Sen Policy

[Guest]

i am reviewing my sen policy ready for the implementation of the new sen code of practice in september and struggling. Any advice or examples would be great!!! :wacko:

[MegaMum]

If you look in 'Inclusion and Special Educational Needs', Katkat1972 has provided some useful information.

[Guest]

oh thats great thanks, never saw that section, ill go look :rolleyes:

[SueJ]

I'm hanging on for the PSLA to publish their guide as I always find their policy models quite useful and for a small cost it saves re-inventing the wheel - having said that I am still trying to pull together my "Local Offer" which I understand we have to provide for all parents and prospective parents.

[Cait]

Who thought of the name for it? Local Offer, what is it even meant to mean? It doesn't say anything to parents as a title that would make them want to read it. Or am I missing something?

[Guest]

i have the pla's book for policies and used them for my policies last year but i dont want to spend again just for one policy. when i asked them last time about the code that means you can apparently get updates for the books you have bought i was told you dont get one for that publication.

As far as the 'local offer' goes it is my understanding that it is your local authority that writes that and as providers you can contribute to it to have infomation on your provision included???? (page 70, 5.13)

[Guest]

'local offer' from what i understand is to inform parents and professionals what support there is available locally hence 'local offer'

[Mouseketeer]

Can I ask how much involvement/preparation/research you're expecting your sencos (if you're not it) to put into being prepared with the new CofP ? Or as managers are you organising again (as with most things) and feeding back ?

[sunnyday]

i have the pla's book for policies and used them for my policies last year but i dont want to spend again just for one policy. when i asked them last time about the code that means you can apparently get updates for the books you have bought i was told you dont get one for that publication.

 

Hi Suemars and welcome to the forum - hmmm - who told you that - you do get updates.......

[thumperrabbit]

Can I ask how much involvement/preparation/research you're expecting your sencos (if you're not it) to put into being prepared with the new CofP ? Or as managers are you organising again (as with most things) and feeding back ?

Great question, my setting senco at the end of the day is a keyworker who has taken it on as a role (just like safeguarding or H&S) she isn't an expert in the field (none of us are) but it does seem like the powers that be presume that we know what we are doing and will just get on with it.

We don't get many children with extra needs that require support the last time we had someone from County Sen have input was about 3 years ago we've had no input or information from them since then, and haven't had any info about a New Code of Practice either

I noticed there was a thread on here about new Sen code of practise I've yet to read it, but suppose that will be my main port of call.

Any info comes from this fabulous forum - worth it's weight in gold! :1b

[SueJ]

Mouseketeer - in answer to your question - thankfully I am my setting SENCO and can therefore trawl through this unpaid as usual :angry:

This is a large document to process and so far I have waded through it and highlighted the bits that are particularly relevant as far as I can see to early years. I have emailed the highlighted version out to my staff and am hoping that they will read at least what they need to before we start back in September - but you are back to good will again :angry: I am also in the process of changing the necessary paperwork and drawing up the setting's offer.

We have for years supported many children with additional needs and disabilities and have always tried to go the extra mile and I know we are not alone in this and as ever we have done this without sufficient funding - I have pulled a couple of paragraphs out of the code that emphasise that it is not just your SENCO that is going to have to spend time getting up to speed other members of your staff team are also going to have to as well. Whilst I fully agree with the sentiments there is little mention of the cost involved with providing/buying in CPD, paying for either overtime or supply cover and then again there is the small matter of ensuring that this better qualified workforce is remunerated accordingly all neatly summed up in the phrase "any budget that is delegated" (see below) rather than the budget

3.41 Partners should also consider whether and how specialist staff can train the wider workforce so they can better identify need and offer support earlier – for example, educational psychologists or speech and language therapists training professionals such as teachers or GPs to identify and support children and young people with mental health problems or speech and language difficulties, respectively. This may involve NHS Local Education and Training Boards. Some areas have involved parent carers in delivery of workforce development programmes.

4.32 The local authority must set out in its Local Offer an authority-wide description of the special educational and training provision it expects to be available in its area and outside its area for children and young people in its area who have SEN or disabilities from providers of relevant early years education, maintained schools, non-maintained special schools, pupil referral units, independent institutions approved under section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014, and the full range of post-16 providers. This includes information about the arrangements the local authority has for funding children and young people with SEN, including any agreements about how providers will use any budget that has been delegated to them.

It includes the arrangements providers have in place for:

• securing expertise among teachers, lecturers or other professionals to support children and young people with SEN or disabilities – this should include professional development to secure expertise at different levels:

o awareness (to give a basic awareness of a particular type of SEN, appropriate for all staff who will come into contact with a child or young person with that type of SEN)

o enhanced (how to adapt teaching and learning to meet a particular type of SEN, for early years practitioners, class and subject teachers/lecturers and teaching assistants working directly with the child or young person on a regular basis), and

o specialist (in-depth training about a particular type of SEN, for staff who will be advising and supporting those with enhanced-level skills and knowledge)

Suemars queried the local offer - and whilst I can see that it is the local authorities responsibility to publish the local offer

a) they will require the info from all their providers

and

b) as a proprietor I have to:

"proprietors must also publish information about the arrangements for the admission of disabled children, the steps taken to prevent disabled children being treated less favourably than others, the facilities provided to assist access of disabled children, and their accessibility plans." (P17).

[Mouseketeer]

Thanks ...I was just feeling a bit ' our senco gets an hourly increment' (and as you say there is very little work involved with SEN in our setting at the moment) so why am I worrying about this to ....but I guess I already know the answer to that

 

Thank you Sue, posts crossed over, summer holiday after summer holiday now just seems taken up with a major change to worry about implementing ( and this year we get two) on top of everything else that has to be prepared, updated, changed, reviewed, cleaned, weeded etc before going back in Sept :'(

Edited August 8, 2014 by Mouseketeer

[SueJ]

We don't get many children with extra needs that require support the last time we had someone from County Sen have input was about 3 years ago we've had no input or information from them since then, and haven't had any info about a New Code of Practice either

I have been open as an independent setting for 10 years now and every year we have had at least one child that we have worked with the family with to get a statement including for two children getting backyearing statements we have also put in support for children with a range of different high needs disabilities so these changes will have a big impact for us

[sunnyday]

Thanks for your very informative post Sue.......I really need to start to 'get my head round this'.......

[SueJ]

As with everything in early years they seem to launch the "approved" versions of things over the summer holiday period - thankfully I am a term time setting and can therefore dedicate my "holiday" to getting the required changes done ready for 1 September - I really feel for our colleagues who work all year round as they try to continue with the day to day business as well as this, although maybe if they have income all year round they can afford more "men to the pumps" so to speak.

I am seriously thinking of adding my 5 pennyworth to this though

https://www.mortonmichel.com/ChildCareClub/newsletter/August2014/story4.asp

providing I can find the time

[Guest]

Hi Suemars and welcome to the forum - hmmm - who told you that - you do get updates.......

hi sunnyday, it was the pla themselves i phoned them because i couldnt find a code on my book, and that was what i was told. i havent looked on my latest one from last year as just assumed that too wouldnt have one and its in the setting so cant check right now but i will be. thanx x

[Guest]

Great question, my setting senco at the end of the day is a keyworker who has taken it on as a role (just like safeguarding or H&S) she isn't an expert in the field (none of us are) but it does seem like the powers that be presume that we know what we are doing and will just get on with it.

We don't get many children with extra needs that require support the last time we had someone from County Sen have input was about 3 years ago we've had no input or information from them since then, and haven't had any info about a New Code of Practice either

I noticed there was a thread on here about new Sen code of practise I've yet to read it, but suppose that will be my main port of call.

Any info comes from this fabulous forum - worth it's weight in gold! :1b

 

 

Mouseketeer - in answer to your question - thankfully I am my setting SENCO and can therefore trawl through this unpaid as usual :angry:

This is a large document to process and so far I have waded through it and highlighted the bits that are particularly relevant as far as I can see to early years. I have emailed the highlighted version out to my staff and am hoping that they will read at least what they need to before we start back in September - but you are back to good will again :angry: I am also in the process of changing the necessary paperwork and drawing up the setting's offer.

We have for years supported many children with additional needs and disabilities and have always tried to go the extra mile and I know we are not alone in this and as ever we have done this without sufficient funding - I have pulled a couple of paragraphs out of the code that emphasise that it is not just your SENCO that is going to have to spend time getting up to speed other members of your staff team are also going to have to as well. Whilst I fully agree with the sentiments there is little mention of the cost involved with providing/buying in CPD, paying for either overtime or supply cover and then again there is the small matter of ensuring that this better qualified workforce is remunerated accordingly all neatly summed up in the phrase "any budget that is delegated" (see below) rather than the budget

3.41 Partners should also consider whether and how specialist staff can train the wider workforce so they can better identify need and offer support earlier – for example, educational psychologists or speech and language therapists training professionals such as teachers or GPs to identify and support children and young people with mental health problems or speech and language difficulties, respectively. This may involve NHS Local Education and Training Boards. Some areas have involved parent carers in delivery of workforce development programmes.

4.32 The local authority must set out in its Local Offer an authority-wide description of the special educational and training provision it expects to be available in its area and outside its area for children and young people in its area who have SEN or disabilities from providers of relevant early years education, maintained schools, non-maintained special schools, pupil referral units, independent institutions approved under section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014, and the full range of post-16 providers. This includes information about the arrangements the local authority has for funding children and young people with SEN, including any agreements about how providers will use any budget that has been delegated to them.

It includes the arrangements providers have in place for:

• securing expertise among teachers, lecturers or other professionals to support children and young people with SEN or disabilities – this should include professional development to secure expertise at different levels:

o awareness (to give a basic awareness of a particular type of SEN, appropriate for all staff who will come into contact with a child or young person with that type of SEN)

o enhanced (how to adapt teaching and learning to meet a particular type of SEN, for early years practitioners, class and subject teachers/lecturers and teaching assistants working directly with the child or young person on a regular basis), and

o specialist (in-depth training about a particular type of SEN, for staff who will be advising and supporting those with enhanced-level skills and knowledge)

Suemars queried the local offer - and whilst I can see that it is the local authorities responsibility to publish the local offer

a) they will require the info from all their providers

and

B) as a proprietor I have to:

"proprietors must also publish information about the arrangements for the admission of disabled children, the steps taken to prevent disabled children being treated less favourably than others, the facilities provided to assist access of disabled children, and their accessibility plans." (P17).

 

im fortunate enough to have been able to book on a training event but its not till spetember...so in the meantime i am just going to complete forms for our setting to be included in the local offer and rewite our sen policy by basically going through the early years section (the only section ive read) of the code of practice and taking info from there.

as far as my few children that have iep's maybe ill just rename them as sen support targets????? as i cant decide whether they are still to be used or not.

as im the setting manager and the senco its all up to me and agree totally that too much of our summer holidays are spent reading and implementing new codes/frameworks free of charge but hey we dont do this role for the money do we

 

at least this way ive started the process and can tweek after my training if needed....and i actually get some holiday from paperwork!

[finleysmaid]

i wouldn't get too hung up about what you call your IEP's at the moment....you will have to prove that you plan and differentiate for all SEND children ...i suspect how you do this will be up to you but at the end of the day you need to co-ordinate all the information from outside agencies as to how you are going to improve the outcomes for this group of children.

The LEA's have known about some of these changes for two years as they have had to plan budgets and inform the government of how they are getting on with the planning....it seems a shame that some of us were not more involved in this process!

In the past we have been allocated a small amount of money to assist SEN children...this has now been removed and if we are going to get our hands on any of the personal budget money we are going to have to fight very hard for it and we will need to prove exactly what it is being spent on.

It is the children with medical conditions i am most concerned about at the moment....i'm not sure where any funding is coming from for them (we have a little chap who needs a lot of medical care in a day) we have been told quite firmly that as he has no SEN needs he will not be covered...how are the school going to cope with that next year then??? (we .of course, just have to get on with it!!!!)

[Mouseketeer]

It looks as if our iep will become pcp (person centred plan) ....just a bit more paperwork to change

[Guest]

i see what your saying finleysmaid...our planning shows different approaches/learning objectives to activities depending on the child who approaches depending on age, stage, etc which includes children with sen so with the child interest activities and next steps that are also shown for individual children on planning that should cover that (for all children i hope).

As far as children with medical needs...wont that be covered as a child with a disability? i had a child with a medical need often requiring emergency medical attention (from us and paramedics) and she was in receipt of dla and so was able to recieve 1-1 funding. It just might be a different pot!

[finleysmaid]

 

As far as children with medical needs...wont that be covered as a child with a disability? i had a child with a medical need often requiring emergency medical attention (from us and paramedics) and she was in receipt of dla and so was able to recieve 1-1 funding. It just might be a different pot!

not according to my lea...but i would be very happy to be proved wrong

[sunnyday]

hi sunnyday, it was the pla themselves i phoned them because i couldnt find a code on my book, and that was what i was told. i havent looked on my latest one from last year as just assumed that too wouldnt have one and its in the setting so cant check right now but i will be. thanx x

Think there is not a 'code' anymore - log on to PSLA and you should be able to find publications that you have purchased........try that :1b

I only know this as I was also looking for a 'code' and having a bit of a melt-down because I couldn't find one - got help from the forum as per! :1b

[sunnyday]

It looks as if our iep will become pcp (person centred plan) ....just a bit more paperwork to change

Can you hear me screaming?

[Mouseketeer]

Have you seen a pcp Sunnyday ? Maybe your the same county as me

Edited August 10, 2014 by Mouseketeer

[sunnyday]

Have you seen a pcp Sunnyday ? Maybe your the same county as me

No I haven't - have you got one? :1b

[Guest]

PCP/IEP - graduated response/graduated approach - if it aint broke, don't fix it!!! We will continue to use IEP's (as we feel that they illustrate assess, plan, do, review) but remove the term Early Action etc in line with the new code of conduct - am trying to keep it simple and stick with the things that we know work for the children in our setting!

[eyfs1966]

stuff it, i am just going to call my IEP's a sen plan....

Have you all made reference to your local offer in your policies?

[Wildflowers]

I may have posted in the wrong SEN thread! Anyway... My latest thought on the name of the plan is that there may be children you would set up an IEP for who doesn't have SEN (according to the DfE definition).