School Support
It can be very worrying when on top of everything else your child is missing school on a regular basis or worse all the time, it is both educationally and socially damaging. However arrangements can be made to meet your child’s educational needs. School can be a challenging time for children with Obliterative Bronchiolitis (OB). If your child is attending school but is regularly absent due to ill health it is best to try and arrange with the head/class teacher a method of support which allows work to be brought home. If you find this does not work it may be possible to arrange reduced hours for your child (i.e they only attend three days a week or have later start time). You may be able to home school them on the days attending school is not possible or you may be able to arrange for some individual tutoring in your home. If the school is not co-operative DON'T despair. Simply got to your Local Education Authority (LEA) and talk to them about your child's educational needs. They may refer you to their Medical Referrals Team (MRP) who will liase with the school on your behalf to make suitable arrangements. They will ask for a letter from your Consultant outlining your child's condition. Most local authorities provide some home tutoring though often your child will have to be absent for a specific period of time (eg three consecutive weeks) before it becomes available. The time will vary with different education authorities so it is best to check with your local LEA. Latest Government News Lamb Inquiry recommendations a step in right direction to improve Special Educational Needs (SEN) system
The publication of the Lamb Inquiry's final report is a positive step to making much needed changes to the SEN system in England and Wales.
Srabani Sen, Chief Executive of Contact a Family, said: "We welcome the Lamb Inquiry's recommendations particularly in relation to ensuring parents are better informed and are at the heart of the decision making process about their disabled child's educational needs.
"We would however urge government to put more pressure on local authorities to comply with their duties to provide special educational needs support to children in their area.
"We often hear of the enormous challenges that families with disabled children face in getting the right education to suit their child's needs.
"The system that is meant to be there to help and support a child in getting a good education, often appears to be working against them.
"We hear of families moving home and uprooting themselves to get their child into an appropriate school; of families fighting battles with the education system which sometimes last for several years; and of families taking the system to tribunal at a personal cost of tens of thousands of pounds."
The Lamb Inquiry is a government commissioned review of the SEN system, and its final report was published on 16 December 2009.
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|  Special Educational Needs - Identification and Assessment
Early identification, assessment and provision for any child who may have Special Educational Needs (SEN) is crucial. The SEN Code of Practice, to which schools, early education settings, LEA's and others must by law have regard, promotes a common approach to identifying, assessing and providing for all children’s special educational needs. Where children do not make adequate progress, there is a need for the school to do something additional or different. There are several steps the school can take such as School Action and School Action Plus.
School Action could be further assessment, additional or different teaching materials or a different way of teaching and it might sometimes, but not always, be additional adult support. Teachers use Individual Education Plans (IEPs) to record the different or additional provision to be made for the child, teaching strategies, short-term targets for the pupil, success criteria, and what they have achieved. School Action Plus is where School Action has not helped the child to make adequate progress, and the school asks for outside advice from the LEA’s support services, or from health or social work professionals. This could be advice from a speech and language therapist on a language programme or an Occupational Therapist’s suggestions or a medical diagnosis and report giving recommendations as to how to work differently with the child in class. It might be information about the child’s home circumstances that explains the changes in the child’s behaviour and attitudes to learning which can then help the school to work with others to resolve the situation.
Ask to speak your schools Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) or Learning Support Co-ordinator if you think your child needs extra support and for additional information go to :
www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/atoz/s/senidentificationandassessment A new podcast from Contact a Family has been produced to help explain the meaning of Special Educational Needs (SEN) and other related terms like SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator). The podcast also has more information about what to do if you are concerned your child has SEN, what schools and the local authority can do to help, how to request a 'statutory assessment' and the 'statementing' process.
To listen to the podcast visit Web: http://www.cafamily.org.uk/SEN_England.mp3 . |