SEND Policy

In this document

1.0 Policy Statement

1.1 This policy sets out our vision and principles for children and young people with SEND and our expectations for all Beckfoot Trust schools. Beckfoot Trust takes seriously its duty to ensure that all children receive their entitlement to a quality education; one that is appropriate to their individual needs, promotes high standards and supports all to enjoy, learn and succeed. Including and providing for Special Educational Needs and Disability is everyone’s responsibility.

1.2 The One Trust Contract (our internal document that codifies what it means to be remarkable), details the Beckfoot Learner ‘Universal Offer’, an entitlement for all young people with the intention that no child is left behind. For learners with SEND, it is the duty of the school to scaffold support to ensure that all children can access the universal offer, and where necessary provide support beyond the universal offer so that barriers are removed – the ‘Universal Offer Plus.’

1.3 Beckfoot Trust ensures all staff who work with children are alert to emerging difficulties and respond early so that need can be met. Families know their children best, and it is important that all practitioners listen and understand when families express concerns about their child’s development. Staff in all trust schools will listen to and address concerns raised by children themselves. 

1.4 Through successful implementation of this policy, the aim of Beckfoot Trust is to:

• Monitor the progress of all children to aid the earliest possible identification of SEND.
• Use our best endeavours to make sure that children with SEND get the support they need.
• Ensure that children with SEND have equal opportunity to engage in the activities of school alongside children who do not have SEND.
• Inform families when we are making special educational provision for their child.
• Work with families and local partners in the best interests of our children.
• Endeavour to prepare all our children for adulthood, independent living and employment.

2.0 Scope and Purpose

2.1 Our SEND policy covers all students. As part of the trust’s ‘graduated response’ this may be at a ‘monitoring’ level, SEND K or EHCP (Education Health and Care Plan). 

2.2 This policy applies to all education staff, as well as professional services staff when considering reasonable adjustments, funding, and provision for learners with SEND.

2.3 Implementation of this policy is delegated to our Headteachers. It is the responsibility of the Headteacher (with support from central leaders) to ensure all staff (adults working within school) understand their role and responsibilities in relation to SEND and inclusion.

2.4 Trust schools aim to achieve the core aims of this policy by:

• Designating a teacher to be responsible for coordinating SEND provision (the SENCO).
• Monitoring the progress of all children to facilitate early identification.
• Following the graduated approach as outlined in the SEND Code of Practice.
• Implementing the active ingredients stated in the Beckfoot One Trust Contract to support inclusion.

2.5 To support staff in schools, continuous training is prioritised both within phases as appropriate (special, primary and secondary), but also collectively across the trust and beyond to share specialism and expertise.

2.6 Legal Framework

This policy has due regard to legislation, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Children and Families Act 2014
• Health and Social Care Act 2012
• Equality Act 2010
• Equality Act 2010 (Disability) Regulations 2010
• Education Act 2002
• Mental Capacity Act 2005
• Children Act 1989
• Special Educational Needs and Disability (Amendment) Regulations 2015
• Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014

This policy also has due regard to statutory and non-statutory guidance, including, but not limited to, the following:

• DfE (2015) ‘Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years’
• DfE (2015) ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’
• DfE (2024) ‘Keeping children safe in education’
• DfE (2023) ‘Working together to safeguard children’
• DfE (2021) ‘School admissions code’

This policy has been written with due regard to other Beckfoot Trust policies including Safeguarding and Child Protection, Anti-Bullying, Care and Control, Child Health Needs Cannot Attend School, Behaviour and Attendance.

2.6.1 The curriculum offers and wider activities within each of our schools can be found in the SEND Information Reports (SIR). Each school within the Trust annually publishes an SIR and an accessibility plan (see school website) for external stakeholders, and continually updates an extensive SEND intent document for internal stakeholders bespoke to the needs of the school. These documents work alongside the SEND Policy to ensure that each school’s SEND provision is responsive, dynamic and flexible in relation to their current cohort of students’ needs as well as compliant with national and local authority guidance and processes.

2.7 Code of Practice

All schools in England must have regard to the Code of Practice (2014) as it provides statutory guidance on duties, policies and procedures relating to Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and associated regulations. Schools must fulfil their statutory duties towards children and young people with SEN (Special Educational Needs) or disabilities considering the guidance set out. 

2.8 Equality Act

Under the Equality Act (2010) all schools have duties towards individual disabled children and young people. They must make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services required by disabled children and young people to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage.

2.9 Teachers’ Standards

The Teachers’ Standards (2012) makes clear the expectation for all teachers to “adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all learners.” Teachers must “have a clear understanding of the needs of all learners, including those with special educational needs; those of high ability; those with English as an additional language; those with disabilities; and be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.” (Standard 5)

3.0 Overarching Principles

3.1 Inclusion

3.1.1 Inclusion is a term used to describe the process of ensuring equity of learning opportunities for all children and young people. It is a process of identifying, understanding, and breaking down barriers for participation and belonging. Inclusion is about the quality of experience; how young people are helped to learn, achieve, and participate fully in the life of the school. Inclusion focuses particularly on those groups of children who have historically been marginalised or who have underachieved. Inclusion does not mean that all learners necessarily learn in the same way or together, but that practices are adapted to take account of all learners’ needs – this is equity in learning. 

3.1.2 Educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners. All children, including those identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities have the same common entitlement to a broad and balanced academic and social curriculum, which is accessible to them, and enables them to be fully included in all aspects of school life. At Beckfoot Trust, we refer to this as the inclusive classroom, a key component of our universal offer for all children. Inclusion is never done; it is an ongoing endeavour. 

3.2 Identifying Special Educational Needs

3.2.1 The SEND Code of Practice identifies four broad categories of need: Communication and Interaction; Cognition and Learning; Social, Emotional and Mental Health difficulties; Sensory and/or Physical (see Appendix 1 for further detail). These categories are used across Beckfoot Trust. The purpose of identification is to work out what action the school needs to take, not to fit a child into a category, but to provide bespoke provision. We believe that identifying need at the earliest point and then making effective intervention improves long-term outcomes for the child.

3.2.2 The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework for children aged 0 to 5 years. Where relevant, Trust schools have arrangements in place to support EYFS pupils with SEND.

3.2.3 There is a clear distinction between ‘underachievement,’ often caused by a poor early experience of learning, and ‘special educational needs’. Some learners may be underachieving but will not necessarily have a special educational need; it is our responsibility to identify this quickly and ensure that appropriate support is put in place to help these learners ‘catch up.’

3.2.4 A student has SEND when their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision, namely provision different from or additional to that normally available to students of the same age. This means provision that goes beyond the learning arrangements normally provided as part of high quality, personalised teaching within the universal offer in the classroom.

For this policy, a child is defined as having SEND if he/she has a:

• Significantly greater difficulty in learning than most others of the same age
• A disability or health condition, which prevents or hinders him/her from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions
• Under the Equality Act 2010, a disability is a physical or mental impairment, which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities

3.2.5 Post-16/Sixth Form institutions often use the term learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD), but the term SEND is used in the Code of Practice across the 0-25 age range and, for the purposes of meeting our statutory duties, across Beckfoot Trust.

3.2.6 Assessments of attainment and progress are made at regular intervals where students making less than expected progress, given their age and individual circumstances, are identified. This can be characterised by progress which:

• Is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
• Fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
• Fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
• Widens the attainment gap It can include progress in areas other than attainment – for instance, where a student needs to make additional progress with wider development or social needs to make a successful transition to adult life.

3.2.7 At Beckfoot Trust we identify the needs of students by considering the needs of the whole child, not just the special educational needs or disability of the child. Consideration will be made for any young person who has or may have a disability or specific circumstances (see 3.3). Reasonable adjustments can be considered and implemented. The SEND Code of Practice outlines the “reasonable adjustment “duty for all settings and schools provided under current Disability Equality legislation. The following categories alone do not constitute SEND, but are tracked closely, and may trigger a monitoring period, if progress gaps are highlighted:

• Attendance and Punctuality
• Health and Welfare
• Being subject to a Child Protection or Child in need Plan
• EAL
• Being in receipt of Pupil Premium Grant
• Being a Child Looked After
• Being a child of serviceman/woman

3.3 Children with Specific Circumstances

3.3.1 Looked after children

Children at Beckfoot Trust schools who are being accommodated, or who have been taken into care by the Local Authority (LA) are legally defined as being ‘looked after.’ Trust schools recognise that children who have some degree of SEND are more likely to be ‘looked after’, and it is likely that a significant proportion of them will have an EHC plan. All Trust schools have a designated member of staff for looked after children (LAC). Where that role is carried out by a person other than the SENCO, designated teachers will work closely with the SENCO to ensure that the implications of a child being both looked after and having SEND are fully understood by relevant school staff.

3.3.2 English as an additional language (EAL)

Trust schools give particular care to the identification and assessment of the SEND of children whose first language is not English. It is necessary to consider the child within the context of their home, culture and community. Where there is uncertainty about an individual child, each school makes full use of any local sources of advice relevant to the ethnic group concerned, drawing on community liaison arrangements wherever they exist. Trust schools appreciate that a lack of competence in English is not equated with learning difficulties. At the same time, when children who have EAL make slow progress, it should not be assumed that their language status is the only reason; they may have learning difficulties. Trust schools look carefully at all aspects of a child’s performance in different subjects to establish whether the problems they have in the classroom are due to limitations in their command of the language that is used there or arise from SEND.

3.4 Disability

3.4.1 Many children and young people with SEND may also have a disability. A disability is described in law (the Equality Act 2010) as ‘a physical or mental impairment, which has a long-term (a year or more) and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.’ This includes, for example, sensory impairments such as those that affect sight and hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes or epilepsy.

3.4.2 The Equality Act requires early years’ providers, schools, colleges, other educational settings, and local authorities to:

• Not directly or indirectly discriminate against, harass, or victimise disabled children and young people
• Make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of extra aid services (for example, tactile signage or induction loops), so that disabled children and young people are not disadvantaged. This duty is known as ‘anticipatory.’

3.5 Children with health needs who cannot attend school

3.5.1 Beckfoot Trust aims to ensure that all children who are unable to attend school due to medical needs, and who would not receive suitable education without such provision, continue to have access to as much education as their medical condition allows, to enable them to reach their full potential. Due to the nature of their health needs, some children may be admitted to hospital or placed in alternative forms of education provision. We recognise that, whenever possible, students should receive their education within their school and the aim of the provision will be to reintegrate students back into school as soon as they are well enough. We understand that we have a continuing role in a student’s education whilst they are not in school and will work with local authorities, healthcare partners and families to ensure that all children with medical needs receive the right level of support to enable them to maintain links with their education. See our full Trust Policy on Children with Health Needs who cannot attend school.

4.0 Responsibilities and Arrangements

4.1 Graduated Response

4.1.1 Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the children in their classroom, including where students access support from Teaching Assistants or specialist staff. 

4.1.2 The identification of SEND is built into the overall approach to monitoring the progress and development of all students. High quality teaching, personalised for individual students, is the first step in responding to children who have or may have SEND.

4.1.3 Trust and school leaders regularly and carefully review the quality of teaching for all students, considering the training needs and support of all staff to have a holistic view of a child’s needs to align with early identification of SEND and a graduated response. This includes reviewing and, where necessary, improving teachers’ understanding of strategies to identify and support vulnerable students and their knowledge of the SEND most frequently encountered.

4.1.4 Where children are falling behind or making inadequate progress given their age and starting point, they will be placed on a focused and carefully monitored intervention programme. 

4.1.5 In deciding whether to make special educational provision, the SENCO will consider all the information gathered from within the school about the child’s progress. This information gathering will include an early discussion with the child, their family and teachers, developing a good understanding of the child’s areas of strength and difficulty, the parents/carers’ concerns, the agreed outcomes sought for the child and the next steps.

4.1.6 Consideration of whether special educational provision is required starts with the desired outcomes, including the expected progress and attainment and the views and wishes of the child and their family. This then helps determine the ‘different from’ or ‘additional to’ support / provision that is needed.

4.1.7 The overriding purpose of this early action is to help the child achieve the identified outcomes and remove any barriers to learning. When it is decided that a child does have SEND, the decision is recorded on the schools SEND register and the child’s parents/carers are informed that special educational provision is being made.

4.1.8 In line with the Code of Practice, all schools follow the graduated approach to a learners’ special educational needs. This support should take the form of “a four-part cycle through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised with a growing understanding of the child’s needs and of what supports the learner in making good progress and securing good outcomes.” This is referred to as Assess, Plan, Do, Review (APDR):

Assess: Teaching and support staff, working closely with the SENCO, draw on a range of information (progress, attainment, behaviour, attendance, student voice, parent / carer voice, and outside agency advice) to fully understand the student’s needs.

Plan: Strategies, including for both in lessons and through discrete interventions where appropriate, the intended outcomes and the needs being addressed are shared with teaching and support staff, as well as with the parent / carers.

Do: Classroom teachers remain responsible for working with the student to work towards the identified outcomes. Where interventions are being delivered in small groups or 1:1, teachers, the SENCO, and support staff should work closely together to ensure continuity and consistency.

Review: The effectiveness of the strategies is reviewed regularly and feeds back into assessment of the student’s needs to inform a new cycle of support and intervention.

4.1.9 For some children, there may be associated behaviours that require reasonable adjustments to be implemented. Where appropriate, we will make reasonable adjustments for students, whose specific needs mean that they find the universal offer difficult to meet. A reasonable adjustment never means that we lower our expectations, it means that some students need additional support to ensure that they meet the high expectations that we have for all our children.

4.2 Monitoring Progress

4.2.1 The graduated approach at Beckfoot Trust is aligned with whole trust assessment cycles as the norm (but with the ability to have more regular review where needed). As such, teachers and support staff will be facilitated to contribute to the APDR process through, for example dedicated staff meetings or trust data days.

4.2.2 Family engagement will be facilitated through consistent but flexible routines bespoke to the family, for example, through phone calls, email or face to face meetings. Children’s contributions will be facilitated in a way that is both meaningful and developmentally appropriate, for example, collecting student voice through a questionnaire, scaling activities, or by observation.

4.2.3 Assessment reviews are held regularly throughout the year, typically at the end of each cycle three times a year. For children with an EHCP one of the three reviews will be the statutory EHCP Annual Review. The SEND Support Plan will be updated from information disclosed at the review meetings with parents/carer and the child.

4.2.4 The progress and attainment of students identified as SEND will be monitored and reviewed through whole school systems and available data, such as baseline, formative and summative academic assessment, attendance, behaviour and whole year group screeners, enhanced by further assessment and review relating to their individual needs. This will be different for each student, depending on their needs and provision, and could include but is not limited to standardised tests, e.g Boxall Profiles, WRAT, DASH etc, intervention specific baselines and assessments, documents designed to monitor and review individual targets, e.g. Individual Education Plans (IEPs), progress against targets and outcomes listed in a professional’s reports or an EHCP. More precise details bespoke to each school are listed in SEND intent documents.

4.3 Exiting the SEND Register

4.3.1 The SEND register is a fluid document that is reviewed at the end of each cycle. If a child, having received appropriate identified support, begins to make good progress and closes the gap with their peers, they can be removed from the SEND register. If a child’s needs are being managed successfully within the classroom with no different or additional support, then the child no longer needs to be classed as SEND Support (K code). Upon this decision, families will be informed by the school. Appendix 2 provides an example of the aligned entry and exit criteria for cognition and learning at Beckfoot Trust.

4.4 Referral for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

4.4.1 Where, despite the school having taken relevant and purposeful action, to identify, assess and meet the SEND of the child or young person and the child or young person has not made expected progress, the school or parents/carers should consider requesting an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment (EHCA).

4.4.2 If we identify that additional funding and support are needed from the LA High Needs Block, we will then complete a funding request as per Local Authority procedures. This will occur where the complexity of need or a lack of clarity around the needs of the child are such that a multi-agency approach to assessing that need, to planning provision and identifying resources, is required.

4.4.3 The decision to make a referral for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be taken at a progress review. The application for an Education, Health and Care Plan will combine information from a variety of sources including parents/carers, teachers, SENDCo, social care, health professionals and Educational Psychologists.

4.4.4 Information will be gathered relating to the current provision provided, action points that have been taken, and the preliminary outcomes of targets set.

4.4.5 The decision will be made by an external panel which will include people from education, health and social care about whether the child is eligible for an EHCP. Parents/carers have the right to appeal against a decision not to initiate a statutory assessment leading to an EHC Plan.

4.4.6 Families also have the right to personally initiate an EHCP with their Local Authority if they wish to do so. Where a student has an EHCP, the LA must review that plan as a minimum every twelve months. The local authority can require schools to convene and hold annual review meetings on its behalf. The “APDR” cycle will continue, and further agencies and professionals may get involved.

4.5 SEND Tribunal

4.5.1 All disagreements about an EHC plan will be attempted to be resolved as quickly as possible, without the pupil’s education suffering.

4.5.2 In all cases, the Trust school’s written complaints procedure will be followed, allowing a complaint to be considered informally at first. 

4.5.3 Following a parent’s/carer’s serious complaint or disagreement about the SEND provisions being supplied to a pupil, Trust schools will contact the LA immediately to seek disagreement resolution advice, regardless of whether an EHC Plan is in place. Where necessary, the Headteacher will make the relevant parties aware of the disagreement resolution service.

4.5.4 Trust schools will meet any request to attend a SEND tribunal and explain any departure from its duties and obligations under the SEND Code of Practice.

4.5.5 Trust schools will fully cooperate with the LA by providing any evidence or information that is relevant.

4.5.6 All staff involved in the care of the child will cooperate with families to provide the child with the highest standard of support and education reasonably possible.

4.6 Roles and Responsibilities

4.6.1 All our trust schools have a responsibility to:

• Include details of SEND, outcomes, action, agreed support, teaching strategies and the involvement of specialists, as part of its standard management information system to monitor the progress, behaviour and development of all pupils
• Maintain an accurate and up-to-date register of the provision made for children with SEND within mainstream schools
• Maintain a fluid SEND intent document that details the universal and universal plus offer
• Identify, assess, and make provision for all children and young people with SEND, whether this be at monitoring, K or EHC level.
• Designate a qualified teacher who is working at the school, to be the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) and have responsibility for coordinating provision for pupils with SEND
• Appoint a designated teacher for looked after children
• Make reasonable adjustments for children with disabilities to help alleviate any substantial disadvantage they experience because of their disability
• Take necessary steps to ensure that children with disabilities are not discriminated against, harassed or victimised
• Prepare the arrangements for the admission of children with SEND and the facilities provided to enable access to Trust schools for pupils with disabilities
• Prepare the accessibility plan showing how they intend to progressively improve access over time
• Publish annual information, setting out the measures and facilities to assist access for children with disabilities
• Publish annual information about the arrangements for the admission of children with disabilities, the steps taken to prevent pupils being treated less favourably than others, the facilities provided to assist children with SEND, and publish the Trust school’s accessibility plan
• Ensure arrangements are in place to support children at school with medical conditions
• Appoint a Local School Committee Member to oversee Trust school arrangements for SEND
• Ensure that children are supported to make a smooth transition to whatever they will be doing next, e.g. moving on to higher education.
• Fulfil our legal duty to provide reasonable adjustments to any student disadvantaged in examinations by a special educational need or disability as per the JCQ’s access arrangements and reasonable adjustments annual publication.
• If it is in the best interest of the pupils, consider the commissioning of alternative provision, in line with any EHC plans in place, for pupils who face barriers to participate in mainstream education
• Take an active role in preparing pupils with SEND for their transition into adult life, preparing them to achieve their ambitions in terms of higher education or employment, taking responsibility for their health, where they will live, their relationships, their finances, social integration and independence
• Make explicit their provision for SEND and inclusion in the publication of their statutory SEND Information Report, in line with guidance set out in the SEND Code of Practice 2014 and the SEND Regulations 2014 (links in section 1). The SEND information report will be published on the school website and updated annually, each school will ensure that their SEND Information Report is easily accessible and set out in clear, straight forward language and include relevant named contacts who are available at the academy.
• Each local authority has a statutory duty to produce a ‘local offer’ detailing information about provision they expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people who have SEN or are disabled, including those who do not have an EHCP, in their area. As a ‘partner body or agency’, schools have a statutory duty to cooperate with the local authority in the development and review of the Local Offer.

Specific responsibilities are detailed in Appendix 3

5.0 Review of Policy

The policy is reviewed on an annual basis by Beckfoot Trust.

Appendix 1: Broad Area of Need

Communication and interaction

Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to or they cannot understand what is being said to them, or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile for every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives.

Children and young people with Autism, are likely to have difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can affect how they relate to others.

Cognition and learning

Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation.

Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties, as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment.

Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dyspraxia.

Social, emotion and mental health difficulties

Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties, which manifest themselves in many ways. 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 anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained.

Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder.

Trust schools have clear processes to support children and young people, including how they will manage the effect of any disruptive behaviour so it does not adversely affect other pupils.

Sensory or physical needs

Impairments which prevent or hinder people from making use of the educational facilities generally provided, such as vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI), diabetes, epilepsy and cancer, are included under the definition of disability, but children with such conditions do not necessarily have SEND.

These conditions can be age-related and can fluctuate over time. A pupil with a disability is covered by the definition of SEND if they require special educational provision.

Appendix 2: Cognition and Learning Entry/Exit Criteria

Purpose

• To ensure SEND registers are accurate and fluid by providing a criterion for identification and review.
• To provide a foundation to align intervention processes and communication with parents.
• To provide a clear plan, do, review cycle linked to the trust’s cycles and increasingly aligned assessment calendar.
• To give SENCOs clarity through collective efficacy and policy.

M: Monitoring

· Any ‘undiagnosed’ need in a child identified as academically vulnerable* through cycle data points and/or general staff observations. · In primary especially, the broad area of need may not be clear. The child is placed on monitoring to enable further identification of need. · The child will not be on SIMS as SEND but a record should be maintained by school to indicate monitoring is taking place for an ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ Cycle. · Successful universal plus intervention (K2) that diminishes barriers and closes age related gaps. The cycle review places the child on the monitoring stage for an interim period to check progress is maintained. Parents should be informed that intervention has been successful, but the child will be ‘monitored’ for another cycle.

K1: Support to succeed within the Universal Offer

· Any child with a diagnosed learning and cognition need (for example, dyslexia or dyscalculia), which means the learner will always require bespoke reasonable adjustments and will require exam access arrangements to maximise potential. At K1 the child will be attaining well due to removal of barriers in the inclusive classroom but needs to be on the register for appropriate exam support.

K2: Universal Plus Support

· It is identified a universal plus intervention is required to provide ‘top up’ to support the child access the universal offer. This intervention may be in a small group setting or 1:1 and delivered by a member of staff in school. The intervention has a clear purpose, time span and evaluation criteria and should be reviewed at least once a cycle.  · A plan, do, review monitoring cycle needs to be implemented.

K3: Universal Plus Support with graduated intensity

· This will typically be a child, where universal plus intervention has not had the desired impact over a reasonable period of time. As such, more forensic and bespoke intervention is required.  · This may be external specialist support or an escalation from group to 1:1 support.

K4: EHCP Escalation/Consultation (EHCA)

· Reports from professionals and cycles of plan, do, review evidence an EHCP application is required.

In our special schools and for students in a mainstream with an EHCP, the following ranges will be evaluated each cycle: 

E1: EHCP

· A child with an EHCP making at least expected progress towards interim and annual statutory targets.

E2: EHCP Additional Monitoring

· A child falling just short of expected progress, possibly as a result of below average attendance or behaviour concerns. Monitoring plan in place to monitor through class teacher and SLT QA.

E3: EHCP Additional Professional Support

· Bespoke intervention is required beyond the universal statutory EHCP offer to support with barriers to learning and academic progress. This will typically involve consulting with external professional specialists to seek further guidance to support in school or provide evidence of changing need to re-consult.  · A child accessing alternative provision beyond the school that requires stringent safeguarding and quality assurance processes to be in place.

E4: ECHP Consultation

· The child is not making progress towards targets and the school can no longer meet need. This is evidenced through a range of unsuccessful interventions despite guidance and support from professional specialists.  · The child is likely to be accessing a reduced school offer due to health and safety concerns that mean the school can no longer meet need.

Appendix 3: Specific Roles and Responsibilities

The Headteacher has a responsibility to:

• Ensure that those teaching or working with children with SEND are aware of their needs, and have arrangements in place to meet them
• Ensure that teachers monitor and review progress during the academic year
• Cooperate with the LA during annual EHCA and EHCP reviews
• Ensure that the SENCO has sufficient time and resources to carry out their functions
• Provide the SENCO with sufficient administrative support and time away from teaching to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities, in a similar way to other important strategic roles within Trust school
• Appoint a designated teacher for looked after children, who will work closely with the SENCO to ensure that the needs of the pupil are fully understood by relevant school staff
• Regularly and carefully, review the quality of teaching for children at risk of underachievement, as a core part of the Trust school performance management arrangements
• Ensure that teachers understand the strategies to identify and support vulnerable children, and possess knowledge of the types of SEND most frequently encountered
• Ensure that procedures and policies for the day-to-day running of the Trust school do not directly or indirectly discriminate against pupils with SEND
• Take steps to ensure that children and families are actively supported in contributing to needs assessments, and developing and reviewing EHC plans
• Establish and maintain a culture of high expectations and include young people with SEND in all opportunities available to other children
• Consult health and social care professionals, children and families to ensure the needs of children with medical conditions are effectively supported
• Identify any patterns in the identification of SEND within Trust schools and in comparison, with national data

The SENCO has a responsibility to:

• Be a qualified teacher
• Achieve the National Professional Qualification in Special Educational Needs Coordination within three years of appointment, where they have not previously acted as SENCO at another school for longer than 12 months (This does not apply to SENCOs in Special Schools)
• Collaborate with the Headteacher, as part of the wider leadership team, to determine the strategic development of SEND policy
• Work with the Trust school’s Local School Committees and the Headteacher to ensure that Trust schools meet their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 with regard to reasonable adjustments and access arrangements
• Undertake day-to-day responsibility for the operation of the SEND policy
• To follow the principle and process for alignment to the One Trust Contract for SEND.
• To collaborate with other SENCOs through networks and Collective Efficacy Teams
• Coordinate the specific provision made to support individual children with SEND, including those with EHC plans
• Liaise with the relevant, designated teacher where a looked after pupil has SEND
• Advise on a graduated approach to providing SEND support
• Advise on the deployment of Trust school’s delegated budget and other resources to meet pupils’ needs effectively
• Liaise with the families of children with SEND
• Liaise with early years providers, other schools, educational psychologists, health and social care professionals, and independent or voluntary bodies
• Be a key point of contact with external agencies, especially the LA and LA support services
• Liaise with the potential future providers of education to ensure that children and families are informed about options and a smooth transition is planned
• Depending on the setting, draw up a one-page profile, learning plan or similar for children with SEND
• Provide professional guidance to colleagues and work closely with staff members, families and other agencies, including SEND charities
• Be familiar with the provision in the Local Offer and be able to work with professionals providing a supporting role to the family
• Ensure, as far as possible, that children with SEND take part in activities run by Trust schools, together with those who do not have SEND
• Ensure that the school keeps the records of all children with SEND up to date, including a provision map of universal plus interventions
• Inform the families of pupils with SEND that SEND provision is being made where the pupil does not have an EHC plan
• Identify any patterns in the identification of SEND within the school and in comparison, with national data
• Support the class/subject teacher in the further assessment of a child’s particular strengths and weaknesses, and advise on effective implementation of support
• Class/subject teachers have a responsibility to:
• Plan and review support for their pupils with SEND on a graduated basis, in collaboration with parents/carers, the SENCO and, where appropriate, the pupils themselves
• Set high expectations for every pupil and aim to teach them the full curriculum, whatever their prior attainment
• Plan lessons to address potential areas of difficulty to ensure that there are no barriers to every pupil achieving, and every pupil with SEND will be able to study the full national curriculum
• Be responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class
• Be aware of the needs, outcomes sought, and support provided to any pupils with SEND they are working with