SEND Support Service

Please contact us if your child has:

• more than 6 months delay in any area of development
• moderate-severe or profound hearing loss impacting on development and been prescribed hearing aids
• moderate, significant or very significant visual loss, impacting on development - support required for mobility and life skills
• moderate or severe multi-sensory impairment with impact on development e.g. hearing and visual impairment
• physical and / or medical difficulties that require extensive equipment, close monitoring and / or high levels of adult support
• an identified specific need that you have been advised is likely to need ongoing specialist input

You will need to evidence 2 areas of need when making a referral.

Sensory and / or physical needs

This includes:

• moderate, severe or profound hearing loss impacting on development - wears prescribed hearing aid(s)
• moderate or severe visual loss impacting on development - support required for mobility and self-help skills
• moderate or severe multi-sensory impairment with impact on development e.g., hearing and visual impairment
• physical or medical difficulties that require varied and / or specialist equipment, adapted resources and/or high levels of adult support and monitoring
• physical independence is impaired and requires input from relevant professionals
• high levels of adult support for self-care needs
• severe medical difficulties that require controlled medication and intensive intervention throughout the day
• physical and / or medical difficulties that put the safety and well-being of the child at severe risk and require intensive monitoring
• continuous loss of physical skills

If the child is only showing a need in the physical or sensory area, a referral to other teams including Physiotherapy or Sensory Impairment Service may be more appropriate in the first instance.

Communication

This includes:

• Expressive and receptive language significantly or severely delayed or disordered requiring support from Speech and Language Therapy (SALT)
• additional or intensive support is required to teach and manage alternative communication systems
• loss of previously demonstrated communication skills (spoken or signed)
• limited understanding of what is said or signed (age and first language taken into account)

If the child is only showing a need in speech and language, a referral to a Speech and Language therapist may be more appropriate in the first instance.

Interaction

This includes:

• significant, persistent or severe difficulties following social norms, e.g., eye contact, turn taking
• significant and persistent difficulties or inability to form relationships evidenced by lack of or no recognition of self or others
• significant difficulties or no understanding of social boundaries in play or other activities
• significant, persistent difficulties or inability to tolerate social interaction
• actively withdraws over a period of time
• significant, frequent or severe high levels of anxiety at times of change and / or difficulties in regulating emotions
• frequent, significant or severe difficulties in following adult-directed activities
• activities remain at the sensory-motor, self-stimulatory level and / or are self-absorbed or repetitious to the exclusion of other activities

Play, Cognition and Learning

This includes developmental delay in milestones of, approximately:

• under 3 years old - more than 6 months delay
• 3 years old plus - more than 12 months delay
• 4 years old plus - more than 18 months delay

Play, cognition and learning needs also include:

• difficulties in retaining concepts over time
• child losing skills
• significantly or severely restricted play
• frequent repetitive play, restricted interests and significant or severe difficulties with imaginative play
• an identified specific need that you have been advised is likely to need ongoing specialist input

Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)

This includes:

• significant and persistent separation difficulties
• severe attachment difficulties affecting development e.g., attachment to key carers not securely established
• reluctance to engage in activities by withdrawing or challenging behaviour or unable to sustain activities without significant, consistent adult attention and intervention
• significant, frequent, persistent, unpredictable, unusual and / or demanding behaviours which may affect a child or others' safety and require adult intervention
• significant, severe or persistent difficulties in turn-taking and social interaction
• persistently presents a danger to self and others and destroys materials
• totally withdrawn from activities over a period of time and severe changes in behaviour and play – frequent high anxiety levels
• significant concerns raised regarding poor growth, weight change, and social, mental and emotional health that requires advice from other agencies and are impacting development
• child may have suffered from acute trauma or abuse which renders them extremely vulnerable and is impacting on development - needs a high level of multi-agency involvement over a sustained period

Cognition and learning

This includes:

• severe delay in the meeting, or loss of, milestones
• difficulties with other areas e.g. motor skills, organisation skills, sequencing, visual and / or auditory perception, social or emotional skills
• evidence that the child or young person has significant difficulties retaining concepts over time
• the gap between the student’s performance and that of his or her peers is significantly wider than would be normally expected for students of his or her age
• evidence of persistent repetitive play, restricted interests and severe difficulties in imaginative play
• unable to sustain activities without significant, consistent adult attention and intervention
• revision of the differentiated classroom provision for the student’s education has not resulted in the expected progress towards achieving learning, pastoral and social interaction targets
• evidence of high priority having to be given to the student’s behaviour in the planning of most classroom activities and the organisation of his or her learning environment
• student may show underachievement in several curriculum areas, not predicated by reference to their general ability

Communication and interaction

This includes:

• has significant difficulty understanding verbal instructions, and explanations require simplification and visual or experiential support
• literal use or interpretation of speech, rigidity and inflexibility of thought processes, resistance to change, solitary play and highly - focussed interests, resulting in significant difficulty engaging at home or in school and accessing the curriculum
• impaired social development and rigidity of behaviour and thought, leading to severe difficulties in functioning
• difficulty processing and retaining verbal communication and / or difficulty understanding body language, facial expression and gestures, leading to a significant impact on the child or young person’s ability to interact
• responses to verbal and non-verbal communication are frequently inappropriate
• requires intensive support to manage alternative and/or supplementary communication systems
• significant difficulties in using language for learning and/or social interaction, although other areas of expressive language appear to be age-appropriate
• student has limited understanding of what is said or signed (age and first language to be taken into account)
• there is a significant discrepancy between the student’s expressive language and verbal comprehension skills, or between their language and cognitive abilities
• no understanding of social boundaries in play or other activities including social interaction

Physical / mental and sensory

This includes:

• has a chronic condition, potential degenerative condition, newly acquired condition or has special educational needs in addition to physical needs
• has significant sensory processing difficulties which impact behaviour, attention and coordination
• severe inability to process and integrate sensory information which impacts the student’s ability to organise sensations from the body and the environment which manifests difficulties in performance and understanding
• severe difficulties with the ability to function independently in the school environment and everyday life

Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH)

This includes:

• inability to understand social rules and expectations of acceptable behaviour with regards to puberty, sexualisation and communication and interaction
• may be withdrawn and isolated, generally seeking too little adult attention with limited or selective communication and may not communicate feelings
• severe and persistent levels of anxiety requiring intensive support to enable emotional regulation
• the student can exhibit highly atypical behaviour: obsessive, challenging and / or withdrawn behaviours. Has inappropriate use of language, abnormal responses to sensory experiences and signs of distress requiring significant adjustments
• behaviours result in significant risk of harm to self and others, even with close adult support, leading to extreme social isolation, vulnerability and disengagement
• persistent difficulties regulating own emotions and recognising those of others hence cannot form relationships leading to extreme isolation and disengagement
• extreme responses to, and inability to, engage with any formal learning situations
• difficulties with interpersonal communication or relationships, reluctant to share, reluctant to participate in social groups, distracts other students, careless with learning materials and unwillingness to acknowledge or accept responsibility for his or her actions
• may have suffered from acute trauma or abuse which renders them extremely vulnerable, impacting on development - needs a high level of multi-agency involvement over a sustained period
• takes physical risks in situations that have the potential to harm - reasonable force is often necessary to safeguard the student and others
• student may exhibit difficult-to-manage behaviour in a variety of learning and / or social settings within the school
• high levels of anxiety are beginning to impact negatively on attendance (below 85%)