22 October 2009, 14:53
Does your child need extra help at school?
We know that without some extra help some children will not benefit fully from school education. That is why in Scotland, all children have a right to receive the additional support that they require to meet their individual needs and to help them make the most of their education.
Parents also have rights that give them more of a say in their child's education as well as more opportunities to express views about the support they feel that their child needs.
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At a glance – The assessment process
Before Signing up to Additional Support for Learning Services
Example Methods of Support
Links and helplines
At a glance – The assessment process
Your rights – you have the right to:
Ask your child’s education authority to find out whether your child has additional support needs
Request a specific type of assessment and/or examination for your child.
Be informed of the outcome of your request and any rights of appeal you have.
Have a supporter or representative with you at any meeting with the school or education authority and at other events.
Your child’s right:
If your child is aged 16 or over, they have the same rights as you, listed above.
Duties on education authorities – Education authorities must:
Make arrangements for each child with additional support needs
Make arrangements to identify children who have additional support needs.
Meet your request if you ask to find out whether your child has additional support needs. They can only refuse if they consider the request unreasonable.
Publish and keep updated, information on its arrangements for identifying children who have additional support needs.
Take account of any advice or information that is provided by you, your child or other agencies when it is assessing your child.
The education authority will have to prepare a co-ordinated support plan for children with the most complex needs, that arise from complex or multiple factors. This plan will co-ordinate support for those with additional support needs. The support will come from the education authority as well as possibly one or more other services such as a Health Board.
Before Signing up to Additional Support for Learning Services
Supporting children’s involvement in making decisions
Decisions about whether your child has additional support needs and what kind of support they require will significantly affect their life now and in the future.
Although education law asks you to make decisions on behalf of your child until they reach the age of 16, it is vital that you make every effort to ensure that your child is involved in making those decisions.
Your child is unlikely to get the most benefit from decisions if they feel uncomfortable with them. The key to this is that your child can influence those decisions.
If you have a question about your child's additional support needs you should always discuss any concerns you have with the staff dealing with your child and, in particular, with the headteacher to see if any disagreements you might have can be resolved within the school.
All local authorities must have in place arrangements to provide parents with mediation services free of charge.
In certain circumstances parents can access arrangements for resolving disputes by independent adjudication, which again is free of charge to parents.
Where matters refer to a co-ordinated support plan then it may be possible to make a reference to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal.
Your child’s right to express their view and have them listened to
The Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000 states that an education authority must have due regard to the views of children and young people in decisions that affect their education. The law tries to make sure that professionals do not make decisions that affect your child without taking their views into consideration. The Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991 recognises that children have capacity if they have sufficient understanding of the decisions they are involved in and what they may mean. This generally applies to children aged 12 and over but younger children can be regarded as having capacity in some cases. Whether your child has capacity is decided by the professionals involved at individual stages, in partnership with you.
Involving your child in decisions about additional support
In most cases your child will be involved in a fairy informal way, by encouraging your child to take part in developing their personal learning plan or individualised programme. They will be involved, during the normal day, in setting targets and discussing and evaluating their progress.
School-age children
One or several of these methods may be used to support your child:
Adapting the curriculum – example; a very able child in the later stages of primary school gets access to secondary school mathematics curriculum.
Individual or small group teaching – example: one-to-one small-group tutorial will be given by the school’s support for learning teacher to help with a reading difficulty.
Group work support in the school – example: a group of children working together at the same reading level or particular project to develop social interaction.
Specific support from a classroom assistant, additional support needs assistant or behaviour co-ordinator – example: helping a child understand a task and keeping them on track.
Support from a visiting teacher – example: support is provided by a visiting English as an Additional Language (EAL) teacher for a child whose first language is not English.
Differentiation of the curriculum, including resources and materials – example: particular resources such as computers are made available to enable children to access curriculum materials in a more suitable format. Breaking down work into smaller chunks can enable children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to perform a variety of tasks.
Adaptations to school buildings – example: a school may make certain adjustments, such as better signage to help children with visual impairment find their way around.
Peer-support arrangement such as buddying or paired reading - example: children with social or emotional difficulties are set-up with a network of older pupils who buddy up with them at lunchtime and playtimes to help them join in with their peer group and socialise.
Therapist within school – example: a speech and language therapist devises a series of exercises that the teacher can use in the classroom when working with a child who has a particular language disorder.
Teacher takes advice from a specialist – example: the class teacher helps a child with behavioural difficulties by following a behavioural management programme drawn up with a behaviour support teacher.
Attending a special unit – example: some children may benefit from attending a unit in the school on a full-time or part-time basis. This may be because the particular type of support required is not usually provided in the classroom, or a child’s needs would be better met by a part time placement in the mainstream setting.
Attending a special school – in some cases, a special school may be better equipped to meet your child’s needs.
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Last updated: 30 October 2009, 11:11
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