Special Educational Needs

As many as 1 in 5 children will experience some kind of difficulty in learning at some time during their school life. Most children will receive the extra help they need from their school. Some children may need more specialist help.

The term 'special educational needs' has a legal meaning.

"The law says that a child has special educational needs if he or she has learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age. These children may need extra or different help from that given to other children the same age.

The law says that children do not have learning difficulties just because their first language is not English. Of course some of these children may have learning difficulties as well".

A child with special educational needs may need extra help because of:

a physical disability present from birth or arising from injury or illness;
a visual impairment where children have been born partially sighted or blind, or have become so through accidents, illness or a deteriorating condition;
a medical or health condition which may slow down a child's progress and/or involve treatment that affects their schooling;
a hearing impairment involving significant hearing loss or deafness which can seriously affect speech and the ability to benefit from teaching and conversation with others;
emotional and behavioural difficulties where a child might have difficulty in forming social relationships and concentrating on work;
a specific learning difficulty with reading, writing and mathematics calling for a more structured approach to learning
learning difficulties in acquiring basic skills
speech and language where children have a particular reason for not being able to speak or are delayed in speech and language skills development

How do schools give help to children with special educational needs?

In Walsall, schools provide a wide range of extra help for children with special educational needs. The extra help a child receives will be matched to their level of difficulty. Most children's needs will be met by their school, through a range of interventions known as School Action and School Action Plus. This is called the graduated approach.

This 'graduated approach' is described in more detail in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. This is a guide for schools and local educational authorities and provides information about how they help children with special educational needs. By law, the guidance in the code of practice should not be ignored.

A copy of the code of practice can be freely obtained from the Department for Education and Skills at:

DfES Publications
PO Box 5050
Sherwood Park
Annesley
Nottinghamshire
NG15 0DJ

Telephone 0845 602 2260

Email dfes@prolog.uk.com

Website Department of Education

What happens at School Action?

School Action is used when your child's school feels there is evidence to support concerns that your child:

is making little or no progress even when teaching approaches are targeted particularly in his/her identified area of weakness
shows signs of difficulty in developing literacy or mathematics skills which result in poor academic attainment in some curriculum areas
has sensory or physical problems, and continues to make little or no progress despite the provision of specialist equipment
presents persistent emotional or behavioural difficulties which are not ameliorated by the behaviour management techniques usually employed in his/her school
has communication and/or interaction difficulties, and continues to make little or no progress despite the provision of a differentiated curriculum.

School Action involves the class teacher seeking the help of the special educational needs co-ordinator. This is the person in the school responsible for implementing the schools special educational needs policy and helping children with special educational needs.

Your child's teacher will consult with you and together with the special educational needs co-ordinator they will draw up a plan of action for your child. This plan is called an Individual Education Plan and it should be discussed with you and your child.

The individual education plan is a document used by teachers to help them plan lessons for children with special educational needs. It is a planning, teaching and reviewing tool and should include what and how your child should be taught. It is important to remember that as no child's needs are exactly the same as any others; each child's individual education plan will be different.

The special educational needs co-ordinator and your child's class teacher will discuss what type of support will help your child make progress.

For example, these might include;

different learning materials
special equipment
group work
individual support
training for staff on how best to support your child.

Your child's progress will be reviewed regularly. It may be that his/her special educational needs continue to cause concern. If so, it is likely that, the special educational needs coordinator will invite you to a meeting in order to discuss whether more support is needed.

What happens at School Action Plus?

If your child does not make enough progress or if his/her special educational needs cannot be met under School Action, the school may seek advice from specialists such as an educational psychologist and/or teachers from support services. These specialists will look at your child's records to get a full picture of his/her progress, the strategies already used by the school and targets that have been set and achieved.

Together with the special educational needs co-ordinator and other teachers the specialists will develop a plan for your child which may include;

regular advice to teacher/s on working with your child
teaching support
equipment and teaching materials
information and technology
specialist assessment.

The plan for your child will be recorded in a new individual education plan which will be monitored and reviewed regularly. Your child's teachers will be responsible for making sure the plan is put into action in the classroom.

What is a statutory assessment?

Most children's needs can be met by the extra help available through School Action or School Action Plus. However a small number of children may need a lot of extra help that only a statutory assessment will identify.

A statutory assessment is a detailed assessment of your child's special educational needs. This can sometimes lead to a statement of special educational needs although there are no guarantees that this will happen. The aim of the assessment is to find out what special educational needs your child has and what special help he/she will need to meet those needs.

Further information about statutory assessments can be found in the booklet titled The Statutory Assessment.

What is a statement of special educational needs?

A statement of special educational needs is a legal document that might follow a statutory assessment. It describes your child's difficulties and the special help that is needed to meet those difficulties. It will also specify the type and name of school that can provide for those needs.

Further information about the statement can be found in the booklet tilted Your Child's Statement.

Where can I get more help, information and advice?

If you are concerned about your child's progress or you would like to know more about getting extra help for your child, talk to your child's teacher or the school's special educational needs co-ordinator or the head teacher.

If you would like to speak to someone who is independent and knows about special educational needs, you can get help from Walsall parent partnership service.

Local and national voluntary organisations also provide valuable sources of information and support to parents of children with special educational needs. We have provided a list of these organisations in the booklet titled Organisations.

Contact us

Walsall Parent Partnership Service
Children & Young People’s Services
Walsall Council
40 Darwall Street
Walsall
WS1 1DA

Telephone 01922 650330
Fax 01922 634093
Email parentpartnership@walsall.gov.uk