C&I Support Service Criteria for Involvement / Level 1 (On Hold)
Seen or discussed in the last 12 months
Single assessment visit. Ongoing involvement unlikely. / Level 2 (On Request)
1-3 visits per year
2 or less visits per year or at request of school. Must have been seen within past 12 months. / Level 3 (Ongoing)
3-6 visits per year / Level 4 (Frequent)
6 + visits a year
  1. School’s confidence and ability
/ Asked to see student because of initial concerns from staff about C and I problems, possible ASC behaviours.
Staff need advice on next steps towards assessment/diagnosis.
Staff have a high level of confidence that they are able to manage any anxieties and resulting behaviours without requiring additional support from outside agencies. / The pupil has just received a diagnosis of communication and interaction difficulties or ASC. The staff have specific questions and concerns about the condition, low level anxiety and resulting behaviours, that they would like support with. / Staff have on-going concerns about how to meet the needs of this pupil. Staff require assistance to identify early behaviour signals from a pupil and to decode their behaviour and identify what the pupil is trying to communicate. Staff require support with creating visual prompts to help explain verbal language to the child and enable greater access to the curriculum. / Staff do not currently have the skills/strategies to manage the frustration and anxiety driven behaviours of the student. The student requires weekly specialist input from an Advisory mentor/or experienced TA. At risk of exclusion.
  1. Parental / Carers confidence in setting
/ Parents have agreed to the visit. No serious concerns about progress at school. / Parents would like information and guidance on understanding and managing their child’s C&I Needs.
May be some parental concern about progress. / Parents are worried about social difficulties, limited academic progress or anxiety about school. / Parents report high levels of anxiety at home and/or difficulty getting student into school.
At risk of self-harm or violence at home.
Parental confidence in the setting is fragile
  1. Social Communication and Interaction with Peers and Adults
/ Student has friends and is able to manage in most social situations with little distress or conflict. / May have mild difficulties forming friendships. Friendships may be fragile and difficult to sustain.
Need for peer awareness to understand him/her. / Struggles or is unable to form friendships or play social games. Needs regular support to learn to communicate with peers and interact with others. / May be isolated and withdrawn
May be in frequent conflict with peers and adults.
May be a risk of violence.
  1. Attention and Listening
/ Can listen and attend to a task at an age appropriate level. / May need some support/reminders/strategies to listen. / Moderate difficulty. Reminders and support usually needed. / Severe difficulty. Needs constant support, may need support in 1-1 situations.
  1. Understanding of language
/ Occasionally needs support with instructions/verbal input in class / Sometimes needs adult support with understanding. May need some support with retention and recall of information. / Understanding usually reliant on adult help. May need support with specific aspects of comprehension. / Understanding completely reliant on adult help. Needs intensive input on one or more aspects of comprehension.
  1. Language expression
/ Can hold a conversation at an age appropriate level. Can communicate with friends. / Can offer some relevant information in conversation.
May need support to participate in class.
Can usually communicate with peers. / Can be hard to understand out of context. May need support with specific aspects of grammar/vocabulary/narrative.
Not always able to communicate with peers or adults effectively. / Real difficulty in conveying meaning with peers or adults. Needs intensive input on one or more aspects of expressive language.
  1. Functioning and Readiness to Learn
/ No significant effect on behaviour/happiness/learning. / Mild effect on behaviour/happiness/learning. / Moderate effect on behaviour/happiness/learning.
Needs strategies and support to avoid distress. / Severe effect on all aspects of behaviour and learning. High levels of distress. Child is spending significant amount of time outside of the class
  1. Need for adapted curriculum
/ Child is making expected academic progress, participating fully in class and understanding most classroom language. / Staff need guidance on differentiating and presenting the curriculum to maintain motivation.
Attainment gap between student and peers is decreasing or remaining unchanged / Strategies and support are required to help create good work routines within the school day for the pupil.
Student not making progress in all areas. Significant curricular adaptations may be necessary. / Pupil is opting out of the curriculum and unable to participate.
Needs skilled individual support to learn.
  1. Need for additional training and strategies
/ The pupil has met communication and interaction targets and staff have had no specific concerns for two terms. The pupil is currently able to manage frustrations related to communication and interaction difficulties. / Staff feel confident to use basic strategies such as social skills programmes, circle of friends, work stations, visual supports in the classroom etc. New staff may need training on basic strategies.
School needs assistance to set up transition plan
Need for staff awareness of sensory diet. / The pupil requires regular visits to identify appropriate strategies to use when anxious.
Strategies need frequent revision. Possible need for behaviour plan.
May need more specialised training packages.
Transition may present difficulties – detailed plan and help with implementation required / There are regular incidents of behaviours which are the pupil’s attempt to communicate high levels of anxiety.
The pupil is not able to currently identify escalating anxiety signals..
May need input from other agencies.e.g. OT in the case of unmet sensory needs

September 2016