Special
Educational Needs or SEN
The term Special Educational Needs (SEN) covers a wide range
of needs including literacy, numeracy and other learning and
thinking (cognition) skills, behavioural, social and emotional
skills, communication and interaction skills (such as language
difficulties or autism/ Asperger’s Syndrome) and physical
/ sensory skills including visual and hearing impairments.
There is a national Code of Practice regarding SEN and when
a school feels that a child meets the criteria for SEN provision
that is additional to or different from the provision usually
put in place by the school, the child should be given that
additional support. Provision for children with special educational
needs is whole school matter and all teachers are teachers
of children with SEN. Click for the definition of Special
Educational Needs (SEN). All mainstream schools and Early
Years provision are expected to have a Special Educational
Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). Early identification, assessment
and provision for any child who may have special educational
needs is essential. Regular recording of a child’s special
educational needs, the action taken and the outcomes is also
required.
Different levels of provision range from:
School Action is established when a child is identified as
needing interventions that are additional to or different
from those proved as part of the school’s usual differentiated
curriculum and strategies.
School Action Plus is established when the child’s
needs are such that the school needs to seek advice and support
from external support services. These may be provided by the
local Education Authority (LEA) or outside agencies such as
myself.
Request for statutory assessment. Such a request may be made
by school or parents, for only a very few pupils who have
failed to make adequate progress though School Action Plus.
The school will be expected to have already involved external
agencies such as an Educational Psychologist, implemented
and reviewed various strategies. If a Statement of Special
Educational Needs (SSEN) is issued following the assessment
process, this is a legal document describing the child’s
needs and the provision needed to meet those needs. The statement
is reviewed on an annual basis and can be reviewed more frequently
if there are concerns or the child’s special educational
needs (SEN) needs appear to have changed. Some local education
authorities make available additional provision to schools
when a statement has been issued, while an increasing number
of LEA’s delegate provision i.e. additional funding
is given to the schools as a matter of course and it is their
responsibility to meet the needs of all the children in the
school.
Individual Education Plan (IEP). Pupils receiving support
at School Action, School Action Plus or via a Statement of
Special Educational Needs (SEN) should have the strategies
to be employed to enable a child to make progress recorded
on an Individual Education Plan (IEP). The IEP should include
short-term targets, teaching strategies, provision, review
date, success and/ or exit criteria as well as recording the
outcomes when the IEP is reviewed.
All schools and early education settings (nurseries etc)
must have a written special educational needs policy. A child
may not be refused admission to a school because they have
special educational needs. Pupils with special educational
needs (SEN) but without statements must be treated as fairly
as other applicants for admission.
Interventions, or additional ideas, strategies and provision,
include individual or small group work with a teacher or teaching
assistant on skills such as literacy, numeracy, language,
social/ emotional skills (emotional literacy/ emotional intelligence)
or an individual behaviour plan might be established.
Outside consultants, e.g. an Educational Psychologist (EP)
such as myself can be used at any time, including for consultations
with teachers and parents etc, as well as providing in-service
training (INSET) for some or all the staff about a variety
of matters including various learning and behaviour management
strategies. See Support for Schools and Early Years
The term AEN (Additional Educational Needs) is increasingly
used to also include a wider range of needs not traditionally
included as part of SEN, such as English as an Additional
Language (EAL), traveller children and asylum seekers. It
is suggested that any parent/ carer who has concerns about
the their child’s education should first raise their
concerns with the school, if they have not already done so.
There is a clear expectation that most children with special
educational needs should be educated in mainstream schools,
including many children with a Statement of Special Educational
Needs (SSEN). Children need a SSEN in order to attend a special
school.
Inclusion
In recent years there has been a national initiative to include
as many children in mainstream schools as possible. The thinking
behind this being that it benefits both the child concerned
e.g. helping them to feel part of the community, learning
appropriate skills from other mainstream children, more able
to cope with the wider community during childhood and after
leaving school. The Code of Practice states that, ‘
A parent’s wish to have their child with a statement
educated in the mainstream should only be refused in the small
minority of cases where the child’s inclusion would
be incompatible with the efficient education of other children.’
(Section 1:35.) On the other hand, a number of parents argue
that their child’s needs can only be adequately met
with provision of a Statement of Special Educational Needs
(SSEN) and placement in a special school.
Stephen Bayliss - Chartered Psychologist
The Centre
18 Prospect Road
Hythe
Kent CT21 5NH
UK
Telephone: (01303)
253304
Email: mail@charteredpsychologist.co.uk
|
