| Introduction |
| 1. This chapter of the code sets out
guidance on the Act's provisions for
identifying and assessing additional support
needs, and making provision. It does so against
a background of authorities' and agencies'
evolving approaches to assessment and
intervention. In particular, it reflects values
and principles to be found in the development
of an integrated assessment framework for
professionals working with children and young
people across education, health, social work
services and other areas. It also draws on the
definition of assessment to be found in the
framework. |
| Values and principles of assessment
and intervention |
| 2. Education authorities and other agencies
should review their approaches to assessment
and intervention in the light of the provisions
of this Act. They should ensure that these
approaches take account of the following values
and principles which involve: - taking a holistic view of children and
young people and their circumstances, and
what they need to grow and develop and
achieve their potential
- seeking, taking account of and noting,
the views of children, parents and young
people
- ensuring that parents, and young
people, understand, and are asked to agree
to, the aims of any assessment
- ensuring that assessment is an ongoing,
integrated process of planning, providing
for, and reviewing, services for the
individual
- adopting the least intrusive and most
effective course of action affecting the
lives of children, young people and
families
- taking into account issues of diversity
and equality and ensuring that outcomes do
not discriminate against children, young
people and their families. This includes
not discriminating on grounds of race,
disability, gender, sexual orientation,
language, religion or belief, and age
- working in partnership with parents to
secure education for their children and to
promote their child's health, development
and welfare.
|
| Inter-agency co-operation |
| 3. Those with additional support needs
comprise a broad group of children and young
people whose needs require to be identified,
understood and addressed. Education authorities
need to play their part in ensuring that there
is effective communication, collaboration and
integrated assessment and provision when other
agencies are involved. For example, where a
child or young person is looked after and
accommodated, there will already be involvement
from social work and health staff as well as,
possibly, voluntary agency staff. Similarly,
where children are within the Children's
Hearing System, or need to be protected from
harm, the relevant agencies must work together
to ensure an integrated assessment of all of
the child's or young person's needs. |
| 4. Other agencies need to ensure that they
engage with education. For example, in line
with the guidance in Hall 4,
4NHS Boards are introducing
Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and are
also providing for children's vision to be
checked by orthoptists between the ages of 4
and 5 years. It is clearly important that
NHS Boards have arrangements
in place for sharing information with education
authorities, as necessary, about children with
difficulties in hearing and/or vision which may
give rise to additional support needs. |
| Duties on appropriate
agencies |
s23(3) | 5. The Act promotes integrated working
across agencies, in assessment, intervention,
planning, provision and review. Appropriate
agencies have a duty to help an education
authority discharge their duties under this Act
unless the help asked for - is incompatible with the agency's
statutory or other duties; or
- unduly prejudices the agency in its
discharge of its own functions.
|
| 6. For the purposes of the Act, appropriate
agencies can be any other local authority, any
NHS Board or any other
person specified by the Scottish Ministers.
Those specified under regulations are Careers
Scotland, Further Education Colleges and Higher
Education Institutions. |
s23 s29(3) | 7. Where a child or young person is
attending a school under the management of an
education authority outside the child's home
area by virtue of a placing request then it is
that host education authority which are
responsible for the school education of the
child or young person. Under the powers in
relation to appropriate agencies under the Act,
the host education authority could request help
from the local authority for the area where the
child or young person belongs. More generally
the Act provides that an education authority
are responsible for the school education of any
child or young person being, or about to be,
provided with school education in a school
under the management of the education
authority, or under arrangements made or
entered into by the authority. The Act also
provides that references to a child or young
person belonging to an area are to be construed
in accordance with section 23(3) of the 1980
Act. The provisions of section 23(2) of the
1980 Act on contributions from the home
education authority to the host education
authority apply as they do within the framework
of the 1980 Act. These are that where an
education authority have provided school
education, with or without other services, for
any pupil, child or young person belonging to
the area of some other authority, the education
authority, may, if a claim is made, recover
from that other authority such contributions in
respect of such provision as may be agreed
between the authorities or as Scottish
Ministers may determine. |
s12(2) | 8. An education authority are under a duty
when establishing whether a child or young
person has additional support needs, or would
require a co-ordinated support plan, to seek
and take account of relevant advice and
information from such appropriate agencies and
other persons as they think appropriate. |
s12(5) and (6) | 9. The Act also provides that no later than
12 months before the date any child or young
person, having additional support needs, and
for whose school education the authority are
responsible, is expected to leave school, the
education authority must request information
from an appropriate agency that they consider
is likely to be involved with the child or
young person once they have left school.
Authorities must also seek and take account of
the views of the child or young person and
their parents where they make such a request.
The authority should in all cases consider
whether or not it is appropriate to make such a
request of any relevant appropriate agencies.
Authorities can request information as they
consider appropriate concerning any provision
that the appropriate agency is likely to make
for the child or young person on ceasing to
receive school education. The information
provided must then be taken account of by the
education authority in considering the adequacy
of the additional support to be provided for
the child or young person, during the period
before the child or young person ceases to
receive school education. |
| 10. These requests should be made at least
12 months before the child or young person is
expected to leave school. Where the education
authority become aware that the child or young
person is to cease receiving school education
less than 12 months before that date, the
education authority should act as soon as
reasonably practicable after they become so
aware. |
s13(2) s13(5) | 11. No later than 6 months before the date
on which any child or young person with
additional support needs is expected to cease
receiving school education an education
authority must provide information about any
child or young person with additional support
needs to such appropriate agencies as they see
fit. Any such information is to be provided
only with the consent of the child's parent or
the young person. |
s23(1) | 12. Where it appears to an education
authority that an appropriate agency could, by
doing certain things, help in the exercise of
any of their functions under the Act, they may,
specifying what these things are, request the
help of that agency. In making a request the
education authority should be very specific
about the help they are requesting. For
example, the education authority should ask an
NHS Board to assess a
child's or young person's vision or hearing
where the child or young person is experiencing
learning, behavioural, or speech or language
difficulties.
5 |
| 13. The Other Appropriate Agency Regulations
made under the Act specify that appropriate
agencies are expected to respond to requests
for help within 10 weeks from the date the
request is made by the education authority,
subject to certain exceptions. An appropriate
agency must comply with a request under this
subsection of the Act unless it considers that
the exceptions in section 23(3) of the Act, set
out above at paragraph 5 apply. |
| 14. The role of Further Education Colleges
and Higher Education Institutions as well as
Careers Scotland, as with all other appropriate
agencies, will be in line with their statutory
or other duties. For example, Further Education
Colleges or Higher Education Institutions may
be requested to help with provision of
information and support relating to their
provision. Other agencies, for example other
local authorities or
NHS Boards may be asked to
assist with assessment of the child's or young
person's need for certain support. |
| 15. The role of Further Education Colleges,
in line with the sector's statutory duties, may
be to offer link courses to children and young
people with additional support needs other than
at the stage of transition. For example,
Further Education Colleges may be involved in
assisting the schools' sector to prepare pupils
for the transition from school to appropriate
further education courses at college. These
courses may include "Skills for Work" or other
courses for children under school-leaving age
which form part of the links partnership
between schools and a particular college. Such
link courses should be designed to include
assessment of the additional support needs of
particular individuals that can then support
transition planning at a future stage. |
| 16. The help which may be requested from
both Further Education Colleges and Higher
Education Institutions may include a range of
services to support transition from school to
post-school provision such as: - visits to the college or
university
- early meetings with college
Learning/Student Support Advisors, or
university Disability Advisers, to discuss
the type of support available
- attendance at link courses or
transition courses
- the opportunity to talk with other
students with additional support
needs.
|
| 17. These types of support can be extremely
helpful to a young person in the transition to
college or university, as they may help
reassure students that support will be
available to resolve any concerns that they
might have. Such help may also help reassure
them that the issue of future support is being
actively addressed. |
| 18. Where it appears to an education
authority that a young person may benefit from
such support, it would be reasonable for
Further Education Colleges or Higher Education
Institutions to be asked for help under section
23(1). |
| 19. Careers Scotland can: - help children and young people become
more aware of the world of work
- develop the career planning and
decision making skills of children and
young people
- assist children and young people to
enter appropriate education, training or
work.
|
| 20. The design and delivery of Careers
Scotland's products and services is intended to
take account of the varied needs of
individuals, including those with additional
support needs. |
| 21. In addition to the support appropriate
agencies may provide to individual children and
young people, the provisions of the Act could
also extend to discussion between the education
authority and the appropriate agency to enable
them to collaborate effectively. |
s23(5) | 22. Social work services belonging to
another authority are considered to be an
appropriate agency for the purposes of the Act.
Social work services from the same council are
not an appropriate agency but are covered by
the Act. The Act requires an education
authority to exercise any of their other
functions (whether relating to education or
not) if they consider that would help them in
the exercise of their functions under the Act.
This is subject to the exceptions based on
compatibility with any of their statutory or
other duties or being unduly prejudicial to the
discharge by them of any of their
functions. |
| 23. It is expected that in most
circumstances appropriate agencies will support
an education authority when asked. Where there
is a dispute between the authority and the
appropriate agency as to the operation of the
exceptions to the duty, it will be ultimately
for the courts to decide, in particular
circumstances, whether any agency is
legitimately relying on the exception. |
| 24. There will be circumstances where
agencies are working with children and/or young
people but are not defined as 'appropriate
agencies' within the terms of the Act. For
example, the police may be working with youth
offenders, or a particular voluntary agency may
be involved in providing a care package to a
child in a family. Education authorities and
such agencies will wish to continue working in
partnership with each other. Likewise, Higher
Education Institutions and education
authorities may work together for the benefit
of children and young people with additional
support needs even where such support does not
involve school to post-school transition
arrangements. |
| Assessment and
intervention |
| 25. Local authorities and other agencies use
a wide range of approaches to support
assessment and intervention and to promote
inter-agency working. In education generally
these approaches reflect a staged approach
(most commonly 4 to 6 stages). Such approaches
are built around discrete stages of
intervention which seek to resolve difficulties
as early as possible and with the least
intrusive course of action. |
| 26. The Act does not prescribe any
particular model of assessment or intervention.
The diagram overleaf shows some of the common
features to be found in most staged assessment
and intervention models. |
Features of approaches to
identification, assessment and
intervention 
|
| Children and young people for whom
the education authority are
responsible |
| Identifying additional support
needs |
s6(1) s26(2) | 27. The Act requires education authorities
to make appropriate arrangements for
identifying from among the children and young
people for whose school education they are
responsible those who have additional support
needs, and those who have additional support
needs and require a co-ordinated support plan
(considered in chapter 4) and the particular
additional support needs of those so
identified. The authority has to publish
information explaining what these arrangements
are. |
s6(2) s6(4) | 28. Education authorities and schools should
be able to identify most children and young
people with additional support needs through
their arrangements for assessing learning, and
for monitoring the educational progress of
children and young people. However, the Act
makes provision for parents and young people to
request the education authority to establish
whether their child has additional support
needs or requires a co-ordinated support plan.
The authority must comply with the request,
unless they consider it an unreasonable one,
and must inform the parents, or young person as
appropriate, of any additional support needs so
identified. The request must be made in writing
or any other permanent form as the parent or
young person may choose (e.g. email, video or
audio tape) and must contain a statement
explaining the reasons for making the
request. |
s28(2) | 29. In most circumstances, it is expected
that an education authority will comply with
such a request from parents or a young person.
Where the authority refuse to comply they must
inform the person who made the request of their
decision and explain their reasons for the
decision. They must also inform the person
making the request about the mediation services
provided by the authority and about the
arrangements for resolving disputes by
independent adjudication. If the request asks
the authority to establish whether a child or
young person requires a co-ordinated support
plan, or to carry out a review of a plan
already in existence, then the authority must
inform the person making the request of the
right to refer the case to a tribunal. If the
request refers to a placing request then the
authority must also inform the person that the
case can be referred to the education authority
appeal committee or to the tribunal; in the
latter case the placing request would relate to
a co-ordinated support plan, which was either
in existence or where it has been established
that a co-ordinated support plan is required
but it has not yet been prepared. |
s6(5) and (6) | 30. There will be circumstances where it
comes to the attention of the authority (for
example, through a teacher, paediatrician,
social worker or therapist) that a child or
young person may have additional support needs
or requires a co-ordinated support plan. In
these circumstances the authority must
establish whether the child or young person has
additional support needs, or requires a
co-ordinated support plan, unless the authority
consider it unreasonable to do so. The
authority should inform any person making such
a referral of their conclusions where the
education authority consider it appropriate to
share such information and there is no legal
barrier to such sharing. |
| Assessment |
| 31. In this code, assessment is seen as an
ongoing process of gathering, structuring and
making sense of information about a child or
young person, and their circumstances. The
purpose of assessment ultimately is to help
identify the actions required to maximise
development and learning. Assessment plays a
key role in the authority's arrangements for
identifying children and young people who have
additional support needs and who, of those,
require a co-ordinated support plan. Assessment
is a process supported by professionals and
parents. It identifies and builds on strengths,
whilst taking account of needs and risks. The
assessment process also assumes the negotiated
sharing of information by relevant persons and
agencies where the law, best practice and
policy allow or require it. |
| 32. Assessment is a dynamic process. As a
result it should not be divorced from other
aspects of the child's life either at school,
home or in the community. It will usually
include discussion with parents and
professionals involved with the child or young
person, for example, class teacher, support for
learning staff, speech and language therapist,
social worker, foster carer or residential
worker. It should build on other assessment
information already available. It may involve
observation in one or more day-to-day
situations and/or individual work with the
child or young person as required. The
education authority should always endeavour to
seek and take account of the views of the child
or young person unless there are particular
circumstances to prevent this happening, or
which make it inappropriate. |
s12(2) | 33. Where it is required by virtue of the
child's or young person's additional support
needs, the assessment process should seek
effective multi-agency consultation and/or
collaborative working. Education authorities
must seek and take account of relevant advice
and information (including assessments) from
such appropriate agencies and such other
persons whom they think appropriate in
establishing whether a child or young person
has additional support needs, or requires a
co-ordinated support plan, or in preparing a
plan or carrying out a review of a co-ordinated
support plan. Those involved from outwith the
education authority may be health services. For
example, with the consent of the parents or
young persons themselves, an education
authority may request an
NHS Board to assess the
hearing or vision of a child or young person
where the authority are seeking to establish
whether the child or young person has
additional support needs. The education
authority must also take account of any
relevant advice and information available from
sources within the local authority, other than
from education. Such a source is most likely to
be the local authority's own social work
services. |
| 34. The education authority must also take
account of any relevant advice and information
provided to them by parents on behalf of their
child, or by the young person. For example, if
the parents have privately commissioned an
assessment or report on the child or young
person, or the young person has commissioned
the report, then the authority must take that
report or advice into consideration if asked to
do so. Also, the authority must seek and take
account of the views of parents and, where
appropriate, of children and young people
themselves. Further information is provided in
Chapter 6 - working with children and
families. |
| 35. When seeking the views of parents, young
people and, where appropriate, children, and
when carrying out an assessment, education
authorities need to take into account the
parents', young people's or child's preferred
method of communication. For example,
assessments of bilingual children should take
into account the child's level of skills in the
first language as well as their educational
attainment. |
| Requests for assessment |
s8(1) and (2) | 36. The Act enables parents or young people,
to request an education authority to arrange
for a child or young person to undergo a
process of assessment or examination. This
right applies when the authority is proposing
to establish whether a child or young person
has additional support needs or requires a
co-ordinated support plan, or the authority
propose to review an existing plan. |
s28(1)(a) and (b) s8(4) s23(3) and (4) | 37. Any such request from the parents must
be in writing or in any other permanent form
which can be referred to in future, such as
video or audio tape, and should contain a
statement of the reasons for the request. The
request can be for an educational,
psychological or medical assessment or
examination or any other assessment or
examination which the parents wish for,
including any combination of these. In the case
of an assessment or examination requested by
the education authority from another
appropriate agency such as an
NHS Board (e.g. related to
speech and language, hearing or vision) then
the other agency must comply with the request
unless it considers that the request is
incompatible with its own statutory or other
duties or unduly prejudices its discharge of
its own functions. As provided for in the Other
Appropriate Agencies Regulations, other
agencies are obliged to respond to a request
for help, which could include assessment, from
the education authority within a period of 10
weeks from the date the request is made, unless
one of the statutory exceptions applies in the
particular circumstances of a specific request
by an education authority of the appropriate
agency. |
s8(1) | 38. The education authority must comply with
the request from parents or young people for
assessment unless the request is unreasonable.
An unreasonable request is not defined in the
Act. However, unreasonableness in this context
is an objective test - what a third party might
consider unreasonable. It will be for the
education authority to consider each individual
case on its own facts and circumstances. In
some circumstances an authority will need to
consider carefully whether to comply. For
example, the authority may decide not to comply
with the request where assessment: - may not be in the best interests of the
child or young person
- may not be seen as being relevant given
the child's or young person's
circumstances
- may be unnecessary as there has not
been a significant change in the child's or
young person's circumstances since an
earlier assessment was completed
- may be within an inappropriate
timescale, e.g. falling within a short time
of a previous request
- may repeat assessments already carried
out.
|
s8(3) | 39. Parents or young people may request
other types of assessment beyond education. It
is for the education authority to consider who
is the appropriate person to carry out the
particular process of assessment or
examination. Education authorities are not
required to arrange for examinations or
assessments to be carried out by named
individuals or organisations requested by the
parents or young person. The education
authority may take into account information
from social work services or voluntary
organisations who are involved with the child
or young person. Where a range of assessments
is required, the education authority should
seek to bring these within one assessment
process to avoid duplication and placing the
child or young person, and his/her family,
under stress. |
| 40. Psychological assessment will normally
include assessment by an educational
psychologist employed by the education
authority. In cases where other psychologists
(e.g. clinical or occupational psychologists)
may have relevant knowledge or information
about the child or young person, they should be
consulted and their advice recorded and
considered. |
| 41. The
NHS Board for the area in
which the child or young person resides will
arrange for provision of assessment or
examination, subject to the consent of the
child, from the relevant health professional(s)
such as, for example, from medical, nursing,
speech and language therapy, occupational
therapy, physiotherapy, audiology or
orthoptics. Such assessment or examination
should take into account relevant information
from other professionals as appropriate. |
| 42. A social work assessment may highlight
specific issues in the child's or young
person's life which are impacting on his/her
ability to benefit from school education. For
example, there could be child protection
concerns linked to domestic abuse, parental
substance misuse or mental or physical health
problems within the family; or there may be
concerns about a young person's offending
behaviour; or concerns about a child or young
person who has experienced bereavement or loss.
A social work assessment should normally be
sought when considering a residential
placement. |
| 43. Once an assessment request has been made
the process should be managed by appropriate
staff within the education authority, school or
other appropriate agencies. The parent or young
person should be provided with contact details
for the person managing the process to enable
them to be updated on progress. The request for
assessment should be acknowledged as soon as
possible and the response to a request for
assessment should be made within 10 weeks.
6 The 10 week period begins when the
education authority requests the assessment
from the appropriate agency. Education
authorities should therefore have arrangements
in place to make sure that requests are
processed without undue delay. In any case
where the appropriate agency considers that it
cannot meet the timetable it should notify the
education authority. |
s28(2) | 44. As in paragraph 29 above, where an
education authority decide not to comply with
any request made to them under the Act,
including a request for assessment, they must
inform the person who made the request, such as
the young person or parents, in writing of
their decision not to comply and must explain
why they are refusing the request. They must
also inform the parents about their right to
access mediation services provided by the
education authority and arrangements for
dispute resolution by independent adjudication
and, where appropriate, the tribunal. |
| Early years: children under the age
of 3 years |
s5(2) and (3) s6(1) | 45. The Act requires an education authority
to provide additional support to certain
disabled pre-school children in their area,
normally those who are under 3 years old. This
duty applies where such children have been
brought to the attention of the education
authority by an
NHS Board as having, or
appearing to have, additional support needs
arising from a disability within the meaning of
the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and it
is established by the education authority that
they do have such needs, for example, following
referral from the Newborn Hearing Screening
Programme. Once the
NHS Board has brought the
child to the attention of the education
authority, then the authority may establish
whether the child has additional support needs
arising from a disability under its
arrangements for identifying and providing for
children with additional support needs. |
s5(2) | 46. If the education authority then
determine that the child has additional support
needs arising from a disability, they must
provide such additional support as is
appropriate for the child. The education
authority has a discretion in relation to the
NHS Board referral. It is
expected that only in exceptional circumstances
would the authority not exercise its power to
establish whether the child has additional
support needs. For example, in circumstances
where the parent may not wish an assessment to
be carried out or the assessment may require to
be delayed because the child is ill. Where the
education authority decide that there are no
additional support needs arising from a
disability the authority should inform the
parents and the
NHS Board in writing of the
decision and the reasons for it. |
| 47. The education authority should monitor
the numbers of children under 3 years of age
receiving support and the nature of that
support in order that plans can be made to
ensure their needs are met on transition to
pre-school provision. |
| 48. In good practice, and with effective
communication between health and education
services, the child may already be known to the
education authority before the formal referral
is made by the
NHS Board. Monitoring by
health professionals, such as health visitors,
general practitioners and community
paediatricians, can identify children with
likely additional support needs arising from a
disability early in their lives, often at, or
just after, birth. In good practice the needs
of an identified child will be considered by a
community team with relevant representation
from health, education, social work and
voluntary agencies. In partnership with the
parents, the team will consider assessment and
intervention approaches. This process will also
inform the planning of support when the child
enters pre-school provision and/or school.
Often a key worker who has regular contact with
the child may be identified from any one of the
agencies involved. |
| 49. The team should aim to ensure a
co-ordinated approach to gathering information
and to avoid parents having to repeat
information more than once. Such an approach
also provides a holistic view of the child
within his or her family and community context
and enables early assessment of medical, social
and/or learning needs to identify appropriate
services for example, for vulnerable
children. |
| 50. Outcomes of the process of
identification and assessment for very young
children and their families are: - clarification of the child's needs
- agreement as to what, how, where, when
and by whom support will be provided and
monitored
- an action plan which details the
provision, and explains to the parents how
they can contribute
- the identification of a key worker who
acts as a single point of reference for the
family and other professionals.
|
Phillipa is a 1 year old child with complex
medical needs resulting in significantly
delayed development. She has been referred to
the education authority by the local
NHS Board for consideration
of her additional support needs arising from
her disability. A multi-disciplinary community
assessment team is co-ordinating a multi-agency
support package for Phillipa and her family.
This includes support from a home visiting
teacher. It is clear that her needs are complex
and enduring and will require significant
multi-agency support. It was agreed that in
addition to the current additional support the
preparation for a co-ordinated support plan
will begin before her third birthday. |
| Early years: prescribed pre-school
children
7 |
s6(1) and (2) | 51. The Act places a duty on education
authorities to make appropriate arrangements
for identifying those children for whose school
education they are responsible, who may have
additional support needs. At the pre-school
stage, this duty will cover a child with
additional support needs who is in pre-school
provision managed by the education authority or
in a partnership nursery under arrangements
made by the education authority. It may involve
also a child who is about to be provided with
school education (including pre-school
education), either in a school under the
management of the authority, or through
arrangements entered into by the authority. |
| 52. Some children in pre-school provision
will previously have been identified under the
age of 3 years as having additional support
needs arising from a disability. However, there
will be others in pre-school provision who have
a range of additional support needs. Early
years staff, in partnership with parents, have
a key role to play in identifying children who
may require additional support. |
| 53. The Act gives education authorities the
power, but not the duty, to identify and make
provision for prescribed pre-school children
under school age for whose school education
they are not responsible. These are children
who may be in private nurseries or being
educated at home. The form the provision may
take is similar to that made available to
children in primary and secondary schools as
described below. |
| School years |
s6(1) | 54. Education authorities are required to
identify the additional support needs of each
child or young person for whose school
education they are responsible. This can be
achieved in a range of ways. Any person working
with the child, or young people themselves,
could draw attention to the fact that
difficulties with learning exist. For example,
this person might be the parent, class teacher,
a member of the school health team, educational
psychologist, social worker or any person who
has been working with a child or young person.
All education authorities, (and all schools)
should have a clearly set out policy that
describes procedures for identifying additional
support needs. All education authorities and
appropriate agencies should ensure that their
processes for identification, assessment,
intervention, monitoring and review take
account of the need for multi-agency and
collaborative working. |
| 55. Within a school these processes
typically follow the path outlined below with
the aim of identifying and meeting the child's
additional support needs at the earliest
possible stage: - the teacher identifies children or
young people who need a greater level of
attention or planning than is generally
required by the majority of children or
young people in the class
- the teacher consults with, and seeks
help from, other school support, such as
learning support staff
- if action at this stage does not
resolve the issue, the school in
consultation with colleagues and with
parents seeks information and advice from
educational services outwith the school,
such as, for example, from a visiting
teacher or educational psychologist
- the teacher and the school incorporate
this information and advice into their
practice with the child or young person in
the school
- if action at this stage does not
resolve the issue then support from
services from appropriate agencies outwith
education may be required, such as, support
from health or social work services. The
authority may also look to voluntary
agencies for information or advice or from
a voluntary agency under a service level
agreement. Where more than one agency is,
or should be, involved with the child or
young person then the education authority
and agencies should develop an integrated
plan of assessment, intervention and
review.
|
| 56. There are variations of the above model
in operation. Educational services from outwith
the school, such as visiting teachers or
educational psychologists, may provide advice
to the classroom teacher at the early stages
when concerns are first expressed, and before
these services become directly involved in
working with the child and family. This may
also apply to services from outwith education
where collaborative working is a feature of the
work of the school, such as is found in
integrated community schools. This overall
approach can be very effective where it leads
to a resolution of the issue which avoids the
need for formal referrals to these services,
and provides the class teacher with advice on
approaches which may prove successful when
similar circumstances arise in the future. |
At parents' night Mai Ling's primary 4 class
teacher explained to her parents that while Mai
Ling's oral skills were very good, she had
difficulties with reading and spelling. These
difficulties were beginning to have an adverse
impact on her progress in other areas of the
curriculum and the class teacher was concerned
that Mai Ling might have a form of dyslexia.
The parents agreed with the class teacher that
the learning support teacher should be asked to
assess Mai Ling with a view to determining how
best she could be helped in the classroom,
whether or nor she has dyslexia and what extra
support the parents could give her at home. |
| Children and young persons for whom
the education authority are not
responsible |
s7(1) and (2) | 57. There will be children and young people
belonging to the area of an education authority
but for whose school education the authority
are not responsible. These may be children and
young people who are attending independent or
grant-aided
8 schools as a result of parental choice,
or who are being educated at home. In these
circumstances, the parents (or young person)
may ask the education authority to establish
whether the child or young person has
additional support needs, or would require a
co-ordinated support plan, if the authority
were responsible for the school education of
the child or young person. The education
authority may comply with the request but are
not obliged to do so. In the case where an
education authority exercise this power any
education plan drawn up, for example an
individualised educational programme might
include arrangements for provision for home
education. In reaching a decision to refuse the
request education authorities should consider
each case on the basis of its own facts and
circumstances. |
| 58. Managers of independent and grant-aided
schools may also request the education
authority to establish if the child or young
person would require a co-ordinated support
plan, if the authority were responsible for the
school education of the child or young person.
Again, the education authority may comply with
the request but are not obliged to do so. |
s28(2) | 59. Where the education authority refuse to
comply with the request they must inform the
person who made the request of their decision
and explain their reasons for the decision.
They must also inform the parents or young
person making the request about the mediation
services provided by the authority and about
the arrangements for resolving disputes by
independent adjudication. |
| 60. There may be circumstances where there
is no request as such but it is drawn to the
attention of the authority that a child or
young person belonging to their area, but for
whose school education they are not
responsible, may have additional support needs.
For example, the authority may be aware of a
child being educated at home who may have
additional support needs. The education
authority are not obliged to carry out an
assessment but they may, if they wish,
establish whether the child has additional
support needs by, for example, arranging for an
assessment to be carried out by a teacher or
educational psychologist. In these
circumstances the authority will normally seek
the agreement of the parents or young person,
as appropriate. |
s7(7) | 61. Where the education authority do respond
to a request, or decide to assess a child or
young person to whom their attention has been
drawn, then they must provide the persons
making the request with such information and
advice about the additional support required by
the child or young person as they consider
appropriate. In the case of a child, the
parents should always be informed about any
additional support which the child requires.
However, the authority have power but are not
obliged to make provision for the additional
support needs so identified. |
| Making Provision |
s4(1) | 62. The Act requires that the education
authority must make adequate and efficient
provision for such additional support as is
required by
each child or young person
with additional support needs for whose school
education the authority are responsible. In
other words the Act places a duty on the
education authority with regard to
individual children or young
people with additional support needs.
Conversely, the authority could be held to be
in breach of a duty if it fails to make
adequate and efficient provision of additional
support for a particular individual with
additional support needs. This adds to existing
legislation in the 1980 Act which requires that
an education authority make adequate and
efficient provision of school education for
their area. |
s4(2) | 63. The above duties under the Act do not
require an authority to do anything outwith
their powers, or which would result in
unreasonable public expenditure. The Act does
not define unreasonable public expenditure.
Decisions regarding what can be considered
adequate and efficient provision, and
unreasonable public expenditure, can only be
judged in the light of each child's or young
person's circumstances. Expenditure may be
unreasonable where the cost incurred would be
completely out of scale with the benefits to
the child or young person or where suitable
alternative provision is available at a
significantly lower cost. It may be
unreasonable where substantial expenditure on
new facilities would be completely out of scale
to the benefits to the wider community. Cost
should not be the primary consideration in
determining what provision is to be made. For
example, an education authority will wish to
consider whether the expenditure in providing
for a particular child or young person may be
of benefit to others in the future. Where the
education authority refuse to comply with a
request on the grounds of the request being
outwith their statutory powers, or likely to
incur unreasonable expenditure, they must
inform the person who made the request of their
decision and explain their reasons for the
decision. |
| 64. Where a child or young person is
attending a school under the management of an
education authority outside the child's home
area by virtue of a placing request then it is
that host education authority which are
responsible for the school education of the
child or young person. That authority would be
responsible, for example, for establishing
whether the child or young person has
additional support needs and/or requires a
co-ordinated support plan, as well as the other
duties incumbent on them as the authority
responsible for the child's or young person's
school education. |
s4(1)(b) | 65. The education authority should ensure
that the authority's policy on additional
support needs explains clearly the procedures
used by their authority, and in their schools,
to monitor and review the progress being made
by children and young people with additional
support needs, and the effectiveness of any
additional support provided. |
s5(1) | 66. The Act requires education authorities
to take account of the additional support needs
of children and young people with such needs
when carrying out any of their functions in
connection with the provision of school
education. Education authorities will wish to
review all their policies relating to the
provision of school education to ensure that
this general duty is met. |
s5(4) | 67. The above duties apply to children and
young people for whose school education the
authority are responsible. However, there are
circumstances where an education authority are
not responsible for the school education of
particular children and young people belonging
to their area. These circumstances may include
children and young people being educated at
home or attending independent schools, or
grant-aided schools under arrangements made by
their parents. In these circumstances, the
authority may provide the additional support
required for children and young people
belonging to their authority area, but they are
not obliged to do so. The education authority
will wish to keep appropriate records for
planning and monitoring purposes where
additional support is provided in such
circumstances as well as more generally. |
| Early years: children under the age
of 3 years |
s5(2) and (3) s5(4) | 68. As described previously, the education
authority have a duty under the Act to provide
additional support in certain circumstances to
disabled children belonging to their area, who
are under 3 years old and are not a prescribed
pre-school child. The nature of that support
will depend on the circumstances of the
individual child but may include support from a
pre-school home visiting teacher and/or
attendance at a pre-school centre. The
authority may make provision for children,
including children under the age of 3 years
with additional support needs, but who are not
disabled. However, they are not obliged to make
such provision. |
| Early years: prescribed pre-school
children |
s4(1) | 69. The authority has a duty to make
adequate and efficient provision for such
additional support as is required by each child
or young person with additional support needs
for whose school education the authority are
responsible. This includes prescribed
pre-school children being educated by the
authority in its own provision or, for example,
in partnership nurseries. The nature of this
support will depend on the circumstances of
each individual child but the range of support
available will in many cases be the same as, or
very similar to, that which is available to
children in schools. |
| School years |
| 70. The needs of most children and young
people who require additional support will be
met through the range of provision available
within the school. In chapter 2 additional
support was referred to under three overlapping
broad headings: approaches to teaching,
provision of personnel and provision of
resources. It is clearly not feasible to list
all the forms of support but some of the common
ways support can be provided to the child or
young person within the school include: - differentiation of the curriculum,
including resources and materials
- possible implementation of an
individualised educational programme
incorporating
SMART (Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timed)
targets
- specific support from a classroom
assistant/additional support needs
assistant/behaviour co-ordinator
- group work support within the school
provided by teaching and/or social work
staff
- peer support arrangements such as
buddying, paired reading and circle
time
- support from a therapist working
directly with the child or young person,
and/or working through another such as a
teacher or parent following therapist's
advice
- individual or small group
teaching.
|
| 71. Where difficulties persist, a
progressive process of assessment and
intervention will inform the next steps in
learning. Consultation with parents and the
child or young person, support staff and
agencies outwith the school may be necessary.
Additional support may be given within or
outwith a classroom or mainstream school
context. For example, some children may benefit
from attending a unit within the school on a
full- or part-time basis. Others may benefit
from provision in a special school. |
| Planning: educational
plans |
| 72. Planning for learning is an ongoing
process subject to continuous review, through
pre-school, school and beyond into lifelong
learning. Most children and young people who
require additional support will have their
learning needs met by the day-to-day classroom
practice in pre-school and school settings.
This practice is subject to the normal
self-evaluation and external professional
monitoring and quality assurance procedures in
place in school education. More formal planning
arrangements may be required where additional
support is needed from other education services
and other appropriate agencies. For example, an
educational psychologist may be called on to
advise on appropriate targets for a particular
child or young person. Other non-education
services may be involved in a joint or shared
assessment of a child or young person. In such
circumstances an integrated plan of action will
be appropriate. |
| 73. In all circumstances, planning should
aim to ensure the effective co-ordination of
support, including parents and the child or
young person, so that it is clear what the
intended learning outcomes are and what
additional support is required to achieve
these. Every opportunity should be taken to
ensure that there is an integrated action plan
for a child or young person where more than one
agency or service is involved. Such an
integrated action plan may be made up of
different elements; for example, an
individualised educational programme may be
appended to a looked after care plan. In this
way, the professionals working with the child
or young person use one integrated action plan
with shared educational objectives. The
following paragraphs consider the plans most
likely to be used with children and young
people who require additional support for
learning. |
| Personal learning planning |
| 74. Personal learning planning helps
children, young people and parents to be clear
about the goals of learning, including those
for personal development. Its focus is on
supporting dialogue among teachers, parents,
children and young people, and ultimately about
engaging children and young people in their own
learning. The purpose of record keeping and
documentation is to support the process of
personal learning planning rather than these
being ends in themselves. This should be done
in whatever way suits learners and the school
best. All children with additional support
needs should be engaged in personal learning
planning and for many this process will be
sufficient to address their additional support
needs. Further detailed information about
personal learning planning can be obtained from
the Assessment is for Learning website which is
noted in the resources section. This
covers: - sharing criteria
- involvement of pupils
- gathering evidence
- record keeping
- individual and group personal learning
planning
- meeting the needs of pupils with
additional support needs
- extracts from case studies.
|
| Individualised educational
programme |
| 75. Where children or young people require
more detailed planning for learning than can be
catered for through personal learning planning,
or where substantial adaptation to the
curriculum is being considered, an
individualised educational programme may be
appropriate. An individualised educational
programme describes in detail the nature of a
child's or young person's additional support
needs, the ways in which these are to be met,
the learning outcomes to be achieved, and
specifies what additional support is required,
including that required from agencies from
outwith education. Where appropriate, an
education authority should work with health,
social work or voluntary agencies to draw up
the programme so that objectives and services
can be co-ordinated. |
| 76. Many local authorities have a policy
which explains the circumstances under which
individualised educational programmes are used.
Some have developed a template for an
individualised educational programme which can
be completed electronically. Through the
Success for All project the Scottish
Executive has published advice on
individualised educational programmes together
with an electronic version of such a programme,
called
IEP Scotwrite. This
advice together with
IEP Scotwrite is
available on the Learning and Teaching Scotland
Inclusive Education website contained within
the resources section. |
| Co-ordinated support plans |
| 77. There is a small number of children and
young people with significant additional
support needs arising from enduring complex or
multiple factors who require support from at
least one agency from outwith education. These
children may require a co-ordinated support
plan, which is described in detail in the
following chapter, to ensure that the support
for learning is co-ordinated effectively across
agencies. |
| Planning: agencies outwith
education |
| 78. There is a range of plans, which a child
or young person may have. Education authorities
and other agencies should seek to ensure that
assessment for, and production of, learning
plans takes account of any other planning
processes within the local authority and across
agencies. Educational objectives should be
shared across plans. In particular, education
plans should link with any health or social
care plan. This will help prevent duplication
and facilitate the co-ordination and
implementation of support for children and
young people. |
s31 1995 Act | 79. Particular issues may arise with
statutory care plans. There is a statutory duty
on the local authority as "corporate parent" to
review the cases of children and young people
looked after by them. Although the emphasis of
the care plan will quite properly focus on the
child or young person in placement, and contact
arrangements with the family, it must also
reflect fully the child's or young person's
learning needs. Effective planning is important
to ensure that children and young people
receive the services they need. "Children who are looked after should have
the same opportunities as all other children
for education, including further and higher
education, and access to other opportunities
for development. They should also, where
necessary, receive additional help,
encouragement and support to address special
needs or compensate for previous deprivation or
disadvantage."
9 |
s9(1) | 80. As discussed earlier, where a child or
young person is attending a school under the
management of an education authority outside
the child's or young person's home area by
virtue of a placing request then it is that
host education authority which is responsible
for preparing a co-ordinated support plan,
should one be required. However, in terms of
section 10 of the Act, the home authority has a
duty to keep under consideration the adequacy
of any co-ordinated support plan prepared and
not discontinued for any child or young person
belonging to the area. It will be for the home
education authority to determine how best to
carry out that duty having regard to the
provision being made for the child or young
person, including that provided by the host
education authority responsible for the school
education of the child or young person. |
| 81. Schools are required to report on the
educational progress of each child or young
person who is looked after and accommodated.
Where such children or young people have
additional support needs, these should be
stated in their care plan. In many cases it
will be appropriate for that part of the care
plan which covers education to refer to any
planning documents used for education, and for
these documents to be appended to the care
plan, without necessarily completing the
education section of the care plan. |
| 82. There is a range of health care plans
for different disciplines within health e.g.
medical, nursing, occupational therapy, speech
and language therapy, and physiotherapy. Each
plan is informed by an assessment process with
clear objectives and outcomes. These outcomes
are monitored to inform and ensure clinical
effectiveness. Plans may be single or
multi-disciplinary, or form part of a
multi-agency plan as appropriate. Although
these plans have their own specific purposes,
it is important that they are integrated with
and cross-refer to education plans for purposes
of identifying learning needs and educational
objectives. |
Louise, aged 6, is the eldest of 3 children.
The school is concerned about her short
concentration span, poor communication and
aggressive behaviour towards other children.
The family receive support from the local
family centre and there have been regular multi
agency meetings to co-ordinate support. For the previous 6 months all the children
have been on the child protection register
because of concerns of neglect. At the most
recent review of the child protection plan it
was highlighted that Louise's communication
skills remained poor despite an individualised
educational programme being in place. A speech
and language therapist assessed Louise and
advised the school about more appropriate
teaching approaches and objectives and helped
to develop new appropriate education targets
within the plan. The educational objectives are
now shared across the child protection plan and
the individualised educational programme. |
| Monitoring and review |
s4(1)(b) | 83. Education authorities must make
appropriate arrangements for keeping under
consideration the additional support needs of,
and the adequacy of additional support provided
to, each child and young person with additional
support needs for whose school education they
are responsible. Education authorities, with
appropriate agencies, must monitor the progress
of children and young people who have
additional support needs, to ensure that they
are learning effectively and making adequate
progress. Where children and young people are
not making adequate progress as expected, the
child's needs should be re-assessed and
appropriate support provided. |
| 84. Education authorities and other agencies
need to have arrangements in place to
co-ordinate the planning and review process for
children and young people. These arrangements
will maximise effective joint and coherent
working across agencies and authorities
involved and help reduce pressure on the child
or young person and their parents as well as
promoting the child's or young person's
development to their fullest potential. This is
particularly important where the review
schedules for plans vary. For example,
individualised educational programmes are
reviewed regularly by teachers and children and
young people as part of the continuous teaching
and learning cycle. Formal programme reviews
are called, as required, but typically every
two months or each term. |
| 85. The local authority, as a minimum
requirement, must review the circumstances of
looked after and accommodated children and
young people within 6 weeks of being placed.
Thereafter, reviews must take place within 3
months of the first review; and subsequently,
at intervals of no more than 6 months. The
purpose of these reviews is to prepare a care
plan which addresses the immediate and longer
term needs of the child or young person with a
view to safeguarding and promoting his or her
welfare. Where a looked after child or young
person also has an individualised educational
programme or a co-ordinated support plan, the
authority may decide to review these within the
care plan review process. Any meetings should
fully involve the parents and the child or
young person in preparing the plan or plans. A
copy of the plan should be provided to parents,
young person and all those who have contributed
to the plan or plans. |
| 86. Authorities and agencies should have
arrangements in place to ensure that all
appropriate plans are updated and integrated as
required. Local arrangements should be in place
to decide who convenes multi-agency review
meetings and who the lead professional will
be. |