Croydon SENCO Toolkit: Identifying pupils with Potential SEN
Resource 5: What are individual circumstances or factors which can affect achievement at school?
“Class teachers and subject teachers, supported by the senior leadership team, should make regular assessments of progress for all pupils. These should seek to identify pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances.” (Code of Practice 6.17)
The guidance below provides prompts to support consideration of other factors that may be affecting progress and achievement before deciding that a child requires SEN support.
This guidance is not exhaustive but it should help to inform a wider review of each child’s potential barriers to learning.
This guidance also links closely with the guidance produced to support meaningful dialogue with families and to gain a pupil’s perspective.
Poor attendance and /or punctuality? / In school:
- Monitor pattern of attendance and punctuality with attendance officer and/or family support worker
- Meet with family to share and discuss any emerging issues
- Offer motivators and rewards to encourage punctuality and daily attendance (avoid sanctions especially where lateness and punctuality may be beyond control of child)
- If available, encourage attendance at breakfast club to support punctuality.
- Where problems persist seek support of your Education Welfare Officer and/or Locality Early Help Adviser and consider an Early Help Assessment
- If problems are linked to medical needs with long term absence contact Springboard Home Tuition service.
Pupil is summer born or born prematurely? / In School:
- Consider degree of learning delay compared to expectations for the year below.This will be particularly important in EYFS and KS1 late July and August births.
- Where this comparison indicates that progress and attainment are not significantly below age related expectations target intervention and differentiation within daily teaching to narrow the gap with peers.
- Progress and attainment should also be considered in terms of attention span, communication skills and social development.
EAL learner? / In School:
- Ensure that inclusive practice in daily teaching meets the need of pupils with English as additional language
- Check that EAL learners are not always sitting in lower ability groupings.
- Liaise with parents to find out levels of achievement/previous school history if new learners in first language with use of translator as appropriate.
- Use guidance and checklist to determine whether delays are linked to language needs or special educational needs
LAC/ recently adopted ? / In School:
- Pastoral support to help develop friendships and build confidence and self esteem
- Review impact and use of pupil premium funding to target key areas of weakness
- Reference and review of universal and targeted nurture approaches to support and address emerging issues related to attachment
- NICE- guidance on attachment for children adopted, looked after or at risk of being looked after
- Access to counselling support
- Partnership with Croydon Virtual School to plan and review Personal, Education Plans (PEPS).
- Discuss support needs with family eg access to parenting support through group or individual support, Locality Help adviser can
Young Carer?
Discussions with pupil or information may identify that the pupil is caring for a family member with a serious illness(including mental health), an addiction, and disability. / In school:
- Support for homework
- Active encouragement and arrangements to engage in extra- curricular activities.
- Pastoral support and counselling
- Contact your locality early help Adviser – they will be able to tell you whether the child is known to the Young Carers Project. If not the team will support completion of an Early Help Assessment to identify their needs in relation to the person they are caring for.
- To find out about what the Young Carers Project can offer use the link below.
Eligible for FSM? / In school:
- Review impact of any targeted interventions overtime to support academic achievement and social wellbeing
- Revise interventions offered and/or undertake further diagnostic assessments if there is no evidence of progress.
Domestic circumstances
Awareness of housing issues
(overcrowding, eviction, temporary accommodation)? / In school:
- Support access to breakfast club, extra- curricular after school activities
- Support to complete homework tasks
- Pastoral and family support
- Consider an Early Help Assessment/ Contact Locality Early Help Adviser
Awareness of
domestic violence/neglect and abuse? / In school:
- Access to regular mentoring support
- Access to emotional and therapeutic interventions such as Draw and Talk or Art and Drama therapy.
- Activities to boost self-worth and showcase skills and strengths
- Safety planning
- Contact Locality Early Help Adviser and make Early Help Assessment.If child is at immediate riskfollow safeguarding procedures
Awareness of financial pressures for example debt or no recourse to public funds? / In school:
- Support to access extracurricular activities
- Support to fund uniform and other school equipment
- Referral to voluntary groups and other support such as local food banks etc.
- Contact Locality Early Help Adviser
Recent bereavement? / In school:
Pastoral support
Access to emotional / therapeutic support
- Referral to local bereavement support agencies:
- Woodside Bereavement Service
- Candle Child Bereavement Service
- Jigsaw
External Support:
- Support and advice from EP service.
- Locality Early Help Adviser, potentially home life will be significantly impacted e.g. income, childcare, mental health concerns if this is apparent, seek to undertake an Early Help Assessment with the family
Other domestic circumstances that can have an impact on a child or young person’s ability to cope with the academic and social demands of school life might include divorce and family break up, siblings involved in anti-social and/or criminal behaviour or family member in prison. In each instance schools should consider pastoral support available in school to support readiness for learning and support available outside of school through the support of the locality early help advisers.This may involve undertaking an Early Help Assessment with the family. Check with your Adviser as to whether work is underway already.
Indicators other than attainment that indicate child or young person may be experiencing difficulties can include:
- Ability to communicate, express needs, follow instructions and understand social cues
- Ability to persevere when faced with difficulties?
- Ability to sustain concentration on learning tasks?
- Reluctance to contribute to class discussions?
- Difficulties responding to teacher directions?
- Difficulties in social interaction?
- Lack of self-awareness?
- Passive and lacking motivation?
Use of Case Study Approach
Where it is proving more difficult to determine the underlying causes to slow progress and low attainment a case study approach may be helpful in pulling together a detailed profile of the pupil of individual circumstances, pulling together information from a range of key sources.
(A template to support a case study profile is available on the SENCO Portal site on the Local Offer).
Early Help Pathways Guidance- if you identify that the child requires support from a range of professionals, use the early help process to ensure a proportionate, coordinated approach. Your locality Early Help Adviser can support.