Before contacting the SENDCO help desk

Ensure you read through this advice page before requesting support from the help desk.

Read the information and guidance in the Ordinarily Available SEND Provision (pdf format, 4 MB) which is linked on the framework.

What is your request about ?

Request Additional Funding (RAF)

In some exceptional circumstances, additional funding can be requested for children without an EHCP.

Different funding routes are available depending on the child's age. Early years funding and school-age (reception age upwards) funding applications are made using the Request for Additional Funding (RAF) forms. 

Early years

Primary

Requesting additional funding for students with an EHCP

Additional funding is normally requested as part of the Annual Review (AR) process. The AR paperwork should be completed and submitted with relevant supporting evidence about why and how the funding is needed and will be used. When requesting further funding the SEN casework officer will communicate the decision to the school.

Secondary School SEN Funding

Secondary school SEN funding is delegated to schools through the Schools Funding Formula as a SEN allocation, using number on roll, deprivation, and low-cost high-incidence data. 

Since 2014-15 this secondary schools' high needs funding from the DSG High Needs Block has simply been allocated to secondary schools using the pre-April 2013 allocation methodology.  

Education Health Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA)

Most children and young people have their needs met in a mainstream setting through SEN support. A small number of children will need us to set out the support they should receive to achieve the best outcomes. This is usually where their needs are long-term, complex, severe and require the coordinated support of various services.

Apply for an EHCNA

Other guidance

The annual review process

The purpose of the annual review is to: 

  • Consider progress and attainment over the past year (including progress towards the longer-term outcomes set out in the EHC Plan)
  • Agree on new targets for the coming year
  • Consider whether any changes to the plan are required, including whether it is still needed.
  • The first annual review process must be completed within 12 months of the date the EHC plan was initially issued, and subsequent annual reviews must also be completed within 12 months.
  • The child or young person is at the centre of the annual review and should be involved in the discussion and decisions as much as possible.

Guidance

Our policy and resources page has many guidance documents about the annual review.

School SEND information report

All maintained schools and academies must publish an annual information report on their website, which must be updated at least annually. We have produced a template (doc format, 23 KB) and ideas for what to include in the information report. 

Academies may produce the report in a different format.

The Code of Practice (June 2014) extract (pdf format, 144 KB) details what must be included in the SEN information report. Schools can set this out in any way they choose, but the information provided must be easily accessible by parents and young people and written in clear, straightforward language.

Identifying and supporting those that may have SEND

Use the OCC SEND Indicators Tool to help you identify detailed information about a child's progress and needs. This stage should be completed first and continuously reviewed. 

The Ordinarily Available SEND Provision

Ordinarily Available SEND Provision (pdf format, 4 MB) guides Early Years settings and mainstream schools' provision for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities in Oxfordshire. It is to be used alongside the SEND indicators and inclusive support series.

Inclusive support series

The inclusive support series are strengths-based tools to identify reasonable adjustments in learning settings. They can be used to facilitate conversations with class teachers about a specific pupil(s) and to develop inclusive practice.

Inclusive support series covers: 

  • Autism
  • Inclusive environments
  • Maths
  • SEMH-primary
  • SEMH-secondary
  • Speech Language and Communication difficulties
  • Literacy difficulties
  • Sensory processing

Neurodiversity support

Communication and Interaction Team 

Offer advice, support, and training to schools to help you meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs relating to communication and interaction.  

They can help with:

  • Receptive language: Attention; listening; understanding language; following instructions; memory, processing difficulties, 
  • Expressive language: Vocabulary, word finding, grammar, conversation. 
  • Autism Spectrum Condition: Sensory processing; social interaction; executive functioning, flexible thinking, transitions; emotional regulation; peer interactions

Autism

The communication and interaction support for staff are part of the Special Educational Needs Support Service (SENSS)  They work at different levels to support children in school who have Autism or associated difficulties.

An assessment of neurodiversity should be made using the CAMHS referral form.

Other documents that may be useful include out inclusive support series covering topics such as enabling inclusive environments, speech language and communication difficulties as well as Autism.

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder )

Use the Oxfordshire ADHD protocol (pdf format, 56KB) to identify and assess pupils with ADHD.

Information is also on the CAMHs website about ADHD.

Complete the CAMHs referral form to request an assessment for ADHD Get support from Oxford Health CAMHS.

ADHD Oxfordshire is a charity for supporting children, adults and families.

A new protocol is being established by CAMHS and the EP service. It will be added once completed.

Dyslexia

Schools' guidance on including pupils with literacy difficulties in the curriculum and to provide support for pupils to overcome their difficulties. There is advice on working with individual pupils, as well as on building the schools' capacity to deal with literacy difficulties generally.

Dyspraxia and Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (DCD) 

A referral can be made to the Oxfordshire Integrated Children's Therapies service to ask for Occupational Therapy support in school. Schools are expected to note the support given for needs over 12 weeks and gauge the impact of that support before referring to the service.

Oxfordshire Schools Inclusion Team (OXSIT)

OXSIT is a traded service that can offer a Dyslexia and literacy difficulties package.

Contact OxSIT for costs to deliver training covering a range of support.

Attendance, suspension and exclusion

Part-time attendance

For children of statutory school age, a reintegration timetable can be used in exceptional circumstances where a reduction in education may be viewed as in the child's interests and on a fixed-term basis only.

Risk of suspension or exclusion

Exclusion and Reintegration Officers (EROs) work closely with schools, governors, parents and local authority colleagues to provide advice on:

  • preventing exclusions
  • ensuring DfE Guidance and procedures are followed correctly for suspensions and permanent exclusions
  • pupils receiving alternative education provision

Behaviour Support Inclusion Officers

Guidance, advice and support to aid inclusion of pupils with SEMH needs, the prevention of suspension and exclusion and supporting reintegration into education. Read more about our Behaviour Inclusion Team.

SEMH mental health and wellbeing Support

THE CAMHs website is a helpful resource for support with SEMH needs:

Measuring and monitoring mental wellbeing

The Engagement for Learning Framework offers educators the resources to construct personalised learning pathways, the flexibility to adjust and optimise them, and an effective means to evidence children’s progress.   The Framework | Engagement 4 Learning

Accessing alternative provision

Alternative provision can be defined as something in which a pupil participates as part of their regular timetable, away from the school's site where they are enrolled, and not led by school staff.

It is expected that the commissioning guidance document (.docx format, 322Kb) will be used to commission Alternative education for pupils who are:

  • At risk of exclusion from school; or
  • Permanently excluded from school; or
  • Otherwise require alternative educational provision to meet their educational entitlement, for instance in line with an Education, Health and Care Plan or is a Looked After Child with no school place.

Finding approved alternative provision providers

The approved alternative provider list shows providers who have applied to and passed the our Compliance, Quality and Financial Standards under the own Alternative Education Provision requirements and have successfully gained a place on the Council's Dynamic Purchasing System for Alternative Provision.

What should I do if I am considering AP for students with EHCP?

Contact our SEN Casework Team for further details. AP is requested via an annual review. 

Occupational therapy, physiotherapy or speech and language

Occupational therapy

The Occupational Therapy Service helps children participate in everyday life and become as independent as possible in their setting or  school and at home. It provides assessments, advice, activity programmes, and therapy for children with a range of physical or developmental conditions that affect their daily lives.

For children with motor coordination difficulties before referral,  visit the relevant page where you can find the universal offer of a 12-week programme

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy helps children move and function to the best of their ability, when they have been affected by injury, illness, developmental delay or other disability. The Physiotherapy - Children’s Integrated Therapies can offer advice or a hands-on approach.

Speech and language

Speech and Language Therapy support children and young people who have speech, language, and communication difficulties to develop the best possible communication skills. For some, this might be spoken communication, and for others, it might be learning to use a communication aid or an approach based on signs, symbols, or gestures.

They also assess, treat and advise on eating, drinking and swallowing problems.

Referrals 

For more information about how to refer to any of the Children's Integrated Therapies above, read the make a referral web page.

Translation services

Translation for immunisations

There are services available for arranging immunisations via Oxford Health:

CAMHS access

For support with accessing CAMHS services in other languages.

Apps for translation

  • Google Translate: Works on all devices. You can even take pictures of text to translate.
  • Microsoft Translator: Great for real-time conversations and text.
  • Apple Translate: Available on iPhones and iPads with iOS 14 or later.

Migrant education support

The Migrant Education Team contact details are:

If you are unsure which contact would be better, then Charlotte James will be happy to discuss and unpick the child's needs and offer support or signpost you to relevant services.

Asylum and refugee resources

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

SEND Code of Practice clearly states (6.24)

“Identifying and assessing SEN for children or young people whose first language is not English requires particular care. Schools should look carefully at all aspects of a child or young person’s performance in different areas of learning and development or subjects to establish whether lack of progress is due to limitations in their command of English or if it arises from SEN or a disability. Difficulties related solely to limitations in English as an additional language are not SEN.”

Guidance

The Bell Foundation has guidance on assessing whether a pupil with EAL also has special educational needs.

Support or topic not covered?

If the support or advice you need isn't listed, then you can request support from the SENDCO helpdesk.

Complete the request form