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SEND

Publishing Information: SEN Information Report

In addition to publishing your Accessibility Plan (prepared in compliance with the Equalities Act 2010), each school must publish a SEN Information Report. This is the information that you produce and review annually to tell parents/carers and pupils how you identify and meet the special educational needs of pupils at your school.

The SEND Code of Practice states the following in paragraph 6.79:

Publishing Information: SEN Information Report

The governing bodies of maintained schools and maintained nursery schools and the proprietors of academy schools must publish information on their websites about the implementation of the governing body’s or the proprietor’s policy for pupils with SEN. The information published should be updated annually and any changes to the information occurring during the year should be updated as soon as possible. The information required is set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and must include information about:

  •  the kinds of SEN that are provided for
  • policies for identifying children and young people with SEN and assessing their needs, including the name and contact details of the SENCO (mainstream schools)
  • arrangements for consulting parents of children with SEN and involving them in their child’s education
  • arrangements for consulting young people with SEN and involving them in their education
  • arrangements for assessing and reviewing children and young people’s progress towards outcomes. This should include the opportunities available to work with parents and young people as part of this assessment and review
  • arrangements for supporting children and young people in moving between phases of education and in preparing for adulthood. As young people prepare for adulthood outcomes should reflect their ambitions, which could include higher education, employment, independent living and participation in society
  • the approach to teaching children and young people with SEN
  • how adaptations are made to the curriculum and the learning environment of children and young people with SEN
  • the expertise and training of staff to support children and young people with SEN, including how specialist expertise will be secured
  • evaluating the effectiveness of the provision made for children and young people with SEN
  • how children and young people with SEN are enabled to engage in activities available with children and young people in the school who do not have SEN
  • support for improving emotional and social development. This should include extra pastoral support arrangements for listening to the views of children and young people with SEN and measures to prevent bullying
  • how the school involves other bodies, including health and social care bodies, local authority support services and voluntary sector organisations, in meeting children and young people’s SEN and supporting their families
  • arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with SEN about the provision made at the school

The SEN Information Report tells the story of what you do in your school.

It is not the same as a SEND Policy. Schools do not have to publish a SEND Policy. A policy document reflects the ethos, values and theory of the school’s approach, whilst the SEN Information Report is a statement of your practice regarding SEN provision and tells others about what you actually do.

The SEN Information Report must be:

  • easily accessible to pupils and parents
  • set out in clear, straightforward language
  • co-produced with parents and pupils
Categories
Events

Robinson Crusoe pantomine – 'pay what you can' scheme

The Musical Theatre Academy’s pantomime, Robinson Crusoe, is on at the Bernie Grants Art Centre (external link) from 7th to the 17th December. 

The Academy’s Principal, Annemarie Lewis Thomas, is operating a “pay what you can” scheme for tickets to ensure that all local children get a chance to experience live theatre during the Christmas season. 

Schools should contact the theatre via the “pay what you can” email address at Admin@theMTA.co.uk to find out more details and to take advantage of this offer.

Categories
Schools

News from Mulberry Primary School

The Mulberry Primary School is one of Haringey's largest primary schools and is proud of its cultural and linguistic diversity.  Over 720 children and staff from around the globe bring a wealth of experiences, including 45 different languages. The school has made significant improvements over the last two years.  We are learning and achieving with families to ensure all children achieve their potential. 

The Mulberry Primary school featured in The Parliamentary Review
The feature can be viewed on The Parliamentary Review magazine 2016 (external link).

Of the review, Headteacher Michelle Akarsu says,

I am incredibly proud of the achievements staff and children have made during the last two years.  The Mulberry Primary School is a rapidly improving school where learning is creative, inclusive and fun with lots of challenge setting ambitious goals for the future.

Black History Celebrations
David Lammy joined children at The Mulberry Primary School to celebrate Black History Month. David Lammy spoke to the children about his experiences growing up in Tottenham.  He met the School Council and had a tour of the school.  Razzan stated, "he is such a good role model." David Lammy had a wonderful time touring the school.  He stated there are certainly some future leaders in the making on school council.

img_0329 img_0299 img_0306 img_0319

 

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VAT number registration offer – correspondence alert

A company called ‘European Database Services Limited’, based in Vienna, have been sending out letters offering a service whereby organisations can have their corporate information (business name, address, VAT number etc) published on a website.

The company’s letter states that the service is a voluntary, non-official fee based service at a cost of £960 per year. The letter also quotes European legislation in an attempt to convince the organisation that it is a legal requirement to register their information. There is no such requirement, so schools should exercise caution if they receive any correspondence like this.

If schools have any concerns about possible fraudulent invoices, please contact the Head of Audit and Risk Management.

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The POW Project – an essential training programme for your educational institution

powThe POW project is an educational training programme focusing on the different strands of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). The name ‘POW’ (Protect Our Women) was given by the young people of Haringey who also helped to shape the content and design of the project.

The topics covered are:

  • Domestic Abuse
  • Sexual Violence
  • Stalking & Harassment
  • Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation
  • Prostitution
  • Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
  • Forced Marriage
  • Honour Based Violence (HBV)

POW is delivered under Solace Women’s Aid and funded by Haringey Council. The project is for all young people aged between 11-25 years and professionals and volunteers who work directly with young people. Each workshop lasts for an hour and by the end of the project every young people will have the opportunity to gain an AQA award in ‘Understanding the different strands of Violence Against Women and Girls.’  All workshops are adjusted where necessary to cater to the audience we are delivering to. We have delivered this project to a large number of young people across different schools, sixth forms and youth community groups and we have seen how beneficial it is for the young people who attend.

These are the outcomes that the programme delivers to meet:

1. Young people can identify all eight types of violence against women and girls and are aware of situations where someone may be at risk of violence.
2. Young people are confident in challenging someone’s abusive behaviour/ language where safe and appropriate to do so.
3. Young people understand the legal implications of each type of violence
4. Young people are aware of suitable sources that offer support after abuse.

There is a Training for Trainers (T4T) aspect to the programme as well. Anyone aged 16 plus can be trained to become a volunteer group facilitator themselves and go on to co facilitate future projects. They will be given the title ‘POW Champion’ within their organisation for violence against women and girls so will have training on how to deal appropriately with safeguarding concerns.

The POW project has been a real eye-opening experience; it enables students to learn and talk openly about pertinent issues that are highly emotive and are not always easy to address within education. The whole experience challenged the students (and me!) to rethink these important issues and how much we think we know about them, as well as educating about what we can all do ourselves to help and what other support services are available.

The delivery of material was really interactive; each workshop covers distinct topics with lots of ways for the students to get involved through discussion and group work. Some of the material is highly-sensitive, but the facilitator handles the topics skilfully and enables students to engage with some very difficult issues and facts. The facilitator created an atmosphere of openness and respect that allowed the students to voice their opinions honestly without fear of judgement. One thing I thought was particularly effective was the way the facilitator engaged the students to discuss points and issues, rather than simply instructing them what is right and what is wrong.

Running the POW project with our Y12 students was one of those most interesting and rewarding projects I have ever been part of,  so much so that I am undertaking training to become a POW Champion to be able to facilitate groups in the future. I would whole-heartedly recommend it to other schools- get on board quick whilst you can!”

– Ruth Cassell, Sixth Form Academic Coach

For more information, see the POW leaflet (PDF, 432KB), or contact Lorraine Anderson – 07467 145 659 / l.anderson@solacewomensaid.org

Categories
Outstanding for All Awards

Thank you for your nominations

Thanks to everyone who took the time to make a nomination for this year’s Outstanding for All Awards which closed on Friday 14 October. We've received over a hundred nominations this year, highlighting, as always, the many examples of fantastic teachers, students, staff, governors, and schools across Haringey.

The judging process is now in full swing but we'll keep you updated via Twitter (external link), our Outstanding for All Awards website (external link), and of course via the Schools Bulletin. 

In the mean time, don't forget the awards ceremony will be on Monday 5 December. Invitations will be sent out soon but, if you haven't already, make sure you save the date in your diary!

Categories
School Admissions

In-year admissions 2016

Each week, the Admissions Service monitors the number of places available across the borough in every year group and the number of pupils (if any) without a school place.

Thank you to the schools who provide information about vacancies consistently every week in the ‘weekly roll return’.  This information is essential to ensure that pupils without a school place are offered their highest possible preference school at the earliest possible time. It also helps to inform our decisions about school place planning.

Thank you to all schools who send us this information on a weekly basis. For the minority of schools who do not provide this information on a regular basis, can I gently remind you that all schools and academies are legally required to provide this information.  Please send your weekly roll returns to Lynne Tighe, Lynne.Tighe@haringey.gov.uk (primary) and Taj Buljhoo, Taj.Buljhoo@haringey.gov.uk (secondary) setting out the number of places you have in each year group. Please contact us if you have any difficulties completing the weekly return.

For your information, please see below a table showing how many ‘in year’ school places have been offered in each year group across the borough since 1 September 2016.

Yr Group

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Total

Grand Total

115

113

103

107

74

68

51

91

60

56

58

12

908

This is an extraordinary number of offers since the beginning of term and a real testament to the collaborative work being undertaken by schools and the Haringey Admissions Service. I can confirm that all pupils who applied leading up to PLASC were offered a place before the census deadline.

I hope you will find this information useful and thank you for continued support.

For any queries, contact Carlo Kodsi, Carlo.Kodsi@haringey.gov.uk

Categories
Governance

Updates to statutory guidance on the constitution of maintained schools governing bodies

The Department for Education (DfE) has published its updated statutory guidance on the constitution of governing bodies of maintained schools (external link). Key updates include:

  •  disclosure and Barring Service checks
  •  supplying information to the secretary of state about those involved in governance
  •  clarified information on governors’ access to training
  •  clarified information on parent governors

The new version of the guidance references the DfE’s Governance Competency Framework, which is expected to be published this autumn.

The guidance emphasises the role of the governing board in addressing both the training and development needs of individual governors.

The DfE also seek to clarify that parent governors have a valuable perspective to offer and are a good source of knowledge about the school. However, parental engagement is a separate activity for which the whole governing board is responsible.

Categories
Governance

Safeguarding

Your Head teachers should all have received the template polices listed below.

  • Safeguarding and child protection
  • Anti bullying
  • SRE
  • Drugs, alcohol and substance misuse
  • Intimate care
  • Managing allegations against other children
  • Online safety
  • Positive handling
  • Use of social media

Any queries please contact Jane Flynn, jane.flynn@haringey.gov.uk
 

Categories
Finance

Contingency for schools in financial difficulty

Information on applying for allocations from the Contingency for Schools in Financial Difficulty was e-mailed to chairs of governors and school administrators on Tuesday 11th October.

The Contingency is created by the Schools Forum by ‘de-delegating’ funds from maintained schools and so is not available to academies and free schools.

Eligible maintained schools wishing to apply need to read the notes of guidance and e-mail the completed application form to Steve Worth, Finance Manager (Schools and Learning), at stephen.worth@haringey.gov.uk by Wednesday 9th November 2016.