Specialist SEN Service (SSENS)

This service is composed of a dedicated group of education professionals committed to the inclusion of all children and young people with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and to helping them achieve to the best of their abilities.

Who we are….

The Specialist SEN Service (SSENS) is part of Wiltshire Local Authority SEND 0 - 25 Service. Our aim is to help settings and schoolsunderstand and meet the needs of children and young people with identified or suspected special educational needs and/or disabilities.

All of the SSENS team are experienced and knowledgeable about special educational needs and current educational practice and legislation. In addition each Specialist Advisory Teacher has extensive experience and has undertaken training to specialise in one or more of the following areas:

  • Cognition and learning – pupils who have additional learning needs and whose progress is causing concern. This will include children and young people with literacy and numeracy difficulties and encompasses specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyscalculia.
  • Communication and Interaction –pupils withspeech, language and communication needs such as difficulty interacting with others, understanding classroom language and routines, managing their emotions and behaviours. Pupils may or may not have a specific diagnosis such as an Autism Spectrum Disorder, or specific language difficulty diagnosed by a Speech and Language Therapist.
  • Physical and medical needs–children and young peopleusually have a specific medical diagnosis (e.g. cerebral palsy or epilepsy)and need adaptations or adjustments to fully access the curriculum. This will include children and young people who need specialist equipment or accessibility arrangements in order to move around the school environment or take part in learning opportunities.

In addition to the Specialist Advisory Teachers the service has a Specialist Support Assistant who provides social and emotional support for pupils with a physical impairment or complex medical need. This support follows the guidelines of the Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) curriculum but is adapted for each individual’s unique needs.

What we do

  • Devise and deliver training to empower school staff to meet the needs of children and young people
  • Deliver training programmes to support families e.g. Support in Wiltshire: Autism Parent Programme (SWAPP)
  • Actively include parents
  • Undertake observations and assessmentsof individual children and young people. Following the assessment a report with recommendations and strategies will be sent to the setting. It is the settings responsibility to share the report with parents and carry out the recommendations
  • Give advice on strategies and interventions for individual childrenand young people and classroom management; for children and young people with physical and medical needs this could include advice on equipment, resources and accessibility arrangements
  • Support SENCOs, setting staff and TAs
  • Facilitate Annual Planning Meetings (APMs) in individual schools to support the prioritisation of SEND need
  • Undertake Solution Surgeries (SS) to discuss individual pupil needs with class and subject teachers,and advise on appropriate strategies to try
  • Support requests for My EHC Plans and provide Annual Review advice
  • Collaborate with other professionals as part of a multi-agency approach–and signpost to other agencies as required
  • Advise on manual handling risk assessments (for children with Physical and Medical needs) or risk assessments for children with Communication and Interaction needs.
  • Organise SENCO Network meetings across the county, to provide an opportunity to network with other SENCOs; develop better understanding of current SEND issues; provide an opportunity to share good practice and to workshop ideas.

Who we support

We provide general training and advice to schools and settings; and individual support to children and young people with SEND in the following areas:

  • at SEN Support, My Support Plan or My EHC Plan
  • with physical and medical needs in preschool settings
  • have been identified or suspected as having aSEND in mainstream primary and secondary schools, including those pupils paced in a specialist resource bases
  • Young People with SEND in Post 16 Education
  • Local Authority maintained schools, Academies, Free Schools.

How to access our service

To support communication each school in Wiltshire has a named SSENS Link. This person can be the first point of contact for any SEND questions raised by the school SENCO.

When concerns are raised regarding an individual pupil’s progress by school staff or parents, evidence needs to be gathered in order to ensure that the correct provision is put in place.

  • Parents should initially speak with the class teacher and or SENCO
  • Depending on the identified difficulties the school should put in place an appropriate range of strategies to support the child
  • These interventions,in line with the Code of Practice and Wiltshire’s Graduated Response to SEND Support (GRSS), will be monitored evaluated and reviewed. The needs of the majority of children will be met through these interventions, following The Assess,Plan,Do, Review Cycle
  • If further support is necessary, following discussion with and permission from parents, the school/setting may contact our service
  • This may be via a SARF (Single Agency Referral Form) or a CAF (Common Assessment Framework), which parents are required to sign
  • For children and young people with physical and medical needs referrals can be made through health professionals.

Further Information

For further information please call the SEND 0-25 Service Single Point of Contact Number (SPOC) Tel: 01225 - 757985