SEN support
Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)
What is SEN Support?
When a child or young person is identified as having a Special Educational Need, the support they receive becomes more targeted.
SEN Support and High Level SEN Support are used, in Trafford, to describe the specific and timelimited support that is additional and different from the Universal support that is available to children and young people of the same age.
When an early years setting, school or college thinks a child or young person might need SEN support they must work with the child or young person and their parents and carers.
Early years settings, schools and colleges must publish on their website what is provided for children and young people with Special Educational Needs. This is sometimes called a SEN Information report or SEND Local Offer report and can be found on the Trafford Local Offer website within the individual listing for each setting, school or college.
SEN Support could include:
- additional materials and equipment
- classroom or environment adaptations
- individual interventions or programmes
- small group intervention work
- focused support from the class teacher, SENCO or support staff
- helping the child or young person to join in class activities
- helping the child or young person to play or interact with other children or young people
- advice and support from external professionals such as specialist teachers
At every stage, the views and wishes of the child or young person and their parent and carer will be listened to.
The special educational needs of most children and young people can, and should be, met through SEN Support or High Level SEN Support.
Schools have a budget called Element 2 funding which can be used to provide up to £6,000 worth of resources or additional support for a child or young person at SEN Support stage.
Step 1 - initial concerns
If you are concerned about your child's progress, arrange a meeting with the teacher or SEN Coordinator (SENCO) at your school.
Take a list of your concerns. You may want a friend or partner to support you in the meeting or to take notes for you.
Step 2 - Assess, Plan, Do, Review (ADPR)
Agree an action plan using the Assess, Plan, Do, Review (APDR) process.
This is a cycle which helps parents, teachers and SENCOs to decide outcomes and monitor the support according to your child’s needs. Agree a date when you will discuss this again.
Look for more information and resources available to you on the SEND local offer website.
Note about funding:
Schools and colleges have a budget called Element 2 funding. This can provide up to £6,000 worth of resources or additional support for a child or young person at SEN Support stage.
Schools need to complete at least two cycles of Assess, Plan, Do, Review with this funding. The cycles can be as long as the school needs to see if they can meet the agreed outcome.
Step 3 - SEN support
As part of the Assess, Plan, Do, Review process, the school should write an SEN Support Plan which will focus on the child or young person’s views. Some schools still use Individual Education Plans which are fine too. Most schools also use a provision map which is a list of the support your child is getting.
It shouldn’t just show 1-1 support from a Teaching Assistant. It should be a package of interventions and support designed specifically for your child. Make sure you have copies of both these documents.
Step 4 - review
Further advice about your child may be needed from a professional. You can request this through school or your SENCO may ask your permission to make a referral.
Talk it through as this advice may be very important to provide the right support for your child. If you have professionals involved at school, make sure you meet them and share your views. You know your child best and it is important we listen to you.
Arrange to meet the teacher or SENCO for a review. The school should update the provision map or SEN Support Plan for you to look at. If your child is making progress, the support may be continued or decreased.
You can always ask for SEN Support at any time. The school don’t have to apply for Element 2 funding so it is available quickly if required. The SENCO may need to change some things or suggest new ways of supporting your child.
As we go through the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle, we learn more and more about your child. Some children stay at SEN Support for the whole time they are in school. Others may need it from time to time or just once.
Step 5 - SEN support ongoing
If the provision is not working and your child is not making the expected progress, school should increase the support. They can use the full Element 2 funding.
It is important the SENCO demonstrates the support over time and how this has been increased to meet your child’s needs. You may need further Assess, Plan, Do, Review meetings to look at the support.
School may need to change something that is not working before trying higher funding. The provision map will tell you how much support your child is receiving and the impact of this.
Step 6 - considering next steps
If the support is not working following increased Element 2 funding and detailed Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycles, the school, you or anyone involved with your child may choose to apply for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessment.
You may wish to contact Trafford SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) or Trafford Parents Forum at this stage.
The Local Authority will decide whether to conduct a Needs Assessment by seeing if the information supplied meets the threshold criteria. You can find the criteria on our local offer.
It is important you stay involved with the SENCO at this stage and make sure they have all the information they need.
Note about diagnosis:
Diagnosis and test results are important but we need to understand the impact of these.
The Education, Health and Care (EHC) team do not assess children based on diagnosis alone. It is important we consider how this affects your child in their daily life, in and out of school.
Step 7 - application for EHC Needs Assessment
The EHC Needs Assessment will find out if an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan is needed. It does not automatically lead to a plan being issued.
Find out more: Trafford Directory | Needs assessment and plans
There are 2 possible outcomes from an application for a Needs Assessment:
1. We agree to do a statutory assessment as your child’s needs are above what the school can provide for from their Element 2 funding
or
2. We decide not to assess at this time as the criteria are not met. There are rights of appeal for this.
If we decide not to assess at this time, it doesn’t mean we think your child does not have Special Educational Needs (SEN). It may be because we think the school can continue at SEN Support for longer or try different options. It may be that they need to revisit the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle with further advice.
The school will be notified which criteria the assessment did not meet. This will help them with the next steps. Another application can always be considered in the future.
Back to Graduated Approach Contents