Overview of the SEN Code of Practice

Jo Tweedale

 Chapter 1 Early identification & assessment  Chapter 2 Giving parents control  Chapter 3 Learning and achieving  Chapter 4 Preparing for adulthood  Chapter 5 Services working together for families

Children and Families Act 2014

     Education, Health and Care Plans to replace statements and to run from 0-25 LAs to produce a Local Offer providing information on services available locally Parents to be offered Personal Budget Parents to be offered Mediation before going to Tribunal School Action and School Action Plus to be reduced to a single category

SEN Code of Practice 0 – 25 years

1. Introduction 2. Summary 3. A family centred system 4. Working together across education, health and care 5. The Local Offer 6. Early years, schools, colleges and other education and training providers 7. Assessments and Education, health and Care Plans 8. Children and young people in specific circumstances 9. Resolving disputes

SEN Code Chapter 6.5

Compare …

 High quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN. Additional intervention and support cannot compensate for a lack of good quality teaching. The majority of pupils can make progress through such teaching.

Ofsted framework (paragraph 51)

 When judging achievement, inspectors have regard both for pupils’ progress and for their attainment. They take into account their starting points and age. Particular consideration is given to the progress that the lowest attaining pupils are making.

Children and Families Act: No Change

 A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she: (a) has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or (b) has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions .

Key Principles of the New SEN Code

Must have regard for:  The views, wishes and feelings of the child and his or her parent, or the young person;  The importance of the child and his or her parent, or the young person, participating as fully as possible in decisions relating to the exercise of the function concerned;  The importance of the child and his or her parent, or the young person, being provided with the information and support necessary to enable participation in those decisions;  The need to support the child and his or her parent, or the young person, in order to facilitate the development of the child or young person and to help him or her achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes.

Through policy, implementation and delivery we MUST demonstrate…

      How children, parents and young people are involved in decision making Accurate and early identification of needs The high quality of provision to meet needs Collaboration between education, health and social care services to provide support Greater choice and control for young people and parents over their support Successful preparation for adulthood, including independent living and employment

Policy Changes

 SEN Code now covers 0 – 25 years  Single school SEN category  Graduated approach rather than requirement for IEP  Transferring existing Statements into EHC Plans. There

will be a dual system from September 2014

 Local authority Local Offer: school offer  Joint commissioning roles between education, health and social care

New SEN Codes

 Communication and interaction  Cognition and learning  Social, mental and emotional health  Sensory and/or physical

Academies and Schools Must…

 Use their best endeavours to ensure that the necessary provision is made for any individual who has SEN  Co-operate generally with their local authority in developing the local offer  Publish accessibility plans. Plans and strategies must be reviewed and revised every three years.

Governing Bodies Must…

 Publish information about the arrangements for disabled children and update it annually.  Appoint a SENCo. The SENCo must be a qualified teacher and where they have not previously been a SENCo for twelve months, they must achieve the National Award for SEN Co-ordination within 3 years of appointment.

Academies and Schools Should…

•     Regularly and carefully review the quality of teaching for pupils at risk of underachievement Review teachers’ understanding of strategies to identify and support vulnerable pupils Ensure the quality of teaching for SEN pupils is a core part of school’s performance management arrangements Ensure the quality of teaching and support by non teaching staff is integral to continued professional development plans

May …

Involve specialists at any point to advise them on early identification of SEN and effective support

Every Academy and School MUST Demonstrate:

Every teacher is responsible and accountable for all pupils in their class, wherever or with whoever the pupils are working

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Through The Ofsted Lens

Lesson observations: …gather evidence about how well individual pupils and particular groups of pupils are learning and making progress, including those with special needs, those for whom the pupil premium provides support and the most able, and assess the extent to which pupils have grown in knowledge.

 Inspectors must gather evidence from a wide range of pupils, including disabled pupils, those with special educational needs, those for whom the pupil premium provides support, pupils who are receiving other forms of support and the most able.

 Data: Inspectors should use a range of data to judge a school’s performance … check the accuracy of the school’s assessment of pupils’ progress and attainment levels .. check the robustness and accuracy of the school’s self-evaluation, particularly on achievement, teaching, and behaviour and safety.

 Inspectors may wish to speak to key partners who work with the school. They should make every effort to telephone or meet with those institutions where pupils are taught off-site.

Through The Ofsted Lens

 Performance management and professional development: evidence of improvements in teaching over time and improvement in systems for tracking, … monitoring and analysing the impact of teaching on progress scrutiny of the school’s records on, and evaluation of, professional development.

 Inspectors have a statutory duty to have regard to the views of parents. … Inspectors will also take account of the results of any surveys carried out by the school or commissioned by the school. …. Where the response rate for Parent View is low, inspectors must take steps, during the inspection, to gather further evidence of the views of parents.

 The contribution of governors to the school is evaluated as part of the judgement on leadership and management.

Funding Reform: Understanding The Model And Recognising The Implications For The SENCo Role

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March 2012 School Funding Reform: Next Steps Towards A Fairer System

Some perverse financial incentives inherent in the previous funding system  Awkward divide at 16 and totally different funding systems for a young person in a school to a young person in FE  Increasingly diverse range of providers, including Academies and Free Schools, for which equitable funding arrangements are needed  The need to make sure that limited funding is distributed effectively and efficiently

March 2012 School Funding Reform: Next Steps Towards A Fairer System

April 2013: funding changes but no change to legal responsibilities of schools and local authorities for children with SEN April 2014: national mandatory financial thresholds

Legal definition Of An SEN Person

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she: (a) has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or; (b) has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

What is the provision available in your school for pupils who have an identified special educational need / disability?

    Communication and interaction Cognition and learning Social, mental and emotional health Sensory and/or physical

Element 1: Core Funding

    Every pupil in a school attracts an amount of money Used to make general provision for all pupils in the school including pupils with SEN Based on the total number of pupils in the school The amount varies. In 2013, all secondary schools, including academies, are getting at least £3,000 for each pupil and all primary schools are getting at least £2,000 for each pupil.

Element 2: Notional SEN budget

   Every school receives an additional amount of money to help make special educational provision to meet children’s SEN. Based on a formula agreed by School Forum. The formula can be weighted to favour FSM, socio economic indicators.

DfE has recommended that schools should use this notional SEN budget to pay for up to £6,000 worth of special educational provision to meet a child’s SEN.

Element 3: Top-Up Funding

 Where individual needs cost more than £6,000 worth of special educational provision: per-pupil amount  Based on the pupil’s assessed needs and the setting: requirement to evidence the costed provision in relation to identified needs, and how the outcomes to date demonstrate the need for increased funding via the top up.

 Relies on the quality and impact of stepped interventions

Aligning Funding / Revised SEN Code

 High quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN. ….. The majority of pupils can make progress through such teaching.  Where pupils continue to make inadequate progress, despite high quality teaching targeted at their areas of weakness, the class teacher, working with the SENCO, should assess whether the child

has a significant learning difficulty. Where this is the case, then there should be agreement about the SEN support that is required to support the child.

 For higher levels of need, schools should have arrangements in place to draw on more specialised assessments from external

agencies and professionals.

SEN: A Coherent School Response, Questions That Need Answers

     How clear are the funding implications for the leadership team, for governors?

What is the allocated budget 2014/2015?

What does achievement and attainment data indicate are the priority pupil groups?

How will school financially arrange the management of provision for different pupil groups e.g. SEN, FSM, A, G&T?

What are the local arrangements for top ups: process, evidence required, unit costs?

SEN Code / Funding /Ofsted issues:

 What does my school regard as non-negotiable characteristics of Wave 1 provision?

 How is the quality of Wave 1 monitored, what are the links with policies for teaching and learning, curriculum review?

 How rigorous are the entry criteria for accessing Wave 2?

 How are the objectives of Wave 2 agreed? How rigorous is the review of impact?

WHAT DOES THE NEW CODE MEAN IN PRACTICE?

Single School Category/ Graduated Provision

‘Once a potential special educational need is identified, four types of action should be taken to put effective support in place. These actions form part of a cycle through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised with the growing understanding of the pupils’ needs and of what supports the pupil in making good progress and securing good outcomes.’

Graduated SEN Provision

Assess Review Plan Do (Action)

How Does Graduated Provision Align With Existing Assessment Practice?

 Assess: comparison with peers, the views and experience of parents, pupil views and where appropriate advice from external specialist.

 Plan: parents must be notified, all staff be made aware (and be clear about their contribution), record on the school system

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How Does Graduated Provision Align With Teaching and Learning And Curriculum Policies?

Do (Action): The class or subject teacher should remain responsible for working with the child on a daily basis.  Review: analysis of pupil needs based on the impact of the support provided. The class or subject teacher, working with the SENCO, should revise the support in light of the pupil’s progress and development, deciding on any changes to support and revised outcomes in consultation with the parent and pupil.

Consider How Policy And Practice Need To Be Developed To Demonstrate These Key Elements:

      Early identification Graduated approach Record of support Clear expected outcomes: academic and developmental, stretching and relevant Progress tracking and systematic review Active engagement of SEN learner and their family

Your School’s Data Will Determine Performance Priorities:

‘..best endeavours to ensure that the necessary provision is made for any individual who has SEN’

Statistical Release: Analysis Of 2011/2012 Data

    Boys 2.5x more likely to have Statements in Primary, rises to 3x in Secondary Black pupils more likely, Chinese pupils least likely, to have special educational needs compared with other ethnic groups FSM 2x more likely to be identified with special educational needs LAC more likely to have special educational needs: 10x more likely to have a Statement, 3.5x non Statemented special educational needs