We are committed to keeping you updated with Educational Reform and offering you the best advice to support your students with SLCN. We ensure the information we provide you is current, accurate and above all useful! You can find lots of information on our termly SENCo hub meetings here and free resources to download here within the schools resources section.

Our latest back to school resources are available here fresh for the start of the new year.

Screening & Baselining Assessment Service

You can spot purchase this service at the beginning of a term with no tie ins.

Our highly specialist SLT team will screen all students with SEN or those selected by you – you select the number of spot purchase days you require.

We will complete full standardised assessments, informal assessment and classroom observation and then present you with a full SEN SLT report within one week of assessment and present back personalised targets and teaching strategies to support each child’s presenting SEN.

We will outline any steps a student might need in respect of the code of practice, providing the supporting evidence you need. We can repeat baseline assessments for you in future months to measure progress, however there is no obligation to tie in to our service.

Contact us to hear more

SEN Provision Mapping

We can provide a free SEN provision mapping consultation to your school: this will outline whole school approaches and environmental strategies you could implement in order to cater for children with Speech, Language and Communication needs.

Register for free

Why Provision Map?

Provision management can be used strategically to develop special educational provision to match the assessed needs of pupils across the school, and to evaluate the impact of that provision on pupil progress.

Used in this way provision management can also contribute to school improvement by identifying particular patterns of need and potential areas of development for teaching staff. It can help the school to develop the use of interventions that are effective and to remove those that are less so.

It can support schools to improve their core offer for all pupils as the most effective approaches are adopted more widely across the school.

What will you learn?

  • Knowing how well pupils are doing compared with their peers and against national standards
  • Knowing what works to prevent underachievement in whole class contexts, at group and individual level
  • Identifying the potential barriers to learning for each pupil
  • Knowing what else the school needs to do, both now and in the future, to meet the needs of all pupils and prevent underachievement
  • Continuously reviewing all provision and its impact

The SEND Code of Practice Reforms 2014

The new SEND Code of Practice came into force in September 2014, and since then we have been delivering SENCo Training Hubs throughout the country to inform schools about the changes. We have outlined the key information provided within the SEND Code of Practice. The latest version of the SEND Code of Practice was released in January 2015 and is valid from April 2015. You can download a copy from the Department for Education Website or you can download a copy from our resources area.

SEND Code of Practice January 2015

Transitional Arrangements

  • 1st September 2014 – No new assessments for statements
  • September 2014 – Local Offer must be published
  • Spring 2015 – All School Action and School Action Plus children transferred to SEN Support
  • September 14 to September 16 – All Learning Difficulty Assessment’s (LDAs) must be transferred to EHC plans
  • September 14 to April 18 – All statements must be transferred to EHC plans

Key Changes to the Code of Practice

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Download an overview of the key changes

Local Offer

Local Authorities must publish a local offer. The local offer should:

  • Outline information about provision that should be available for children and young people with SEND in on place
  • Should be co-produced by parents & young people
  • Should outline provision schools and colleges will deliver
  • Fully involve services in its development, review and changes
  • Should be a holistic guide to education, training, employment, transport, social care, health care and independent living for those aged 0 to 25
  • Information should be accessible and written in plain English
  • Be very clear on how services can be accessed
  • Provide information on how decision are made, when and what to do if things go wrong
  • Should be regularly reviewed and information should be up to date

Information about The Local Offer and links to each local authority can be found here.

Read Lorraine’s blog on the Local Offer

SEN Support & A Graduated Approach

School Action and School Action Plus children must be transferred to SEN Support by Spring 2015. SEN Support numbers MUST be finalised by January Census 2015. There is an emphasis on:

  • Quality First Teaching
  • Focus on staff development
  • Personalisation
  • Differentiating curriculum as standard
  • Involving children & young people and their parents
  • Focus on Outcomes
  • Use of Evidence Based Interventions

There is also a graduated approach which has 4 Phases:

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Download our SEN Support and Graduated Approach Guide

Quality First Teaching

High quality teaching is a core principle within the Code of Practice [2015]. Schools should provide high quality personalised teaching as standard. Quality teaching should use appropriate evidence-based interventions. SEN provision is that which goes beyond high quality differentiated approaches

It outlines that teachers must use their best endeavours to ensure that they provide for all children including those with SEN.

High quality teaching that is differentiated and personalised will meet the individual needs of the majority of children and young people. Some children and young people need educational provision that is additional to or different from this…Special educational provision is underpinned by high quality teaching and is compromised by anything less.

Department for Education & Department of Health, Special educational needs and disability code of practice:0 to 25 years, January 2015

You can find more information on high quality teaching on the SEND Gateway.

NASEN have created a useful resource: Every Teacher, Every Child, a whole school approach to meeting SEN under the new Code of Practice

Download Every Teacher, Every Child

Education, Health and Care Plans

By April 2018, all Statement of Special Educational Needs should be transferred to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHC Plans).

  • Each LA may have a different EHC Plan format
  • Section A – K must be included but designed to local specification
  • Outcomes focused – use of evidenced based interventions
  • Must be written in first person; including hopes and aspirations
  • Describe positively what child or young person can do and has achieved
  • Set out how services will work together to meet the C&YP needs
  • If health referenced in EHCP – CCG must provide health provision
  • EHC Plan should be based on the co-ordinated assessment and planning process – child or young person at centre of decision making