Inclusion
The Pioneer Academy Trust Mantra confirms the commitment to ‘Putting children first’ and ‘enabling all children to make excellent progress’. This is translated into practice at Belvedere Junior School, The Pioneer Academy. Provision for children with special educational needs is good. OfSTED reported that: ‘those with special educational needs and /or disabilities make good progress, through effective additional support that targets the development of vocabulary. High expectations for all pupils mean that those who are behind because they have language difficulties are also well supported and so begin to close the gap with their peers’.
The role of the SENCO in co-ordinating the provision for pupils with special needs is clearly set out and includes:
- Overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy
- Co-ordinating provision for children with special educational needs
- Liaising and advising fellow Teachers
- Managing and supporting learning support assistants
- Overseeing the records of all children with special educational needs
- Liaising with parents of children with special educational needs
- Contributing to the professional development and in-service training of all staff
- Liaising with external agencies including the LEA’s support and educational psychology services, health and social services, and voluntary bodies
The SENCO will be given time for:
- Planning and organisation
- Maintaining records
- Observing and assessing pupils
- Monitoring provision in individual classrooms
- Training Learning Support Assistants
- Collaborating with curriculum co-ordinators
The Assistannt Headteacher holds the statutory responsibility for Special Educational Needs, within her wider role as Inclusion Manager. This is overseen by the Head Teacher. The seniority of the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator emphasises the high priority we give to children with additional needs at Belvedere. As a member of the senior leadership team, she reports to the Executive Headteacher of The Pioneer Academy Trust on the progress and outcomes for children with additional needs. This is in turn reported to the local Governing Body and to The Pioneer Academy Trust Board.
The Policy sets out clear roles and responsibilities for all partners in the process, including; children, their parents and carers and external agencies. It gives clarity to the stages of needs assessment, from early identification through to the issuing of a Statement of SEN. The policy is robust in setting the expectation that children’s needs will be met and that the support required for children who make good progress will be reduced in direct correlation to progress, as appropriate.
In this context, the Belvedere policy is strong on the evaluation of success, both at the level of the individual, data analysis for the cohort and in the impact of the policy across the school.
In order to evaluate the success of the Special Educational Needs Policy, the school will consider the effectiveness of the practices in relation to the identification and support of children with identified needs.
We will evaluate success and impact by:
- Reviewing the Register of children with Special Educational Needs
- Monitoring classroom practice by the Regional Director, Head Teacher, SENCO, Senior Leadership Team and the SEN Governor
- Analysis of pupils’ tracking data and test results
- Measuring parent/carer confidence through ensuring that their opinions are being sought and that they are involved and valued in the provision made for their child
- School self- evaluation compared with local and national performance trends
- The school development plan and SEN action plan
The governors are held to account by The Pioneer Academy Trust Board. In their annual report to parents, governors must comment on the success of the Special Needs Policy and report any changes.
Provision for Gifted and Talented
The identification and provision for children who are gifted and talented will be developed to ensure children make good or better progress and have opportunities to develop their talents. The policy document for children with special educational needs encompasses those children who have an additional learning need to take them to a higher level of learning and achievement. This will be led and developed further by the Deputy Headteacher, reporting to the Executive Headteacher of The Trust.
This will be developed further across the curriculum through the introduction of specialists in key areas of the Foundation curriculum, such as Art, Modern Foreign Languages and Physical Education. These opportunities will also run in parallel with the out of school activities and enrichment programme, which will enable children to extend their learning and master new skills. The IPC Units for pupils aged 9 to 12 allow that flexibility for more able children to extend their learning.
In the core curriculum, the tracking system works as a barometer to identify children who are making accelerated progress and require work at a higher National Curriculum level to maximise attainment. Arrangements for gifted and talented pupils will be reviewed as the identification and analysis of need is progressed. This will then also feed into the independent learning tasks and homework, building on the experience of Stewart Fleming and looking for further opportunities in the Belvedere community.
Provision for English as an Additional Language
The provision for children with English as an additional language is incorporated into the policy for children with additional needs. In Belvedere it is crucial to analyse data and identify underachievement and attendance issues. This is illustrated through the meticulous action planning and review of the school development plan.
All policies advise staff on the arrangements and specialist resources for supporting children at the early stages of learning English. The rigorous lesson observation schedule pays particular attention to children with English as an additional language, to support staff in improving the quality of teaching. The school uses the borough’s specialist resources for assessing the base line achievement of new arrivals.
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