In the last of our series on the new SEN Code of Practice, Collette Drifte does the rounds of other professional
Thomas has mild cerebral palsy and attends Sue Bishop's nursery, where she is the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO). Sue liaises regularly with the physiotherapist who taught her and the other practitioners how to do Thomas's exercises every day. 'She was really helpful and we've all learned a lot, as well as had some great fun,' says Sue. 'She showed us exercises to help us fight the flab too!
'Thomas can't have daily physiotherapy at the hospital,' explains Sue, 'so it was important that we all learned what to do. Working with the physiotherapist has helped us in that and the other children have had fun joining in because we do some of the exercises in PE. Working with outside agencies has certainly paid off here.'
Who's who
The term 'outside agencies' means specialist professionals who are, or could be, involved with the child and his family. Among these are:
- LEA support services for learning difficulties, speech and language difficulties, visual and hearing impairment, emotional and behavioural difficulties and physical disabilities
- advisers or teachers with knowledge of information technology for children with special educational needs
- the child or educational psychological services
- social services and child protection services
- medical services including health visitors, paediatric nurses and/or paediatricians, nurses, child psychiatrists, GPs, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and hospital-based counsellors
- private and voluntary organisations.
The LEA support services can advise on teaching techniques and strategies, setting management and curriculum materials. They also offer support for curriculum development, direct teaching or practical support for class teachers, part-time specialist help, or access to learning support assistance. The educational psychological services carry out more specialised assessments and suggest strategies such as behaviour management techniques. They can offer advice about the development of the SEN policy and help with staff development. Medical agents are able to offer advice, suggestions and support in managing a wide range of conditions. Their expertise is invaluable and practitioners must draw on this to ensure that the child's needs are met.
Private specialists or organisations usually offer expertise in a specific area, for example autism or visual impairment. If a setting decides to ask these organisations for help, the manager must be sure that the qualifications and experience of the specialists involved are appropriate and of a high quality. It is crucial, too, that appropriate police checks are carried out.
Different but equal
An early years setting will need the advice and expertise of outside agents because of a lack of expertise in managing a particular child's special educational needs. But it is important for practitioners to remember that they play an equal and important part of the teamwork approach. The specialists know the particular field they are working in, but early years practitioners have expertise in the field of mainstream early years education. The two should dovetail to offer the child the best possible support.
Local education authorities have to inform all the schools in their area about the range of services available and how they can be accessed. Private settings can form partnerships with local schools and obtain similar information and advice in this way.
It is possible that some of these outside agencies will already be involved with the child when he enters your setting. Even if he remains at the Early Years Action stage of the SEN Code of Practice, staff in the setting should work in close partnership with them.
If the outside agencies are not already involved with a child with special needs, it is likely that their help will be needed when he moves to the stage of Early Years Action Plus. Even before reaching this point, it is a good idea to establish positive and co-operative relations with the agencies. Outside specialists can play an important part in the very early identification of special educational needs and in advising the staff in the setting of effective strategies aimed at preventing further special needs developing. They can act as consultants and be a source for in-service advice on learning and behaviour management strategies.
