What can I do if I am worried about my child's progress?

Who should I talk to?

The first step is to talk to you child's teachers, the Year Tutor, Special Needs Co-ordinator or the Head Teacher.

They can give you information about how your child is doing and what is being done to help him/her.

What will they do?

They will listen to your worries.
They will be able to tell you what the school is doing to meet your child's needs.
They will be able to tell you if they have identified your child as having special educational needs and if so whether they are meeting those needs at School Action or at School Action Plus.

If your child has not already been identified as having special educational needs, school staff could begin to assess your child to find out what their difficulties are.

If your child has already been identified as having special educational needs:

school staff could arrange a meeting with appropriate staff and/or other professionals to discuss your concerns;
a written record should be kept of the meeting and you should be given a copy of it.

What if I would like some support?

The Parent Partnership Service is there to support the parent/carers of any child or young person with a special educational need. There is a leaflet in this pack containing information about this service.

The Parent Partnership Service offers information, support and advice and can put you in touch with an Independent Parental Supporter.

Independent Parental Supporters are volunteers. They have had training on Education Law and on the Special Needs Code of Practice as well as policies and practices in your local education authority. Many of these volunteers have youngsters of their own with special educational needs.

Independent Parental Supporters are there to:

help you to prepare for meetings and/or attend meetings with you;
listen to your concerns and help you to express your views;
help you to understand what is happening during any assessment of your child's needs;
help you to fill in forms, write letters or make telephone calls;
help to get information or make contact with other people who can help you or come with you on visits to schools;
offer general support to do with the education of your child.

Remember - you have the right to:

Be listened to when you tell school staff about your worries.
See the school's Special Educational Needs Policy
Be told if the school thinks your child has special educational needs.
Have a copy of the Individual Education Plan for you child either at School Action or at School Action Plus.
Be invited to attend review meetings and take part in discussions about the kind of help your child should have.
Have a written record of what is discussed at a review meeting.
Ask for an Educational Psychologist's opinion of your child's difficulties, by contacting the Educational Psychology Service. There is a leaflet in this pack containing the address for this and other services.
Talk to the Governor responsible for special educational needs in your child's school if you feel that your child is not receiving the right kind of help.
Ask for a statutory assessment to be made by the Local Education Authority (LEA) if you feel that your child would benefit from this.
Approach the Disagreement Resolution Service.
Appeal to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal if the LEA makes a decision you are not happy with. There is more information on appeals a separate leaflet in this pack.

Top of Page

This page meets the following requirements: