Working with your child’s setting
What can I expect of the setting that my child attends?
Parents should expect every early year’s provider, state-funded mainstream and special school and post 16 setting to provide an effective education for their child so that they make good progress in their learning and, in the long-term, can be fully prepared for adult life.
Transparency and accountability are important. As a parent you are equal partners in planning for your child. The focus should be around outcomes. You should expect to work closely with the setting throughout the graduated response. If your child has a Education, Health Care Plan (EHCP) you should expect a coordinated approach between yourselves and different professionals from education, health and care.
What is the role of the SENCO?
The SENCO is a teacher who is responsible for special educational needs in school or setting. In early years settings there may be an Area SENDCO
The SENCO will co-ordinate additional support for pupils with SEN and liaise with their parents, teachers and other professionals who are involved with them.
What shall I do if I think my child has special educational needs?
If you think your child may have special educational needs, contact the SEN co-ordinator, or ‘SENCO’ in your child’s school, college or nursery.
More information, advice and support
Oldham SENDIASS can give you advice about SEND. (SENDIASS stands for Special Educational Needs/Disabilities Information and Advice Support Service.)
If your child's school does not agree that your child has SEND
If your child’s school does not identify or agree that your child has SEND and you think that they do, then you may want to contact one of the support agencies on the resource page who can advise you further.
Your child does not have to have a formal diagnosis to get SEN support at school. The Government expects schools to put support in place if any SEN needs are identified.
You may want to keep ‘a paperwork trail’ recording your contact with the school over your child’s needs and difficulties, particularly if you are unhappy about your child’s education. Follow up any phone calls or conversations at the classroom door with an email confirming what was discussed and who agreed to do what following the conversation. Keep all your letters and emails from the school in folders so they are easy to find.
How will I be involved in understanding my child’s needs, tracking their progress and developing support plans?
It is important that your child’s setting/school/college show you how they are supporting your child's education. Your child’s teacher or SENDCO should explain to you how they plan, do assess and review the learning and progress of the school.
Ensure that your child has a voice in this process.
How will I know that my child is making progress?
- Your child’s setting should be measuring and monitoring outcomes for children on a range of factors, such as peer relationships, attendance and progress in learning.
- If your child already has a support plan you may want to focus your discussion on whether your child is meeting the expected outcomes identified on the plan. If not explore the obstacles that might be in the way.
- You should expect to meet regularly with your child’s key worker/ teacher and/or SENDCO on a regular basis.
- You may want to discuss any pastoral support plans or behaviour improvement plans that the setting/school/college has put in place to support and engage children and young people in improving behaviour, self-regulation and engagement in positive activities.
How else will I be involved?
The voice of parents must be listened and included in any development around the support that is being provided to your child. Feedback from parents should also be taken into consideration. As a minimum you should expect:
- dates for termly parent/teacher conversations for the academic year. You should expect to feel welcome and encouraged and supported to attend.
- regular meetings with the Special Education Need Co-Ordinator (SENCO) to plan and understand the impact of the school’s work on your child’s progress.
- parent/teacher conversations are recorded in your child’s record and are used to inform goal setting and future planning.
- to feel that the school is listening to you.
What if my child needs an Education Health Care Plan?
This short video explains what an EHCP is an who it is for:
Most children and young people with SEND will have their needs met by their mainstream setting, school or college.
Some pupils with more complex SEND (0-25) may need an assessment to see if they would benefit from having an Education, Health and Care plan. This is a legal document which sets out any additional support required to meet the special education needs of the child or young person.
Parents carers and young people are also able to request an EHC needs assessment themselves. The local authority will contact the setting/school/college for information about how they have been supporting your child so far, to decide if an assessment is necessary.
You can find out more about how this works in Oldham here:
Who will I be able to talk to?
You will be in regular contact with your child’s class/ form teacher or key worker. You will also be in contact with the SENCO who will be responsible for ensuring that the graduated response is in place to meet the needs of your child.