Assessing Support Needs

How do we assess a young person’s support needs when they start to access SEB?

Most often this is done through discussion with their Pupil Support teacher who will already have an overview of the young person’s needs.

However, there are also a number of tools that we can use to help us work together with the young person to best understand how to make positive progress. It is the job of the Principal Teacher of the Social and Emotional Support Base, Mrs Harpe, to identify which of these tools might be of use. The tools available include but are not limited to:

	Tool	Focus
1	Boxall profile	The Boxall Profile is an online resource for the assessment of children and young people’s social, emotional and behavioural development in educational settings. It supports in identifying a young person’s SEB needs and suggests strategies, targets and resources for effective support.
2	BRITs	BRITS is a school-based multi-agency strategy to identify strengths and protective factors in the lives of vulnerable children and young people and to target areas where resilience can be built. It provides a framework for collaborative conversations with the young person, their family and the professionals working with them. The information and understanding gained helps inform support for the young person and ensures the young person and their family have a voice in this process.
3	Stirling Wellbeing Scale	The Stirling Children’s Wellbeing Scale was initiated by the Stirling Educational Psychology Service with the objective of creating a holistic, positively worded scale measuring emotional and physiological wellbeing in children aged 8 to 15 years. This scale should provide a useful tool for education professionals to assess any changes in wellbeing from a mental wellbeing perspective.
4	The School Stress Survey	A short reflective exercise designed to encourage students presenting with anxiety (often manifesting in things like non-attendance) to identify the ‘stress points’ in their day.
4	Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale	A 10-item scale that measures individual self-esteem by measuring both positive and negative feelings about the self.
5	My Safety and Support Plan	The My Safety and Support Plan is an individualised plan which is developed by the person (with the help of staff if necessary) to ensure that potential crisis events are avoided. This should be accessibly written so that everyone involved can implement the plan and provide the young person with the necessary person-centred, trauma-sensitive care and support.
6	Individual Education Programme	This is a written document which outlines the steps to be taken to help children and young people who additional support needs to achieve specified learning outcomes.

How do we assess a young person’s support needs when they start to access SEB?

Tool

Focus

1

Boxall profile

The Boxall Profile is an online resource for the assessment of children and young people’s social, emotional and behavioural development in educational settings. It supports in identifying a young person’s SEB needs and suggests strategies, targets and resources for effective support.

2

BRITs

3

Stirling Wellbeing Scale

4

The School Stress Survey

A short reflective exercise designed to encourage students presenting with anxiety (often manifesting in things like non-attendance) to identify the ‘stress points’ in their day.

4

Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale

A 10-item scale that measures individual self-esteem by measuring both positive and negative feelings about the self.

5

My Safety and Support Plan

6

Individual Education Programme

This is a written document which outlines the steps to be taken to help children and young people who additional support needs to achieve specified learning outcomes.