SEN minutes • November 2008 - Dog Kennel Hill Primary School

Minutes: Special Educational Needs Working Party of the Governing Body of Dog
Kennel Hill School, held at 62 Oakhurst Grove on Monday 3 November 2008 at 6:30
PRESENT
Peter Bibby (Convenor)
Marion Cranmer Eileen Wray
Gillian Reeve Linda Ewers
Heather Hewitt Derek Summerfield
Apologies Robyn Harrison on maternity leave
1. Appointment of minute taker
The Convenor volunteered to take minutes
2. Minutes of meeting 17 June
Noted
3. SEN Policy
Eileen circulated the amended policy which has been discussed by staff. Under annual
review on page 7 wording: the Convenor of the SEN working party should be changed
to: the Convenor or another member of the SEN working party. Agreed to recommend
adoption by Governors at meeting on 10 November.
Marion suggested that we add an appendix setting out the detailed procedure and
timetable for the conduct of annual reviews. This should take account of the statutory
requirements set out in the Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations 2001
which are published in the back of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice.
Agreed that Eileen should draft an Appendix for consultation as a matter of
urgency.
4. Common Assessment Framework
Eileen circulated the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) form. In order for babies,
children and young people to receive support and assistance beyond that which is
normally provided, a Common Assessment Framework form must be completed. This
will then be entered on to a national computerised database.
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Where the school seeks outside assistance for a child with Special Educational Needs,
a Common Assessment Framework form must be logged on the national database.
Completion of the Common Assessment Framework requires an in depth interview with
parents or carers which might take two hours. Some parents may be unwilling to
cooperate with such an intrusion. For example, one answer box calls for information
about the family with respect to; illness, bereavement, violence, parental substance
misuse, criminality, anti-social behaviour; culture, size and composition of household;
absent parents, relationship breakdown; physical disability and mental health; abusive
behaviour. The Common Assessment Framework is a barrier to accessing services
which may delay help for some children.
The completed form may contain personal information which should not be made
available to all teachers and other staff. We agreed to store the Common
Assessment Framework forms separately from the children’s general files and
separately from the children’s SEN files. We agreed to discuss the handling of
this information with other schools and with Southwark.
5. Budget Monitoring
When Southwark cut the funding to children with statements and replaced it with social
deprivation funding, the authority undertook to monitor schools’ special educational
needs spending. The monitoring appears complex. Southwark have indicated that
schools should give approximate figures to save time.
Southwark have decided to postpone their SEN Self Evaluation proposals until 2009-
2010.
6. Individual children annual reviews
Gillian attended review of NC. Teacher from Highshore attended, but had only been told
that morning. We think that Highshore had not passed on the date and time. Peter had
received copy of written complaint from parents that NC had received only 15 hours of
LSA time instead of the 25 that is specified on her statement. NC had become unwilling
to work with the teaching assistant.
Peter mentioned that there had been complaints from teachers and parents about
organisation and preparation for annual reviews this term with respect to MM and AS.
In March a similar complaint was made by parents of JH.
Two children have attended a short part of their annual review recently. We agreed to
encourage attendance of older children at annual reviews where it would be
appropriate and beneficial to them.
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We discussed DM who is chronologically year 1, but at present in our nursery. He will
move to reception in January.
We also discussed a child with autism, who has no meaningful speech and is physically
wild. He is in our reception class having transferred from Bessemer. Originally we
started him half time, but such a practice is likely to be unlawful.
We also discussed a nine year old child who has learning and behavioural difficulties
and is at present at Summerhouse two days a week. Progress with securing a
statement of special educational needs is delayed by non-attendance at a medical.
Support for his brother is held up by the difficulty in completing the Common
Assessment Framework form.
7. SENCO Post
During Robyn Harrison’s Maternity leave, Eileen has taken over all the SENCO work.
The Common Assessment Framework forms have increased the work of the SENCO
as has Southwark’s budget monitoring.
Robyn has expressed interested in doing the SENCO job on her return from maternity
leave.
After discussion. We agreed to ask teaching staff whether anyone would be
interested in doing some SENCO work, for example a day a week.
The job was divided between Robyn and Eileen on infant/junior lines. This may not be
the best division because knowledge of the children, their parents and the professionals
in the infant years would be of benefit in the junior years. There are other ways of
dividing the work.
8. Date of next meeting
We did not fix date of next meeting
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