SEND support in school settings

By law, all mainstream schools must provide support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

They should take what is known as a 'graduated approach' to provide this extra support and care, this is a support process that has four steps:    

• Assess – teaching staff assess your child’s needs.

• Plan – the school agrees what support 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 – the school reviews the support plan and your child's progress at least three times per year.

The SEND Code of Practice says that parents and carers should be involved in any discussions and planning about what support their child is receiving.

This means that you should know if your child has been identified as having SEND and know what support is being put in place to help them. You should also have been able to give your views.

All help should be on-going throughout education. This means there will need to be more than one cycle of graduated approach.

The local authority have produced a SEND Schools standards guide for parents, which explains this in more detail. There is also a standards guide for SEND Further Education (FE) for parents and standards guidance for parents for SEND Early years

 

Support to meet SEND could include:                      

• extra help from a teacher or a learning support 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

What is available may differ from school to school, 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.  

If you have any questions or concerns about the support your child is receiving we would advise initially speak to your child's class teacher and or SENCO to discuss these further. All settings should have their SEND policy on their website or available upon request.

If after raising your concerns, you still feel there are still outstanding issues or concerns then you can contact the Headteacher of the setting. If the matter is then still unresolved your can request the complaint policy and follow as directed.  Our webpage make a complaint may assist you further.

What is an educational psychologist, what they do and when do they get involved  

Schools and educational settings can request a consultation with an Educational Psychologist if they have concerns about the learning, development or wellbeing of children and young people in their settings. They work collaboratively with schools and educational settings to prioritise casework. They also provide psychological advice to contribute to the Education and Health Care needs assessment process.

If you have concerns about the development of your child or you are a young person with concerns of your own, we advise you to speak to school or college staff and the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) in the first instance.  There is a helpline where you can discuss your concerns further with the Leicestershire Educational Psychology Service.

Some parents choose to pay for private advice which should be taken into consideration the same as the local authorities own educational psychology service but in the first instance, we would suggest that you speak to your educational setting to get the school to involve their provider.

Leicestershire County Council Educational Psychology team 
Email: psychology@leics.gov.uk

What other agencies may be involved

Speech and language therapists (SALT)

Speech and language therapists (SALT) and support workers provide assessment and care to children and young people. A referral can be made by school or your local GP if they or you have concerns.

They offer a range of services.  They support children and young people who have difficulties with:

Speech, language and communication skills

Eating, drinking and swallowing skills

The service works closely with families, parents and carers to improve children and young people’s progress in these areas and to ensure that their potential for learning, social and emotional development is reached. Parents and carers and schools may be given some strategies to support their child and can be referred back if further support is required.

SALT work in partnership with a range of other agencies and colleagues from schools, Early Years settings, children’s centres, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, medical teams to the voluntary sector.

You can find more about Leicester children’s speech and language therapy service on their website.

Children’s Occupational Therapy (OT)

The Children’s Occupational Therapy (OT) team works with children from birth to age 16 (up to 19 years in statutory education) who have difficulty participating in everyday activities because of physical disability or a medical condition to live more productive and enjoyable lives.

They help children who are experiencing difficulties with gross and fine motor skills, visual perception, sensory impairment and sensory motor skills and support them to become more independent with everyday activities they need and want to do including:

• Getting dressed
• Personal care
• Play
• Leisure activities
• School

Referral criteria

They offer a service to children and young people:

From birth to age 16 (up to 19 years in statutory education) registered to GP practices in Leicester City, Leicestershire or Rutland

Attending school in Leicester, Leicestershire or Rutland if the occupational therapy intervention needs to be delivered in the context of the curriculum

Have significant functional, independence, sensory, movement or perceptual difficulties that can be changed through occupational therapy intervention

Referrals to this service can be made by:

• Parents/carers known to the service who have been discharged within 6 months
• Health professionals including GPs
• Education/teaching staff
• Social services staff

The service is not commissioned to provide a service for:

Any young person over 16 who is not in full time education

Young people with Special needs over the age of 19 years

Children / young people who have a short-term acute illness and is expected to return to their former level of function and wellness

You can find more about the NHS Occupational Therapy service on their website.

If you feel that your child may need SEND support, is not responding to the help that they are already getting, or feel that you don't know what is in place, you should ask for a meeting with the class teacher or school to discuss this.   

We can help you to prepare for a send support meeting.

From at least year 9 (aged 13-14) there should be consideration of preparation for adulthood in any SEND planning. This is to support your child with the transition from their childhood to adulthood and becoming more independent.                   

You might also find our transitions advice page useful if your child has a change in their current placement coming up. 

If your child is not making progress despite having SEND support in school, you could think about whether an EHC needs assessment might be helpful. This is a closer look at your child's SEND and support that they may need. If the school decides to request this as part of their graduated approach, they must tell you.

Wraparound care is before and/or afterschool provision offered by schools. It can be provided directly by the school, or can be 'outsourced' to another provider. Regardless of who delivers it, it would usually be considered as one of the 'services' offered by schools.

The Equality Act (2010) says that school services must be made accessible to all children without the need to charge extra for the provision of support or any other reasonable adjustments.

It is an 'anticipatory duty', which means that schools must consider and plan for accessibility when developing their offer, before it is finalised and advertised. They should not wait until an accessibility issue arises to address it.

If you feel your young person has been refused this service due to their SEND, you are able to appeal the decision to the First Tier Tribunal.

The Tribunal will take a 'reverse proof' approach. This means that they will rule the refusal as discrimination and the burden will be on the school to prove that any adjustments needed to make the provision inclusive are 'unreasonable

Relevant Law and Guidance  

The following law and guidance would be relevant to a wraparound care dispute on SEND grounds:

Law- Equality Act (2010) 

• Section 6 Disability is a protected characteristic.

• Section 13 Failure to provide SEND provision is direct discrimination, which is unlawful.

• Section 20 If there are practical issues causing the discrimination then reasonable adjustments must be considered.

• Schedule 2 Services and public functions: reasonable adjustments.

• Schedule 10 Accessibility for disabled pupils.

• Schedule 13 Education: reasonable adjustments.

Guidance - Department of Education (DfE) 

• Wraparound and holiday childcare

Leicestershire Local Offer 

• SEND and childcare providers