Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support SENDIAS

How schools support pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and funding arrangements for SEND

How schools support pupils with SEND

A pupil has SEND where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision which is different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age. SEND Code of Practice 2014

If there is a concern that a child or young person is not making adequate progress in school, it is helpful for the parent or carer to make an appointment with the school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) to discuss concerns.

Schools have a duty to: ●

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use their best endeavours to provide support to children and young people with SEND, whether or not they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan;

ensure that pupils with SEND can take part in the activities of the school alongside other pupils. make arrangements for those who have medical conditions.

All pupils should have access to a broad and balanced curriculum and schools have duties under the Equality Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services to prevent them from being put at a substantial disadvantage.

Where a pupil is identified as having SEND, schools should put provision in place in the form of a four-part cycle called the ‘graduated approach’: ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Assess: Carrying out a clear analysis of the pupil’s needs. Plan: Interventions/support to be put in place with a date for review. Do: SENCO and school staff working together to implement support. Review: Involving parents about the impact of the support and planning for the future.

Involving Parents and Pupils in Planning and Review Progress

Schools must: ● ●

provide an annual report for parents on their child’s progress. Publish their SEN Policy on their website

When a pupil has been identified as having SEND, the pupil’s parents must be formally informed that special educational provision is being made.

Arrangements should be made to meet with parents regularly, at least three times a year, to review progress. The views of the pupil should be included in these discussions. A record of the outcomes, action and support agreed should be kept and shared with all the appropriate school staff and the pupil’s parents.

How schools fund SEND support

The local authority is responsible for identifying children and young people with ‘High Needs’ SEN in their area and has a duty to set out what schools are expected to provide for children and young people in this category. The Local Authority SEN Policy should form part of the Local Authority’s Local Offer.

Schools should use some of their budget to buy resources and make provision for children who need additional help. This can take many forms. For example, children with SEN might need: ● ● ● ● ● ●

Some changes to the curriculum Special equipment or teaching materials The use of additional information technology Small group work Support in the classroom A base to work in or have quiet time.

The amount of funding a school receives is based on a formula that takes into account factors like free school meals, social deprivation and how well the children are achieving when they join the school.

Funding for SEN provision is from three elements: Name of national funding as from April 2013

Element 1 Basic Entitlement

Explanation Schools get most of their funding based on the total number of pupils in the school. Each school receives the same lump sum for fixed costs and an amount per pupil (called the Age Weighted Pupil Unit (AWPU)) which differs, depending on the child’s age. These two factors form the core budget for each school and it is used to make general provision for all pupils in the school, including those with SEN. The local authority provides Element 1 funding for the schools it is responsible for. The Education Funding Agency (EFA) provides Element 1 funding for academies and free schools through Funding Agreements (available online for each school).

Elements 1and 2 are ‘notional SEN budget’ because it is up to the school to decide exactly how they should spend this delegated funding in the way they think best.

Element 2 – Additional needs

As well as Element 1, every school receives an amount for special educational needs (up to £6,000 per eligible pupil), from which they deliver the majority of SEN provision in the school. Element 2 is to provide SEN support that is additional to or different from the support that most other children get.

The amount is based on a formula which is agreed between schools and the local authority and takes into account the following factors within the school: ● ● ●

Free School Meals Foundation Stage and/or Key Stage scores (pupil attainment) Deprivation Index.

Most children with SEN need special educational provision that comes to less than £6,000.

Schools have a duty to identify, assess and make special educational provision for all children with SEND.

The local authority has a duty to set out what schools are expected to provide from their delegated budget.

The local authority must publish a ‘Local Offer’ which explains what type of resources this money might be spent on. Please visit the Somerset website for more information: https://somerset.local-offer.org.

You can ask your school how it uses its SEND budget to support your child.

If a child needs more than £6,000 a year to support their special educational needs, the school can request that the child is considered to have ‘High Needs’ and be eligible for additional Element 3 funding (below). Element 3 – Top up funding for “High Needs” pupils on top of the £6,000 contribution from the school’s notional SEN funding.

LA Action: Education, Health and Care (EHC) Assessment leading to an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan

Some children have such complex needs that the school may request some additional funding to ‘top up’ Elements 1 and 2.

Element 3 is provided by the local authority and is called ‘High Needs’ funding. Schools are expected to use this funding to provide for that individual pupil and can be provided without the need for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. For children and young people with severe, complex and long term needs and when school or setting has exhausted all resources available to them, an Education, Health and Care Plan Assessment may be required in order to identify and provided fully co-ordinated support.

Please see the Sendias leaflet entitled ‘A Guide to Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans and the EHC Needs Assessment Process’ for more information.

Pupil Premium

The Pupil Premium is additional funding given to schools so that they can support their disadvantaged pupils and close the attainment gap between them and their peers. This funding has nothing to do with Special Educational Needs.

In most cases the Pupil Premium is paid direct to schools, allocated to them for every pupil who currently receives free school meals and for those who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years. Additional funding

Schools also receive funding for children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months and children of service personnel. Local Authorities are responsible for looked-afterchildren and make payments to schools and academies where an eligible lookedafter-child is on roll. Schools decide how to use this funding. Special schools

Special Schools will be funded for a set number of places. If further places are needed they can be commissioned from the school. Local authorities who place children in special schools will agree with the schools any top up funding that is needed to cover the cost of individual placements over and above the basic place funding.

Where can I get further information, advice and support? ● ● ●

School website – SEND Policy Somerset Local Offer: https://somerset.local-offer.org SENDIAS (Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support) Service

Sources: Department for Education Council for Disabled Children Somerset County Council August 2015

Useful Sources of information

Ipsea (Independent Parental Education Advice) Tel: General Advice Line: 0800 018 4016 Website: www.ipsea.org.uk Advice on: A range of topics related to SEN and disabilities.

ACE (Advisory Centre for Education) Tel: 0300 0115 142 Website: www.ace-ed.org.uk ACE offers a comprehensive range of advice and information on education issues.

http://Somerset.local-offer.org As part of the Children and Families Act 2014, local authorities must publish, and keep under review, information about services they expect to be available for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (aged 0-25). This is called the Local Offer.

Somerset Parent Carer Forum Tel: 01278 699397 Email: [email protected] Website: www.somersetpcf.org.uk Somerset PCF is a parent-led forum which is committed to finding out what parents and carers think about services, listening to what parents and carers have to say and getting parent carers’ views and voices heard by the Local Authority, Health and Government.

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If you need any further help or information please contact: Somerset SEND Information, Advice and Support (SENDIAS) Holway Centre, Byron Road Taunton, Somerset TA1 2JD

Tel: 01823 355578

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.somersetsend.org.uk

August 2015 Information correct at date of print

Disclaimer: The SLCN Team and Somerset SENDIAS have made all reasonable efforts to ensure that the information contained in this leaflet is accurate and up to date at the time of publication. It does not constitute legal advice and Somerset SENDIAS cannot accept any responsibility for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of any reliance placed upon it.

Working together for equalities

This leaflet is available in large print on the Parent Partnership website: www.somersetparentpartnership.org.uk To request this document in an alternative format, please contact us.

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