Special Educational Needs and Disability policy

Date of issue: September 2024

Date of review: September 2025

Ratified by Academy Governing Council on:

Co-op Academy Oakwood is committed to safeguarding every student. We acknowledge that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and ensure all of our staff are trained to be vigilant and aware of the signs and indicators of abuse and understand and follow safe working practices.

The viewpoints and voice of students is of paramount importance to our Academy and we will always listen to their wishes, thoughts and feelings, as well as identifying and supporting their needs. We will work alongside students to develop trusting, consistent and professional relationships and show we care by advocating the early help processes where possible. We will identify any difficulties or concerns early in order to act preventatively. We will always provide support and advice for families and parents/carers, whilst acting in the best interests of the student at all times and doing what matters most. Safeguarding also includes ensuring we work in an open and honest way, enabling our students to feel safe by providing a secure learning environment, are equally protected regardless of any barriers they may face and are able to grow and develop in the same way as their peers.

Co-op Academy Oakwood safeguards students by:

• Maintaining a secure site and ensuring that all visitors to the Academy are recorded, monitored and clear about how to raise a safeguarding concern should one arise.
• Ensuring that safer recruitment practices are followed to prevent those who pose a risk to children gaining access to our students.
• Filtering and monitoring all internet traffic into the Academy to ensure that students cannot be exposed to harmful material and communication.
• Ensuring that all staff employed by the Academy have received Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance which is recorded in the Single Central Record
• Providing regular training and briefings for all staff in child protection and ensuring that all staff and visitors know who our designated safeguarding officers and designated senior lead are.
• Ensuring that admission and attendance procedures are robust to protect students, ensure that they are safe and prevent students from going missing from education.
• Empowering young people to identify risks both within the Academy and in their community; ensuring that they have the skills and confidence to help and protect themselves and others.
• Making sure that all students understand the importance of reporting concerns about themselves and peers and giving them the confidence to discuss sensitive issues.
• Providing pastoral and inclusion support to ensure that all students have access to guidance and advice, and when needed referrals for additional agency support to meet their needs.
• Sharing information when appropriate with other agencies and services to ensure that students, children and their families have support to meet their needs and prevent students from harm or further harm
• Taking immediate action and contacting the appropriate agencies when we believe that a student is in danger or is at risk of harm.

Co-op Academy Oakwood is committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of all of our pupils. We expect our staff, governors, wider professionals, volunteers and all other stakeholders to share this commitment. All of our policies are underpinned and linked to our safeguarding policy through this commitment.

Introduction

This policy links with the SEND Code of Practice by recognising that:

• SEND Code of Practice now covers 0-25 years
• Single school SEND categories Graduated approaches to provision
• Local Authorities will have a Local Offer and schools will contribute to that offer
• There will be Joint Commissioning roles between Education, Health and Social Care.

Co-op Academy Oakwood recognises that there is a significant overlap between children and young people with Special Educational Needs and those with Disabilities, and that many such children and young people are covered by both SEND Code of Practice and equality legislation such as the Equality Act 2010 towards individual disabled children and young people. We will make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of resources, aids and services for disabled children and those with medical conditions, to prevent them being put at a further and or substantial disadvantage.

Policy aims

• Set out how our school will support and make provision for pupils with special educational needs and those with disabilities
• Explain the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in providing for pupils with special educational needs and those with disabilities.

This Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy details how, at Co-op Academy Oakwood, we will do our best to ensure that the necessary provision is made for any pupil who has special educational needs and that those needs are known to all who are likely to work with them. We will ensure that teachers are able to identify and provide for those pupils with special educational needs, allowing them to join in all school activities together with pupils who do not have special educational needs.  

We believe that all children have an equal right to a broad and balanced curriculum which will enable them to ‘be the best they can be’. We use our best endeavours to secure special educational provision for pupils for whom this is required, that is ‘additional to and different from’ that provided within the differentiated curriculum to better respond to the four areas of need identified in the SEND Code of Practice (September 2014):

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, mental and emotional health (Poor behaviour is not to be identified as an area of need, the cause of it must be identified)
• Sensory/physical

Policy objectives

• To ensure equality of opportunity and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
• To continually monitor the progress of all children, to anticipate and identify needs as they arise and to provide support as early as possible.
• To provide access to a relevant curriculum which provides insight, creativity and experiences through planning and provision by Class Teachers, the SEND team and Senior Leadership Team.
• To make effective arrangements to support and care for our children so that their complex individual needs do not become a barrier to learning and progress.
• To enable children to move on from school with the skills they need to become successful in their lives after school, whichever pathway they follow.
• To involve families, and young people themselves wherever possible, in planning for any decisions that inform the child’s preparation for adulthood.

Co-op Academy Oakwood has a number of persons responsible for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities including the Executive Headteacher, Head of School, SENDco, associate SENDcos and an academy governing council member responsible for SEND.   They ensure that the SEND policy works within the guidelines and inclusion policies of the SEND Code of Practice (September 2014), the Local Education Authority and other policies currently within the school.

Provision for children with special educational needs is a matter for the whole school. The governing body, the Executive Headteacher, the Head of School, the SENDCo and all other members of staff, particularly class teachers and teaching assistants, have important day–to–day responsibilities. All teachers are teachers of children with special educational needs.

Legislation and guidance

This policy and information report is based on the statutory Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice and the following legislation:

• Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014, which sets out schools’ responsibilities for pupils with SEN and disabilities
• The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, which set out schools’ responsibilities for education, health and care (EHC) plans, SEN co-ordinators (SENCOs) and the SEN information report

What are special educational needs?

A child or young person has special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty, social, mental or emotional health difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. They have a learning difficulty or disability if they have:

• A significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
• A disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools

Special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for other children or young people of the same age by mainstream schools.

Definition of Special Educational Needs

For the purposes of its policy the schools adopt the legal definition provided by the 1996 Education Act:

“A child has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.”

The SEND Code of Practice states that a child has a learning difficulty if he or she;

1. Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of young people of the same age

2. Has a disability which either prevents or hinders the child from making use of educational facilities of a kind provided for young people of the same age in schools within the area.

3. Under the SEN Code of Practice 2014, the categories of need were redefined and are now:

• Cognition and Learning
• Communication and Interaction
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health
• Sensory and/or Physical

We believe that children may have special educational needs in some areas of their learning but that they can also be identified as gifted and talented in others.

Roles and responsibilities

• The SENDCo

The SENDCo for the school isClaire Spivey

They will:

• Work with the Executive Headteacher, Head of School and academy governing council to determine the strategic development of the Special Educational Needs and Disability  policy and provision in the school.
• Work with the associate SENDcos to deliver the Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy and provision in the academy.
• Have day-to-day responsibility for the operation of this Special Educational Needs and Disability policy and the co-ordination of specific provision made to support individual pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability, including those who have EHC plans.
• Provide professional guidance to colleagues and work with staff, families, and other agencies to ensure that pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability receive appropriate support and high quality teaching.
• Contribute and facilitate training of staff in regards to pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
• Advise on the graduated approach to providing Special Educational Needs and Disability support.
• Advise on the deployment of the school’s delegated budget and other resources to meet pupils’ needs effectively
• Liaise with potential next providers of education to ensure pupils and their families are informed about options and a smooth transition is planned
• Liaise with external agencies including the LEA’s support services, Educational Psychologists, health and social care as well as voluntary bodies.
• Work with the Executive Headteacher, Head of School and academy governing council to ensure that the school meets its responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 with regard to reasonable adjustments and access arrangements
• Oversee and monitor the records of all children with Special Educational Needs and Disability and ensure the school keeps the records of all pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability up to date  
• Liaises with the families of children with Special Educational Needs and Disability

• The Executive Headteacher and Head of School

The Executive Headteacher and Head of School will:

• Work with the SENDco and academy governing council to determine the strategic development of the Special Educational Needs and Disability policy and provision in the school
• Have overall responsibility for the provision and progress of learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

• Class teachers

Each class teacher is responsible for:

• The progress and development of every pupil in their class
• Working closely with any teaching assistants or specialist staff to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and how they can be linked to classroom teaching
• Working with the SENDco to review each pupil’s progress and development and decide on any changes to provision
• Ensuring they follow this Special Educational Needs and Disability policy
• Providing support for children who need help and support.
• Planning for children’s participation in learning, including physical and practical activities.
• Helping individuals manage their behaviour, emotions in order to take part in learning.

Identifying pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability and assessing their needs

The school’s system for monitoring, observing and assessing the progress of individual children will provide information about areas where a child is not progressing satisfactorily. Under these circumstances, teachers may need to consult the SENDco to consider if additional support is needed. This review might lead to the conclusion that the pupil requires help over and above that which is normally available within the particular class or subject.  The key test of the need for action is that current provision is not meeting the child’s needs.

We will assess each pupil’s current skills and levels of attainment on entry, which will build on previous assessments made at their previous setting, where appropriate. Class teachers will make regular assessments of progress for all pupils and identify those whose progress:

• 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

This may include progress in areas other than attainment, for example, social, emotional and mental health needs; communication and interaction and sensory and/or physical needs. Slow progress and low attainment will not automatically mean a pupil is recorded as having Special Educational Needs and Disability.

When deciding whether special educational provision is required, we will start with the desired outcomes, including the expected progress and attainment, and the views and the wishes of the pupil and their family. We will use this to determine the support that is needed and whether we can provide it by adapting our core offer, or whether something different or additional is needed.

When any concern is initially noticed it is the responsibility of the class teacher to take steps to address the issue. The family will be consulted and specific intervention put in place and monitored for a period of up to 6 weeks. All interventions are completed on an assess, plan, do and review cycle. If unsatisfactory progress is noted after this time the child may be added to the school Special Educational Needs and Disability register with parental permission. After discussion with the SENDCo/Key Stage leader, the class teacher or identified member of staff will then provide additional interventions that are additional to those provided as part of the school’s differentiated curriculum and the child will be given individual learning targets which will be applied within the classroom. These targets will be monitored by the class teacher and teaching assistants within the class and reviewed formally with the SENDCo, family and young people.

If an additional need is identified the school will adopt a graduated response. This may see us using specialist expertise if as a school we feel that our interventions are still not having an impact on the individual. The school will record the steps taken to meet the needs of individual children through the use of an Individual Profile and review sheet/provision map and the teacher and SENDCo will have responsibility for ensuring that records are kept and available when needed. If we refer a child for an Education Health and Care Plan, we will provide the LEA with a record of our work with the child to date.

Graduated response

Wave One

• Full-time education in classes, with additional help and support by class teacher/subject teachers through a differentiated curriculum. This includes Wave One interventions, where all learners benefit, at key moments, from additional small group or 1:1 interventions, within the classroom. These are either delivered by the class teacher or another adult such as an HLTA or Learning Support Assistant

Wave Two

• Additional, time-limited, small group intervention programmes which target learners according to need, to accelerate their rates of progress and secure their learning. This ‘catch up’ intervention must help children or young people to master their learning so that when they return to their mainstream classes, their progress is maintained. In addition, in class support is maintained as needed.

Wave Three

• Some children need a further level of support that cannot be delivered in the context of the whole class or small groups. Wave Three includes focused individual teaching, delivered by school based or external expertise. Such teaching supplements existing learning and does not replace it and must ensure that children or young people apply their learning to maintain the progress made when they return to class. This will be provided by a Learning Assistant in conjunction with the class teacher. Wave Three intervention might include other alternative specialised provision.

Through regular reviews between the SENDCo and class teachers pupils may be removed from the Special Educational Needs and Disability register if additional provision is no longer needed.  This will be discussed with the child and parent.

Consulting and involving pupils and families

Partnership with families plays a key role in enabling children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities to achieve their potential. Families hold key information and have knowledge and experience to contribute to the shared view of a child’s needs. All families of children with special educational needs and disabilities will be treated as partners given support to play an active and valued role in their child’s education.  They will be encouraged to contribute to the assessment of their needs, the review and transition process.  The school website contains details of our Core Offer for special educational needs; this includes the arrangements made for children in our school with special educational needs.  We will have an early discussion with the pupil and their family when identifying whether they need special educational provision. These conversations will make sure that:

• Everyone develops a good understanding of the pupil’s areas of strength and difficulty
• We take into account the concern of the family
• Everyone understands the agreed outcomes sought for the child
• Everyone is clear on what the next steps are

Notes of these early discussions will be added to the pupil’s record and given to their parents.

We will formally notify families when it is decided that a pupil will receive Special Educational Needs and Disability support.

At all stages of the special needs process, the school keeps parents fully informed and involved.  In addition to the normal parents evening discussions three times a year, parents of a child with a Special Educational Needs and Disability will also be involved in reviewing and discussing their individual targets, the support they receive and their future needs.  Families of children with an Education and Health and Care Plan will also be invited to regular reviews to discuss their progress.  We request parental permission for referrals to other agencies and inform them of any outside intervention, and share the results by providing clear information relating to the education of their child and any relevant reports.

Families can arrange to discuss their child’s progress at any time with the class teacher and can also arrange to see the SENDCo by contacting school to discuss their child’s Special Educational Needs and Disability or if they are concerned that their child may have a difficulty or special need.

Assessing and reviewing pupils' progress towards outcomes

We will follow the graduated approach and the four-part cycle of assess, plan, do, review.  

The class or subject teacher will work with the SENCO to carry out a clear analysis of the pupil’s needs. This will draw on:

• The teacher’s assessment and experience of the pupil
• Their previous progress and attainment and behaviour
• Other teachers’ assessments, where relevant
• The individual’s development in comparison to their peers and national data
• The views and experience of parents
• The pupil’s own views
• Advice from external support services, if relevant

The assessment will be reviewed regularly.

All teachers and support staff who work with the pupil will be made aware of their needs, the outcomes sought, the support provided, and any teaching strategies or approaches that are required. We will regularly review the effectiveness of the support and interventions and their impact on the pupil’s progress.

We will keep records of the child’s support plans and other relevant files on Arbor and Google Drive. Each child has a profile page where all records are kept including meeting notes and any reports and advice from external agencies involved with the child.

Our approach to teaching pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the pupils in their class.

High quality teaching is our first step in responding to pupils who have Special Educational Needs and Disability. This will be differentiated for individual pupils.

We will also provide the following interventions:

• Talkboost
• RWI interventions
• Shine interventions
• PIXL
• Active Literacy
• Bell Foundation EAL intervention
• Chatterbug
• Lexia
• Sensorty Circuits
• SEMH interventions
• Play and talk therapy

Other strategies that staff may implement are:

• different learning materials or specialist equipment
• some group or individual support, which may involve small groups or individuals
• extra adult time to devise/administer the nature of the planned intervention and also to monitor its effectiveness
• working with children on a daily basis and ensuring delivery of any individualised programme in the classroom.

Expertise and training of staff

The SENDCo alongside the Senior Leadership Team will help to facilitate staff development and training to introduce more effective strategies for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

The SENDCo in school is working towards the NPQSEN qualification. The SENDCo has time dedicated to their role as SENDCo. In this time, the SENDCo manages SEND provision within the school.

In school, there is a team of Learning Support Assistants including HLTAs (higher level teaching assistants) who have been trained in a range of interventions.

Working with other agencies

Specialist staff are invited into school from the LEA’s support services, Educational Psychologists, health and social care as well as voluntary bodies to work with both staff and children to implement interventions to improve learning.

The school makes good use of outside agencies, seeking support and advice to maintain the high standard of provision. Links and partnerships are developed with Leeds City Council and other outside agencies to provide support and advice to enable the school to meet pupil needs effectively.

The agencies/specialists will meet with staff and parents and use the child’s records in order to establish which strategies have already been employed and which targets have previously been set.  The external specialist may act in an advisory capacity, or provide additional specialist assessment or be involved in teaching the child directly. The child’s individual profile will set out strategies for supporting the child’s progress. These will be implemented, at least in part, in the normal classroom setting. The delivery of the interventions recorded in the profile continues to be the responsibility of the class teacher.

The Co-op Academies Trust has a team of people working to support families to ensure children and families are referred to outside agencies if additional support is needed around difficulties with social, emotional and behavioural development.

Securing equipment and facilities

The needs of the children with Special Educational Needs and Disability vary and ensuring that they have the correct equipment and resources to enable them to learn is key. These resources will be sought to enable all children to make progress. The SENDCo and Senior Leadership Team will endeavour to ensure that school budgets are used responsibly and forethought to support all children. Additional support for Special Educational Needs and Disability pupils will be allocated through the use of available funding (The Pupil Premium, Funding for Inclusion (FFI) and whole school SEN budget).

The SENDCo with the Headteacher works closely with the Senior Leadership Team to identify and organise support for groups and individual children who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and are responsible for the resourcing for special needs provision within the school, including the provision for children with an Education Health and Care plan.

The SENDCo also meets regularly with each teacher to discuss the needs of all Special Educational Needs and Disability children in their class and to review progress and provision.  From these meetings resources may be identified, including staffing in order to meet the needs of the children.

Facilities for pupils with physical disabilities

The school has facilities suitable for wheelchair access.  Additional resources are allocated in accordance with needs. Please refer to the Accessibility plan.

Pupils with Medical needs

The school ensures pupils’ medical needs can be met and seeks the appropriate support and training required to support individual pupils. The academy has a Supporting pupils with Medical Needs Policy, Medicines Policy and Intimate Care Policy. All children with medical needs will be placed on the medical needs register.

School Request for Education Health and Care Plans

A request for an Education Health and Care Plan will be made by the school to the LEA if the child has demonstrated significant cause for concern and we feel that they require more specialist help now or in the future.   The school will complete a ECH1 making a request for an assessment for a plan which must include all relevant evidence. This will include:

• previous individual education plans and targets for the pupil
• records of regular reviews and their outcomes
• records of the child’s health and medical history where appropriate
• National Curriculum attainment information for English and maths
• education and other assessments, for example from a specialist agency, or educational psychologist
• views of the parents.

The family of any child who is referred for an Education Health and Care Plan will be kept fully informed of the progress of the referral. Children with an Education Health and Care Plan will be formally reviewed annually.  When this coincides with transfer to high school, the SENDCo from the high school will be informed of the outcome of the review.

Parents can request an Education Health and Care Plan by completing an EHC 2

Individual SEN Profiles

Strategies employed to enable the child to progress will be recorded within an Individual SEND profile which will include information about:

• the child’s history – a brief pen portrait and areas of need
• current data for the child
• the short term targets set for the child and evaluations of how they are progressing
• the teaching strategies to be used
• the provision/interventions to be put in place.

Evaluating the effectiveness of Special Educational Needs and Disability provision

We evaluate the effectiveness of provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities by:

• Reviewing pupils’ individual progress towards their goals each term
• Reviewing the impact of interventions through an assess, plan, do, review cycle
• Using pupil questionnaires
• Monitoring by the SENDco
• Using provision maps to measure progress
• Holding annual reviews for pupils with EHC plans
• Analysis of data
• Regular meetings with the pastoral team
• Performance management of staff
• Meetings between the SENDCo and SEND governor

Enabling pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities to engage in activities available to those in the school who do not have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

• All of our extra-curricular activities and school visits are available to all our pupils, including our before-and after-school clubs.
• All pupils are encouraged to go on our residential trips
• All pupils are encouraged to take part in every part of school life including: sports day/school plays/special workshops
• No pupil is ever excluded from taking part in these activities because of their Special Educational Needs and Disability
• The school has facilities suitable for wheelchair access.  
• Additional resources are allocated in accordance with needs.

For more information, please refer to the Accessibility plan.

Support for improving emotional and social development

All the staff in school take a shared responsibility for children’s overall well-being.  In addition to this, the school has a team of staff who work closely with the SENDco to support children with their social, emotional and behavioural development. This includes focussed group and individual work with children who have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and may involve regular mentoring sessions and the development with the class teachers of individual targets and systems to support identified children.  

A therapeutic support worker is employed by the Academy to support those children who require regular, bespoke support.

All children, including those with SEND, are encouraged to be part of the school community including places on the school council.

We have a zero tolerance approach to bullying.

Complaints about Special Educational Needs and Disability provision

Complaints about Special Educational Needs and Disability provision in our school should be made to the SENDco in the first instance. They will then be referred to the school’s complaints policy.

The parents of pupils with disabilities have the right to make disability discrimination claims to the first-tier SEND tribunal if they believe that our school has discriminated against their children. They can make a claim about alleged discrimination regarding:

• Exclusions
• Provision of education and associated services
• Making reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services

If a complaint is unable to be resolved parents should refer to the school’s complaints policy.

Who to contact in regards to Special Educational Needs and Disability in school

All members of staff have a shared responsibility for the children within our school. Parents should work closely with the class teacher and Learning Support Assistants within their child’s class. These adults are available to speak to on a daily basis. More formal meetings can be arranged by contacting the school office via oakw-headteacher@coopacademies.co.uk or 0113 240 2526.

To contact our SENDCo Claire Spivey please contact the school office via oakw-headteacher@coopacademies.co.uk or 0113 240 2526.

Additional services are available to parents from other agencies. The SENDCo, pastoral team and school office are able to sign post parents to the relevant services in order to support pupils with SEND.

Contact details for raising concerns

Any concerns about a child can be directed to a number of people in school.

• Where the concern is classroom based this can be addressed by the class teacher or phase leader.
• If the concern is in regards to SEND this can be addressed by the SENDCo.
• If the concern is in regards to wellbeing this can be addressed by the pastoral team.
• If the concern is in regards to safeguarding this needs to be directed to one of the Designated Safeguarding leads (Hayley Duffy, Rimah Aasim, Louise Walsh, Karen Jones, Jane Dodds or Claire Spivey). Please refer to the Safeguarding Policy.

The local authority local offer

The Local Authority local offer can be found here:

https://leedslocaloffer.org.uk/#!/directory