They help all staff who are involved to be aware of their social, emotional and educational needs. They need to help the school to develop a PEP(Personal Education Plan). Schools should have policies and procedures in place that are in line with national policies to help Looked After Children, such as providing a strong pastoral support system, encouraging after school activities, minimising exclusion and providing a safe and secure learning environment. The SEN code of practice: 0 to 25 years is part of the Schools: statutory guidance. It refers to students who “has a significantly greater difficulty in learning....has a disability which prevents or hinders...making use of facilities...” (Department of Education website) It is the responsibility of the school to provide academic and social support and to make all school amenities available to SEN students.
They are: Section 47 – this states that the Local Authority has a duty to investigate when they have a reasonable cause to suspect a child who lives or is found in the area is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Section 17 – states that services must be put into place by the Local Authority to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their own area who are in need. ‘Education Act 2002’ This sets out the responsibilities if the LEA’s governing bodies, head teachers and those working in schools to ensure that children are safe and free from harm. ‘Children’s Act 2004’ This provides the legal framework for Every Child Matters. Its includes the requirements for: * Services to work more closely together forming an integrated services.
CYP Core 3.2: Promote Child and Young person development 4.1 As a child care practitioner, the care and education that I extend to children, can make a difference to their overall development. In short how working practices are delivered in my setting can affect children development. As a reflective practitioner, I am able to effectively plan and work with children, always remembering that the child comes first and my work practice needs to be child centred. * I need to ensure that there is a proper balance of child-initiated and adult-initiated activities. * I need to ensure that that the balance of activities cover each of the aspects of learning in the curriculum but also building on each of the development areas.
What is meant by inclusion? Inclusion is an active not a passive process (Corbett Cited in Soan 2004:8) and no matter what background, religion, special need, race or disability the child should be include in the whole aspect of the curriculum. Having the environment and resources adapted to meet each individuals specific needs removing any barriers to learning and enabling every child to reach their potential. Inclusion is a big issue within mainstream education today and is very closely connected to the Special Educational Needs (SEN) practice already in place within schools. Many people believe that if a child has Special Educational Needs he/she should be educated in a special school.
Section 17 states that services must be put in place to promote and safeguard the welfare of children who are in need. The Childrens Act (2004) - This aims to bring agencies closer together to form a net of services for all and it provides a legal framework for Every Child Matters. It also provides a common assessment of children’s needs. Another part of this act is to provide a shared database of information which is relevant to the safety and welfare of children and to give earlier support for parents who are experiencing problems. The Education Act (2002) – This sets out the responsibilities of Local Education Authorities, Head teachers, those working in schools and the governing body.
The act is intended to strengthen the child’s legal position to give him/her equal rights, feelings and wishes and to ensure children are consulted and kept inform. Outside agencies are also required to work together with the school through sharing information to benefit the child. This includes police, social worker, doctors, psychologist, nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist and play therapist. Data Protection Act 1998 Schools need a variety of information that helps with the care of a child while they are in that setting. The school can only ask for information which is directly relevant for example health or medical, records from previous school or records for children who have special educational needs.
These Legislations have been created by the United Nation’s convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Disability Discrimination Act 1995: protects the rights of all those with disabilities. It also places a duty on schools (and other organisations) to eliminate barriers to ensure that individuals can gain equal access to services. Disability Discrimination Act 2005: places a duty for schools to produce a Disability Equality Scheme (DES) and an Access Plan. Schools must encourage participation in all aspects of school life and eliminate harassment and unlawful discrimination.
This act identifies the responsibilities of parents and professionals who must work to ensure the safety of the child. This Act includes two important sections which focus specifically on child protection. Section 47 states that the Local Authority has a duty to investigate when there is a reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering of likely to suffer significant harm. Section 17 also states that services must be put into place to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within the area who are in need. The Education Act (2002).
Inclusion refers to the participation of students with disabilities alongside their nondisabled peers in academic, extracurricular, and other school activities. Inclusive practices have a long history in the field of special education. It is important that children with disabilities are not removed from the regular educational environment unless the nature or severity of the disability of the child is such that education in regular education with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. (Turnball, 2010). The least restrictive environment gives a student who has a disability the opportunity to be educated with nondisabled peers, to the greatest extent appropriate.
A summary of the relevant Acts of Parliament and statutory frameworks, codes of practice and guidelines, and an example of a local school's inclusion policy is at Annex A. Legislation provides a mandatory framework for the rights of the child which everyone in the community is obliged to abide by and describes the rights to which all children are entitled and which communities must support and promote though our schools. The legislation prohibits discrimination against children on grounds of race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, (through the Human Rights and Equality Acts,) and Special Educational Need, (SEN, often combined with Disability as SEND). The lead in the community channel is taken by our schools, where the statutory duty to ensure that all pupils have equal access to the curriculum enables, through properly thought out policies, the fulfilment of the community's wishes that all of our children be included in, and have equal access to, all of the school's activities and opportunities. Inclusion, valuing and promoting cultural diversity and, equality of opportunity policies all contribute to raising achievement and improving participation, particularly among black and minority ethnic groups and this is particularly evident in my borough of Tower Hamlets where performance in all areas has been raised since 1998, when it was mostly well below local and national averages, to the current day where it meets or exceeds them.