Special Educational Needs
Key Information
Special Educational Needs
Legislation and guidance
- Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 sets out schools’ responsibilities for pupils with SEN and disabilities
- The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2015 sets out schools’ responsibilities for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP), SEN Coordinators (SENCOs) and the SEN Information report
- It incorporates the SEN provisions of the SEN and Disability Act 2010 and with the government consultation on provision for children with SEN, support and aspiration which is a new approach to SEN and disability
Definitions:
SEN: A child has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A learning difficulty or disability is
- a significant greater difficulty with learning than the majority of others the same age, or
- A disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools
Special educational provision means educational provision that is in addition to or different from that made generally for others of the same age in a mainstream school in England.
(6.79 SEN Code of Practice )
Information for parents of children with special educational needs or disabilities, which are supported at our school.
We are committed to offering an inclusive curriculum to ensure the best possible progress for all of our pupils whatever their needs or abilities. We recognise that many children will have SEN and believe that children can be helped to overcome their difficulties if they are provided with a differentiated, broad and balanced curriculum and appropriate intervention.
At Iver Village Infant Academy we strive to support all children to enable them to achieve at school. In order to do this many steps are taken to support them through their learning journey. We provide quality teaching for all our children’ however, for some children there are occasions when further, additional support may be needed to help them achieve their potential.
We provide additional and/or different provision for a range of needs including:
- Communication and interaction, e.g. Autistic Spectrum Disorder, speech, language and communication difficulties
- Cognition and learning, for example, difficulties with learning to read and write, difficulties remembering new concepts, dyslexia, dyspraxia
- Social, emotional and mental health difficulties e.g. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Sensory and/or physical needs for example visual impairments, hearing impairments, processing difficulties, epilepsy
The Special Needs Co-ordinator is: Mrs Wright
The Inclusion Manager is Miss Sibley
Roles & Responsibilities of the Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENco).
The SENco is responsible for the operation of the Special Educational Needs Policy and co-ordination of specific provision made to support individual children with SEND. They will liaise with staff to monitor the child’s progress and plan further interventions where progress is slower than expected. We regularly have contact with a wide range of external agencies that are able to give more specialised advice. If you have any concerns regarding SEND matters do not hesitate to contact us iviasenco@theparkfederation.org
ELSAs (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants)
ELSAs are Emotional Literacy Support Assistants. They are a specialist teaching assistant with a wealth of experience of working with children. ELSAs are trained and regularly supervised by the Educational Psychologists.
An ELSA is a warm and caring person who wants to help your child feel happy in school and to reach their potential educationally.
Their aim is to build your child’s emotional development and help them cope with life’s challenges. The ELSA will help your child to find solutions to any problems they may have.
Please do contact our ELSA (Mrs Eversden) on the following email address if you have any concerns about your child. ELSAIVIA@theparkfederation.org
What is the Local Offer?
The Local Offer was first introduced in the Green Paper (March 2011) as a “local offer of all services available to support disabled children and children with SEN and their families. This easy to understand information will set out what is normally available in schools to help children with lower-level SEN as well as the options available to support families who need additional help to care for their child”.
What will it do?
The Bucks family information service will allow the local offer to provide parents/carers with information about how to access services in their area, and what they can expect from those services. With regard to education, it will let parents/carers and young people know how schools and colleges will support them, and what they can expect across the local setting.