SEND: Sources of information and support
Our SENCo Nicola Maunder has put together the following information for the RKS community, in response to common questions and situations which arise related to additional needs.
It is normal to have children with a range of needs in the school and we have experience in supporting many of them. It is not possible to include all of the areas in the information below so please do not hesitate to contact us if you are struggling to find information about something not mentioned.
Ordinarily Available Provision
What can I expect my child’s school to provide? Surrey has produced an Ordinarily Available provision document for schools which shows the types of support all schools should offer according to the area of need.
Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)
If there is a concern that a child requires special support/ resources which is greater than can be provided by the school’s resources, the Local Authority can be asked to make an assessment of the child’s Education, Health and Care needs (an EHC assessment).
It’s very important to note that a diagnosis of any of the conditions described below does not, in itself, mean that a child will be granted an EHCP.
Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health
Mindworks Surrey is the name for the Children and Young People’s Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Service. Their website provides lots of information and resources on a variety of additional needs. There is also a 24/7 crisis line for children aged from 6 years, young people and their families/carers who are in crisis.
At RKS we have a trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) and also have access to a Home School Link Worker. Our ELSA can work 1:1 with a child or in a small group. Our Home School Link Worker may work with a child or group, but also supports the family.
In school we sometimes refer to the Zones of Regulation with a child or class. This can be really helpful to support a child who finds it hard to manage their emotions, and can also be used at home.
Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance (EBSNA) is a term to describe the difficulty children and young people experience in attending school due to emotional reasons, such as stress, anxiety and/or feeling overwhelmed. This can result in prolonged periods of absence from school. You can find further support and information on the Surrey Local Offer website. The school has a linked Surrey CC Inclusion Officer who may be able to support families with this issue.
Neurodevelopmental needs
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – According to Mindworks Surrey, ADHD is a condition that affects people’s behaviour. People with ADHD can seem restless, may have trouble concentrating, and may act on impulse. Sometimes, following a diagnosis of ADHD, parents may choose to investigate the use of medication to support the management of this condition.
Autism (Autism Spectrum Condition) - According to the National Autistic Society, Autism is a lifelong developmental disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world.
Mindworks provides information and resource packs for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC).
Dyslexia and Dyscalculia
According to the British Dyslexia Association, Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty which primarily affects reading and writing skills. However, it does not only affect these skills. Dyslexia is actually about information processing. Dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering information they see and hear, which can affect learning and the acquisition of literacy skills. Dyslexia can also impact on other areas such as organisational skills. Ten percent of the population are believed to be dyslexic. Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficult in understanding numbers which can lead to a diverse range of difficulties with mathematics.
RKS is unable to assess children for Dyslexia or Dyscalculia as this needs to be carried out by a specialist teacher or Educational Psychologist who has been trained to do so. However, we can carry out an assessment of some of the areas which children with Dyslexia often struggle with to help to better understand areas of strength and difficulty. It is important to be aware that a diagnosis does not mean that a child will automatically receive more support or access special arrangements for assessments. We support all children at our school regardless of whether or not they have a diagnosis of a particular need. All children can access support or special arrangements for assessments if their needs and normal classroom provision meet the specified criteria set by the assessor.
Some parents and carers may wish to arrange a private Dyslexia or Dyscalculia assessment for their child. It can be helpful to have a more in depth look at a child’s needs and what particular areas they find challenging so that specific strategies can be identified. Some children also find it reassuring to have a reason for the difficulties they are experiencing. Some parents and carers from RKS have arranged assessments through the Helen Arkell Centre or Dyslexia Surrey but there are many other assessors available.
Speech & Language and Occupational Therapy
The website for Children and Family Health Surrey gives a lot of information, advice and further resources on both areas. Within the Therapy Resources you can find advice sheets which are very helpful to support development in a variety of areas such as speech sounds, attention and listening, and using my senses.
Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (dyspraxia) – According to the NHS this is a condition affecting physical co-ordination. It causes a child to perform less well than expected in daily activities for their age, and appear to move clumsily. Please see the website for ways to help your child.
Physical and Sensory Support
The Physical and Sensory Support service can support children whose education is affected by their deafness, communication needs, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability or vision impairment. They describe the criteria for their involvement which can be requested by school (with parent/carer permission), or parents/carers can request it themselves.
Young Carers
According to Action for Carers Surrey, a young carer is someone under 18 who helps look after someone in their family who is ill, disabled or misuses drugs or alcohol. Surrey Young Carers can help any children who are young carers from Year 1 upwards.
Children Looked After (CLA) or Previously Looked After (PLAC)
Children who are looked after (CLA) and previously looked after (PLAC) start with the disadvantage of their pre-care experiences and, often, have special educational needs. Surrey Virtual School (SVS) leads the work to improve educational outcomes of these children, and those with a Social Worker. Their website provides more information around schools’ responsibilities, resources and support.
Additional sources of information
As mentioned above, there are many other types of additional need and it is not possible to include everything here. Please see below for other websites and sources of information which may be helpful. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher or the SENCo.