(Much of the following information is taken from Stirling Council Children’s Services
Guide to Additional Support for Learning in Stirling.)
The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, which became law in November 2005, introduced a framework for supporting all children and young people who require additional help with their learning.
Parents and Carers of young people with special needs who have additional support in place naturally have concerns about the future, particularly if those needs are severe or complex, as the additional challenges of adulthood arise. The better informed a Parent / Carer is, the more able they will be to have active involvement in assisting their child to plan for the future.
In Stirling, a process called STAGED INTERVENTION has been developed to enable children and young people to have their needs identified and met. There are 4 stages of intervention and at all stages, the views of the children/young people and their parent/carer will be taken into account.
Assessment is a normal part of the Staged Intervention process and a child or young person can move through the stages or may only require one level of intervention.
When some aspect of the assessment highlights that a high degree of individualisation is required then an INDIVIDUALISED EDUCATION PROGRAMME (IEP) would be discussed. All children/young people who are at a Stage 4 Intervention will have an IEP. An IEP is a working document set up to help a child/young person and the people working with them to plan learning and make sure they have the help they need to reach their potential.
An IEP is created when a child/young person is on Stage 3 of the Intervention process.
Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP)
A small number of children/young people’s additional support needs have a significant impact on their learning and some of these will meet the criteria for a CO-ORDINATED SUPPORT PLAN (CSP). These will be young people who have enduring complex or multiple needs that requires a high level of co-ordination from education and other appropriate agencies.
A CSP is a legal document. It aims to ‘co-ordinate’ the support that a child/young person gets from different services and sets out ‘who does what and how’.
Note: The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 stated that the Record of Needs, which was used prior to the Act becoming law, will be replaced by a Co-ordinated Support Plan, although existing Record of Needs documents created under the previous system can remain in place for up to four years.
Transition from child to adult.
Children’s Services have a legal duty to help young people with additional support needs make the transition from school to adulthood. This could be:
§ Go to college or university
§ Go on a training course
§ Employment
§ Where to live
Personal Planning In their final years at school, many young people with additional support needs and their families may be involved in personal planning through the Staged Intervention process. Where relevant this planning can cover areas such as:
· Managing money – including benefits advice
· Travelling independently
· Independent living
· Computer skills
· Sexual health
Planning must start at least 12 months before a young person is expected to leave school. In Stirling the transition planning happens through Staged Intervention meetings when questions about transition will be introduced in S3. The Parent/Carer and young people themselves should be fully involved in discussions about additional support needs and where necessary should be given support to take part in meetings and have their views taken into account when decisions are being made. Information should be gathered from a range of sources to assist in developing an effective transition plan. These can include:
· Careers Scotland
· Employability
· Forth Valley College
· Social Work
· Speech & language therapists
· Other Health Workers
SPECIALIST PROVISION
Stirling has a range of specialist support and provision to meet the diverse needs of children and young people. In some cases this will involve outreach support from specialist facilities.
Early Years Inclusion Team
comprises of:
· Teachers, Early childhood educators and Support for learning assistants
who at times are supported by:
· Occupational therapist, Speech and language therapist and Educational psychologist.
The Team provides support aimed at enabling the child to develop. Support may be put in place:
· At home, in the nursery, or in a small group setting.
Primary Pupil Support Service.
This service aims to support young people who experience social, emotional and behavioural difficulties in the early years and primary. The service works closely with families and other agencies to provide support.
Secondary Student Support Service
This service aims to support young people who experience social, emotional and behavioural difficulties in the secondary sector. The service works closely with families and other agencies to provide support.
Extended Learning Support Provision
There are extended learning support provisions at Callander Primary School, Fallin Primary School and Riverside Primary school. These facilities are for children who require significant support for their learning. This can be provided within a class setting or in the teaching base.
Autism Provisions
Riverside Primary School, Dunblane Primary School, and St. Modan’s High School have additional facilities for children with autism. Support can be provided within a class setting or in the teaching base.
Enhanced Support for Learning
Currently Stirling High School, McLaren High School and Wallace High School have provision for young people of secondary school age who require additional support to access the curriculum
Special Schools
Whins of Milton is for children of primary age with a range of additional support needs who require a significant level of individual support.
Kildean School is for children and young people aged from 3 – 18 who have a range of complex additional support needs which require a significant level of co-ordination.
Specialist Placements outwith Stirling Council
Where the needs of some children/young people cannot be met within the range of provision established within Stirling Council, it may be necessary for those children/young people to attend a school out with Stirling Council area.
Further Information.
Stirling Council has produced a series of Guides which explain more about Additional Support for Learning. These are:
· A Guide to ASL in Stirling
· A Guide to Going to Meetings
· A Guide to Staged Intervention
· A Guide to CSPs
· A Guide to IEPs
· A Guide to Psychological Services
· A Guide to Leaving School Transition into Adulthood
· A Guide to Getting Help Resolving Disagreements
The Guides can be obtained from:
The ASL Co-ordinator
Children's Services
Stirling Council
Viewforth
Stirling FK8 2ET
Tel: 01786 443389
ADVOCACY
A young person may benefit from advocacy as provided by parents or other agencies such as Forth Valley Advocacy which provides advocacy for children and young people with mental health difficulties:
Forth Valley Advocacy:
1 The Bungalows
Larbert FK1 4SZ
Tel: 01324 557070
Website: www.fva.org.uk
Once young people reach the age of 18years they can access the services of other advocacy agencies such as Advocacy into Action, which helps adults with learning difficulties.
Advocacy into Action
27 West Bridge Street
Falkirk, FK1 5RJ
Tel: 01324 633321
E-mail:
The Scottish Advice Service for Additional Support for Learning – Enquire,
Helpline Tel No.: 0845 123 2303,
Website: www.enquire.org.uk
Provides information for parents, Carers and practitioners.
Enquire is managed by Children in Scotland and funded by the Scottish Executive.
Other Agencies
After 16 – What’s New is a series of information fact sheets produced by the Family Fund Trust for young people who have an impairment or disability. It contains useful information to help families with planning and decision making about the future. Log on to their website - www.after16.org.uk to view or download the fact sheets. For more information contact them at:
After 16
The Family Fund Trust
P.O. Box 50
York YO1 9ZX
Tel: 01904 621115
Updated 30 March 2007 4