Universal
Inclusive Quality First Teaching should be in place to support all children.
The ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycle should be followed to monitor progress and to help determine whether additional support needs to be put in place for a pupil who is not making expected levels of progress.
The Specialist Sensory Education Team (SSET) can provide further advice and support.
Additional
A plan of additional support should be put in place and the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycle followed. Staff should liaise with appropriate support agencies to input into the plan of support as and when necessary.
A referral to the Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service (external link) should be considered for any child where there is an impact on occupational performance due to sensory processing difficulties.
All referrals from education staff must be discussed through attendance at a pre-referral consultation with an Occupational Therapist to discuss the child’s presenting difficulties prior to sending the referral. This is to ensure universal strategies have been implemented and only those children requiring specialist level input are accepted into the service. The pre-referral sessions are run daily and are accessed on a first come first serve basis.
If deemed necessary at the pre-referral consultation, please considering completing a referral.
Referrals will be accepted into the Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service for children who require specialist occupational therapy assessment and intervention to:
- Enable and maximise the potential for children to engage in their daily living activities (occupations)
- Improve a child’s function, participation and independence at school, home and the community
- Achieve functional activities of daily living appropriate to their developmental level/cognitive ability.
As part of the assessment process the Occupational Therapist will gather information and complete observations within appropriate environments to determine whether there are identified sensory needs. Any required advice or sensory strategies will then be provided by the Occupational Therapist for implementation based on the young persons assessed need.
Severe and Complex / Specialist
In following the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle and implementing the advice from specialist services, it is envisaged that very few children / young people will require an Education Health and Care Assessment and Plan.
The referral for an EHC Assessment needs to demonstrate evidence that advice has been sought and acted on, following ongoing ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycles. This evidence should then be able to demonstrate why the child/young person requires this high level of intervention and provision.
School staff can also request support from the Physical Disabilities Specialist Outreach Service to help them to meet the needs of children and young people with severe and complex needs.