Inclusion

A child has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

Students have a learning difficulty if they:

Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of students of the same age
Have a disability which prevents or hinders the child from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for pupils of the same age in schools within the area of the local education authority
Are under compulsory school age and fall within the definition at (a) or (b) above or would do so if special educational provision was not made for them

Students must not be regarded as having a difficulty solely because the language or form of language of their home is different from the language in which they will be taught.

Special educational provision means:

for students of two or over, educational provision which is additional to, or otherwise different from, the educational provision made generally for students their age in schools maintained by the LEA, other than special schools, in the area

for students under two, educational provision of any kind

Definition of Disability

"A child is disabled if he is blind, deaf or dumb or suffers from a mental disorder of any kind or is substantially and permanently handicapped by illness, injury or congenital deformity or such other disability as may be prescribed"

"A person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on this ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities"

It would be noted that students may fall within one or more of these definitions. Students with a disability will have special educational needs if they have any difficulty accessing education and if they need any special educational provision made for them.

Governing Body

The Academy Governors have specific responsibility to

Do their best to ensure that the necessary provision is made for any Student who has special educational needs
Ensure that students' needs are made known to all who are likely to teach them
Ensure that teachers in the school are aware of the importance of identifying, and providing for, those students who have special educational needs
Consult the LEA and the governing bodies of other schools, when it seems to be necessary or desirable in the interests of co-ordinated special educational provision in the area as a whole
Ensure that a student with special educational needs joins in the activities of the school together with pupils who do not have special educational needs, so far as is reasonably practical and compatible with the child receiving the special educational provision their learning needs call for and the efficient education of the pupils with whom they are educated and the efficient use of resources
Ensure that parents/carers are notified of a decision by the school that SEN provision is being made for their child

In doing so Governors will have regard to the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice and the Disability Rights Code of Practice for schools. Governors will report to parents/carers annually on the implementation of their SEN policy. This may reflect the success criteria noted on the last SEN policy.

Guiding Principle

Our guiding principle is one of Inclusion. We want to identify and break down possible barriers to learning.

Objectives in making provision for students with SEN

We value all students in our school equally.
To ensure that all students have equal access to a broad, balanced curriculum which is differentiated to meet individual needs and abilities.
The aims of education for students with difficulties and disabilities are the same as those for all students. All students are entitled to experience success.
It is the responsibility of all teachers to identify and meet the SEN of students. In this they can draw on the resources of the whole school.
Every student is entitled to have his or her particular needs recognised and addressed.
To offer high quality support to ensure that all needs are met.
To maximise the opportunities for students with special educational needs to join in with all the activities of the school.
Consideration of SEN crosses all curriculum areas and all aspects of teaching and learning.
To acknowledge and draw on parent/carer knowledge and expertise in relation to their child as all special education provision is more effective if students and parents/carers are fully involved.
To seek the views of the child and take them into account.

This policy will contribute to achieving these objectives by ensuring that provision for pupils with SEN is a matter for the whole school and is a part of the continuous cycle of assessment and review.

Identification and assessment of students with special educational needs

All students are entitled to a balanced and broadly based curriculum. This policy ensures that teaching arrangements and strategies are fully inclusive.

In order to work successfully with students who have special needs we must ensure that pupils' needs are identified as early as possible. In order to achieve this we have certain procedures in place.

The school has excellent links with feeder schools and considerable information will be collected about each student before they arrive at the school. This will include SATs results, Teacher Assessment and where a student is placed on the SEN register.
During their first week at the school each student is screened for reading age, freestyle writing and mathematical ability.
In the first half term Year 7 pupils will sit MIDYIS, CATs tests that provide the school with detailed information about academic strengths and weaknesses of each student.
Parents/carers, health visitors or other professionals may raise concerns about a student's learning difficulties; these should be fully explored by a member of the SEN team and feedback given.

The Governing Body will ensure that it makes appropriate provision for all students identified as having need of special educational provision. The Principal and the Governing Body set targets and specific criteria for the success of the SEN policy.

The Governing Body reviews the policy and reports annually on the allocation of available resources and the success of the policy in meeting SEN.

External support services and agencies

External support services play an important part in helping the school identify, assess and make provision for students with special educational needs. Service providers include Behaviour Support Service, speech therapist, physiotherapist and occupational therapist.

The school receives regular visits from the nominated Educational Welfare Officer and Educational Psychologist for the area.

Allocation of resources

The DfES provides the academy with money in its budget towards meeting students' SEN. In addition the school plans and provides for students with SEN from their main budget. The school spends this money on:

Learning support teachers and assistants
Training for all teachers and learning support assistants so they can meet students needs more effectively
Special books and equipment

The details of how individual students receive support are recorded on their Individual Education Plans.

The allocation of resources within the academy is based on an annual audit of need. The more complex or severe needs the more support is provided. The school receives additional funding for students with statements.