identify and assess pupils with special educational needs as early as possible.
• To develop supportive partnerships and effective communication with parents, other schools and external agencies.
• To monitor, review and record pupils achievements and to ensure continuity,
  progression and cohesion of provision.
• To facilitate the development of governors and all staff in the support of children with special needs.
• To ensure spiritual, moral, social and emotional needs are met for all pupils.

OBJECTIVES

• To use statutory and school based procedures (as detailed in the school assessment, recording and reporting policy) to identify children with special needs.
• To give children an appropriate level of support in line with the Code of Practice as detailed in Appendix 1.
• To give children a wide range of opportunities to develop emotionally as well as academically.
• To keep parents informed of their children's progress on a regular basis.
• To liase closely with parents, transfer schools and external agencies.
• To gather and collate resources and to share good practise amongst staff in the Frome federation of schools.
• To facilitate staff development and governor awareness.

ROLE OF SENCO

Mrs Karen Twose is the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) who has a specialist qualification is the education of children with special needs. She is responsible for;

• The day to day operation of the schools SEN policy.
• Liaising with and advising fellow teachers.
• Coordinating provision for children with special educational needs.
• Maintaining a register and overseeing the records on all pupils with special educational needs.
• Liaising with parents of children with special educational needs.
• Contributing to the in-service training of staff.
• Liaising with external agencies.

ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS

No child will be refused admission on grounds of special needs. The LEA has responsibility to name the school that children with a statement of Special Educational Needs should attend

ACCESS TO THE CURRICULUM

A policy of inclusion will be maintained throughout the school. Learning activities are designed to allow all pupils to have access to the full curriculum. A variety of groupings and differentiated work allows pupils to progress with or without support. Disapplication of the National Curriculum will only be considered in most serious of circumstances.

Support may be given on a individual basis or in small groups. Withdrawal from class is only used when there is a clearly identified benefit for the child.

FACILITIES FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

• Additional Teaching Assistant support.
• Additional teacher support where possible.
• Research facilities via the Intranet Library.
• Homework activities.
• Word processing facilities.
• Teacher resources at Critchill Resource Centre.
• Provision Map, see Appendix 2.
• Wheelchair Access is available throughout the school apart from the mobile classroom. School is accessible except for mobile classroom.
• A range of resources are available to support children at all levels across the curriculum.
• Curriculum Co-ordinators are able to offer advice to individual teachers on resource and support.

IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT

The Early Years Teacher visits feeder playgroups and makes home visits prior to
school entry. If requested by parents, opportunities are given for parents,
playgroup leaders and health visitors to highlight children's particular strengths and areas of concern.
The Foundation Stage Profile is completed during the Reception year and shown to
parents. Any areas of concern are identified and discussed.
By the end of KS1 any child achieving level 1 or level 3 in their KS1 SATs will be formally reviewed by the SENCO and the class teacher(s). This will be shared with parents.
Children achieving level 1 or 2c in English SAT's at KS1 will receive additional help at an appropriate level.
In addition to these academic guidelines, children causing concern in the following areas will also be formally reviewed and supported:

• Behaviour
• Organisational Skills
• Social Skills
• Maturity

In KS2 Year3 optional SATs will be used to assess progress at the end of year 3.
Children will continue to receive additional support dependent on their needs. All SEN records will be passed on to the middle or subsequent school and discussed at liaison meetings.
Reading and spelling ages will be recorded annually.

MONITORING AND REVIEW

The Governor responsible for Special Needs, in conjunction with the SENCO, will
review the provision for special needs throughout the school.
The Head teacher and SENCO monitor the work of the Learning Support Assistants
through meetings to discuss the progress of the children.
The SENCO supports the teacher(s) in developing programmes of work to support
individual children's needs.
Individual Educational Plans will be written for children on School Action. School Action Plus will be reviewed annually by SENCO and parents. These are used to assess progress and ascertain the level of support required.
Twice yearly a multi-disciplinary meeting of the educational psychological support teacher and other relevant specialist is held to discuss children raised by SENCO in consultation with the staff. Expert specialist advice is available through the multi-disciplinary teams of Somerset Support Services. Addresses of self-groups and advice sheets for particular problems are held by the SENCO.
The Head teacher and SENCO monitor children's progress through work sampling
across the school.

RECORD KEEPING

Children are recorded on the Special Needs Register, which is updated annually.
Notes are kept of liaison meetings with parents.
Individual child records are kept in the SEN file in the office. These contain all documents relevant to the child, liaison with other agencies, reports and minutes of discussions with parents and professional advisors, which are available for parents on request. These are passed onto the middle or subsequent school.
For examples of IEP's and standard forms see Appendix 3

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Complaints from parents with children with additional needs follow the LEA procedure, in the same way as any other parent. A copy of the complaints procedure is available from the office.

For further information about the complaints procedure at Rode School please visit our Rode School Parental Complaints Procedure page.