SEND and Inclusion

 A child or young person has special educational needs and disabilities if they have a learning
difficulty and/or a disability that means they need special health and education support, we
shorten this to SEND. (NHS England » Special educational needs and disability (SEND))

Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years (SEND CoP)

 Statutory guidance for organisations which work with and support children and young
people who have special educational needs or disabilities.
 2015
 Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of
State for Children and Families – “Our vision for children with special educational needs and
disabilities is the same as for all children and young people – that they achieve well in their
early years, at school and in college, and lead happy and fulfilled lives.”
 Ensure special educational needs and disabilities are picked up at the earliest possible point
with support put in place quickly.
 Parents will know what services they can reasonably expect to be provided.
 Children and young people and their parents or carers will be fully involved in decisions
about their support and what they want to achieve.
 The aspirations for children and young people will be raised through an increased focus on
life outcomes, including employment and greater independence.

Read Chapter 6 of The SEND Code of Practice

 Governing bodies of maintained mainstream schools and the proprietors of mainstream

academy schools (including free schools) must ensure that there is a qualified teacher
designated as SENCo for the school.
 The SENCo must be a qualified teacher working at the school.
 A newly appointed SENCo must be a qualified teacher and, where they have not previously
been the SENCO at that or any other relevant school for a total period of more than twelve
months, they must achieve a National Award in Special Educational Needs Co-ordination
within three years of appointment.
 The SENCo has an important role to play with the headteacher and governing body, in
determining the strategic development of SEN policy and provision in the school. They will
be most effective in that role if they are part of the school leadership team.
 The SENCo has day-to-day responsibility for the operation of SEN policy and coordination of
specific provision made to support individual pupils with SEN, including those who have EHC
plans.
 The SENCo provides professional guidance to colleagues and will work closely with staff,
parents and other agencies.
 The SENCo should be aware of the provision in the Local Offer and be able to work with
professionals providing a support role to families to ensure that pupils with SEN receive
appropriate support and high-quality teaching.
 Key responsibilities of SEN Co:
o overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEND policy
o co-ordinating provision for children with SEND
o liaising with the relevant Designated Teacher where a looked after pupil has SEND
o advising on the graduated approach to providing SEND support
 o advising on the deployment of the school’s delegated budget and other resources to
meet pupils’ needs effectively
o liaising with parents of pupils with SEND
o liaising with early years providers, other schools, educational psychologists, health
and social care professionals, and independent or voluntary bodies
o being a key point of contact with external agencies, especially the local authority and
its support services
o liaising with potential next providers of education to ensure a pupil and their parents
are informed about options and a smooth transition is planned
o working with the headteacher and school governors to ensure that the school meets
its responsibilities under the Equality Act (2010) with regard to reasonable
adjustments and access arrangements
o ensuring that the school keeps the records of all pupils with SEN up to date
 Key Responsibilities of class teacher:
o Directly to children/young people at risk of or with special educational
needs/disabilities (eg identification, assessment, intervention, monitoring and
review);
 Ensure early identification of: 1) special educational needs; 2) barriers to
learning; 3) appropriate interventions and actions (eg ‘graduated approach’,
‘SEN support’) in consultation with the SENCo;
 Have full knowledge of children’s/young people’s ‘SEND support’ or
Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP);
 Provide access to a broad and balanced curriculum;
 Understand and provide ‘quality first teaching’;
 Have appropriate high expectations based on assessment;
 Assume responsibility and accountability for their learning, progress and
development;
 Maintain responsibility for working with them on a daily basis, even when
interventions involve group or one-to-one teaching/support away from the
main class;
 Regularly assess, monitor and review their progress (academic,
developmental and social-emotional) during the course of the year;
 Through professional development, secure knowledge, understanding and
skills around: 1) Identification of specific special educational needs in the
context of monitoring all pupils’ progress and development; 2) Appropriate
basic or advanced understanding of specific special educational
needs/disabilities; 3) Quality teaching for pupils with special educational
needs.
o Working with families;
 Formally notify parents where it is decided to provide a pupil with ‘SEN
support’, although parents and pupils should have already been involved in
forming the initial assessment of needs;
 Contribute at least annually to an EHC Plan review where necessary;
 Produce an annual report on pupil progress.
o Working with other professionals.
  The SENCo (and Designated Teacher if the pupil is ‘looked after’ by the local
authority) should advise and support the class or subject teacher in
assessment, problem-solving and the effective implementation of support.
 Working with the SENCo (and Designated Teacher if appropriate), class
teachers should revise a pupil’s support considering their progress and
development, deciding on any changes to the support and outcomes in
consultation with the parent and pupil.
 Teachers and support staff who work with the pupil should be made aware
of their needs, the outcomes sought, the support to be provided and any
teaching strategies or approaches that are required.
 Teachers should work closely with any teaching assistants or specialist staff
involved, to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and
how they can be linked to whole-class teaching.

The 4 Broad Areas of SEND

1. Communication and Interaction - Children with speech and communication needs have
difficulty communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what
they want, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social
rules of communication. Children and young people with ASD are likely to have difficulties
with social interaction.
2. Cognition and Learning - Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs; including
moderate learning difficulties (MDL), severe learning difficulties (SLD), through to profound
and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD). Specific learning difficulties affect one or more
areas of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and
dyscalculia.
3. Sensory and/or Physical - Some children and young people require special educational
provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of
the educational facilities that are generally provided. This may include vision, hearing or
multisensory impairment which requires specialist support and / or equipment to access
lessons.
4. Social, emotional and mental health difficulties - Children may experience a wide range of
social and emotional difficulties. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well
as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect
underlying mental health difficulties such as depression, self-harming or anxiety.

Identification of SEND in school.

  Outside or specialist, support services can be accessed by school staff (SENDCo) if:
o there is significant concern about a child’s learning / development
o the child is not making the expected progress despite intervention to support the
‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process.
 These support services could include:
o CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
o Social Care
o Speech therapist
o Occupational health therapist
o Physiotherapist
o Drama therapist
o Play therapist
o Art therapist
o Educational Psychologist
o Attendance and Welfare Officer

Effective Deployment of TA’s



 Do you want them to pre-teach?

 Do you want them to consolidate learning after?
 When planning:
o What child/ren do you want them to support in every part of the lesson?
o Where do you want them to sit?
o What resources do they need? (small w/bd, hundred square, vocabulary)
o What questions do you want them to ask?
 When are you going to liaise with them regarding your expectations?