SEND Support in School

All mainstream schools must provide support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Where a pupil is identified as having SEN, schools should take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place. Schools should take a 'graduated approach' to provide extra support using the following four-step process:

• Assess – teaching staff assess your child’s needs.
• Plan – school agrees the support that will be provided, how often and who will be responsible for it. A date should be set for progress to be reviewed.
• Do – the support is put in place and regularly monitored.
• Review – school reviews the support plan and your child's progress at least three times per year.

The SEND Code of Practice goes into further detail on the process:

Assess

In identifying a child as needing SEN support the class or subject teacher, working with the SENCO, should carry out a clear analysis of the pupil’s needs. This should draw on the teacher’s assessment and experience of the pupil, their previous progress and attainment, as well as information from the school’s core approach to pupil progress, attainment, and behaviour. It should also draw on other subject teachers’ assessments where relevant, the individual’s development in comparison to their peers and national data, the views and experience of parents, the pupil’s own views and, if relevant, advice from external support services. Schools should take seriously any concerns raised by a parent. These should be recorded and compared to the setting’s own assessment and information on how the pupil is developing.

This assessment should be reviewed regularly. This will help ensure that support and intervention are matched to need, barriers to learning are identified and overcome, and that a clear picture of the interventions put in place and their effect is developed. For some types of SEN, the way in which a pupil responds to an intervention can be the most reliable method of developing a more accurate picture of need.

In some cases, outside professionals from health or social services may already be involved with the child. These professionals should liaise with the school to help inform the assessments. Where professionals are not already working with school staff the SENCO should contact them if the parents agree.

Plan

Where it is decided to provide a pupil with SEN support, the parents must be formally notified, although parents should have already been involved in forming the assessment of needs as outlined above. The teacher and the SENCO should agree in consultation with the parent and the pupil the adjustments, interventions and support to be put in place, as well as the expected impact on progress, development or behaviour, along with a clear date for review.

All teachers and support staff who work with the pupil should be made aware of their needs, the outcomes sought, the support provided and any teaching strategies or approaches that are required. This should also be recorded on the school’s information system.

The support and intervention provided should be selected to meet the outcomes identified for the pupil, based on reliable evidence of effectiveness, and should be provided by staff with sufficient skills and knowledge.

Parents should be fully aware of the planned support and interventions and, where appropriate, plans should seek parental involvement to reinforce or contribute to progress at home. The information set out in should be readily available to and discussed with the pupil’s parents.

Do

The class or subject teacher should remain responsible for working with the child on a daily basis. Where the interventions involve group or one-to-one teaching away from the main class or subject teacher, they should still retain responsibility for the pupil. They should work closely with any teaching assistants or specialist staff involved, to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and how they can be linked to classroom teaching. The SENCO should support the class or subject teacher in the further assessment of the child’s particular strengths and weaknesses, in problem solving and advising on the effective implementation of support.

Review

The effectiveness of the support and interventions and their impact on the pupil’s progress should be reviewed in line with the agreed date.

The impact and quality of the support and interventions should be evaluated, along with the views of the pupil and their parents. This should feed back into the analysis of the pupil’s needs. The class or subject teacher, working with the SENCO, should revise the support in light of the pupil’s progress and development, deciding on any changes to the support and outcomes in consultation with the parent and pupil.

Parents should have clear information about the impact of the support and interventions provided, enabling them to be involved in planning next steps.

Where a pupil has an EHC plan, the local authority must review that plan as a minimum every twelve months. Schools must co-operate with the local authority in the review process and, as part of the review, the local authority can require schools to convene and hold annual review meetings on its behalf.

What support might be available?

The support available in different schools may vary, but all schools have a legal duty to support children with SEND and make 'reasonable adjustments' for them.

This means adapting learning approaches and styles and/or physical resources and equipment to support your child to access their education, learn and make progress.

The support provides may include:

• extra help from a teacher or a teaching assistant
• making or changing materials and equipment
• working in small groups
• observations in class or at break time
• support to take part in class activities
• helping other children to work or play with them
• supporting them with physical or personal care needs
• one-to-one help with literacy, maths or speech and language

Contact have a useful factsheet, Extra support in mainstream school, that explains the kinds of support schools may be able to offer.

It is also useful to look at your schools SEND/Inclusion policy found on their website or request a copy from the school. All schools must publish a SEN information report.

What can I do?

If you feel that your child may need SEN support or feel that they are not responding to the help that they are already getting, you should ask for a meeting with the class teacher or school SENCO to discuss your concerns.

If your child receives SEN support in school, but are not making progress, you could speak with school about whether an EHC needs assessment might be helpful. This provides a closer look at your child's SEND and support that they may need.

 

Useful Links

IPSEA - How should your nursery, school or college help?

Contact – Extra support in mainstream school

Greenwich Supporting children and young people with SEND without an EHCP

Special educational needs and disability A guide for parents and carers

SEND support: easy-read guide for parents

Disabled Children and the Equality Act for schools

RBG Approach to supporting the needs of children and young people with a diagnosis of ASD