Our council offices will be closed from 3pm on Tuesday 24th December until 8:30am on Monday 30th December. See our full Christmas opening hours on our Christmas opening hours page.
If you think your child has Special Educational Needs (SEN)
If you are worried about your child, talk to the class teacher. The Code of Practice for SEND 0 to 25 explains that "teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff" (page 99).
If your child is identified as having Special Educational Needs:
they will be placed on the school's Special Educational Needs register - this is a record of children with identified additional needs
a record of outcomes/provision will be reviewed regularly by staff and parents - this is often called a Success and Achievement plan (SAP) in West Berkshire
your child's progress will be monitored
The majority of children with an identified SEN will be at SENS level (Special Needs Support level). Only a very small proportion of children will have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
Below, we've explained what the Cognition and Learning Team (CALT) do, our approach, the 4 areas of need and how you can help your child at home.
What the Cognition and Learning Team (CALT) do
The Cognition and Learning Team (CALT) is an advisory service available to mainstream schools (Primary and Secondary) in West Berkshire. Schools can purchase different levels of support. The service provides advice, training, guidance and support for schools, working in partnership with staff. In particular the team work with SENCOs (Special Educational Needs Coordinators) to support the development of SEN (Special Educational Needs) provision within the school with a focus on staff development and promoting positive outcomes for pupils.
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 0 to 25 defines a child or young person as having an SEN if "they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her" (page 15). Special educational provision is defined as "additional to or different from that made generally for other children or young people of the same age" (page 16).
All the members of CALT are qualified teachers and have experience of working as a SENCO. They also hold additional postgraduate qualifications in SEN, including specialist qualifications in supporting children with literacy and numeracy difficulties.
Their work can include:
training for SENCOs, teachers and teaching assistants
contributing to the continuing professional development (CPD) of staff - focusing on the development of skills, knowledge and practice in relation to SEN
observation of staff to support the monitoring of SEN provision within the school
observation of pupils to identify strengths and difficulties
literacy and numeracy assessments where the development and acquisition of literacy and/or numeracy are concerns
dyslexia and dyscalculia assessments
bespoke assessments to explore cognitive strengths and barriers to learning
observation of a pupil's motor skills where motor difficulties are a concern
involvement in multi professional meetings
The Graduated Approach
The SEND Code of Practice states that "high quality teaching that is differentiated and personalised will meet the individual needs of the majority of children and young people" (page 25). It should be noted that many strategies that staff use will benefit all pupils not just those with SEND.
The Code of Practice goes on to say that "high quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN" (page 99).
The diagram below shows that the needs of most children are met at what is called Universal level. NASEN (The National Association for SEN) describes universal provision as "...inclusive education and high quality teaching for all children in the classroom" (available on the Whole School SEND website - accessed 10th July 2024).
Some children may have additional needs and require targeted provision that is: specific time limited support in school.
A small number of children may require specialist provision, that is: provision provided by specialist services on or off the school site.
the definition of each area of need and what the barriers are to learning
strategies, interventions and reasonable adjustments
Below we've provided the definition of each category from the SEND Code of Practice 2015:
Communication and interaction
"6.28 Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile for every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives.
6.29 Children and young people with ASD, including Asperger's Syndrome and Autism, are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others."
"6.30 Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment.
6.31 Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia."
"6.32 Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder."
"6.34 Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or habilitation support. Children and young people with an MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties. Information on how to provide services for deafblind children and young people is available through the Social Care for Deafblind Children and Adults guidance published by the Department of Health (see the References section under Chapter 6 for a link).
6.35 Some children and young people with a physical disability (PD) require additional ongoing support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers."
'Provision for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in West Berkshire schools' document [270KB] to read:
