Families | Crewe and Nantwich Guardian - in association with netmums.com - Parent Resources

If your child has a learning disability, their special educational needs can be met either in a mainstream school with extra support, or in a special school.

There are guidelines for how schools should assess and meet special educational needs (SEN) to ensure your child gets the right support. These guidelines apply to places that are provided by the state (state-funded), including nurseries, playgroups and schools. You can read about them in teachernet's guide for parents and carers.

Providing the right support for children at school depends on their needs. Not every child with SEN has a learning disability, but all children with a learning disability will have special educational needs.

Identifying special educational needs
Some learning disabilities are diagnosed at birth, others later on. Most are evident by the age of three years. “This is partly because we see speech and communication established in most children by the time they are three years old, so any problems start to become noticeable,” says Lesley Campbell of learning disability charity Mencap.

Every child’s special educational needs are different, depending on what kind of difficulties they have and how serious these are. If you’re worried about your child’s progress or development at school or nursery, talk to their teacher or the Special Educational Needs co-ordinator (SENCO).

The SENCO can spend some time with your child to work out what kind of extra support they might need, for example a different way of teaching or another adult in the classroom.

If your child doesn’t progress with this extra support, the SENCO can organise help from outside the nursery or school, such as a speech and language therapist.

If your child is younger than four and doesn’t go to nursery, you can contact your local council’s special educational needs department. You can also talk to your doctor or health visitor if you have concerns.

Communicate with your child’s teachers
Getting involved with your child's school will help them get the support they need. “Keep track of your child’s learning, arrange regular meetings with their school and make sure you’re following their schoolwork,” says Campbell.

Let the school know what’s going on at home. “Tell the school what your priorities are for your child and how he or she is doing at home, so that the school can be building on this.”

Help your child learn
There are things you can do at home to help your child. "Being very clear in your communication, getting face-to-face with your child, and giving one-stage rather than two-stage instructions all help," says Campbell.

"Reduce the clutter in a child's life. Give them two or three toys to play with at a time, rather than 13."

Getting a statement
If a mainstream school isn’t meeting your child’s needs, you or the school can ask the local authority for a formal assessment of your child’s special educational needs. If the authority agrees to this, and decides your child needs more support than a mainstream school can provide, it will produce a statement of special educational needs (often just called a statement). Directgov's website explains getting a statement.

“It’s a misconception that most children with a learning disability need a statement,” says Campbell. “Most children with a learning disability who get extra help do fine in mainstream schools. Children with severe and profound learning disabilities are more likely to have a statement and go to a special school.”

Help for parents and carers
Below are some sources of information and help:

• Talk to other parents who have children with learning disabilities. They can be a valuable source of information, from recommending children’s centres to counselling services and helpful individuals at the local authority. 
• The Family Information Service (FIS). Every local authority has an FIS, which must provide information on local services for all families with children (up to the age of 18 if the child has a disability). 
• Parent Partnership Service (PPS). Every local authority has a PPS, which provides parents of children with special educational needs with information, advice and guidance on finding the right school and support.