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CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

EDUCATIONAL, MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL WORK INPUT

86. As explained in paragraph 68, the statutory process of observation and assessment must include educational, psychological and medical assessments. It may also be necessary in some cases for advice to be sought from social work authorities.

Educational Assessment

87. Where a child or young person has already come into contact with a teacher, either through the visiting teacher service or in a nursery or primary school, it is appropriate to seek educational advice from the head teacher(s) of the school or schools attended, or, where a visiting teacher has been involved, from that service. Where it is possible to do so, contact should be made with all the schools attended during, at least, the preceding 18months.

88. Head teachers will base educational advice on their own observations and on those of other teachers who have taught the child or young person. It is also recommended that where a head teacher is not qualified to teach those with special educational needs, such as a sensory impairment, the head teacher should consult with a person who is. In cases of non-attendance at school, if the advice of a peripatetic teacher who has visited the child or young person is not available, the education authority should seek advice from a person who has a knowledge of the forms of educational provision which might meet the special educational needs of the child or young person.

Medical Assessment

89. The health board for the area in which the child or young person resides will arrange for the provision of medical advice. They should designate a medical officer for this purpose. The advice given should be provided in a form which is concise and relevant to the child or young person's special educational needs. It is expected that before submitting advice, the appropriate medical officer should co-ordinate the information from all doctors who have had relevant contact with the child or young person and who can offer a view of the effect their medical condition may have for their special educational needs. Where, however, the school being attended is located in a different health board area it may often be advantageous for the local medical officer who normally supports that particular school also to be involved.

90. It will help education authorities to appreciate the possible complexity of needs if the designated medical officer can indicate by name and profession the range of medical specialists who have been consulted. Where it appears likely to be useful, because medical treatment for the child or young person has been locally based, the designated medical officer may wish to involve the family doctor before giving advice.

91. Staff from professions allied to medicine, such as therapists, nurses and health visitors, may have an independent contribution to make to the assessment process for opening a Record of Needs and will also contribute usefully to medical assessments. It will be relevant for those in the education authority, including teaching staff, to be aware of the amount, duration and objectives of any therapy or nursing care provision currently being received by the child or young person.

92. Increasingly, health boards are commissioning a multi-disciplinary approach to the assessment and provision for the severely disabled, including those under 5 years of age. Where suitable machinery exists, the health based multi-disciplinary team may be a suitable vehicle to co-ordinate the medical contribution to the assessment of the child or young person/s special educational needs. Often, it will be found that such initiatives are best co-ordinated by community paediatricians. The local psychiatric services, whether hospital or community based, may also be an appropriate source of advice.

Psychological Assessment

93. Psychological advice will generally be sought from an educational psychologist employed by the education authority or engaged by the education authority for the purpose. Frequently, the educational psychologist will have been given overall responsibility within the education authority for co-ordinating the process of assessment and recording of the individuals with whom the authority has had contact. In cases where other psychologists (e.g. clinical or occupational psychologists) have relevant knowledge or information about the child or young person, they should be consulted and their advice recorded. It helps parents feel more secure in the process if frequent changes of educational psychological personnel whom they meet are avoided.

Social Work Advice

94. Children with special educational needs may also have social care needs which if addressed could have a positive impact on their educational development. Therefore, at an early stage in an assessment, education authorities should consider whether it is appropriate to request the advice and support of the social work authority. The current position is that a local authority as a social work authority has functions in connection with the promotion of social welfare, under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. In future, a local authority will have functions under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 to promote the welfare of children "in need," for the purposes of that Act. Parents and guardians will have a right to request an assessment of their child's social care needs under provisions in the 1995 Act (section 23 read with section 22) which relate to children with a disability, or affected by the disability of another person in the child's family. It is expected that these provisions will not be brought into force until 1 April 1997, but it is clear that education and social work should in any event adopt a collaborative and co-ordinated approach, seeking to avoid unnecessary duplication of processes in order to serve the best interests of the child.

95. Local authorities should develop joint procedures to ensure effective co-ordination. It may be convenient, therefore, with the agreement of the parents to arrange that a copy of the notification to parents issued under the terms of Section 61(l) of the 1980 Act be sent to a nominated officer of the social work authority. This will allow the social work authority to consider whether it knows of any problems affecting the child, or his or her family, and to indicate to the education authority whether it has information relevant to the assessment of the child's special educational needs. Where the child concerned is also to be assessed under the provisions of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, education and social work authorities should consider how their assessments can be co-ordinated to reduce stress on the child and his or her parents.

Conduct of the Assessments

96. Assessment under the 1980 Act requires a systematic, yet flexible, approach. It may be organised in a variety of ways to reflect local circumstances and the requirements of individual cases. All contributors to assessments must be aware of the need for prompt action and the expectation that assessment should normally be completed within 6 months (see paragraph 84). It is recommended that, when professional advice is submitted to the education authority, those doing so should be encouraged, subject to the agreement of parents, or, as appropriate, young persons, to copy that advice to other colleagues involved in the assessment. As a matter of good practice, parents, or, as appropriate, young persons, or if they prefer their representatives, should be given the opportunity - to receive copies of documents containing professional advice.

97. The relationships between professional advisers and parents, children and young persons during the process of assessment are of crucial importance. Parents should be encouraged to feel they are partners in this important event in their child's life. Their views should be carefully listened to in all circumstances and, if action is to be recommended, or advice given, which does not accord with their views, they should have the reasons why that should be so fully explained to them and be given an opportunity to respond. It is equally important that the views of young persons and children are taken into account (see paragraphs 80 and 81).

98. As indicated in paragraph 74, section 61(2) of the 1980 Act gives parents the right to be present at any medical examination made during the assessment of their child. Where a parent refuses to submit his or her child for assessment or refuses to allow his or her child to be examined, the authority must serve on the parent a notice in writing requiring him or her to submit the child for assessment (section 61(l)(b)) and stating the penalty for non-compliance (section 61(4)). It has sometimes been the practice of authorities to refer to the penalty in the notice made under section 61(l)(a), i.e. inviting the parent to submit the child for assessment. However, the 1980 Act requires the penalty to be referred to in the section 61(l)(b) notice, which should of course only be issued if the parent fails to submit the child for assessment without reasonable excuse. To refer to the penalty in the initial section 61(l)(a) notice has proved on occasion to be intimidating to parents and does not encourage co-operation or good relations.

99. As discussed in paragraph 81, a child has the right (under section 2(4) of the Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991) to consent on his own behalf to a medical assessment where, in the opinion of a medical practitioner attending him, he is capable of understanding the nature and possible consequences of that assessment. Education authorities will have to consider carefully whether it would be reasonable in any particular case to seek the child's consent.

100. Medical practitioners and other professionals may need to see a child individually. In such cases, they may feel it is not always helpful to have parents present. It can be explained to parents that there can be occasions where for professional reasons the presence of a parent might inhibit the relationship between the person carrying out the assessment and the child. Also, the overall assessment may involve meeting with a child on several, often brief occasions and it will not always be practical or personally convenient for a parent to be available to attend all of them. However, parents should be kept fully informed throughout the process and know the objective and outcome of any assessment carried out.

Case Conferences

101. In the majority of cases it is expected that the professional advisers involved in an assessment will find case conferences will assist them to achieve a more precise identification of a child or young person's needs. A case conference will also help to ensure the advice given to the education authority reflects the consensus of the team's findings. There is no absolute rule on who should attend case conferences and education authorities may involve various groupings of professionals as circumstances warrant. Case conferences provide a useful forum to promote a co-ordinated inter-agency approach.

102. There are, obvious advantages when parents are invited to attend case conferences, and other meetings where their child's special educational needs are being discussed. It helps to maintain trust and co-operation and allows parents to communicate with those assessing their child and pass on their unique insight into the child's needs. It is good practice to make parents aware that they may submit for discussion at the conference any assessments that they have commissioned independently, and that they may be accompanied by another person who should be able to take a full and active part in the conference. It is also good practice for parents, whether or not they are to attend the conference, to receive well in advance, copies of all working papers to be considered at a case conference. Chairpersons should pay particular attention to facilitate the participation of parents, including seeking to ensure that the timing and venues of conferences are suitable. The foregoing advice applies equally to cases where young persons attend case conferences.

103. The minutes of case conference meetings should be written in a way which clearly outlines all decisions, recommendations and expected outcomes. All contributors, including, in particular, parents and young persons, should be asked at the time to record any reservations they may have about the advice or conclusions that are to go forward to the education authority. Parents and young persons who were present at the case conference should also be able to comment on the accuracy of the written record of decisions. The co-ordinator of the case conference should take particular care that parents and young persons are able to do so - the fact that they have had the opportunity to comment during a case conference should not preclude the possibility of their making further representations on the matters discussed.

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