School Offer

BASED ON THE SEN INFORMATION REPORT AND RESPONSE TO SEN CODE OF PRACTICE

This legislation has been in place from 1 September 2014 and requires the process of assessing the needs and making educational provision for children with special educational needs to change. This is based on the government’s statement that children who are disabled or who have special educational needs have disproportionately poor outcomes and are more likely to be out of education training and employment at age 18, with their needs being picked up too late.

To counter this, Statements of Special Needs are being replaced by Education and Health and Care Plans which are aimed to provide more continuity and unity of approach, being in place from the age of five until twenty five.

The changes can be summarised as follows:

• Children and young people from 0 – 25 years can pursue appeals in the Tribunal and young people over the statutory school age of 16 can appeal in their own right, rather than through their parents.
• New requests to local authorities for an education, health and care assessment will follow the new legislation, Children and Families Act 2014.
• Children and young people who already have a statement of special educational needs maintained by their local authority, will see a gradual transition into the new arrangements. 
• Until the new system is fully implemented, there will be different legal considerations by the tribunal depending on whether the appeal involves a statement or an EHC plan. To help with the process, different forms are being used and different versions of the guidance are available depending on the type of appeal.
• It is important that the parents who send their children to this school do not feel they have to battle for support, as so many have in the past, so that they can achieve their aspirations; we therefore work closely with them and the local authority to secure any needed changes, as the new code indicates.

OUR SCHOOL OFFER

This school offer is in response to the new SEN Code of practice to have effect from September 2014. It has reference to the main document: Special Educational  and Disability Code of Practice: 0 – 25 years and Support and Aspiration: a new approach: a new approach to special educational needs and disability: a consultation. The aim is to give children the best chance to succeed by spotting any problems early and bringing together the services they need into a single assessment and a single plan covering education health and care. We will especially focus on the:

• Graduated response – although this is mainly targeted at early years settings it is  appropriate for us to include an observation assessment and planning cycle with frequent reviewing actions in order to ensure that student make good progress.
• There will be a parent consultation three times yearly – empowering parents who need to have greater confidence in and greater control over the services that they use and receive.
• School offer – Our local offer consists of providing placements for children and young people who have been unable to flourish in other settings and who need a school which gives additional child-led activities and approaches to help them to succeed. It also provides therapeutic underpinning to address at root the kind of emotional, social and behavioural issues and problems arising from other  which have held back the student back in the past. These may be based on conditions including Attention Deficit Disorder, Autistic Spectrum conditions, Moderate learning Difficulties and Emotional, Social and Behavioural Difficulties. There is a very high staff to student ratio helping us to achieve success for the young person and his family.
• SEN information report – converting to EHC plans as instructed by the relevant placing authorities.

We recognise that this new approach to special educational needs provision will place students at the centre of planning and make teachers and managers more accountable for their progress.

1. Using parents/carers  knowledge about their child/ward: Pupils and their families will have more of a say: the new system aims to put each young person at the centre of discussions about the support offered based on the premise that parents know their children best. Parents will be asked to share their knowledge about how their child is developing and they will be asked to have involvement in the writing of policies connected with this advocacy. We will consult with parents to help us work out what is best for each pupil.
2.  Young People’s increased right and voice in their provision and decision making:

Young people also have new, increased rights and we aim to increase their involvement in the whole process of their education including their input into policies . When they are 16 they will be consulted more directly with their views taking precedence over those of their parents, if appropriate.

3. Education, Health and Care plans 5 – 25: Under the new rules we recognise that SEN statements and learning difficulty assessments will be replaced with EHC plans, education, health and care plans taking young people up to the age of 25. From September 2014 new assessments of SEN will follow the new rules and support will be provided through an EHC plan.
4. Focus on Outcomes: outcomes are central: this will support specific planning and give clear direction .
5. Use of Individual Education Plans (IEPs): We will use a single school-based strategy (IEPs) for children and young people who need extra specialist support where interventions and expected outcomes for these pupils are set out and progress is reviewed each term. We acknowledge that we are obliged to inform parents when pupils without an EHC plan receive special support
6. Staff accountability: Teachers have an increased accountability for the progress of pupils, even those supported by specialist staff.  As part of performance management, teachers in this school will be judged on how well they teach the pupils with a view to their needs being met based on their special needs with outcomes which match as closely as possible those which would be set for those without special needs.
7. Personal Budgets: Under the new system young people and parents of pupils with an EHC plan can choose to hold a personal budget to buy in the support needed. We will work with the placing authority to put this in place where appropriate.