A graduated approach to meeting special needs
Early education settings and schools in Islington place great importance on
identifying special educational needs early so that they can help children as
quickly as possible. Once it has been decided that your child has SEN, your
child’s teachers should take account of the guidance in the SEN Code of
Practice. This includes giving you information about the
Parent Partnership Service.
The graduated approach recognises that children learn in different ways and
can have different kinds or levels of SEN. So increasingly, step by step,
specialist expertise can be brought in to help the school with the
difficulties that a child may have.
The school must tell you when they first start giving extra or different help
for your child because your child has special educational needs. The extra or
different help could be a different way of teaching certain things, some help
from an extra adult, perhaps in a small group, or use of particular equipment
like a computer or a desk with a sloping top. In early education settings this
help is called Early Years Action and in schools this is called School Action.
Your child might need help through the graduated approach for only a short
time or for many years, perhaps even for the whole of their education.
Your child’s teacher is responsible for working with your child on a
day-to-day basis but may decide to write down the actions or help for your
child in an Individual Education Plan (IEP).
The IEP should say:
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what special help is being given
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how often your child will receive the help
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who will provide the help
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what the targets for your child are
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how and when your child’s progress will be checked
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what help you can give your child at home.
Your child’s teacher should discuss the IEP with you and your child if
possible.
IEPs will usually be linked to the main areas of language, literacy,
mathematics and behaviour and social skills. Sometimes the school or early
education setting will not write an IEP but will record how they are meeting
your child’s needs in a different way, perhaps as part of the lesson plans,
and will record your child’s progress in the same way as they do for all the
other children. But the school should always be able to tell you how they are
helping your child and what progress they are making, and explain why they
have not written an IEP.
Remember – it is how your child is helped that is important and not the way
in which the school writes it down.
If your child does not make enough progress, the teacher or the SENCO should
then talk to you about asking for advice from other people outside the school.
They might want to ask for help from, for example, a specialist teacher, an
educational psychologist, a speech and language therapist or other health
professionals. This kind of help is called Early Years Action Plus or School
Action Plus.
The SENCO should try to include you in any discussions, and should consider
your views in making any decisions about how best to help your child. They
should keep you informed about your child’s progress.
The SEN Code
of Practice is very clear about the importance of early education
settings, schools, LEAs and parents working together. Parents should have
plenty of opportunities to find out what is happening. Your views are very
important at all times. Talking through any worries or concerns you might have
with the people at the early education setting, the class teacher, the SENCO
or the head teacher should sort out any concerns or misunderstandings.