Bargeddie Primary School complies with the Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004 as amended by the Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2009 and the Additional Support for Learning: Statutory Guidance 2017.
North Lanarkshire Council’s policy is contained within, ‘Support for Learning Policy into Practice 2,’ a copy of which is available in school. The school has a Support for Learning Policy, available from the school on request, which is consistent with North Lanarkshire Council guidelines. Our school policy in relation to pupils with additional support needs, reflects North Lanarkshire Council’s staged intervention process.
Staged Intervention
The pathway for planning is built around three stages of support. This enables appropriate interventions to be provided for children, as wellbeing concerns change.
Universal Support – interventions provided through support from the core provision of universal services e.g. class teachers adapting the curriculum or learning resources, in-house school supports, consultation with Educational Psychologist etc.
Additional Support – interventions to support the child are provided from more specialised services such as social work, health, 3rd sector etc.
Intensive Support – interventions provided are targeted and integrated with input usually from more than one agency or service, as listed below e.g. bespoke /flexible packages of support, additional support needs provision etc.
- Support for Learning
- Psychological Services
- Physiotherapists
- Speech/Language Therapists
- Bilingual Support
- Inclusion Support
- English as a Second Language
- Child/Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
- Occupational Therapists
Parents / carers and pupils are an essential part of the assessment, planning and review process. Regular consultation meetings are a feature of our practice. These meetings allow all parties to contribute. Parents and young people can request that the authority establish whether a child has additional support needs. They can also request an assessment at any time. Looked after Children i.e. children who are cared for directly or whose care is supervised by the local authority are deemed to have Additional Support Needs unless assessment determines otherwise.
Getting it Right for Me Plans (GIRFMe)
GIRFMe Plans enable staff to plan effectively for children and young people when interventions are required to support their learning and improve outcomes. Parents / carers and pupils are an essential part of the assessment, planning and review processes and their views will be actively sought.
Some children and young people may require significant support from education and at least one other agency, such as health, social work and / or voluntary agencies to help them meet their learning targets. Where this support requires a high level of co-ordination the opening of a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) may be considered. A CSP may be initiated by the school or another agency.
Parents / carers and young people can, if they wish, request that a CSP be considered and would be involved in the process. Parents / carers will receive letters from the Education Authority throughout the CSP process. Parents / carers and young people will be invited to take part in multiagency meetings and their views will be recorded in the plan.
Where more intensive support for a child or young person, needs to be planned for, usually when a number of agencies are involved in supporting their wellbeing, then a Child’s Plan may be developed. The plan will tell you what actions need to be taken and who will help with each action. It will usually be someone called a ‘Lead Professional’ who will have the job of making sure that the actions outlined in the plan take place and things get better for the child or young person.
Dispute Resolution
North Lanarkshire Council is committed to resolving any differences of views through discussion, dialogue and building on common ground.
If the matter cannot be resolved with the Education Authority you have the right to request mediation. An independent mediation service is available to parents / carers and young people through Resolve (see contact details at the back of this handbook). Mediation is free through Resolve and independent of the Education Authority.
In the event that a disagreement cannot be resolved through mediation, then an application for Independent Adjudication (see contact details at the back of this handbook) can be made by parents / carers, free of charge. The Independent Adjudicator will make recommendations to the Education Authority about how the dispute should be resolved.
The Additional Support Needs Tribunal
The Additional Support Needs Tribunal has been set up to hear appeals made by parents / carers or young people on the decisions made by the Education Authority relating to Co- ordinated Support Plans, ASN placing requests and post school transition. If you disagree with any decision relating to your child’s Co-ordinated Support Plan, either the creation of a CSP, or the content of it, you may be entitled to refer to the tribunal.
