RALPH BUTTERFIELD PRIMARY
SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY
SEN POLICY
This SEN policy should be read in conjunction with the schools accessibility plan, admissions
policy, equal opportunity policy, complaints policy and D.E.S as they are all directly linked.
A School Arrangements
The school aims to provide a caring and supportive environment in which all pupils are
valued equally and are given opportunity to develop to their full potential. The vast majority
of pupils will Learn and progress within the general teaching arrangements in the school.
Those who have difficulty in so doing may have special educational needs.
1. Definition and Aims
Definition of Special Educational Needs (The Education Act 1996)
A pupil has a Learning difficulty if he or she:
a) has a significantly greater difficulty in Learning than the majority of pupils of the same
age.
b) has a disability which either prevents or hinders the child from making use of education
facilities of a kind provided for pupils of the same age in schools within the area or the
local education authority
c) is under five and falls within the definition at a) or b) above or would do if special
educational provision was not made for the pupil
d) for children of two or over, education provision which is additional to or otherwise
different from, the education provision made generally for children of age in schools
maintained by the LA, other than special schools in the area.
A pupil must not be regarded as having a Learning difficulty solely because the language or
form of language of the home is different from the language in which he or she is or will be
taught.
Aims
1. To ensure the early identification of a child’s special educational need.
2. To give all pupils access to the whole school curriculum so they have a broad and balanced
education.
3. To ensure that all children with special needs achieve their potential.
4. To integrate children with special needs into mainstream classes as far as possible.
Objectives
1. To provide within the school a graduated response that recognises there is a continuum of
special educational need and brings increasing specialist expertise to bear on the
difficulties the child may be experiencing.
2. To maintain a system of record keeping that will facilitate, through continuous
monitoring, the identification and diagnosis leading towards the development of
individualised/grouped Learning programmes.
3. To foster and maintain links with all outside agencies and educational support services.
4. To initiate and facilitate staff development programmes concerned with special
educational needs.
5. To foster and maintain effective links with secondary and special schools to ensure
identification and successful transfer of pupils with special educational needs.
6. To ensure that parents are involved as partners in the education of their children.
7. To inform and seek the views of the child on their needs and provision.
2. Roles and responsibilities
i. The School’s Governing Body
There is a named Governor with responsibility for SEN.
The responsibility for arrangements to identify, assess and meet the special educational needs
of the pupils rests with the governors.
The Governing Body must:
 do their best to secure that the necessary provision is made for any pupil who has special
educational needs.
 secure that, where the headteacher or the appropriate governor has been informed by the
LA that a pupil has special educational needs, those needs are made known to all who are
likely to teach him or her.
 secure that teachers in the school are aware of the importance of identifying, and
providing for, those pupils who have special educational needs.
 draw up and report annually to parents on their policy for pupils with special educational
needs. The Governing Body should report on policy implementation and have this on our
website
 ensure that the pupil joins in the activities of the school together with pupils who do not
have special educational needs, so far as that is reasonably practical and compatible with
the pupil receiving the necessary special educational provision, the efficient education of
other children in the school and the efficient use of resources.
 when necessary or desirable in order to co-ordinate provision for pupils with special
educational needs, consult the LA and the governing bodies of other schools.
 have regard to the code of practice when carrying out its duties toward all pupils with
SEN.
 ensure that parents are notified of a decision by the school that SEN provision is being
made for their child.
 Governors are involved in developing and monitoring the policy. They are kept up to date
and knowledgeable about the provision, deployment of funding, equipment and personnel
resources.
 SEN provision is an integral part of the School Development Plan.
ii. The Headteacher
The headteacher is the ‘named person’ for the school whose role is to give advice,
information and support to the parents of a child with a statement.
The headteacher has responsibility for the day to day management of all aspects of the
school’s work, including provision for children with SEN. The headteacher should keep the
governing body fully informed and also work closely with the schools SEN coordinator.
ii The Co-ordinator for Special Educational Needs
The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is responsible for:
 the day-to-day operation of the school’s special educational needs policy.
 liaising with and advising colleagues
 co-ordinating provision for children with special educational needs.
 ensuring that appropriate IEPs are in place, that relevant background information about
children with SEN is collected, recorded and updated
 ensuring there is liaison between parents and other professionals in respect of children
with SEN
 liaising with external agencies including educational psychologists, medical and social
services and voluntary bodies.
 contributing to the in-service training of staff.
 liaise with school staff to assist in transfer of children between settings e.g. preschool to
primary, across different key stages, primary to secondary.
 Liaise with SLT to organise the deployment of teaching assistants to support individual
progress and advise and support in their management and training.
 tracking the progress of children with SEN
iv School
All staff are responsible for identifying pupils with special educational needs. All teachers
are teachers of children with special educational needs. Teaching such children is a whole
school responsibility. All staff are responsible for ensuring that children with SEN are
supported and make the progress they are capable of.
3. Coordinating and managing Provision
 Parents will be kept informed of provision given
 The SENCO:
a)
keeps Statements, IEPS up to date
b) Organises, convenes, chairs and writes up annual and interim reviews
c) Contacts support services, liaises with staff and organises meetings
d) Planning meetings
e) tracks progress of all SEN register children and is aware of the progress made
and where issues are with School
action, School Action Plus, statemented and looked after children
f)
Liaises with looked after and SEN governors
g) In conjunction with SLT plans TA support for each half term and measures
impact of those interventions
h) Has working knowledge of effective intervention programmes and new
options; recommends which interventions would make most impact

SEN Provision is seen as an integral part of the SDP.
4. Admission arrangements
The school follows the York LA admissions procedures. Please refer to our admissions
policy.
Admission Arrangements for Pupils with SEN, but without Statement
The Governing Body has agreed with the LA admissions criteria which do not discriminate
against pupils with special educational needs, and its admission’s policy has due regard for
the guidance in the Code of Practice. (DfEs 581/2001 November 2001).
Admission Arrangements for Pupils with a Statement
Ralph Butterfield strives to be fully inclusive school. It acknowledges the range of issues to
be taken into account of in the process of development. All pupils are welcome, including
those with special educational needs, in accordance with the LA admissions policy.
According to the Education Act 1996 (Section 316), if a parent wishes to have their child
with a statement educated in mainstream, the LA must provide a place unless this is
incompatible with the efficient education of other children and there are no reasonable steps
to be taken to prevent the incompatibility.
5. Specialisms:



The school has experience in supporting children with a variety of needs
Highly trained TAs – ELSA training, Accelerede/write; Read, write inc
Main entrance of the school is now fully DDA compliant
B Identification,Assessment and Provision
1. Allocation of Resources
Resources are allocated for SEN under several different categories.
Human resources
 The school always provides TA to cover the hours of a statemented child. The Head
and F&S committee of governors decide whether it is appropriate for the benefit of all
the pupils (and whether it is financially viable) to employ TAs for more hours than the
statement.
 TAs are employed to work with SEN pupils at school action and school action plus.
They work with these pupils either individually or with a group of children, both in
and outside of the classroom. The work takes the form of curriculum intervention
programmes, social / emotional support or work to support the everyday class work
for the pupil.
 Cover for staff to attend annual and interim reviews, as well as some discussion
meetings is provided
 The SENCO has one afternoon’s SENCO time per week
Central support services
 The SENCO and Head hold termly planning meeting with the educational
psychologist to identify pupils in need of support. Action is then taken to support and
review the progress of those children
 The SENCO and Head liaise with other central support services (e.g. speech therapy;
behaviour support, mental health) as and when necessary according to the needs of the
pupils in our school.
Learning resources:

The school purchases equipment to support SEN through the school, on the
recommendation of the SENCO or other TAs. Such resourcing comes from the
‘Capitation’ budget heading and although a nominal amount is put into a SEN budget
heading, the emphasis is on a needs-driven system, rather than limiting expenditure to
a specific amount. Examples of recent resources purchased are: LUCID dyslexia
screening programme
Physical resources:
 The school has used some of its capital budget to part fund the physical environment
over recent years. Two disabled toilet have been part funded to facilitate the needs of
a statemented child in school and an accessible main entrance
Every year the Governors spend in excess of the Section 52 budget allocation on SEN.
2. Identification, assessment and review
The 2001 SEN Code of practice recognises that children’s needs and requirements fall
into four broad areas;
Cognition and Learning Needs
Behaviour, Emotional and Social Development Needs
Communication and Interaction Needs
Sensory and or Physical Needs
We are committed to the early identification and intervention of children who may have
SEN. The school’s system for observing and assessing the progress of individuals along
with information from parents and other agencies provides information about the areas
where a child is not progressing. The graduated response, adopted in the school,
recognises that there is a continuum of needs. This is recommended in the SEN Code of
Practice and is in line with the LA policy.
Early Identification at the Foundation Stage
Currently the school assesses children’s levels of attainment on entry through the baseline
assessment. The progress of children scoring 1 or 2 in any area will be closely monitored
through the stepping stones of the foundation curriculum. If the child already has an
identified special educational need, this information may be transferred through Early Years
Action and Early Years Action Plus from the Early Years setting and the SENCO and the
child’s class teacher will use this information to:
 provide starting points for the development of an appropriate curriculum
 identify and focus attention on action to support the child within class
 use the assessment process to identify any Learning difficulties
 ensure ongoing observation and assessment provide regular feedback about the child’s
achievements and experiences to form the basis for planning the next steps of the
child’s Learning
 involve parents where possible in joint Learning at home.
Monitoring Children’s progress
When any child’s progress is not seen to be satisfactory their needs may be met through
appropriate differentiation or short-term support. This may take the form of wave 2
provision. Adequate progress may be considered if it:
 closes the attainment gap between the child and their peers






prevents the attainment gap growing wider
is similar to that of peers starting from the same attainment baseline, but less than that
of the majority of peers
matches or betters the child’s previous rate of progress
ensures access to the full curriculum
demonstrates an improvement in self-help, social or personal skills
demonstrates improvements in the child’s behaviour.
There is no need for pupils to be registered or identified as having special educational needs
unless the school is taking additional or different action.
i) School Action
When a class teacher, SLT or the SENCO identifies a child with special educational needs,
the class teacher will provide interventions that are additional to those provided as part of the
school’s usual differentiated curriculum. The triggers for intervention through School Action
will be concern, underpinned by evidence, about a child who despite receiving differentiated
Learning opportunities makes
 little or no progress when teaching approaches are targeted particularly in a child’s
identified area of weakness
 shows signs of difficulty in developing literacy or mathematical skills which result in
poor attainment in some curriculum areas (see appendix for LA progress matrix)
 presents persistent emotional or behavioural difficulties which are not improved by
the school’s behaviour management techniques
 has sensory or physical problems, and continues to make little or no progress despite
the provision of specialist equipment
 has communication and/or interaction difficulties, and continues to make little or no
progress despite the provision of a differentiated curriculum.
At School Action the SENCO may provide further assessment of the child and in consultation
with pupils, parents, carers and the SENCO the teacher will write an Individual Education
Plan or individual behaviour plan (IEP/IBP). This may involve consultation and advice from
external agencies. The child’s class teacher will remain responsible for working with the
child on a daily basis and for planning and delivering an individualised programme.
The IEP/IBP will set targets for the pupil and will detail:
 the short-term targets set for the child
 success criteria
 the teaching/management strategies to be used
 the provision to be put in place
 when the plan is to be reviewed
 outcomes (to be recorded when the IEP/IBP is reviewed).
The IEP/IBP will only record that which is additional to, or different from, the differentiated
curriculum and will focus on three or four individual targets that match the child’s needs and
have been discussed with the child and the parents. The IEP/IBP will be reviewed at least
every 6 months or more often in the foundation stage, usually at parents’ evenings and
parent’s views on their child’s progress will be sought. Wherever possible, the child will
also take part in the review process.
Intervention
This may take the form of a wave 3 intervention which may involve:
 the use of different Learning materials or specialist equipment
 some group or individual support
 staff development and training to introduce more effective strategies
 access to LA support services for advice on strategies or equipment
 the use of behavioural management techniques.
ii) School Action Plus
When the school has evidence that a pupil is making insufficient progress despite significant
support and intervention at School Action, we may seek further advice and support from
outside professionals. Pupils and parents will be fully involved and kept informed about the
involvement of external agencies and proposed interventions.
The triggers for School Action Plus will be that, despite receiving individualised support
under School Action, the child:
 continues to make little or no progress in specific areas over a long period
 continues working at National Curriculum levels substantially below that expected of
children of a similar age
 continues to have difficulty in developing literacy and mathematical skills ( see
appendix for LA progress matrix)
 has emotional or behavioural difficulties which substantially and regularly interfere
with the child’s own Learning or that of the class group, despite having an
individualised behaviour management programme
 has sensory or physical needs, and requires additional specialist equipment or regular
advice or visits by a specialist service
 has ongoing communication or interaction difficulties that impede the development of
social relationships and cause substantial barriers to Learning.
The range of support available at School Action Plus will be similar to that made for School
Action but will typically be more intensive, individualised and sustained. In addition, advice
from outside professionals will be incorporated into the IEP/IBP and these professionals will
be invited to contribute to the monitoring and review of progress. The delivery of the
interventions recorded in the IEP/IBP continues to be the responsibility of the class teacher.
iii) Statutory Assessment of Special Educational Needs
Statutory assessment involves consideration by the LA, working co-operatively with parents,
the child’s school and, as appropriate other agencies, as to whether a statutory assessment of
the child’s special educational needs is necessary. A child will be brought to the LA’s
attention as possibly requiring an assessment through a request by school, from a parent or
another agency.
The LA may decide that the degree of the pupil’s Learning difficulty and the nature of the
provision necessary to meet the child’s special educational needs is such as to require the LA
to determine the child’s educational provision through a statement.
All children with a statement of special educational need will have short-term targets set
for them that have been established after consultation with parents, child and include targets
identified in the statement of educational need. These targets will be set out in an IEP/IBP
and be implemented, at least as far as possible, in the normal classroom setting. The delivery
of the interventions recorded in the IEP/IBP will continue to be the responsibility of the class
teacher.
Annual review of a statement of special educational needs
All statements will be reviewed annually with the parents, the pupil, the LA, the school and
professionals involved invited to consider whether any amendments to the statement need to
be made.
Records
Additional to on-going records in school, which every pupil has, pupils with special
educational needs also have records monitored and maintained by the SENCO.
These take the form of the SEN register, PLASC, IEP/IBP’s, review notes, reports
from outside agencies and referral forms. Copies of the children’s IEP/IBP’s are kept
in Parent Consultation folders and are available for parents to view. If the school,
with the parent’s agreement, refer a pupil for School Action Plus or statutory
assessment, records of the pupil’s progress are made available to outside agencies
and the LA. Children on track to achieve less than level 1 at end of key stage 2 will
have their progress tracked using p scales.
3.Curriculum access and inclusion
Please also refer to the schools accessibility plan.
 All children are entitled to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum, including the
National Curriculum. Progress is continually monitored using a range of assessments
including: observations/baseline assessment/level descriptions in the National
Curriculum at the end of the key stage/objectives of the National Literacy strategy and
National Numeracy strategy/ standardised tests
 All information gained is used to support planning in order to aid progress.
 We strive to create a sense of community and belonging for all our pupils. We have an
inclusive ethos with high expectations and suitable targets, a broad and balanced
curriculum for all children and systems for early identification of barriers to Learning
and participation.
4.Evaluation procedures
The success of the school’s SEN Policy and Provision is evaluated through:
 The SENCO and subject co-ordinators and SLT monitor classroom practice/analyse
pupil tracking data and test results/identify value added data for pupils with SEN.
 The management group/governing body, will on an annual basis, consider and report on
the effectiveness of the work and if any amendments to the SEN Policy need to be made.
 The broad principles and objectives set out in the policy lay the foundation for the
criteria by which we evaluate the success of our policy.
 We continually review and report on the effectiveness of the policy. This includes the
numbers of children identified and their progress, the levels of parental/ carer
involvement, materials and equipment used, resource allocation, liaison with other



educational establishments, details of the staff’s continual professional development and
our priorities for the year.
SEN is part of our school self-evaluation arrangements and is a priority in the School
Development Plan.
The LA SEN moderation process
Value added data for pupils on the SEN register
5. .Complaints Procedure
Should there be a complaint parents should adopt the following procedure:
We have arrangements made by the governing body relating to the treatment of parents
concerning the SEN provision made in school or any other issue. Please refer to Ralph
Butterfield Governors’’ complaints policy.
Under the SEN and Disability Act 2002 parents may request independent disagreement
resolution. The school will make further information about this process available on request.
D Partnership within and beyond school
1. Staff Development and Appraisal
 The SENCO is enabled to attend the termly SENCO day courses
 The SENCO has a list of the courses offered by the LA and other agencies each term
and decide which would be useful for staff to attend according to needs of current and
future pupils
 Where it would be useful whole staff training is provided
 TAs involved specifically with SEN pupils attend relevant training e.g. recently
Read/write inc fresh start training
 All staff, including those TAs responsible for SEN pupils, are part of the performance
management cycle
 The policies of the school are available to all staff, including new staff and student
teachers
2. Links with other agencies, Organisations and Support Services
 Advice and support from outside agencies is available if requested by the school.
 Multi-agency liaison meetings, are held termly at school to ensure effective
collaboration in identifying and making provision for pupils with special
educational needs
 The various support services available are listed as appendix.
 We have links with various voluntary agencies (see appendix) that the school can
contact and is available as a support for parents, if applicable.

We believe that effective action on behalf of children with SEN depends upon
close co-operation between the school and other professionals, e.g. the LA, SEN
support services, health services, social services, etc.
3. Partnership with parents
 Parents/carers are notified early if we have any concerns and there is always a
willingness to listen to issues brought forward for discussion.






We share information with parents/carers in informal conversations and individual
meetings.
Parents/carers are invited to review meetings to discuss progress and to be involved
in setting targets with appropriate intervention strategies to help the child both in
school and at home.
Parents/carers are encouraged to use the Parent Partnership Service (see appendix)
for support and advice or to bring an appropriate relative/friend to meetings if they
wish to do so.
We promote a culture of co-operation between parents, schools, LAs and others.
This is important in enabling anyone with SEN to achieve their full potential.
We respect the differing perspectives of all parties concerned with children with
SEN and seek constructive ways of reconciling different viewpoints.
We respect the differing needs of parents/carers such as a disability or
communication and linguistic barriers.
4. The Voice of the child
 Children, who are capable of forming views, have a right to receive and make known
information, to express an opinion, and to have that opinion taken into account in any
matters affecting them. The views of the children in school are given due weight
according to their age, maturity and capability.
 Pupils participate where possible, in all the decision making processes, including
setting targets and contributing to their IEPs, discussing their choices, assessment of
needs and in the review procedures. A child centred IEP has recently been introduced
 We encourage pupils to participate in their Learning by celebrating their successes.
5.
Links with other schools and transfer arrangements
 We have procedures in place to ensure that transfer arrangements take place with
ease and are perceived in a positive light, by all our pupils. We encourage liaison
between staff and ensure records contribute to the future planning for the benefit of
the pupils. Transfer might be between schools or key stages, as well as liaison and,
where appropriate, transition meetings between school and pre school settings
 For children with statements at the review in year 5, the aim will be to make clear
recommendations as to the type of provision the child will need at secondary school.
The SENCO of the receiving school will be invited to the final annual review in year
6 to facilitate the transfer of the pupil between schools.
 A liaison meeting with the SENCO of each secondary school will take place before
the children’s transfer at the end of year 6 to ensure the transfer of SEN records and
information. In some cases parents may wish to attend this meeting
 Where necessary extra support will be given to year 6 children and their parents who
are transferring to secondary school to support specific needs. This may take the
form of extra visits to school or close liaison with external agencies.
Review Procedures for this Policy
 The SEN policy is subject to a regular cycle of monitoring evaluation and review.
This policy supports our school aims of:
 Create a safe and stimulating environment where we respect the property of others
and ourselves. (Articles: 1, 2, 3, 11, 19, 24, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33-37)
 Enable children to become confident and independent learners (Articles: 1, 2, 3,
7,8, 12, 13, 28, 29)
 Provide a rich, enjoyable, broad and balanced curriculum, enhanced by experiences
and opportunities (Articles: 1,2, 3, 28, 29, 31, 42)
 Provide a rich, enjoyable, broad and balanced curriculum, enhanced by experiences
and opportunities (Articles: 1,2, 3, 28, 29, 31, 42)
 Create a safe and stimulating environment where we respect the property of others
and ourselves (Articles: 1, 2, 3, 11, 19, 24, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33-37)
 Encourage everyone to have high expectations of themselves and others. (Articles: 1,
2, 3, 23, 28, 29)
___________________________ (Chair of Governors)
Date: Dec 2012
Policy to be reviewed in Dec 2015
Appendix
Named people responsible for SEN
YOM
List of external agencies names and contact numbers
Child centred IEP
Named People Responsible for SEN
Headteacher ~ Mrs Angela Mitchell Tel 768325
SENCO ~ Ms Angela Exelby Tel 768325
SEN Governor ~
Education Social Worker ~ no longer have
Learning Support Teacher ~ no longer have
Educational Psychologist ~ Emma Truelove (Tues – Thurs)
Behaviour Support Teacher ~ Petra Henman
Speech/Language Therapist ~
Visually impaired Service ~
Parent Partnership Officers ~
School Nurse ~ Wendy Watson
Mental Health Worker- Mark Jackson Tel 552310
Hearing Impaired Service