INDIVIDUAL EDUCATIONAL PLANS (IEPs) POLICY

A06: INDIVIDUAL EDUCATIONAL PLANS (IEPs) POLICY

 

“A goal without a plan is just a wish” – Antoine de Saint Exupery

1.     Rationale

At Edison Global Academy , it is understood that some students may have difficulty managing the curriculum content at their year level or may have special needs which require the class programme to be adapted and targets set so they will make progress in all areas – academic, social, emotional and physical. The Individual Education Plan is designed to guide the teaching team to manage these students in the classroom and to be able to chart progress.

2.     Use of Individual Educational Plans (IEPs)

         a.  What is an IEP?

An Individual Educational Plan, commonly known as an IEP, is a personalised plan and record of activities undertaken to ensure that students with additional needs to those of their peers are fully included in Edison Global Academy ’s learning community and have equal opportunity to fulfil their potential.

IEPs at the school are written and implemented according to the following principles:

1.      IEPs should be working documents with a practical value in the present moment – they should not be a ‘paper exercise’.

2.      IEPs should act as a profile outlining a student’s particular strengths and difficulties.

3.      IEPs should actively involve the student, parents, colleagues and where necessary, external agencies.

4.      IEPs should work towards the outcome of ‘every teacher is a teacher of special needs’ as well as specific outcomes for Learning Support staff.

5.      IEPs should outline action additional and different to everyday classroom practice, taking into account what the student can already do independently.

6.      IEPs should be accessible to all involved – using ‘Plain English’, avoiding jargon and ‘information overload’.

b. Who is entitled to an IEP?

Those students clearly identified as currently underachieving or having underachieved within the past 12 months at well below their expected level are assigned an IEP.

For students who present with milder difficulties, a shortened IEP may be used to outline the nature of their additional needs and strategies (including equipment if necessary) for teachers to implement in the classroom.

All past and current IEP information, and all related documents will be kept in each student’s individual folder.

c. How is an IEP created and maintained?

The following process is adhered to in the creation and maintenance of IEPs:

1.      The Class Teacher, in cooperation with the school psychologist/Counsellor, and/or the SENCo, identifies the additional needs of the student through filling out a referral form that will contain information from all core subject teachers, screening/standardised assessments, and/or referral to external agencies.

 


2.      The IEP team inform the school principal and/or Deputy Principal who arranges an IEP Meeting to develop an appropriate draft IEP for the student. Parent/s, involved colleagues and/or any involved external agency will then be invited to meet and discuss this draft IEP.  Invitations to the meeting are sent a minimum of one week prior to the proposed date.

 


3.      One of the IEP team will chair the IEP Meeting with the invited relevant parties, in which additional needs are explained/discussed, outcomes and action agreed – involving the student where appropriate.

 


4.      The IEP team then finalises the IEP based on the notes from the IEP Meeting.

 


5.      Where necessary, the IEP is sent to relevant parties to agree on content. The IEP is saved under the student’s name and year group (i.e. Abdulla Mohammed, Year 4), then distributed to all staff working with the student.

 


6.      Each IEP is to be reviewed once every term by the Class Teacher and IEP team. An IEP meeting is called if necessary.

d. How is the effectiveness of an IEP reviewed?

Each Individual Educational Plan begins by outlining the intended outcomes of the action undertaken. For most students, the intended outcomes will be specific and detailed, running in addition to curriculum attainment targets.  For students with milder difficulties, there will be a more generalised outcome focused on granting full access to teaching and learning in the classroom and any other opportunities for development and achievement. Fulfilment of intended outcomes will be measured through consultation with colleagues, Monitoring Forms, screening/standardised assessments and IEP Meetings

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