The school might contact you to talk about the support they can give your child. They will work with you to discuss and reflect on your child's strengths and needs and to jointly agree on the provision needed to support them.
Before meeting the school you might want to...
...gather examples showing your child's challenges. That could include:
- schoolwork and homework, school reports, test results
- details of support they may have had at a previous school.
...write a list of your concerns. That might cover:
- schoolwork and behaviour at school
- concentration, physical skills, relationships
- behaviour and mood at home.
...write down your child's strengths and interests
...write down any questions. For example:
- What help does my child get?
- How do you measure my child's progress? Is he/she making the progress you'd expect?
- What assessments have the school done to find out about my child's needs?
- What can I do at home to help my child?
Check the school's website - all schools must publish information about SEND, such as;
- a SEN information report (which gives details about a school's provision and support for children and young people with SEND) and;
- an accessibility plan (which shows how the school plans to make improvements to the physical environment to increase access to the curriculum and to make improvements in providing written information for disabled children and young people)
Whilst high quality inclusive provision will meet the needs of most children and young people, some, including those with SEND, may need a more targeted approach. The school or education provider will assess your child's needs and work with you to plan the best support available. This may include more of the strategies and approaches described in our Ordinarily Available Provision guidance for schools (pdf 838 kb).
Creating a written plan
If your child needs additional help beyond the ordinarily available provision, the SENCO will work with you to identify your child's needs and create a plan. This includes what goals your child will work towards, and exactly how the school will provide extra support.
This additional help is called SEN Support.
You should get a copy of the plan in writing.
If the school or education provider needs additional help to support your child, they can request advice from the Ask SALI team.
School puts the plan into action
Your child’s teacher will put the plan into action. Everyone working with your child should be made aware of their needs, the support that will be provided and the outcomes you have agreed.
Review progress
You'll agree when to review your child's progress against the plan. You should meet at least 3 times a year (these meetings will be longer than most parent-teacher meetings).
The school or education provider should provide a progress report every year.
Next steps
If your child hasn't made reasonable progress, or you're unhappy with the support in place, it'll be important to agree what should happen next.
Sometimes it helps to involve other professionals in further assessment.
Your child’s needs might have changed or the support needs to change.
If your child's needs can't be met by SEN support, the next step might be to seek an education, health and care needs assessment. That will identify whether an education, health and care plan is required.
More about Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP)