School Action happens when the class teacher or Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) sees that a child has special educational needs and gives school work/time which is additional to or different from the school's differentiated curriculum.
The triggers for School Action are when a child:
makes little or no progress even when different teaching approaches have been tried
shows signs of difficulty with literacy or mathematics skills which produces poor results in some school subject areas
has continuing emotional or behavioural difficulties which are not helped by the behaviour management methods usually used in school
has sensory (hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch) or physical problems which do not improve even with the help of specialist equipment.
has difficulty communicating and/or socialising and continues to make little or no progress even with an adapted curriculum
The class teacher should speak with the child's parents about this and inform the SENCO. The SENCO may then get advice from the Local Education Authority Support Services, Health and Social Services if needed and ask for any further information from the parents.
Nature of Support
This could be:
individually or in a group of children
extra adult time to plan and monitor the support
different learning materials or special equipment
occasional advice from the Local Education Authority (LEA) support services (4.26)
training for staff in useful strategies
Parents should always be consulted and kept informed about the actions taken to help their child and the results of the actions. (4.16)
The numbers in brackets relate to the section and paragraph number of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice which can be obtained, free of charge from: DfES Publications, P O Box 5050, Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottinghamshire NG15 0DJ. Tel: 0845 60 222 60, E-mail: dfes@prolog.uk.com
Primary Phase School Action Plus
School Action Plus happens when, after talking with parents at the meeting where the Individual Education Plan (IEP) is looked at again, a decision is made to ask for help from outside agencies. Schools should always ask the advice of specialists when School Action Plus is taken.
The triggers for School Action Plus are when a child despite receiving support under School Action:
continues to make little or no progress in certain areas over a long period
continues working at National Curriculum levels well below that expected of children of a similar age
continues to have difficulty in developing literacy and mathematics skills
has emotional or behavioural difficulties which regularly interfere with their own, or others, education even though they have an individual behaviour programme
has sensory (hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch) or physical needs and additional specialist equipment or regular advice/visits are needed by a specialist service
has ongoing communication or social difficulties which stop the development of social relationships and makes learning very difficult.
Outside agencies (Local Education Authority and others) will usually see a child in school so that they can advise on new and correct goals for the child's IEP and on all plans which go with it.
Outside Specialists may:
give advice on strategies
provide additional specialist assessments
teach the child directly
The plans in the IEP should be, as far as possible, carried out in the normal classroom.
The delivery of the IEP continues to be the responsibility of the class teacher.
If the SENCO and outside specialist want to seek further advice from other professionals they must ask for the parent's permission.
The SENCO should note in the child's records.
what further advice is being asked for
what support is to be provided for the child while awaiting this advice.
The numbers in brackets relate to the section and paragraph number of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice which can be obtained, free of charge from: DfES Publications, P O Box 5050, Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottinghamshire NG15 0DJ. Tel: 0845 60 222 60, E-mail: dfes@prolog.uk.com
Primary Phase Individual Education Plans
Plans to help a child to make progress should be written in an Individual Educational Plan (IEP).
The IEP should include information about:
goals set for the child which can be reached within a short time
the teaching plans
the equipment to be used
when the plan is to be looked at again
success and/or exit criteria
results (to be noted when IEP is looked at again) (5:50)
The IEP should only have in it anything that is additional to or different from the differentiated curriculum that is in place for all children. (5:51)
The IEP should be brief and have three or four goals in the areas of:
communication
literacy
mathematics
behaviour and social skills (5:51)
The IEP should always be discussed with the child and parents/carers and the child. (5:51)
IEPs should be looked at regularly and at least twice a year, ideally for some children it could be once a term. Parents/carers views about their child should be asked for as a matter of course. The child should, as far as possible, be involved and their comments and ideas taken into account. (5:53)
The numbers in brackets relate to the section and paragraph number of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice which can be obtained, free of charge from: DfES Publications, P O Box 5050, Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottinghamshire NG15 0DJ. Tel: 0845 60 222 60, E-mail: dfes@prolog.uk.com
Primary Phase The Role of the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator
The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) together with the headteacher and governing body, plays a key role in planning the Special Educational Needs (SEN) policy and arrangements within school to raise the achievement of children with SEN.
The SENCO should have responsibility for:
the day to day running of the school's policy
organising arrangements for children with SEN
advising and supporting all other staff in school
managing Learning Support Assistants
making sure correct records are kept of all children with SEN
making sure there is communication with parents/carers of children with SEN
contributing to the in-service training of all staff
communicating with Local Education Authority Support Services, Health, Social Services and voluntary organisations.
It is suggested that the SENCO is part of the school senior management team and funded from the main school budget
The numbers in brackets relate to the section and paragraph number of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice which can be obtained, free of charge from: DfES Publications, P O Box 5050, Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottinghamshire NG15 0DJ. Tel: 0845 60 222 60, E-mail: dfes@prolog.uk.com
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