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Listen
glossary
Action plan - a structured plan which sets
out timescales, responsibilities and services required to
meet a child's or young person's assessed needs (see
entries for integrated action plan, personal learning
planning, individualised educational programme,
co-ordinated support plan and looked after care plan.)
Additional support - provision which is
additional to, or otherwise different from, the educational
provision made generally by an education authority for
children and young people of the same age in schools (other
than special schools) under the management of the education
authority.
Appropriate agency - an agency, or any
person, specified in the Act, or by regulation, as having
duties under the Act. Other agencies, whether statutory or
voluntary, may work with local authorities to support a
child's or young person's learning without being under a
statutory duty.
Assessment - an ongoing process of
gathering, structuring and making sense of information
about a child or young person, and their circumstances, in
order to inform decisions about the actions necessary to
maximise their potential.
Advocate - someone chosen by a parent, or
young person, to conduct discussions on their behalf with
an education authority or to make representations to the
authority, or the tribunal.
Carer - includes parents and other people
with parental responsibilities, for example, public foster
carers, relatives and friends who are caring for children
and young people under supervision requirements, and close
relatives, such as siblings or grandparents caring for
children who are not looked after or are under home
supervision requirements. (see also parent)
Co-ordinator - person responsible for
ensuring, so far as possible, that the services required to
deliver the additional support identified in the
co-ordinated support plan are in place for the child or
young person and for taking action to secure services when
necessary.
Complex factor - in the context of a
co-ordinated support plan is a factor which has or is
likely to have a significant adverse effect on the school
education of the child or young person.
Co-ordinated support plan - a statutory
strategic planning document to co-ordinate the provision of
services for those children and young people, who meet the
criteria, to help them work towards their agreed long-term
educational objectives.
Dispute resolution - the involvement,
under regulations supporting the Act, of an independent
adjudicator to review a disagreement between parents, or a
young person, and an education authority, over the exercise
by the authority of any of its duties or functions under
the Act, and to make recommendations for parties aimed at
resolving the dispute.
Disability - the code uses the definition
of disability, set out in the Disability Discrimination Act
1995, as being a physical or mental impairment, which has a
substantial and long term adverse effect on a person's
ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Duty - where the law requires an education
authority or appropriate agency to do something. (see
power)
Education authority - in legal terms,
education authority and local authority are both defined as
a council constituted under section 2 of the Local
Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994. The code refers to an
education authority when considering a local authority's
educational functions; and to a local authority when
referring to functions other than educational ones, such as
social work services.
Grant-aided school - a school in receipt
of grant funding from the Scottish Executive. At present
there are 8 such schools. Jordanhill School and 7 special
schools - Corseford, Craighalbert Centre, Donaldson's
College, East Park, Harmeny, The Royal Blind School and
Stanmore.
Holistic - a holistic view is one which
addresses the whole child and his/her circumstances rather
than focusing on specific isolated aspects.
Independent school - a school at which
full time education is provided for children or young
people of school age (whether or not such education is also
provided for children or young people over that age), not
being a public school or grant-aided school.
Individualised Educational Programme -
written document which outlines the steps to be taken to
help children and young people who have additional support
needs to achieve specified learning outcomes. (see
resources section)
Integrated Assessment Framework - a common
means for all agencies and professionals to assess
children's and young people's needs and to share
information about them in order to ensure that
interventions at any level lead to improvements in the
child's or young person's life. (
see policy section in annex
a)
Looked after child or young person - the
Children (Scotland) Act 1995 has a statutory definition of
a looked after child. These are children or young people
who are accommodated by the local authority; or are subject
to one of the specified orders, including a child
protection order; a parental responsibilities order; or are
subject to a supervision requirement whilst living at
home.
Looked after care plan - a written care
plan for a child or young person looked after by a local
authority. It includes consideration of the child or young
person's family contact arrangements as well as education,
health and future care arrangements.
Mediation - a voluntary process whereby an
independent third party seeks to enable parties to a
disagreement to reach an agreed resolution of their
differences.
Multi-disciplinary - where more than one
professional from different disciplines within the same
agency work together (e.g. speech therapist and health
visitor).
Multi-agency - where professionals from
different agencies work together (e.g. teachers and health
or social workers).
Multiple factors - in the context of a
co-ordinated support plan, these are factors which are not
by themselves complex but which, when taken together, have
or are likely to have a significant adverse effect on a
child's or young person's school education.
Parent - has the same meaning as section
135(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, as amended,
and includes guardian and any person who is liable to
maintain or has parental responsibilities (within the
meaning of section 1(3) of the Children (Scotland) Act
1995) in relation to, or has care of, a child or young
person. (see also
carer)
Personal learning planning - process by
which children, young people and parents are involved in
discussions with the school about the goals of learning,
including those for personal development. Its focus is on
supporting dialogue and ultimately about engaging children
and young people in their own learning.
Placing request - written request by
parents made to an education authority for their child to
attend a particular school. (see resources section for
Choosing a School)
Power - where the law allows an education
authority to do something, but there is no duty to do
so.
Pre-school provision - the Act refers to
pre-school provision (generally for 3 and 4 year olds (as
within the categories of prescribed pre-school children)
under the management of an education authority. It also
covers circumstances where the education authority have an
arrangement for the purposes of section 35 of the 2000 Act
with a private provider, normally referred to as
partnership nurseries. In certain circumstances, an
education authority have a duty under the Act to make
provision for disabled children under the age of 3
years.
Prescribed pre-school child - a child
eligible for pre-school provision from the start of the
school term following their 3rd birthday until the end of
the school term before they are first eligible to attend
primary school (generally between the ages of 3 and 5).
School - within the Act the term 'school'
has the same meaning as in the 1980 Act and means a
primary, secondary or special school, and includes nursery
schools and independent and grant-aided schools.
School age - generally from the age of 5
to 16 years.
Special school - a school or any class or
other unit forming part of a public school which is not
itself a special school, the sole or main purpose of which
is to provide education specially suited to the additional
support needs of children or young people selected for
attendance at the school, class or (as the case may be)
unit by reason of those needs.
Specified school - a school identified in
a placing request by a parent, or, as appropriate, a young
person, which the parent wishes his or her son or daughter
to attend, or the young person wishes to attend.
Supporter - someone chosen by the parent
or young person to be present at any discussions with the
authority or at the tribunal for the purpose of supporting
them in the course of those discussions.
Targeted services - services which are
designed to help specific children and young people for
particular needs, e.g. social work, the Reporter, police, a
whole range of voluntary sector provision.
Transitions - refers to changes in
education, for example, starting nursery school, moving
from primary to secondary school, transferring schools
within or outwith an education authority's area.
Transitional arrangements - safeguards in
the Act to maintain provision, for a specified period, for
children and young people who had a Record of Needs,
immediately prior to the commencement of the Act. (see
Scottish Executive
Transitional Arrangements Circular.)
Universal services - services which all
children and young people have access to throughout their
childhood, e.g. health and education provision.
Young carer - children and young people
who provide care to a family member.
Young people - the code uses this term to
refer to those young persons over school age (generally
over 16 years) who are not yet 18 years of age, as per the
definition in the 1980 Act.
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