St Winifred’s Catholic Primary School

INCLUSION POLICY

 

Rationale:

St Winifred’s School is committed to providing an appropriate and high quality education to all our children. We believe that all children, including those identified as having special educational needs and disability have a common entitlement to a broad and balanced academic and social curriculum, which is accessible to them, and to be fully included in all aspects of school life.

The school aims to foster the personal development of each child by helping them to be responsible, by building their self-esteem, being sensitive to their needs and promoting values of fairness and forgiveness.

St Winifred’s School is committed to inclusion. We strive to maintain a loving and caring school community where everyone feels welcome, secure and valued. Supported by close co-operation with the home, parish and wider community, our children will grow into fulfilled, educated people ready to take the Christian message into the world.

This does not mean that we will treat all learners in the same way, but that we will respond to learners in ways which take account of their varied life experiences and needs.

We believe that educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, impairment, attainment and background. We pay particular attention to the provision for and the achievement of different groups of learners:

 

  • girls and boys, minority ethnic and faith groups, travellers, asylum seekers and refugees
  • learners who need support to learn English as an additional language (EAL)
  • learners with special educational needs
  • learners who are disabled
  • children who are significantly more able than their peers
  • Those who are looked after by the local authority
  • Others such as those who are sick, those who are young carers, those who are in families under stress
  • Any learners who are at risk of disaffection and exclusion

 

This policy describes the way we meet the needs of children who experience barriers to their learning, which may relate to sensory or physical impairment, learning difficulties or emotional or social development, or may relate to factors in their environment, including the learning environment they experience in school.

We recognise that pupils learn at different rates and that there are many factors affecting achievement, including ability, emotional state, age and maturity. We believe that many pupils, at some time in their school career, may experience difficulties which affect their learning, and we recognise that these may be long or short term. At St Winifred’s School we aim to identify these needs as they arise and provide teaching and learning contexts which enable every child to achieve to his or her full potential. We will also aim to model inclusion in our staffing policies, relationships with parents /carers and the community. Through the ‘Roots of Empathy’ programme we develop the awareness and understanding of all children to ensure they support us in being an inclusive community. The development and monitoring of the schools’ work on Inclusion will be undertaken by the Inclusion Team and the link governor for Inclusion.

Objectives

Our school aims to be an inclusive school, catering for diverse needs and working in partnership with parents/carers. We aim to involve parents/carers at every stage in plans to meet their child’s additional needs.

We aim to make equality of opportunity a reality for our pupils through access to a good quality, meaningful and appropriate creative curriculum.

We aim to plan for individual needs encouraging the strengths and interests of our pupils. Pupils will be targeted to support learning.

We aim to provide full access to the curriculum* through differentiated planning by the Inclusion Manager, class teachers, learning support teacher, and support staff as appropriate. (*Except where disapplication, arising from an EHC plan occurs, disapplication is very rare, and we aim to offer the full curriculum to all our pupils.)

We aim to ensure that current Codes of Practice and guidance are implemented effectively across the school and to ensure equality of opportunity for, and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination.

We aim to continually monitor the progress of all pupils, to identify needs as they arise and to provide support as early as possible.

We aim to enable all children to move on from us well equipped in the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and social independence to meet the demands of secondary school life and learning.

We aim to involve the children themselves in planning and in any decision making that affects them.

We aim to support all our staff in meeting the needs of individual children through professional development, the sharing of good practice, the provision of resources and working with outside agencies.

We will achieve educational inclusion by continually reviewing our practice and asking key questions

  • Do all our pupils achieve as much as they can?
  • Are there differences in the achievement of different groups of children?
  • What are we doing to support those pupils who are not achieving their best?
  • How are we involving parents and carers?

 

How do we support inclusion?

Class Teachers and support staff ensure that children:

  • feel secure and know that their contributions are valued;
  • appreciate and value the differences they see in others;
  • take responsibility for their own actions;
  • are taught in groupings that allow them all to experience success;
  • use materials that reflect a range of social and cultural backgrounds, without stereotyping;
  • have a common curriculum experience that allows for a range of different learning styles;
  • have challenging targets that enable them to succeed;
  • are encouraged to participate fully, regardless of disabilities or medical needs.

 

Whole school actions support inclusion by

  • A curriculum designed to reflect the different cultures, religions and races in our school and one which is challenging and provides enrichment
  • Achievable targets in English and maths and for all pupils
  • The regular tracking of pupil attainment and the highlighting of any underachievement
  • Targeting of support for pupils by the teachers, teaching assistants, and Senior Management
  • The use of intervention programmes to support pupils with learning difficulties
  • The targeting of underachieving pupils and EAL
  • Induction of pupils new to this country
  • A consistent behaviour policy and encouraging children to restore relationships with others and take responsibility for their own actions
  • Addressing racism, sexism and bullying
  • The involvement of parents and carers at parents meetings, curriculum meetings and through regular informal contact
  • Involvement of outside agencies and specialists
  • Sharing information about pupils, including health issues, with all staff

 

How will we monitor inclusion?

Every staff member is responsible for inclusion. However to ensure we are successful the following strategies will be used

 

  • Regular tracking of pupil attainment through termly target setting meetings
  • Monitoring and assessment schedule
  • Termly review of provision management with the Senior Management and teachers to discuss progress of pupils receiving interventions
  • Annual reviews for all pupils with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
  • Review of targets in English and maths
  • Lesson observations
  • Talking to children and parents
  • Teacher assessment
  • SAT tests
  • Monitoring teacher’s plans and children’s work

 

Identification of pupils

St Winifred’s School recognises the significance of early identification of pupils with Special Educational Needs and disability, English as an additional language (EAL) needs or pupils of higher ability and work closely with other professionals already involved with pupils. The Inclusion Managers, Class teachers and support staff are all involved in identifying pupils. Pupils with SEND are identified as needing School Support or have an Educational Health and Care Plan. Information relating to pupils with SEND is shared with all staff, including supply teachers.

 

Provision

  1. Differentiated Curriculum Provision

In order to make progress all children will receive a differentiated curriculum. The differentiation may involve modifying learning objectives, teaching styles and access strategies. Differentiation will be recorded in the class teacher’s plans. In St Winifred’s there is an emphasis on a skills based curriculum through creative teaching and meaningful links across the National Curriculum subjects.

 

  1. Provision Management

Pupils are reviewed termly to ascertain the additional and extra interventions needed to enable them to make progress. A variety of programmes are used to support learning and behaviour. Parents are informed of the interventions their child will receive on a termly basis through individual Provision Maps.

 

  1. Education, Health and Care Plan

( Explained in SEND Policy )

 

  1. Pupils with English as an Additional Language

Pupils with EAL are supported by staff inside the classroom and in small groups. Interpreters are used when necessary.

 

  1. Challenging children of higher ability

Pupils identified as of higher ability are provided for through a differentiated curriculum and group sessions with the Head Teacher which aim to challenge and extend targeted children. There are opportunities for advancement of more able pupils through extracurricular activities such as maths tournaments involving other local schools.

 

  1. Resources

Resources for additional needs and inclusion are purchased as appropriate and are matched to needs throughout the school. Specific individual resources are purchased where this is viable and are used to support other children where this is appropriate. Purchasing policies for English, ICT and other curriculum areas reflect the need for resources to include provision for those with additional needs.

 

Record Keeping

(See SEND Policy)

Looked after Children (LaC)

Children in public care will have targets set within a personal education plan(PEP) twice a year. The targets will be set by the school, the carer and social services. We aim to send a representative to all LaC reviews. We aim to work closely with social services and carers. Academic progress will be reported to the governing body.

 

Working with Outside Agencies

St Winifred’s School promotes the value of specialist advice and support from a variety of professional and voluntary services. St Winifred’s School also welcomes and positively promotes links with educational bodies that can promote pupils learning and provide enhanced opportunities for our more able learners.

The Inclusion Manager liaises frequently with a number of other outside agencies and specialists:

  • Social Services
  • Education Welfare Service
  • School Nurse
  • Community Paediatrician
  • Physiotherapy
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Educational Psychology
  • Autistic Spectrum Disorder [ASD] Outreach
  • Speech and Language therapists
  • Specific learning difficulties team
  • Visual and hearing impaired team
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service [CAMHS]
  • LEA advisors
  • Children’s Society and Targeted Family Support Agency

Parents/carers are informed if any outside agency is involved.

 

Links with other schools/Transfer arrangements

Class teachers of children joining from other schools will receive information from the previous school; if there is an SEND issue the Inclusion Manager will telephone to further discuss the child’s needs. Children transferring to new schools will have records sent and the Inclusion Manager will discuss these children with other schools on request.

 

The Governing Body

The school’s Governors have statutory responsibilities outlined in the Special Needs Code of Practice. They are responsible for providing a named Governor responsible for Inclusion. Governors will receive an Inclusion report at every full governing body meeting. They are required to report annually to parents on the fulfilment of the school’s Inclusion Policy.

 

Equality Act

The Single Equality Act (see Policy) makes it unlawful for schools and LEA’s to discriminate against disabled pupils for a reason relating to their disability without justification.

St Winifred’s aims to cater for the full ability range and the presence or absence of a special need is not a factor in the selection of pupils from its catchment area, unless it is felt by agreement with the parents and professionals involved that alternative arrangements would be more suitable.

 

Working with Parents

Parents will be involved with their children’s progress both informally and formally. Positive parental involvement is important for the success of all children and is in accordance with the SEND Code of Practice. Parents will be involved right from the initial stages. Parents will be given the opportunity to express their views, be active in decision making and participate in their child’s education, at review meetings, parent consultations and induction meetings. Pupils will also be given the opportunity to express their views and comment on their success.

To support parents, evening meetings are often organised to explain key areas of the curriculum and to develop understanding of  children’s special educational needs and disability.

Parents will have the opportunities to meet with their child’s class teacher in a formal meeting three times a year.

 

Complaints

If any parent feels that St Winifred’s School is not meeting the needs of their child they will be supported via the procedures outlined in the Complaints Policy. Parents may also seek support from the Parent Partnership and the Conciliation services.

 

Staff Development

The Senior Management will review the needs of the teaching and support staff and provide INSET via external courses and in-school training. The needs of pupils and the interest areas of staff will also be taken into account when planning INSET.

 

Policy Review

This Policy will be reviewed as and when necessary to respond to any LEA or Government requirements. In the absence of any such changes the policy will be reviewed on a two yearly cycle.