when a child has special educational needs

by Margaret McGowan

special educational needs | help and info

Jamie Knapton was six years old when his parents became concerned at the difficulty he was finding with maths and reading. He also had trouble expressing himself, talked little in class and lost confidence easily. Jamie's parents were unhappy with his progress but the school explained that although Jamie was covering the same areas of work as other children in the class, it was adapted to be simpler and take Jamie at a slower pace.

© Getty

Using new terminology, brought in with changes in how special educational needs are managed in schools from 2002, his teacher called this 'differentiation'. She felt it was too early to say he had special educational needs (SEN) but agreed to review Jamie's progress by the end of that term.

More than one in five pupils up to the age of 16 currently have special educational needs. Most will be in mainstream schools and many go on to do well after a period of extra help. Others will need more intensive support, regularly reviewed, over a long period.

So what do you do if you or your child's teacher suspects your child needs extra help? Jamie's parents kept their own diary of his progress and asked for a meeting with the teacher. Both agreed that he was not making good enough progress despite the differentiation and his teacher arranged a meeting with the school's special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO). Together they decided that Jamie should receive some individual support from the classroom assistant and join a small group of other pupils in the classroom receiving help at School Action.

School Action and School Action Plus are new procedures introduced in January this year and replace the old system of staging of educational needs. All children who were assessed on the old system will automatically have been moved to the new. School Action refers to provision for children within school. School Action Plus kicks in at roughly what was the old Stage three of educational needs (Stages one to three usually being taken care of in school) and is characterised by the school asking for outside help.

As part of School Action for Jamie, it was agreed that his teacher would continue providing work tailored to Jamie's needs and the SENCO would draw up an individual education plan with targets for his progress. Jamie's parents were anxious that the help would be sufficient for Jamie to catch up with his classmates. They felt time had been lost already and wanted to know how the school would measure his progress. The SENCO said this would be detailed on the individual education plan and his progress would be reviewed each term. If necessary the school would call in the help of the educational psychologist from the local education authority and Jamie could move onto School Action Plus.

what are special educational needs?

Special educational needs are defined in law as being learning difficulties that give rise to a need for SEN provision. This will include children who have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of their age, and children who have a disability that makes it difficult for them to access education.

While many children with special educational needs will have problems with reading, writing, spelling and mathematics, special needs are not necessarily a question of intelligence. Some children with a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia may have a high intelligence quotient (IQ); others may have a physical disability so their special educational needs relate to access to education and the need for physical adaptations of school buildings.

what do schools have to provide?

Under the 1996 Education Act all schools have to delegate responsibility for SEN to one member of the school's governing body (often the head teacher), and to appoint one teacher to the post of special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO). The school also has to provide a written policy on special educational needs, which must be summarised in the school prospectus and be available to parents.

Schools will provide differentiated provision – as in Jamie's case – and School Action. The next step is School Action Plus where a child will continue to have an individual education plan with new help and new targets but outside help may be called in. This may be an educational psychologist or another expert such as a behaviour management specialist, doctor or speech therapist. This should be reviewed ideally three times a year. Help at either level could include special learning materials or equipment, group or individual support or a behaviour management programme or any other help the school or outside experts think appropriate.

For around 3% of children the help that schools can provide at School Action Plus is not enough and they, or the child's parent, will need to request a statutory assessment from the local education authority (LEA). If the LEA agree, this normally leads to a statement of special educational needs.

where to go for help

If you believe that your child has a learning difficulty or disability, which is holding them back at school, talk to your child's class teacher first. Children learn in different ways and at different rates. It may be that giving work at a more basic level, using teaching methods and materials that suit your child, or moving them into a different group, may help your child do better. If this doesn't seem enough, it's worth also talking to the SENCO who may decide your child should have help at School Action or School Action Plus.

At the point your child begins receiving special educational provision, the school is legally bound to tell you. Ask to be kept informed and to be fully involved in any new target setting and reviews of your child progress. If communication with the school is a problem you could ask the local education authority for details of their parent partnership service. They may either help you directly or put you in touch with an Independent Parental Supporter – usually a volunteer who will explain the system and may come to meetings with you or help you write letters.

assessment and statementing

If you feel help at School Action Plus is not enough for your child to make adequate progress, you should write to your local educational authority asking for a statutory assessment under Section 329 of the Education Act 1996. If the LEA refuses, you have the right of appeal to an independent expert Tribunal called the SEN Tribunal, and you can also take advantage of LEA services such as the parent partnership service or disagreement resolution service.

For many parents getting a statement is a long haul – LEAs and the Government are emphasising that schools should be able to make provision for most children so only a minority of children will be statemented. If you believe your child should receive a statement, keep records of any letters you send, and anything which shows your child's difficulties and what help has worked and hasn't worked. You may need this as evidence of your child's lack of progress later.

The assessment will be organised by the LEA who will ask for advice from different professionals who either already know your child or will want to examine or observe them. By law, the LEA must ask for written advice from:

• Your child's school.
• An educational psychologist who can identify different types of learning difficulties including behaviour problems.
• The health authority who will obtain the advice from a medically qualified person. The LEA may also request advice from therapists or clinical psychologists. You could ask your GP for such a referral whether or not your child is undergoing an assessment.
• Social Services – but if they have no knowledge of your child they may choose not to send a report.
• Parents who can give their views and knowledge of their child's difficulties and can also send reports from any professionals that may already be in contact with their child.

The LEA should also find out your child's views but this is not a legal requirement.

Once it has got all the reports in from the above, the LEA will usually go on to draw up a statement of special educational needs which spells out all the special educational needs identified and the amount and type of provision for each need. Parents have the opportunity to meet the LEA officer dealing with their child's case and professionals who have provided reports. It's important to get the statement right at this point because it can be difficult to get changes later. In particular, make sure the LEA is very specific about the help your child will receive. Watch out for vague wording such as 'help as required' or 'periodic help'.

The final statement will name the school your child should attend. Most children with statements are educated in mainstream schools and around a third go to special schools.

If parents don't agree with certain parts of the final statement, they can appeal to the SEN Tribunal. The LEA will provide details with the final statement. Statements are reviewed annually. Most children with statements will also have an individual education plan that sets shorter-term targets, which should be reviewed more frequently.

If the help detailed on the statement is not made, you should complain to the LEA in the first place. If this is unsuccessful you can complain to the Secretary of State for Education. Alternatively you could take legal advice because special educational provision set out in a statement must be made by law. If you are unhappy with the way the school provides help at School Action or School Action Plus you should firstly speak to the school staff; further complaint would be to the governing body and finally to the Secretary of State. Many schools will have a complaints procedure so ask for a copy of this first.

Margaret McGowan is publications editor for the Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) (see help and info).

(April 2002, resources updated June 2005)

Read on for details of relevant organisations, websites and reading.