Welcome To Wirral

Introduction

1.1 The Authority has a duty to ensure that all pupils are educated in accordance with their age, ability, aptitude and special educational needs. It shares a responsibility with the Secretary of State and schools to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, social, emotional and physical development of pupils and to prepare them for the responsibilities and experiences of adult life. The Authority is also committed to the following principles in the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO World Conference On Special Needs Education: Access and Quality – June 1994):

• Every child has a fundamental right to education and must be given the opportunity to achieve and maintain acceptable levels of learning;
• Every child has unique characteristics, interests, abilities and learning needs;
• Education systems should be designed and educational programmes implemented to take into account the wide diversity of these characteristics and needs;
• Every child with special educational needs must have access to mainstream schools which should accommodate them within a child-centred pedagogy capable of meeting these needs.

1.2 In accordance with the SEN and Disability Act, the Authority has devised a strategy to improve access to schools, over a period of time, both in terms of their physical environments and the curriculum delivery. The Authority will support schools in the development of their own accessibility plans.

1.3 Governing bodies have a duty to ensure that children’s special educational needs are met and that teachers are aware of and equipped to provide for these individual needs. Children with medical and physical needs are entitled to physical and curricular access to education of the highest quality. Schools’ prospectuses must provide information about their special needs provision and in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995, as amended by the SEN and Disability Act 2001, report on how they plan to increase accessibility over a period of time. Schools must make reasonable adjustments to their policies, practices and procedures to ensure that they do not disadvantage pupils with medical/physical needs. Schools’ annual reports must include a report on the implementation of the governing body’s policy for pupils with special education needs and arrangements for disabled pupils at the school.

Policy

2.1 The Authority is committed to providing children with medical and physical needs with an education of the highest possible quality. This commitment lies at the heart of the Authority’s policies and practices. Children will be enabled to become independent learners. The Authority will have high expectations of their achievements and will celebrate their successes.

2.2 Wherever appropriate an education within a mainstream school will be the first consideration, provided that the pupils’ needs can be met, and that the provision is compatible with parents’ wishes, with the education of other children and the efficient use of resources.

2.3 Children whose physical and medical difficulties are compounded by significant other difficulties (eg behaviour, cognition and learning, communication and interaction) may be educated in a special school. Entry and exit to specialist provision is determined by published criteria (see Appendix A).

Curriculum

3.1 Children with physical and medical needs should have access to the full curriculum including offsite activities, residential trips and work placements.

3.2 Children with physical and medical needs may make use of a range of aids (including I.C.T.) that promote full access to the curriculum. A range of specialist support is available to provide help and guidance on this issue (see section 6).

Identification and Assessment of Needs

4.1 The identification and assessment of children’s special needs will be undertaken in accordance with the procedures set out in the SEN Code of Practice and the Authority’s SEN Handbook. The Authority has criteria for pupils with physical and medical needs and will be used to guide the process. These criteria are attached at Appendix A.

4.2 The assessment process itself will build on liaison with other appropriate services notably - health, social services and early years partnerships. The Authority will also work with voluntary organisations when appropriate.

Provision For children with Physical and Medical Needs

5.1 The Authority expects that wherever possible children will be able to attend their local mainstream school although the Authority maintains a continuum of provision for pupils who have medical and physical needs. This includes: 

• Mainstream schools
• Designated mainstream schools (an information booklet is available)
• Special schools

More information about schools and early years settings can be found in the Authority’s information booklets. This includes information on admission arrangements.

The booklets are available from all schools or from the Children and Young People's Department.

5.2 Early Years Provision
The Authority will give priority for places in nursery schools and classes to children with physical and medical needs. All three nursery schools have fully accessible environments and through the Accessibility Strategy the Authority intends to improve accessibility to nursery classes.

5.3 Primary Education – Mainstream
The Authority provides a range of primary educational settings, namely:

•   Local Primary Schools

Many primary schools have been physically adapted and can provide for children with a wide range of needs. Children with physical and medical needs have a degree of priority for a place at a school of their parents’ preference if that is an out of zone school.

• Designated Primary Schools

Some children with significant physical difficulties may find that their needs are best catered for in a designated primary school which may not necessarily be the child’s local school. These are fully inclusive mainstream primary schools which have an increased expertise to offer children with physical needs. Eight schools have been designated. They are:

Greenleas Primary
Heswall Primary
Millfields Primary
Overchurch Infant School
Overchurch Junior School
Pensby Park Primary School
St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School (Upton)
Woodlands Primary School

Further details may be found in the information booklet on primary education in Wirral.

5.4 Secondary Schools
The Authority will meet parents’ preference for secondary school in accordance with its arrangements for admission to secondary schools. Its criteria give a priority at community schools to children with physical and medical needs. Fourteen secondary schools are now accessible to children with physical/medical impairments and other schools will be physically adapted if appropriate and possible. Three are designated schools which have fully adapted sites and a higher level of expertise to offer pupils with physical and medical needs.

5.5 Special Schools
As part of the Authority’s continuum of provision, special schools provide for pupils who have physical or medical conditions which compound significant communication and interaction, cognition and learning, emotional, behavioural and social difficulties. The curriculum at these special schools is appropriate for the pupil’s needs.

Pupils in special schools may be included in mainstream schools for some parts of the curriculum as appropriate to suit their individual needs.

All children attending special schools will have a Statement of special educational needs.

5.6 Admission Procedures
Parents whose child has physical or medical needs should contact the Pupil Services Section in the Children and Young People's Department to discuss their child’s admission to school. The Authority has a Coordinator for the education of children with physical or medical needs. She is a member of the Special Education Support Service and is based at the Solar Campus, 235 Leasowe Road, Wallasey Tel: (0151) 637 6165.

The Coordinator will conduct a preliminary assessment of the child’s needs, taking account of all the evidence available and seeking further information if necessary from clinical medical staff. She will advise upon the range of schools and educational opportunities available. Parents will have the right to express a preference for their child’s school.

If a child’s needs suggest that a statutory assessment is required, Form SNR/1 will be completed and forwarded to the SEN Section. The process will then follow the procedures set out in the SEN Handbook. If a Statement is written as a result of the assessment, the parents will have the opportunity to express a preference for the school which they wish their child to attend.

Support for Children and Health Care Plans

6.1 The Physical and Medical Support Service (Mainstream Schools)

The Service for Pupils with Physical and Medical Needs is part of the Special Education Support Service. It comprises a specialist teacher who co-ordinates provision and SEN ICT Officer who gives tuition and assessment for children who are technology dependent. Access to the service is open to referrals from education and health professionals, pupils and parents. (More information about this service is available in the document “The Service for Pupils with Medical and Physical Impairment”).

6.2 Additional Support
The degree and type of additional support a child requires will depend upon the extent and type of impairment, the age of the child and the setting where they are being educated. The child’s needs and the level of support should be described in an Individual Health Care Plan. 

• For children who have physical and medical needs but who have not been through the statutory assessment procedure resources may be allocated via the Service for Pupils with Physical and Medical Needs
• .For children who have been through the statutory assessment procedure the level and type of support appropriate will be specified in the child’s Statement of Special Educational Needs. If specified funding is allocated (in terms of units), it is the school’s responsibility to use the funding to meet the child’s individual needs. The appropriateness and success of this support will be monitored via the annual review process.

Levels and appropriateness of additional support are monitored regularly and support staff are given opportunities to attend relevant training courses.

Aids and Equipment

7.1 In order to ensure full curriculum access, many children with physical and medical needs will benefit from the provision of aids and equipment (from specialist seating to ICT equipment). Schools are expected to provide the smaller of these items, as part of their provision, whilst larger, more costly items will be the responsibility of the Authority (as part of the long term strategic approach to improving access in all schools.

Organisation of Pupil’s Education

8.1 As with all children, pupils’ education is the responsibility of the Headteacher of the individual school. For children with physical and medical needs, schools are recommended to draw up an Individual Health Care Plan, which will outline the child’s non-educational needs and help the school provide an appropriate support package.

In-Service Training

9.1 The Authority recognises the importance of in-service training for teaching and support staff who work with pupils with physical and medical needs, with particular regard to equal opportunities, curriculum access and health and safety issues. Training will be provided in conjunction with associated professional bodies and voluntary organisations and will be evaluated for its effectiveness in terms of its benefit to pupils.

Safety

10.1 The safety of the children is of paramount importance. All staff must have a clear understanding of the child’s condition and know what to do in the case of an emergency. Individual Health Care Plan should cover this. However, care should be taken not to overprotect children. They need to be able to take decisions for themselves, to take risks and sometimes to fail.

Assessments of any highlighted risk should be taken by the Headteacher of the school. Advice may be sought from the Health and Safety Department on this process.

10.2 The administration of medication should be dealt with in accordance with school procedures (documented in the Individual Health Care Plan) and the advice contained in DfEE Circular 14/96 “Supporting Pupils with Medical Needs in School”.

References

Disability Discrimination Act, 1995.
Education Act, 1996.
Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001.
Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs 2001.
The Education (Special Educational Needs) (Information) Regulations, 1994.
Disability Code of Practice for Schools 2001.
Wirral SEN Handbook.
Physical Education for Children with Learning, Physical and Sensory Disabilities (Policy Document).
Children First – a Guide to the Needs of Disabled Children in Schools (RADA 1997).
Circular 14/96, Supporting Pupils with Medical Needs in Schools.
Accessibility Strategy.