Gifted & Talented and Special Education Needs

BELIEFS AND VALUES

At Caterham School we believe that all children are entitled to an education that will enable them to develop their full potential, be that intellectual, physical, aesthetic, creative, emotional, spiritual or social, finding appropriate challenge in our learning environment.
All students have individual needs, which put personalised learning at the heart of our teaching and learning.
Caterham School is committed to providing a sufficiently challenging curriculum for all its students. In addition, we will provide opportunities to identify and in turn nurture both those who are more able and those with mild Specific Learning Difficulties.
All students have an entitlement to the following:

Staff commitment and training to develop students’ full potential at all times.
Lessons that stimulate, engage, challenge, inform, excite or encourage through partnership and dialogue with teachers and other students and active participation in the lesson.
Courses that lead to examinations and accreditation.
Skilled, well‑prepared and informed teachers who have a perspective and understanding of whole‑school needs, problems and policies, especially those concerning issues related to those students identified as G & T or SEN.
An entitlement beyond subject teaching, including preparation for adult life and preparation for the world of work. This should include extra curricular activity, personal and social education, careers guidance and in some circumstances, counseling, visits to local industry, work experience and community service.

CURRENT STAFF

Headmaster	Julian Thomas, BSc (Hons), MBA FRSA
Director of Learning and Teaching	Kim Wells, MA
SENCo and G & T Co-ordinator	Lydia Tapley, BA, DipSpLD, AMBDA
Visual Impairment Teaching Assistant	Maureen Cody (funded by Surrey CC Ed Dept)
Heads of all teaching Departments and	Head of all Year Groups

ORGANISATION OF THE SEN DEPARTMENT

Caterham School SEN Department has one member staff (SENCo) and one dedicated Visual Impairment Teaching Assistant. A member of the SMT, the Director of Teaching and Learning, supports the G & T Co-ordinator and SENCo in her roles.

The Director of Learning and Teaching will have the responsibility:

to work with the G & T Co-ordinator and SENCo to oversee the process and activity.

to include items concerning provision for more able students or students with Learning difficulties and/or disabilities on meeting agendas.

to monitor Departmental schemes of work for differentiated material through Heads of Departments.

The SENCo is largely responsible for organizing her own timetable, which is governed by the individual needs of the pupils, staff and outside agencies, and fulfils the requirements of the role as a whole. With support from the SMT the SENCo will have responsibility:

to oversee the day to day operation of the school’s SEN policy .
to gather names of identified students from all areas.
to categorize this information in a way agreed with the senior management team and to communicate back to Heads of Department.
to perform initial assessments and (in consultation with Heads of Year and parents) to refer pupils for further professional assessment if deemed necessary.
to prepare a register of identified pupils with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities each cohort year.
to co-ordinate provision for students who are identified as LD/D (by agreement with SMT) in close liaison with teaching staff and HoD and HoY. Where necessary provision would take the form of support in the classroom or individual 1:1 support.
to monitor the provision for LD/D students.
to evaluate, annually, the progress made by students and provision generally .
to consider, annually, the list of identified students.
to manage the dedicated Teaching Assistant.
to liaise with external agencies including the LEA’s support and Educational Psychology services, health and social services with regard to “Statemented” pupils.
to communicate information and strategies to assist staff to ensure that LD/D pupils’ and SEN pupils’ needs are met.
to create IEPs for SEN pupils and make them available to staff.
to keep the necessary paperwork up to date for Access Arrangement applications.
to work closely with the Exams Officers to make external Access Arrangement applications on line.
to keep up to date (through INSET) with current SENCo practice.
to contribute to the in-service training of staff.

With support from the SMT the G&T Co-ordinator will have responsibility:

to gather names of identified students from all areas.
to prepare a register of the top 5-10% of each cohort year.
to categorize this information in a way agreed with the senior management team and to communicate back to heads of department.
to prepare courses of action for students who are identified as able in many areas (by agreement with senior management).
to monitor the provision for more able students .
to evaluate, annually, the progress made by students and provision generally.

to consider, annually, the list of identified students.
to keep up to date (through INSET) with current G & T practice.

The Heads of Department will have the responsibility:

to prepare subject specific criteria re G & T pupils.
to inform departmental staff of these criteria.

to keep a record of criteria and pass on to the G&T coordinator.

to identify students who meet the G & T criteria.
to identify students with Learning Difficulty and/or Disability in their subject.
to pass these names onto the G&T coordinator or SENCo.
to provide schemes of work that contain enrichment/extension or differentiated material for identified students.
to ensure that teachers have registers that recognise who has been identified as more able or identified as a pupil with a learning Difficulty and/or Disability.
to ensure that any enrichment/extension or differentiated material is being used by subject teachers.

The Heads of Year will have the responsibility:

to be aware of G&T pupils, LD/D pupils and SEN pupils in their year group.
to highlight to the G&T coordinator students who seem to meet the G&T criteria.
to highlight to the SENCo students with possible Learning Difficulty and/or Disability.
to ensure that enrichment/extension opportunities are passed on and made available to identified G&T pupils.

to communicate with parents and refer pupils for further professional assessment if deemed necessary, in consultation with SENCo.
to monitor the provision for LD/D and SEN pupils.
to work closely with the SENCo and G&T Coordinator in keeping information of pupils on the register up to date.
to evaluate, annually, the progress made by students and provision generally.

The Visual Impairment Teaching Assistant will have the responsibility:

to create, for visually impaired pupils, any necessary resources in Font 18.
to attend and assist in Science lessons, whenever practicable and necessary.
to attend and assist in 3D design lessons, whenever practicable and necessary.
to attend and assist in any other lesson whenever necessary.
to assist with practical matters with regard to laptops and magnification cameras.
to keep up to date (through INSET) with appropriate support.

NATIONALLY RECOGNISED DEFINITION OF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty, which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.
Special educational provision means: educational provision which is additional to, or otherwise different from, the educational provision made generally for children of their age in schools maintained by the LEA, other than special schools, in the area;
This school will do its best to ensure that the necessary provision is made for any pupil who has special educational needs, and those needs are made known to all who are likely to teach him/her. The school will do its best to ensure that practitioners in the school are able to identify and provide for those pupils who have special educational needs; and ensure that they are ‘included’ in all lessons and activities alongside their peers as far as is practically possible.
The school will have regard to the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice when carrying out its duties toward all pupils with special educational needs and ensure that parents are notified of a decision by the school that provision is being made for their child.
Partnership with parents plays a key role in enabling children and young people with SEN to achieve their potential. This setting recognises that parents hold key information and have knowledge and experience to contribute to the shared view of a child’s needs and the best ways of supporting them. All parents of children with special educational needs will be treated as partners and play an active and valued role in their children’s education.
Children and young people with special educational needs often have a unique knowledge of their own needs. They will be encouraged to participate in all the decision-making processes and contribute to the assessment of their needs, the review and transition processes.
Children have a learning difficulty if they:

have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age;
have a disability that prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities, of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the local education authority;
are under compulsory school age and fall within the definition above, or would so do if special educational provision was not made for them.

Children must not be regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because the language, or form of language of their home, is different from the language in which they will be taught.

IDENTIFICATION and ASSESSMENT

No one method of identification can be entirely accurate since specific subject criteria will develop. We would endeavour to identify our G & T pupils and our LD/D pupils through a variety of methods. We obtain as much information about individual students as possible.
The methods employed include:

information from any previous schools.
internal and external assessment and testing.
specific criteria suggested by YG&T (and previously NAGTY) or a formal assessment by an Educational / Clinical / Child Psychologist.
screening through “Dyslexia Screener” (NFER).

specific criteria developed by subjects.
teacher observation and recommendation.

At the beginning of each academic year the Caterham School SENCo creates a Register of pupils with ‘learning difficulties and/or disabilities’. This includes pupils:

who have been assessed by an Educational Psychologist as having a mild learning difficulty (mild dyslexia, dyspraxia or dyscalculia).
who present with ADHD, and Asperger’s syndrome tendencies.
with visual, auditory or physical difficulties which impact on their learning.

This list is not exhaustive. Students displaying learning difficulties would be encouraged to undergo a full Educational Psychologist assessment.
Many of the pupils on our LD/D Register have diagnosed learning difficulties but are taught strategies to minimise the effect of their difficulty and/or disability on their learning.

At the beginning of each academic year the Caterham School G&T Co-ordinator creates a Register of pupils who, in agreement with the SMT are deemed to be more able.
In defining what is meant by the term ‘more able’, we have adopted the following definitions:

those who show an exceptional ability. This might be in a curriculum area such as mathematics, music, art or sport or be a less easily acknowledged talent such as leadership, creative imagination or social maturity.
those pupils who are assessed as gifted through an Educational Psychologist’s report, or Baseline testing.
those who fulfil the criteria necessary for membership into YG&T (NAGTY criteria).
those students who possess a general academic learning ability that is significantly greater than that of most of their peers.

The above list is not exhaustive and students may display exceptional abilities in a wide number of areas.
Many of the pupils on our G&T Register are involved in extra curricular activities at the school which cater for their exceptional ability. All are offered the opportunity to attend extramural courses and workshops offered by various organisations which cater for “Gifted” children.

ARRANGEMENTS FOR CO-ORDINATING THE PROVISION FOR GIFTED AND TALENTED PUPILS, PUPILS WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES AND/OR DISABILITIES, OR PUPILS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

The appointment of a named individual to coordinate the school’s response to meeting the needs of more able students (Gifted and Talented Coordinator) and students with LD/D (Special Educational Needs Coordinator).
The Heads of Year liaise with the G&T coordinator and the SENCo, to establish mechanisms for coordinating and monitoring the progress of the identified pupils.
The G&T coordinator and the SENCo attend all HoD meetings and G&T and SEN/LDD are standing items on the agenda.
Schemes of work are planned by heads of departments to include specific enrichment material and to include differentiated materials making some materials accessible to all pupils.
All staff are to be aware of their role in the identification of more able students and of students with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities, based on subject‑specific criteria and the need to make the curriculum sufficiently and appropriately challenging.

The establishment of a register of more able students established by the G&T coordinator and a register of LD/D students established by the SENCo to be published to all curriculum areas.
Continuing professional development for staff that addresses the implications of more able students and of LD/D students, within subject areas and develops teaching and learning styles that take account of differentiation, enrichment and extension.
The effective assessment of students’ potential and performance.
The regular monitoring and reporting, to the G&T coordinator and the SENCo, of individual student performance.
An audit of enrichment and extension opportunities provided by the wider extra curricular programmes.
The encouragement of students to enter local and national events, including residential courses and competitions.

The provision of discreet pastoral care (where required) on an individual basis.
The provision of mentoring, where appropriate.
Opportunities for more able students to work together.
Recognition, celebration and rewarding of achievement of all students.
Close liaison by the school with the home.

Mechanisms to identify and address underachievement.

INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLANS (for statemented pupils only)

Strategies employed to enable the child to progress may be recorded within an Individual Education Plan (IEP). The IEP will include information about:

the short-term targets set for the child.
the strategies to be used.
the provision to be put in place.
when the plan is to be reviewed.
outcomes (to be recorded when IEP is reviewed).

The IEP will only record that which is significantly different from, the differentiated curriculum and will focus upon two or three individual targets that match the child’s needs and have been discussed with the child and the parents. The IEP will be reviewed at least twice a year.

REQUEST FOR A STATUTORY ASSESSMENT (Should the need arise)
Where a request for a statutory assessment is made by the school to an LEA, the child will have demonstrated significant cause for concern. The LEA will need information about the
child’s progress over time, and will also need documentation in relation to the child’s specific learning difficulties and any action taken to deal with those needs, including any resources or special arrangements put in place.

the pupil’s health including the child’s medical history where relevant.
educational and other assessments, for example from an advisory specialist support teacher or an educational psychologist.
views of the parents and of the child.
involvement of other professionals such as health, social services or education welfare service.

STATUTORY ASSESSMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
Statutory assessment involves consideration by the LEA, working co-operatively with parents, the child’s school and, as appropriate, other agencies, as to whether a statutory assessment of the child’s special educational needs is necessary. A child will be brought to the LEA’s attention as possibly requiring an assessment through a request by the child’s school, from a parent or a referral by another agency. Where the evidence presented to the LEA suggests that the child’s learning difficulties have not responded to relevant and purposeful measures taken by the school and external specialists and may call for special educational provision which cannot reasonably be provided within the resources normally available to mainstream schools, the LEA will consider the case for a statutory assessment of the child’s special educational needs. The LEA may decide that the degree of the pupil’s learning difficulty and the nature of the provision necessary to meet the child’s special educational needs is such as to require the LEA to determine the child’s special educational provision through a statement.

A statement of special education needs will include:

the pupil’s name, address and date of birth;
details of all of the pupil’s special needs;
identify the special educational provision necessary to meet the pupil’s special educational needs;
identify the type and name of the school where the provision is to be made;
include relevant non-educational needs of the child;
include information on non-educational provision;

All children with statements of special educational needs will have short-term targets set for them that have been established after consultation with parents and child, and include targets identified in the statement of educational need. These targets will be set out in an IEP and be implemented, at least in part and as far as possible, in the normal classroom setting. The delivery of the interventions recorded in the IEP will be the responsibility of the class teacher and the Classroom Assistant.

ANNUAL REVIEW OF A STATEMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
All statements must be reviewed at least annually with the parents, the pupil, the LEA and the school. All professionals involved should be invited to consider whether any amendments need to be made to the description of the pupil’s needs or to the special educational provision specified in the statement. The annual review should focus on what the child has achieved as well as on any difficulties that need to be resolved.
The SENCo of the Senior School should be invited to attend the final annual review in primary school of pupils with statements, to allow the Senior School to plan an appropriate IEP to start at the beginning of the new school year and enable the pupil and the parents to be reassured that an effective and supportive transfer will occur.

DEPARTMENTAL RESOURCES
There is a wealth of reference material, and many additional teaching resources available in the school Library and from the SENCo. Reference material is always available for staff in specific and identifiable folders in the Staff Room. All staff are welcome to approach the SENCo for guidance, additional information and supplementary resources.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
Every child is treated equally in trying to meet his/her individual needs.

HEALTH AND SAFETY
The School’s Health and Safety Policies are adhered to.

EVALUATION

As with all our school policies, the transfer to consistent practice across the school is of paramount importance and thus we must evaluate our progress. The responsibility for evaluation will fall to the SENCo, who will report directly to the senior management team. Results of evaluation will be discussed annually at senior team meetings and shared with the governing body.