Download Sherborne Learning Zone Inclusion Policy

Sherborne Learning Zone Inclusion Policy
Draft : January 2006
This document is available from the Centre in a variety of formats, upon request.
Every student is entitled to full and equal access to the
curriculum and to the opportunities offered by the
Learning Zone.
Every member of the Learning Zone community has a responsibility to ensure this
happens.
There will always be some students who need more support than the majority and there
are many reasons why this may be the case, including:
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Cognition and Learning needs
Communication and Interaction needs
Behavioural, Emotional and Social Development needs
Sensory and/or Physical needs
Disaffection
Particular gifts or talents.
In the Children Out Of School Service we implement a policy of responding to each and
every student’s individual needs: “One pupil; one plan”. Some examples of how we
respond to individual needs include:
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Extra support for students in lessons
Providing alternative or extra provision for students
The continuing professional development of all members of staff
Working with specialists from within COOSS
Working with specialists from outside COOSS
Supporting parents
Looking at ways the Learning Zone can adapt so that fewer students need any
additional support
We aim to:
 Respond to and meet individual needs.
 Provide a wide range of approaches targeted at meeting the needs of our students.
 Be innovative and imaginative in how we meet students’ needs.
 Monitor the success of our students and the strategies we use.
 Always seek to improve the provision we have so that all students, including those
with special educational needs, always make good progress.
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Work hard to liaise with parents.
Consultation and distribution
This draft Inclusion Policy will be put out to consultation in the following ways:
 Distribution amongst all members off staff, who will be invited to discuss and
comment upon the policy.
 Agenda item at a Zone Managers meeting, for discussion.
 Discussion of contents and aims with students in the Centre.
 Distribution of a summary to parents, who will be invited to comment upon it.
 Agenda item at a Management Group Meeting, for discussion.
 Distribution to external partners, including special schools, local education authority,
Connexions and educational psychologist.
Upon completion of the consultation the final policy will distributed similarly.
Legislation
The 1996 Education Act defines special educational needs in the following way:
Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for
special educational provision to be made for them.
Children have a learning difficulty if they:
a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the
same age; or
b) have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational
facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within
the area of the local education authority
c) are under compulsory school age and fall within the definition at (a) or (b) above or
would do so if special educational provision was not made for them.
Children must not be regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because the language
or form of language of their home is different from the language in which they will be
taught.
The revised Special Educational Needs Code of Practice sets out a three stage model:
School Action, where the college provides interventions that are additional to or
different from those provided as part of the college’s usual differentiated curriculum.
School Action Plus, where the college, after intervention at the School Action level,
has identified the need for support or guidance from an external agency.
Statemented, where needs of the student cannot be met through intervention at the
School Action Plus level.
We also have regard to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001) and
the associated Code of Practice for Schools (DDA 1995 pt 4).
This Act defines a disabled person as one who has a physical or mental impairment that
has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-
to-day activities.
There are two key duties involved in ensuring that schools do not discriminate against
disabled pupils. These are:
 not to treat disabled pupils less favourably; and
 to take reasonable steps to avoid putting disabled pupils at a substantial
disadvantage.
Development
The development of learning support is a continuous cycle of review,
reflection and change.
Personnel
Every member of staff within Sherborne Learning Zone has responsibility for
Special Educational Needs. The Zone Manager has overall responsibility for
coordinating and monitoring provision.
Responsibilities
The Management Group has a similar role to a school’s Governing Body and as such
holds responsibility for the educational provision for students with Special Educational
Needs (SEN) in accordance with the statutory requirements set out in the Code of
Practice.
Ian Hedley, the Zone Manager, has day-to-day responsibility for coordinating learning
support provision. He has a Certificate of Advanced Professional Studies in SEN in
Mainstream Schools, a Master of Education Degree in SEN and has attended accredited
courses on Inclusion and the Role of the SENCO.
All teachers are teachers of pupils with special educational needs (Code of Practice
p. 59) and have a responsibility for the learning of all students in their class. Our Teaching
and Learning Policy and our Behaviour Policy have been written to meet the diverse needs
and differences of all our students.
All members of the Learning Zone – students, staff, governors, visitors, parents and carers
– have a responsibility to welcome and include all students in the life of the college and
further their education.
Coordination
The Zone Manager coordinates learning support by:
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Overseeing the assessment of the special educational needs of individual students
and tracking their progress.
Overseeing the day-to-day operation of Inclusion Policy.
Liaising with parents through phone calls, letters and meetings.
Organising and chairing statement reviews.
Liaising with support services through phone calls, letters and meetings in and out
of college.
Weekly staff meetings.
Advising staff about legislation and guidance (such as the SEN Code of Practice
and the Disability Discrimination Act).
Monitoring the progress and inclusion on students with special educational needs.
Complaints procedure
All concerns, complaints and compliments are always taken very seriously. Please refer to
Dorset County Council’s complaints procedure for further details.
Curriculum access and inclusion
The key to successful learning support is to respond to individual
needs flexibly and positively and to develop as a Learning Zone so as to
minimise the need for individual support.
We are flexible with our provision and timetabling. Our Teaching and Learning Policy
recognises the diversity of learning styles amongst our students. The range of provision
we provide, in addition to the usual practice of differentiation in lessons, is very broad.
Where this is not sufficient to meet the needs of an individual student, our policy is to
adapt or add to what we can offer in order to meet their needs. All students are welcome
and valued within Sherborne Learning Zone and everyone (staff, students, parents,
visitors) works to ensure we meet their needs.
External agencies
We work with many external agencies in both the LEA and Voluntary Sector. These
include:
County Psychological Service
Social Care and Health
NHS Trust
Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health
ASSIST
Re-run
Turnaround
Education Social Work Service
Behaviour Support Service
Look After Children Team
Equilibrium
Youth Offending Team
Youth Service
Special Educational Needs Support Service
Connexions
Connections
Partnership with parents and carers
An active working relationship with parents and carers is an essential
part of meeting the needs of students in the Sherborne Learning Zone.
Parents and carers are made welcome at the Centre and are encouraged to telephone to
discuss any concerns or problems. We will also contact parents or carers to discuss
students’ needs and/or successes.
Personal Education Plans are written with parents and students and Individual Education
Plans are sent home to parents having been written with students.
Parents are encouraged to support their children’s progress by celebrating, with us, their
achievements and contacting the Centre if they have information or concerns about their
child’s education.
Links with other schools and colleges
We have strong links with our partner schools. These are the Gryphon School,
Shaftesbury School, Gillingham School and Sturminster Newton High School. Teachers in
these schools support our teachers and we support their students and in some cases their
teachers as well.
We are developing links with Yewstock School, a local special school, with a view to share
resources and expertise.