SEND Pathway – Specialist stage

It is expected that the CYP will have typically been supported by the school’s universal offer plus several cycles of school-based SEN Support, following the SEND Pathway – targeted stage, before advice is sought from specialist services.

1. If the child/young person has not made expected progress following several cycles of school-based assess-plan-do-review, schools should discuss this with the parent/carer and decide whether to seek support from relevant specialist services to carry out more specialist assessments:
   • Wolverhampton Educational Psychology service
   • Wolverhampton Outreach Service
   • Wolverhampton Speech and Language Therapy Service
   • Wolverhampton Specialist Learning Support Team
   • Disabled Children and Young People Team
   • Strengthening Families
2. Schools should use the information gathered from any specialist assessments to further develop their understanding of a CYP’s strengths and needs, and review their identified primary special educational need. The Recommended Categories of Need document should be used to help inform this decision. 
3. The information gathered through specialist assessments should influence future cycles of the graduated approach, informing new targets and the provision in place. 
4. SENCOs must co-ordinate the involvement of all specialist services supporting a child/young person to ensure that there is a holistic and child-centred approach when assessing needs. The aim should always be to develop one shared understanding of the CYP’s needs and to have one clear plan for support.
    

The following is in addition to that outlined in SEND Pathway – targeted stage.

1. Ensure there are clear methods for sharing the recommendations made by specialist support services with all adults that support the child and young person.
2. Assessments and recommendations made by specialist services should be used to update the child’s SEN Support Plan. Specialist advice should be reflected in the child’s new targets and the provision that is put in place.
3. Co-ordinate the involvement of all specialist support services supporting a child/young person to ensure that there is a holistic and child-centred approach to planning, with specialist recommendations feeding in to one coherent support plan, such as the LA’s My SEN Support Plan.
    

The following is in addition to that outlined in SEN Pathway – targeted stage

1. SENCOs should support staff to ensure that any recommendations from specialists are integrated into the provision for that child or young person.
2. The school (i.e. teachers, supported by the SENCO) remain responsible for planning and implementing any provision recommended by specialists to ensure that it becomes part of the graduated approach to meeting the child or young person’s needs.
3. The school should discuss any training needs with the relevant specialist services to ensure all staff are confident and competent at implementing the recommended strategies.

The following is in addition to that outlined in SEND Pathway - specialist stage.

1. Ensure that specialist services are involved in the review of progress for children and young people who have had provision recommended or delivered by a specialist support service.
2. Any actions or next steps must be jointly agreed between the child or young person and/or their parents/carers, school staff and the specialist support service.
3. Outcomes and next steps following the review process must be shared with all staff that work with and support the child or young person. 
4. Consider that if/when a child or young person does not make expected progress despite assessment, planning and delivery of support at SEN support specialist stage, then a review should be called to  explore next steps. It might be that one or more of the following needs to happen:
   • further, more detailed specialist assessment needs to be carried out,
   • other specialist support services need to be involved,
   • the child or young person needs a different type of targeted support,
   • the child or young person needs a higher level of targeted support,
   • the child or young person needs to receive the targeted support over a longer period of time.
5. If all other options have been explored and progress continues to be limited then schools should hold a review meeting in order to have a joint discussion (involving the young person/the child’s parents/carers, the SENCo and the relevant specialist support services, including at least one educational service i.e. Educational Psychology/Specialist Teachers/SNEYS/Sensory Support Services/Outreach) about whether it is appropriate to request an Education, Health and Care needs assessment.
6. Schools should also consider requesting an EHC needs assessment for a child if the provision they require on an ongoing basis exceeds what can be provided within the school’s notional budget. This will be identified through a review with relevant educational specialist services (as above).
7. Schools should consider the following, prior to requesting an EHC needs assessment:
   • Have the child or young person’s needs been assessed holistically and explored fully through the graduated approach (including their education, health and care needs)?
   • Is it clear that the lack of progress cannot be fully accounted for by disruption to education, for example due to low attendance, absence due to illness, reduced timetables or frequent school moves?
   • Is it clear that lack of progress cannot be fully accounted for by the child/young person having English as an additional language?
   • Have the social care needs of the child or young person and their family been considered, identified and supported through an Early Help Assessment (NB some form of assessment needs to be carried out in order to determine that there are no needs)?
   • Has the school exhausted its own expertise and provision via reasonable adjustments and their notional SEN budget (schools should cost provision in accordance with the central Costed Provision Map guidance and use the template if they choose to)?
   • Has the school engaged relevant specialist support services to inform the assessment, planning, implementation and review of provision?
   • Is an EHC needs assessment the best pathway to activate the required support (NB some children or young people will present as having complex needs but if these haven’t been explored or met over time then there is still the requirement to implement a graduated approach as it is expected that for the majority of children and young people their needs will be met at SEN support)

If a request for an EHC needs assessment is agreed to be an appropriate next step, schools should consider the timing of a request. Please see EHCNA Request Calendar for guidance.

In a very small number of circumstances, it may not be appropriate for cycles of assess-plan-do-review to be completed before making this decision. Such circumstances include:

• If a child or young person has a sudden and significant change in need (for example as a result of an acquired brain injury) 
• If a child is newly arrived in the country and has received specialist provision previously without the need for an EHCP 
• If a child or young person’s needs cannot be safely met within a mainstream school