1. Is it really special educational needs? Approaches to the identification and assessment of pupils with special educational needs SENJIT

2. Background and Context

3. Draft Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice: for 0-25 years April 2014

4. Definition of Special Educational Needs A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they: (a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others 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 others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post- 16 institutions.

5. Definition of Special Educational Needs A child under compulsory school age has special educational needs if they fall within the definition at (a) or (b) above or would so do if special educational provision was not made for them (Clause 20 Children and Families Bill). Where a disabled child or young person requires special educational provision over and above the adjustments, aids and services required by the Equality Act 2010 they will be additionally covered by the SEN definition.

6. Definition of Special Educational Provision For children aged two or more, special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to or different from that made generally for other children or young people of the same age by mainstream schools, maintained nursery schools, mainstream Post-16 institutions or by relevant early years providers. For a child under two years of age, special educational provision means educational provision of any kind.

7. Identifying Needs in Schools All schools should have a clear approach to identifying and responding to SEN. The benefits of early identification are widely recognised – identifying need at the earliest point and then making effective provision improves long-term outcomes for the child or young person. Schools should assess each pupil’s current skills and levels of attainment on entry, building on information from previous settings and key stages where appropriate.

8. Identifying Needs in Schools Class and subject teachers, supported by the senior leadership team, should make regular assessments of progress for all pupils. These should seek to identify pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances.

9. Identifying Needs in Schools This can be characterised by progress which: is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers widens the attainment gap.

10. Identifying Needs in Schools It can include progress in areas other than attainment – for instance where a child needs to make additional progress with wider development or social needs in order to make a successful transition to adult life.

11. Identifying Needs in Schools The first response to such progress should be high quality teaching targeted at their areas of weakness. Where progress continues to be less than expected the class or subject teacher, working with the SENCO, should assess whether the child has SEN.

12. Identifying Needs in Schools While informally gathering evidence (including the views of the pupil and their parents) schools should not delay putting extra teaching or other rigorous interventions designed to secure better progress, where required. The pupil’s response to such support can help identify their particular needs.

13. Identifying Needs in Schools Slow progress and low attainment do not necessarily mean that a child has SEN and should not automatically lead to a pupil being recorded as having SEN. However, they may be an indicator of a range of learning difficulties or disabilities. Equally, it should not be assumed that attainment in line with chronological age means that there is no learning difficulty or disability. Some learning difficulties and disabilities occur across the range of cognitive ability and, left unaddressed may lead to frustration, which may manifest itself as disaffection, emotional or behavioural difficulties.

14. Broad Areas of Need The four broad areas give an overview of the range of needs that should be planned for. The purpose of identification is to work out what action the school needs to take, not to fit a pupil into a category. In practice, individual children or young people often have needs that cut across all these areas and their needs may change over time... A detailed assessment of need should ensure that the full range of an individual’s needs is identified, not simply primary need.

15. Special Educational Provision in Schools In deciding whether to make special educational provision, the teacher and the SENCO should consider all of the information gathered from within the school about the pupil’s progress, alongside national data and expectations of progress.

16. Special Educational Provision in Schools This should include high quality and accurate formative assessment, using effective tools and early assessment materials. For higher levels of need, schools should have arrangements in place to draw on more specialised assessments from external agencies and professionals.

17. Special Educational Provision in Schools This information gathering should include an early discussion with the pupil and their parents. These early discussions with parents should be structured in such a way that they develop a good understanding of the pupil’s areas of strength and difficulty, the parents’ concerns, the agreed outcomes sought for the child and the next steps. A short note of these early discussions should be added to the pupil’s record and given to parents.

18. Special Educational Provision in Schools Consideration of whether special educational provision is required should start with the desired outcomes, including the expected progress and attainment and the views and wishes of the pupil and their parents. This should then help determine the support that is needed and whether it can be provided by adapting the school’s core offer or whether something additional or additional is required.

19. Special Educational Provision in Schools However support is provided, a clear date for reviewing progress should be agreed and the parent, pupil and teaching staff should each be clear about how they will help the pupil reach the expected outcomes. The overriding purpose of this early action is to help the pupil achieve the identified outcomes and remove any barriers to learning.

20. Special Educational Provision in Schools Where it is decided that a pupil does have SEN, the decision should be recorded in the school records and the pupil’s parents must be formally informed.

21. SEN Support in Schools Four types of Action: Assess Plan Do Review

22. Assess In identifying a child as needing SEN support the class or subject teacher, working with the SENCO, should carry out a clear analysis of the pupil’s needs. This should draw on the teacher’s assessment and experience of the pupil, their previous progress and attainment, as well as information from the school’s core approach to pupil progress, attainment, and behaviour. It should also draw on the individual’s development in comparison to their peers and national data, the views and experience of parents, the pupil’s own views and, if relevant, advice from external support services.

23. Assess Schools should take seriously any concerns raised by a parent. These should be recorded and compared to the setting’s own assessment and information on how the pupil is developing.

24. Assess This assessment should be reviewed regularly. This will help ensure that support and intervention are matched to need, barriers to learning are identified and overcome, and that a clear picture of the interventions put in place and their effect is developed. For some types of SEN, the way in which a pupil responds to an intervention can be the most reliable method of developing a more accurate picture of need.

25. Assess In some cases, outside professionals from health or social services may already be involved with the child. These professionals should liaise with the school to help inform the assessments. Where professionals are not already working with the school staff the SENCO should contact them if the parents agree.

26. Why all the changes? The special educational needs and disability review: A statement is not enough Ofsted, September 2010

27. Inconsistency In some local areas, the identification of needs was well-managed and appropriate... What consistently worked well was rigorous monitoring of the progress of individual children and young people, with quick intervention and thorough evaluation of its impact. High aspirations and a determination to enable young people to be as independent as possible led most reliably to the best educational achievement. However, this combination of effective identification and good- quality provision was not common.

28. Equity The review team found that, despite extensive statutory guidance, the consistency of the identification of special educational needs varied widely, not only between different local areas but also within them. Children and young people with similar needs were not being treated equitably and appropriately: the parental perception of inconsistency in this respect is well-founded.

29. Indicators of SENs Around half the schools and early years provision visited used low attainment and relatively slow progress as their principal indicators of a special educational need.

30. Recommendations Schools should stop identifying pupils as having special educational needs when they simply need better teaching and pastoral support. When a child or young person is underachieving, the school or setting should begin by analysing the effectiveness of its generic teaching and systems for support before deciding that she or he has special educational needs.

31. Features of good practice in assessment and identification careful analysis of progress and development made by all children and young people accurate evaluation of the quality of provision, both academic and pastoral, offered to all children and young people staff who could identify frequently found learning difficulties clear thresholds and referral routes to different services with higher levels of specific expertise

32. Features of good practice in assessment and identification good understanding of the thresholds for referral used by different services assessments with partner services carried out swiftly and in a streamlined way, working within good local protocols assessments accessible for children, young people, parents and families trust in previous assessments, built upon in a formative way.

33. Support from Local Authorities Inspectors found that where local authorities provided clear guidance and challenged levels of identification, using a provision map or matrix of need, schools were more consistent when identifying pupils with special educational needs at all levels.

34. Low Expectations Some schools visited believed that identifying more pupils with special educational needs resulted in a positive influence on the school’s contextual value-added score. This provided an incentive for higher levels of pupils to be identified as having special educational needs. In some of the less effective schools visited, this over- identification contributed to lowering expectations for children and young people.

35. Does inconsistency matter? Yes, if the standard offer of education or care is insufficiently adapted for frequently found needs. Yes, if such identification is the only way parents and schools can gain access to expertise or support from a range of ‘in-house’ or external services. Yes, if special educational needs or disability are used as a reason for lower expectations and an excuse for poor outcomes. No, if the total package of services and support is appropriately customised to each pupil’s individual needs. No, if the provision that follows identification is, in any case, of poor quality and is not effective.

36. Over Identification Increased numbers Children and young people with a statement of SENs – very slight decrease from 3% in 2003 to 2.8% in 2013. Children and young people identified as having SENs without a statement – steady increase from 14% in 2003 to 18.2% in 2010 Particularly pronounced growth in secondary schools – increase from 13% in 2003 to 19.7% in 2010.

37. City of Bradford Learning Difficulties Team Baseline Assessment to inform future planning and target setting in schools (Primary/Secondary Versions) https://bso.bradford.gov.uk/schools/CM SPage.aspx?mid=1893