How we identify children and young people who have Additional Support Needs
Parents and carers know their children well. You may notice problems with your child's development and progress before anyone else does. Our nurseries and schools want to hear from you if you have any worries about your child's learning. Please talk to your child's teachers or nursery staff.
Nursery staff and teachers may also see that your child is having difficulties. Children and young people themselves can also talk to teachers about any worries they have and give their views about what they would like to happen. Once we are aware of a child or young person's need for support, we will use the Staged Assessment and Intervention Framework to work out with you what support is needed. The ASL Act says that all looked-after children and young people have additional support needs unless the local authority, after assessment, decides that they do not need additional support to benefit from their education.
Staged Assessment and Intervention
The Staged Assessment and Intervention Framework helps us to identify and plan any additional support that a child or young person may need. It has three stages that allow us to make sure that the right professionals get involved in supporting your child at the right time.
You, your child or anyone involved with your child can ask for support and help with learning and request an assessment. The people working with your child (for example, teacher, educational psychologist or therapist) will then assess the situation to identify:
- what the support needs are
- what sort of support can be given.
The three stages in the Staged Assessment and Intervention Framework are:
Stage 1
Assessment and planning are carried out at school level. Other support services within Education and Children's Wellbeing may be consulted or asked for advice.
Stage 2
Assessment and planning involves different agencies (for example, NHS therapy services) working together to produce an action plan.
Stage 3
This stage is for children who have complex or multiple additional support needs. These children or young people need long-term support from a number of agencies. At Stage 3, we usually record assessment and planning in formal documents, for example, a Coordinated Support Plan or a Child Protection Plan.
At all stages in the process, we will make sure that your views and those of your child are taken into account.