When a special educational need or disability has been identified by the school or external agencies, the staff and parents will meet to decide what actions need to be taken. The action can take these forms:
- School Provision The staff, SENDCO and parents will work together in school to set appropriate targets/provision within school for the child. It may be decided at this point to place the child on the external support stage. Provision will include a differentiated curriculum and an Individual Education Plan (IEP).
- External Support – If the child does not make sufficient progress as a result of the targets put in place by school, the teacher, in consultation with the SENDCO will talk to parents about asking for further advice from outside professionals, including Specialist Teachers, Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists or other health professionals. These professionals will assess the needs of the child and work together to develop further actions for development. At both stages, IEPs will be reviewed termly.
For the majority of children with special educational needs or disabilities, the previous stages are adequate. However, for some children the action needs to be taken further.
- Formal Statutory Assessment – Following a consultation with an Educational Psychologist some children may be identified as needing Formal Assessment. These children will be brought to the attention of the SENDCO who will gather evidence from the child’s parents, school and any professionals who have worked with the child. This evidence will then be used to decide if the child meets the requirements to have an Educational and Health care Plan (EHCP) created. EHCPs allow the child to have access to a Specialist Support Assistant and a Specialist Teacher. For children with an ECHP, a more formal review will be held annually, to which parents, the pupil, class teacher, teaching assistant and external agencies will be invited, to share the progress of the child. An extra review meeting will be held in the Autumn term of Year 5. This is a Transition Review and will be used to discuss proposed secondary school arrangements.
SEN & Disability: Local Offer – Primary Settings
SEND Code of Practice
Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Guide for Parents & Carers