School

Hi NAS36918,

I am not confidant that I completely understand your query, but hope the following brief overview may be helpful?

In the U.K, the majority of ND children (on the spectrum) attend mainstream schools (by ‘mainstream’ I mean not a special school.) Whether a child attends mainstream school or a  special school depends of the severity of their ‘affect’ (their presenting challenges,) such as if they are deemed to be ‘low functioning’ or ‘high functioning.’

In mainstream schools, all children with additional or special needs are entitled, in law, to receive appropriate support and adjustments. This means mainstream schools (by law) have to put effective support in place which enables each child with special needs to achieve and succeed.

Sometimes, depending on the abilities of the child, this ‘appropriate support or adjustments’ in school can be minimal, and is largely agreed between school, child and parents/carers (via an IEP or a SEN Support Plan) and takes place during the child’s everyday ‘normal lessons.’

If a child needs more support than school can ‘reasonably’ offer in what they consider the ‘normal parameters of their normal classes’ (for example if the child needs a 1:1 assistant which is ‘more than’ other children in mainstream classes routinely access) the school or parents/carers can apply for an EHC Plan.

During the creation of an EHC Plan different evidences are collected by the Local Authority, (the LA create the plan) such as medical reports, school report, Educational Psychology Report etc. The EHCP Team then use all this gathered information (and the child and parent/carers views too) to create an individualised plan which is supposed to use the information in all the reports that have been gathered to create an EHC Plan which accurately reflects the 'holistic' needs of the child and how those needs are going to be met (met in school and also in ‘life’ too, such as through accessing other therapies, like Speech and language therapy etc.)

Sometimes it is true that different 'therapies' your child is accessing may not usually 'talk' or communicate with one another directly, each one instead offering their own specific area of expertise or support. However, part of the process of having an EHC Plan created involves a 'planning meeting' where all professionals who contributed reports and parents/carers are meant to all sit round a table together to decide what the plan should include.

Part of the process of an EHC Plan is also to identify (and name) what sort of school the child needs to attend, i.e whether mainstream,  specialist school or other provision such as mainstream with 'Autism Inclusion Unit' attached etc. And it is the duty of the LA to find a school place for your child that meets their needs. 

How old is your child and where are they/you in the process outlined above? 

Hi NAS36918,

I am not confidant that I completely understand your query, but hope the following brief overview may be helpful?

In the U.K, the majority of ND children (on the spectrum) attend mainstream schools (by ‘mainstream’ I mean not a special school.) Whether a child attends mainstream school or a  special school depends of the severity of their ‘affect’ (their presenting challenges,) such as if they are deemed to be ‘low functioning’ or ‘high functioning.’

In mainstream schools, all children with additional or special needs are entitled, in law, to receive appropriate support and adjustments. This means mainstream schools (by law) have to put effective support in place which enables each child with special needs to achieve and succeed.

Sometimes, depending on the abilities of the child, this ‘appropriate support or adjustments’ in school can be minimal, and is largely agreed between school, child and parents/carers (via an IEP or a SEN Support Plan) and takes place during the child’s everyday ‘normal lessons.’

If a child needs more support than school can ‘reasonably’ offer in what they consider the ‘normal parameters of their normal classes’ (for example if the child needs a 1:1 assistant which is ‘more than’ other children in mainstream classes routinely access) the school or parents/carers can apply for an EHC Plan.

During the creation of an EHC Plan different evidences are collected by the Local Authority, (the LA create the plan) such as medical reports, school report, Educational Psychology Report etc. The EHCP Team then use all this gathered information (and the child and parent/carers views too) to create an individualised plan which is supposed to use the information in all the reports that have been gathered to create an EHC Plan which accurately reflects the 'holistic' needs of the child and how those needs are going to be met (met in school and also in ‘life’ too, such as through accessing other therapies, like Speech and language therapy etc.)

Sometimes it is true that different 'therapies' your child is accessing may not usually 'talk' or communicate with one another directly, each one instead offering their own specific area of expertise or support. However, part of the process of having an EHC Plan created involves a 'planning meeting' where all professionals who contributed reports and parents/carers are meant to all sit round a table together to decide what the plan should include.

Part of the process of an EHC Plan is also to identify (and name) what sort of school the child needs to attend, i.e whether mainstream,  specialist school or other provision such as mainstream with 'Autism Inclusion Unit' attached etc. And it is the duty of the LA to find a school place for your child that meets their needs. 

How old is your child and where are they/you in the process outlined above?