Blog - A SENDCo's Guide for Back to School

Published on: 17 Aug 2022

As we prepare to return to a new academic year there are a million things to get ready as a SENDCo- here is a reminder of some of the top prioirities to prepare before our students return to campus - I hope it is helpful!

info@incluzun.com Subject title "SENDCo Guide PDF"

Policies

Review your schools policies at least every two years

Inclusion / Admissions / Safeguarding / G&T

·      Policies must be maintained with clear, unambiguous language in line with regulatory guidelines.

·      Inclusion Policy must name the qualified and licensed  teacher assigned to lead the provision for Students of Determination.

·      The leader of the provision must be a member of thesenior membership team

·      The leader of the provision must hold specialist qualifications related to Students of Determination

·      MoUs must be in place and maintained for all iLSAs and external agents.

·      Policies must be shared and promoted with all stakeholders and recorded.

·      Policies should be available online.

·      Strategic Inclusive Education Plan should be in place and up to date.

·      Inclusion Flowchart should be implemented and used by every teacher.

Review your school’s Website

·      School policies should be available on the website

·      Schools Vision Statement and/or objectives should include a commitment to providing inclusive education to Students of Determination.

·      The schools policies and procedures for the admission of Students of Determination along with links to legal documents and laws should be prominent

·      Messages and images should demonstrate and promote the inclusion of Students

Co-ordinate with the Admissions Team

·      Methods and tools for entry assessment should be in place, age appropriate and reflecting student’s stage of development

·      Information gathered on admission must be used to plan for the students arrival

·      Update KHDA/SPEA/ADEC of any case where admission may not be deemed appropriate to support a student with complex needs beyond the scope of the school along with clearly defined process and evidence.

Set up SEND Monitoring

·      SEND progress tracking by SLT with trend analysis and needs appraisal

·      Audit of need and planning of provision, including staffing should be up to date

·      Alternative, smaller step progress tracked using appropriate methods e.g tracking sheets, IEP monitoring

·      SEN monitoring meetings with all class teachers  

·      Monitoring of interventions by all class teachers  

·      SENCo works with class teachers to identify training needs related to specific areas of SEND  

·      Oversight of intervention monitoring by SENCo  

·      Teacher training in support needs is provided

·      Paperwork and invitations to annual review meetings is held by SENCo and updated as necessary    

Set up SEND Provision

·      Inclusion Register to be up to date and maintained at all times

·      All students have their barriers identified

·      Emergency procedures and risk assessments in place where necessary

·      Whole school provision map updated termly   - where applicable

·      Class provision maps – ownership of class teacher, overseen by SENCo  

·      Class provision maps include baseline and outcome projections  

·      LSAs have police clearance, JD and are monitored termly

·      LSAs have access to training

·      SENCo attends planning meetings and advises on curriculum mapping and differentiation and modification

·      Individual, costed provision maps in place for high need pupils  

·      Provision maps monitored and overseen by SENCo on regular basis  

Prepare IEPs BEFORE term starts