7.2.8 Inclusion and SEN |
This chapter was new October 2009
Where the policy refers to parents, please read parents and carers.
Contents
- What does 'Inclusion' mean?
- What are the Principles of Inclusion Laid Down as Guidance by the Local Education Authority?
- Overall, how does the Children's Centre make sure that People have Equality of Opportunity?
- What will Happen to all the other Policies, such as the Special Educational Needs and Equal Opportunity Policies?
- Which Legal Documents about Inclusion does the Centre have to Consider and Abide by?
- Disability Equality
- Minority Ethnic and Faith Groups, Travellers, Asylum Seekers and Refugees
- Where Children Speak English as a Second Language
- Racial Equality
1. What does 'Inclusion' mean?
The word 'Inclusion' when it is about people means that everyone should have equal rights and opportunities regardless of:
- Age
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Faith / culture
- Background
- Attainment
- And those with special educational needs or disability
This Policy represents ethos and practice across the Centre, however there is an emphasis on inclusion in children's early learning and childcare, throughout the policy.
2. What are the Principles of Inclusion Laid Down as Guidance by the Local Education Authority?
- Inclusion is a basic value that extends to all children; everyone belongs and everyone is welcome.
- Inclusion is not conditional, and educational programmes must fit the child rather than the child fitting the programme.
- Special education must become an integral part of general education and the two separate systems must become unified in their efforts to meet the needs of children.
- Children with disabilities must be full and active participants in childcare and community, occupying socially valued roles.
- Children and adults learn best in an environment where they feel valued, accepted and respected.
- Discrimination undermines perpetrators' and victims' ability to achieve. The curriculum, relationships and organisations must challenge this and present positive images and practices.
- All adults and children within the LEA have equal worth.
The Centre has adopted these principles and aim to abide by them.
3. Overall, how does the Children's Centre make sure that People have Equality of Opportunity?
The Staff and Governing Body will:
- Work pro-actively to make sure that Inclusive practice is at the heart of the development of the entire Centre's services and activities.
- Pro-actively question, challenge and address any prejudices that they or others may have. It is also important that they understand the needs and potential difficulties of people with additional/ different needs and devise strategies and approaches that will respond effectively to them.
- Work hard to make sure that the children who attend the Centre are given every opportunity to achieve and to maximise their potential, and we will have high expectations of all our children. Where children have additional or special needs or a disability we will adapt and use creative strategies to ensure that they are experiencing equal and effective learning opportunities. We will monitor all our children's progression so that we know how to take their learning further and ensure that they are being taught effectively.
- Ensure that every child's dignity is respected.
- Recognise and understand that discrimination undermines both children's and adults self esteem, confidence and sense of belonging, and so individually and collectively, will work hard to make sure that no one is discriminated against, either unintentionally or intentionally.
- Ensure that people are, and feel that they are being treated fairly and that their opinions and views are, sought, listened to, respected and valued.
- Be expected to undertake training and pursue professional development activities, which help them to understand and gain expertise in inclusion issues.
The staff will work with other agencies and organisations to make sure that we maximise inclusive practice for children and parents.
We will work closely with parents to:
- Encourage an understanding of the things that we are trying to achieve.
- Encourage and promote full involvement in their child's education and in any adaptations or changes that we need to make.
- Provide, day-to-day support and practical assistance, individual support and group work, parents' information points and library resource, and other more universal learning and recreational groups. We endeavour to be non-judgmental, approachable, flexible and welcoming to any parents who use our services.
Each section on this policy will set out how we will achieve these aims within specific areas of inclusion.
4. What will Happen to all the other Policies, such as the Special Educational Needs and Equal Opportunity Policies?
This Inclusion Policy relates to all groups as listed in Section 1, What does 'Inclusion' mean and encompasses equality of opportunity and a zero tolerance approach to discrimination, and now replaces:
- The Special Educational Needs & Disability Policy
- The Equal Opportunities / multi cultural/anti racist Policy
- The Equal Opportunities/ gender equality Policy
This Policy will include specific information on practice and procedures relating to specific needs, but inclusion policy relates to everyone:
- Special Educational Needs and Disability
- Minority Ethnic groups, racial equality and English as an additional language
- Gender
- Background (Children in Public Care & or, who are disadvantaged through poverty, social difficulties, mental health or parents lifestyle.
- Attainment (along the continuum from high to low)
5. Which Legal Documents about Inclusion does the Centre have to Consider and Abide by?
- The SEN & Disability Act 2001 with regard to
- The Inclusion Framework
- The SEN Code of practice
- The Disability Code of Practice
- The Race Relations (amendment) Act 2000
- Sex Discrimination Act 1995
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (amended 2005)
- Equality Act 2006
Other useful guidance: Together from the Start - practical guidance for professionals working with disabled children (0-3) and their families
6. Disability Equality
The principles set out in this chapter in relation to inclusion relate to all children and adults who use and work in the Centre and who have disability.
Staffing
The definition of a disability: The DDA defines a disabled person as someone who has: 'a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day to day activities' Definition of the terms:
The definition includes a wide range of impairments, including hidden impairments such as dyslexia, autism, speech and language impairments, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). These are all likely to amount to a disability, but only if the effect on the person's ability to carry out day-to-day activities is substantial and long term, as defined above. The effect on normal day-to-day activities is on one or more of the following:
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The Centre has adopted the Local Authority employment and recruitment policies and abides by the monitoring procedures, which clearly promote equality of opportunity. Where additional support is necessary the Centre will work with the member of staff to accommodate this, e.g. adapted telephones, re-siting of desks, flexible working (where possible) etc. The Centre has staff development and other policies in place which set out the provisions for staff members to express any issues which may be causing them concern, this clearly relates to disabled staff who feel that their needs are not being met sufficiently for them to do their job or that they are being discriminated against.
See Staff Training and Development Procedure and Whistleblowing (Children's Centres) Procedure
There is a significant overlap between the policy and procedure for children with Special Educational Needs and those with a disability, the definition of SEN includes many but not necessarily all disabled children. However the Centre's overarching principles of inclusion and access to the curriculum and the environment are the same and therefore the information throughout this chapter applies to children with a disability.
The Centre is equipped with ramps to all exits and has four adapted toilets, which can be accessed by wheelchairs and which have baby changing facilities.
Externally the pathways comply with DDA regulations.
Where necessary the staff will undergo training to help them to deal with specific issues, e.g. Annapen, Rectal diazepam use, Asthma, Makaton etc.
Where necessary medical Protocol's will be developed with parent's in order to ensure consistency and roles and responsibilities.
7. Minority Ethnic and Faith Groups, Travellers, Asylum Seekers and Refugees
To create an environment of learning and caring, which:
- Understands respects and responds positively to 'difference' and ensures that all children receive an education, which maximises their achievements, knows when and why they may not be achieving and pro-actively seek ways to address this.
- To pro-actively and sensitively challenge prejudice
- To promote tolerance and an awareness of the diversity in society.
The Centre Staff & Governing Body will meet the aims by:
- Formulating all policy and procedures with inclusion as the underpinning principle.
- Monitoring and evaluating children's progress in order to ensure that they are achieving, participating and feeling valued, through genuine praise and encouragement, identification, observation, assessment and parental involvement.
- Developing a culture in which colour, race, custom, and faith are contextually significant to the children e.g. by introducing as a matter of course, role play resources, equipment, signs, books, images, story, food and displays, which represent a variety of cultures, thereby giving all children 'ownership' of the Nursery.
- Learning from parents and children about what matters to them and how they feel, in order to help to ensure that the curriculum is relevant and culturally appropriate, E.g. during initial home visiting, Early Starters, encouraging parents in to nursery to share experiences/skills, open evenings, workshops and asking parents to contribute artefacts/photographs etc. from home.
- Ensuring that discussion takes place with parents about their family customs and how they may differ from the dominant customs so that we can ensure that children and parents are not placed in difficult situations or their actions misinterpreted. E.g. The way that some families meet and greet their children, or expectations about children's levels of independence may be different, this does not mean that one is right and one wrong.
- Ensuring that all the areas of Foundation stage curriculum act as a vehicle for raising awareness and fostering an understanding of self and others, in relation to, identity, diversity, value, empathy and tolerance.
- Valuing the fact that many children are able to speak more than one language and encouraging them to share this with other children and staff members.
- In relation to traveller and Gypsy families, and in addition to the above, the Centre's traveller out reach worker will promote the rights of this group, encourage early learning activities on site, promote professional's awareness of the traveller culture and customs through training and encourage the traveller families to use the Centre, and mainstream schools and services.
- Ensuring that Festivals and celebrations of faith avoid being tokenistic and do not represent the only expression of 'diversity'.
- Awareness raising and sharing policies with parents so that they understand and try to respect the Centre's ethos and approach.
- Develop networks and links with other agencies who may be able to inform and assist our practice.
8. Where Children Speak English as a Second Language
- The staff will use pro-active methods of communicating with children, through signing with words, using objects of reference or visual cues and making sure that children are assigned a quiet time so that they are given opportunities to work quietly in small groups and on a one to one basis with a member of staff.
- Staff members and children will be expected to learn basic words from the child's own language, to aid communication and to help the child to feel valued.
- Parents will be encouraged to become involved in the Centre) to foster the above-mentioned two- way learning process.
9. Racial Equality
Although our policies are designed to foster an atmosphere of acceptance, it is inevitable that at times individuals may either knowingly or unknowingly use language or behaviour, which is offensive and discriminatory. This is unacceptable. Serious incidents will be recorded and used to inform procedure and practice and will also be passed on to the LEA's Equality and Diversity Service.
In all cases the incident will be handled sensitively but firmly, it is important not to handle cases of racism in a way, which is in itself, oppressive.
Young children are curious about themselves and others and quite rightly ask questions about such things as why other children have different coloured skin or speak differently etc. Where they use inappropriate language, which may have a racist connotation, it is generally because they have heard this and are repeating it; it is just another new word. The staff's approach is one, which supports (and doesn't undermine) the children in developing their thinking and understanding around words and actions that can hurt others and generally through the curriculum as already stated.
Through our extensive contact with parents we will strive to gain their support in developing our ethos of the value of a diverse community.
There are established links between children who live 'in poverty', 'public care' or are disadvantaged through their parents mental health or lifestyles (E.g. drug/alcohol abuse, crime, housing, family disruption, race) and low educational attainment. Effective early education and care can make a significant contribution in countering disadvantage and exclusion.
The Centre Staff & Governing Body will meet the aims by:
- Putting into place a strong procedure for identifying children who may be disadvantaged for the reasons outlined above.
- An admission policy, which prioritises 'children with social needs' and, or with 'Special Educational Needs'. (see admissions policy)
- Liaison with Health or Social services & other agencies/organisations:
- To ensure that children, who need our service the most, have access to it.
- To gather and pass on information, in order to plan effectively for individual children's needs.
- Early identification of children with additional needs, through, Parent & Toddler groups, Parent Support Workers etc, and within childcare, through observations, assessment and effective leadership and guidance from staff.
- Effective communication between staff, through, staff & team meetings, 'Concern meetings' and day to day contact.
- Observing 'Children Looked After' protocols for reviewing, assessing and monitoring progress and recording and passing on information, where appropriate.
Ensuring that the environment and the quality of staff intervention plays a substantial part in meeting children's, educational, social and emotional needs.
It is the Head and Governing Body's responsibility to monitor the Policy and ensure that it is being adhered to and reviewed every two years.
10. Gender
To create an environment of learning and caring which:
- Understands and responds positively and appropriately to the differing learning styles and needs of both boys and girls, maximising their achievements and learning capacity, and pro-actively seeking ways of supporting and addressing these differing needs.
- Offers an active, differentiated curriculum to meet and support the needs of both boys and girls at varying ages and stages of development ensuring that all children have the same opportunity to maximise their potential.
- Meets the needs of both male and female parents/carers who use the Centre and positively encourages and values their contributions to the life of the Centre.
- Challenges stereotypical views of gender and offers equal opportunities for all.
The Centre staff and governing body will meet the aims by:
- Monitoring and evaluating children's progress in order to ensure that they are all achieving, participating and feeling valued. Staff will do this through genuine praise and encouragement, positive meaningful interaction, identification of learning needs, careful planned observation and assessment of children and through parental involvement.
- Acknowledging the importance of partnership with parents/carers and finding out what matters to them and addressing their thoughts and needs in relation to gender issues. (e.g. role play and super hero play)
- Discussing and reasoning about gender stereo typing with children - such as 'boys can't play with dolls' or 'girls don't build with bricks', where they arise.
- Raise awareness and share the ethos with parents in relation to gender issues through actively involving them in their child's nursery experiences - curriculum / stay and play days, parent and toddler groups, FEET etc.
- Ensure that the Centre environment promotes the interests of boys and girls alike, ensuring that positive gender role images are seen which promote and develop a culture of positive self esteem.
Also see Complaints Procedure
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