Guidelines for using specialist support services

Specialist support services can be accessed if:

• There is significant concern about a child/young person’s learning needs
• The child/young person is not making the expected progress despite school intervention to support the Assess Plan Do Review process

Please see Referral Pathways section for more details of accessing local specialist support services for learning needs.

If outside agencies are visiting school, the SENCo, on behalf of the senior leadership team, should ensure that all visitors are qualified, accredited  and insured.  The advice and strategies they provide should be practical and aim to improve the outcomes for children.

All Educational Psychologists need to be registered with the HCPC.  All registered Educational Psychologists can be found on the HCPC register on the HCPC website.

When working with individual children/young people, it is the school’s responsibility to ensure that:

• parental consent is confirmed for any involvement with any specialist support service
• feedback from the outcome of the involvement is shared with parents/carers
• advice and recommendations that have been given are disseminated to all relevant staff
• advice and recommendations are implemented as part of the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle - see SEN support in school section.

Specialist support services can be also used in other ways:

• Whole School support - teachers/senior leadership team may seek support from external educational consultants for advice on:
  • Whole school policy writing regarding medical/physical needs
  • Whole school inclusion, ethos and vision
  • Whole school audits and action planning
  • Whole school training on learning needs
• Classroom support - Specialist Support Services can provide advice and support to teachers on:
  • Adapting the curriculum content and delivery for all learners
  • Class based learning interventions
  • Meeting diverse learning needs in the classroom