Special Education Needs / Support for Learning
GIRFEC Guidance
Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) is the national approach in Scotland to improving outcomes and supporting the wellbeing of our children and young people by offering the right help at the right time from the right people.
The GIRFEC approach aims to make it easier for parents, children, young people and the services that support them – such as early years services, schools and the NHS – to work together to get it right.
Practitioners work together to support you and your child, working across organisational boundaries and putting your child and you at the heart of decision making, ensuring we give all our children and young people the best possible start in life.
GIRFEC means that everyone working with Scottish Borders children, young people and their families are encouraged to:
Systems at Earlston Primary School
At any point in their lives, children or young people may need extra help with their education. This may be for any reason and at any time. Some examples of why a child may require extra help with their education are:
• bereavement or family illness
• problems at home
• bullying
• being particularly gifted or able
• an illness, disability or sensory impairment
• having English as an additional language
A child's needs may last for a short time, and the problem may be resolved easily, or their needs might be very complex, and they may require additional support for a number of years.
If you feel that your child needs additional support for learning, the first person to speak to is your child’s teacher. You have the right to request an assessment of your child. We operate a model of staged intervention where support is provided in varied ways to meet individual needs. Our approach to assessment ensures that the needs of children are recognised, and appropriate support can be provided. You can also speak to the Education Team Leader at the Integrated Children’s Services office, 10–12 Galapark, Galashiels Tel: 01896 661880.
Further information available from the SBC website:https://www.scotborders.gov.uk/info/20041/support_for_ pupils/456/additional_support
Parents/carers are always involved in making decisions about their child’s education and we will ask your permission before any specific referrals are made. While your child is receiving support, we will regularly review your child’s progress.
At times, parents/carers and schools may come into dispute. While we would always hope that difficulties could be resolved at the school level we recognise that parents or young people may wish to formalise their concerns. To assist with this, we have a complaints procedure and also offer independent mediation and adjudication (further information below). It is also possible, under certain circumstances, to refer the case to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal for Scotland.
A good place to find independent information about Additional Support for Learning is Enquire, the Scottish advice service for Additional Support for Learning. They have a wealth of information, including practical guides and fact sheets for both parents/carers and young people. You can find the website at www.enquire.org.uk, or call on 0845 123 2303. Or contact the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance, a charitable body registered in Scotland under registration number SC033576; www.sias.org.uk
Mediation
‘Enquire’ - the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning.
Operated by Children in Scotland, ‘Enquire’ offer independent, confidential advice and information on additional support for learning through:
Some children and young people are unable to live at home with their parent(s) and the local authority has a legal responsibility to care for them.
This care can be provided in foster families, residential houses or residential schools depending on their individual needs.
Wherever possible, children and young people are expected to attend their original pre-five resource or school to minimise disruption to their lives. Where this is not possible the next preferred option would be to attend mainstream school with support if necessary.
Each school has a designated staff member, usually in a senior management position, who has responsibility to know of any child or young person who attends their school and who is looked after and accommodated away from home. Within Earlston Primary School the designated person for this role is the Depute Head Teacher.
We will ensure that any issues or concerns around the child or young person is addressed and communicated to the social worker responsible for the child or young person.
Foster carers and residential care staff act in place of the birth parents of the child or young person on everyday matters and should be provided with the support and advice of school staff which would be given to birth parents.
If there are any issues or concerns relating to a child or young person who is looked after and accommodated within the school, the child’s teacher should be informed about these in the first instance and further advice can then be pursued as appropriate with school management staff and social work staff.
The overall aspiration for children and young people who are looked after and accommodated is that they are supported, included and treated no differently in school than their peers.
Young Carers
The new Carers (Scotland) Act was launched by the Scottish Government on April 2018 and brings with it a number of important changes.
The Act applies to both adult and young carers and aims to support carers’ health and wellbeing and help make caring more sustainable. Overall, the goal is to deliver improved:
The definition of a carer is being broadened to mean any individual who provides or intends to provide care for another individual. This will include anyone who provides unpaid support to family or friends who could not manage without this help e.g. caring for a relative, partner or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or substance misuse problems.
The current carer assessment is being replaced with carer support plans for adults and a young carers statement for young carers. These will act as a gateway to various types of support, including statutory services, emotional support, training, advice, information, access to short breaks and respite, benefits advice and signposting to other services.
New eligibility criteria are being introduced that will identify the carers that the Council will be required to support. The carer support plan will identify other ways that carers can be enabled to carrying out their caring role.
Carers will also have the right to be involved in the development of local strategies and services that affect their caring role.
A ‘young carer’ is someone who is under 18 years of age or who has reached 18 and still a pupil at school and provides or intends to provide care for another individual. A number of young carers do not always identify themselves or wish to be identified.
Young carers undertake a number of tasks for the people they live with and look after. They are often left alone to do things like washing, cooking, shopping, paying bills, collecting medication or helping to look after younger brother or sister.
This means they might not have as much time to complete work at home which has an ongoing effect on progress and learning or attend clubs and after schools activities therefore missing out on the social aspects of school or their local community.
Within Earlston Primary School we want our young carers to enjoy school and that it is a positive place to come and they feel included.
Please let us know if there are difficulties for your child in participating in learning, arriving on time, or any other issues which may affect their well being at school. It is the intention of Earlston Staff to offer all support they can to your child.
Support Services
Behaviour Support
We benefit from having the services of a specially trained teacher who is able to give advice and support to teachers who have children in their classes experiencing behavioural difficulties.
Speech and Language Therapy
A Speech and Language therapist works within school to carry out specialist work with individuals or groups of children in speech and language development. Parental permission is always obtained.
Educational Psychologist
The Educational Psychology Service (EPS) works with all SBC schools to support children’s learning and wellbeing. They provide advice and training to school staff on how children learn, and advise on ways to help children who require support. If requested by the school, they arrange follow-up for individual children, together with their families and teachers, to help support their learning, or with social or emotional issues. This is generally achieved by meeting the children, their families and school staff, to review the support they have already received and agree ways in which they can all help your child in school. In some cases, they may agree that a psychologist will work on a one-to-one basis with your child to obtain a clearer picture of how they can best be supported.
Further information about the EPS is available on the Scottish Borders Council website. There is a downloadable leaflet for parents and carers, which explains in more detail how the service may be able to work to support your child in school. Please see www.scotborders.gov.uk/EPS.
Health Service
The school has regular access to the school nurse to help with health problems in individual children. The school nurse is available throughout the year to provide advice and guidance. She also supports the teaching of sex education in Primaries 6 and 7. The school dentist is available throughout the year to provide check-ups and treatment. All children have their hearing tested in Primary 1.
If a parent feels that their child has a hearing difficulty, they can contact their G.P who will refer them to the audiometric service based at the Borders General Hospital.
Home/School Link Worker
The Home/School Link Worker provides support to develop positive home school relationships, and will work closely with both families and school to help ensure that each child has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
If you have any worries about your child, please contact school, in the first instance, to arrange a meeting to discuss your concerns. All schools have access to a range of support Services, the Head teacher will be able to advise you about those that may be able to help.
GIRFEC Guidance
Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) is the national approach in Scotland to improving outcomes and supporting the wellbeing of our children and young people by offering the right help at the right time from the right people.
The GIRFEC approach aims to make it easier for parents, children, young people and the services that support them – such as early years services, schools and the NHS – to work together to get it right.
Practitioners work together to support you and your child, working across organisational boundaries and putting your child and you at the heart of decision making, ensuring we give all our children and young people the best possible start in life.
GIRFEC means that everyone working with Scottish Borders children, young people and their families are encouraged to:
- Ensure children, young people, and their families get the help they need when they need it and are central to the process of finding solutions.
- Use one consistent and equitable approach, actively share information to agreed protocols and work more effectively together to improve outcomes for children and young people.
- Be clear about personal responsibility to do the right thing for each child/young person.
- Work with children, young people and their families, using a collaborative approach with fewer meetings. This should ensure children, young people and their families give information only once, and enables the development of one plan to meet all their needs.
- Respond to children and young people and take appropriate, proportionate and timely action with the minimum of paperwork, bureaucracy and duplication.
Systems at Earlston Primary School
At any point in their lives, children or young people may need extra help with their education. This may be for any reason and at any time. Some examples of why a child may require extra help with their education are:
• bereavement or family illness
• problems at home
• bullying
• being particularly gifted or able
• an illness, disability or sensory impairment
• having English as an additional language
A child's needs may last for a short time, and the problem may be resolved easily, or their needs might be very complex, and they may require additional support for a number of years.
If you feel that your child needs additional support for learning, the first person to speak to is your child’s teacher. You have the right to request an assessment of your child. We operate a model of staged intervention where support is provided in varied ways to meet individual needs. Our approach to assessment ensures that the needs of children are recognised, and appropriate support can be provided. You can also speak to the Education Team Leader at the Integrated Children’s Services office, 10–12 Galapark, Galashiels Tel: 01896 661880.
Further information available from the SBC website:https://www.scotborders.gov.uk/info/20041/support_for_ pupils/456/additional_support
Parents/carers are always involved in making decisions about their child’s education and we will ask your permission before any specific referrals are made. While your child is receiving support, we will regularly review your child’s progress.
At times, parents/carers and schools may come into dispute. While we would always hope that difficulties could be resolved at the school level we recognise that parents or young people may wish to formalise their concerns. To assist with this, we have a complaints procedure and also offer independent mediation and adjudication (further information below). It is also possible, under certain circumstances, to refer the case to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal for Scotland.
A good place to find independent information about Additional Support for Learning is Enquire, the Scottish advice service for Additional Support for Learning. They have a wealth of information, including practical guides and fact sheets for both parents/carers and young people. You can find the website at www.enquire.org.uk, or call on 0845 123 2303. Or contact the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance, a charitable body registered in Scotland under registration number SC033576; www.sias.org.uk
Mediation
‘Enquire’ - the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning.
Operated by Children in Scotland, ‘Enquire’ offer independent, confidential advice and information on additional support for learning through:
- a telephone helpline - 0845 123 2303
- an email enquiry service - [email protected]
- an online enquiry service
- two websites - www.enquire.org.uk (for parents/carers and practitioners) and www.enquire.org.uk/yp (for children and young people)
Some children and young people are unable to live at home with their parent(s) and the local authority has a legal responsibility to care for them.
This care can be provided in foster families, residential houses or residential schools depending on their individual needs.
Wherever possible, children and young people are expected to attend their original pre-five resource or school to minimise disruption to their lives. Where this is not possible the next preferred option would be to attend mainstream school with support if necessary.
Each school has a designated staff member, usually in a senior management position, who has responsibility to know of any child or young person who attends their school and who is looked after and accommodated away from home. Within Earlston Primary School the designated person for this role is the Depute Head Teacher.
We will ensure that any issues or concerns around the child or young person is addressed and communicated to the social worker responsible for the child or young person.
Foster carers and residential care staff act in place of the birth parents of the child or young person on everyday matters and should be provided with the support and advice of school staff which would be given to birth parents.
If there are any issues or concerns relating to a child or young person who is looked after and accommodated within the school, the child’s teacher should be informed about these in the first instance and further advice can then be pursued as appropriate with school management staff and social work staff.
The overall aspiration for children and young people who are looked after and accommodated is that they are supported, included and treated no differently in school than their peers.
Young Carers
The new Carers (Scotland) Act was launched by the Scottish Government on April 2018 and brings with it a number of important changes.
The Act applies to both adult and young carers and aims to support carers’ health and wellbeing and help make caring more sustainable. Overall, the goal is to deliver improved:
- carer engagement and involvement
- carer health and well-being
- early intervention
- personal outcomes for carers
- information and advice
- emergency care planning
- discharge planning with reduced delays and readmission.
The definition of a carer is being broadened to mean any individual who provides or intends to provide care for another individual. This will include anyone who provides unpaid support to family or friends who could not manage without this help e.g. caring for a relative, partner or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or substance misuse problems.
The current carer assessment is being replaced with carer support plans for adults and a young carers statement for young carers. These will act as a gateway to various types of support, including statutory services, emotional support, training, advice, information, access to short breaks and respite, benefits advice and signposting to other services.
New eligibility criteria are being introduced that will identify the carers that the Council will be required to support. The carer support plan will identify other ways that carers can be enabled to carrying out their caring role.
Carers will also have the right to be involved in the development of local strategies and services that affect their caring role.
A ‘young carer’ is someone who is under 18 years of age or who has reached 18 and still a pupil at school and provides or intends to provide care for another individual. A number of young carers do not always identify themselves or wish to be identified.
Young carers undertake a number of tasks for the people they live with and look after. They are often left alone to do things like washing, cooking, shopping, paying bills, collecting medication or helping to look after younger brother or sister.
This means they might not have as much time to complete work at home which has an ongoing effect on progress and learning or attend clubs and after schools activities therefore missing out on the social aspects of school or their local community.
Within Earlston Primary School we want our young carers to enjoy school and that it is a positive place to come and they feel included.
Please let us know if there are difficulties for your child in participating in learning, arriving on time, or any other issues which may affect their well being at school. It is the intention of Earlston Staff to offer all support they can to your child.
- Detailed information about the Carers Act 1.4.18 is available on the Scottish Government website
- More information about the Scottish Borders Young Carers Service is available from the Action for Children website
- The Partnership’s Locality Plans are available at: www.scotborders.gov.uk/HSCPLocalityPlans
Support Services
Behaviour Support
We benefit from having the services of a specially trained teacher who is able to give advice and support to teachers who have children in their classes experiencing behavioural difficulties.
Speech and Language Therapy
A Speech and Language therapist works within school to carry out specialist work with individuals or groups of children in speech and language development. Parental permission is always obtained.
Educational Psychologist
The Educational Psychology Service (EPS) works with all SBC schools to support children’s learning and wellbeing. They provide advice and training to school staff on how children learn, and advise on ways to help children who require support. If requested by the school, they arrange follow-up for individual children, together with their families and teachers, to help support their learning, or with social or emotional issues. This is generally achieved by meeting the children, their families and school staff, to review the support they have already received and agree ways in which they can all help your child in school. In some cases, they may agree that a psychologist will work on a one-to-one basis with your child to obtain a clearer picture of how they can best be supported.
Further information about the EPS is available on the Scottish Borders Council website. There is a downloadable leaflet for parents and carers, which explains in more detail how the service may be able to work to support your child in school. Please see www.scotborders.gov.uk/EPS.
Health Service
The school has regular access to the school nurse to help with health problems in individual children. The school nurse is available throughout the year to provide advice and guidance. She also supports the teaching of sex education in Primaries 6 and 7. The school dentist is available throughout the year to provide check-ups and treatment. All children have their hearing tested in Primary 1.
If a parent feels that their child has a hearing difficulty, they can contact their G.P who will refer them to the audiometric service based at the Borders General Hospital.
Home/School Link Worker
The Home/School Link Worker provides support to develop positive home school relationships, and will work closely with both families and school to help ensure that each child has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
If you have any worries about your child, please contact school, in the first instance, to arrange a meeting to discuss your concerns. All schools have access to a range of support Services, the Head teacher will be able to advise you about those that may be able to help.