Can anyone explain SEN provision in Scottish schools to me?

[tobypercy]

DS9 is autistic, diagnosis came in Feb 2020 after being referred by the school a few years ago. Due to the timing (schools closed weeks after his diagnosis) we haven't really had a proper talk with the school yet, I guess I need to remind them of that.

He's in P6, and has a few support measures in place. We've had a "form 4" discussion with his class teacher but I don't really understand what a form 4 is, and whether there is more that should be happening. I've looked through the ScotGov website but it's all jargon and means nothing to me.

We'll need to think high schools soon - the "cluster" one which the vast majority of kids from his school go to has very limited special needs provision. So if there is paperwork he should have then it's important to get it in place this year. I also think his problems are getting worse recently which doesn't fill me with confidence for high school :(

I keep seeing mention on here of EHCPs but I don't think they exist in Scotland - maybe there is a different name?

No personal experience but this website might be be helpful?

enquire.org.uk/

maybe try the Scotsnet board? (It's under "Other Stuff")

The provision might depend on local authority, size of school and what severity your child is.

Contact NSA or Scottish Autism- they might steer you in the right direction (local branch).

If you’re on fb search for autism support groups-they are often lead by parents and they can have lots of information about what and where you can get in terms of support.

Good luck 🙂

Fb support group that is local to you.

A GIRFEC Form 4 is a child’s plan. There will be a member of the SLT responsible for ensuring children are on staged intervention to ensure they get the support that they need. You don’t say what level of support your child requires but my advice would be to contact the school and ask for a meeting with whoever is responsible for staged intervention. Transition to High School normally starts after the October break for children needing an enhanced transition so it’s worth starting the ball rolling now and chasing this up.

I’m very surprised that the school haven’t been having regular staged intervention meetings with you to discuss your child’s needs and ensure that they’re being met, however some schools aren’t as good as others in this aspect. I hope you get it sorted, but please do call and get a meeting arranged as organising enhanced transition can take time.

Thanks all, particularly @CottageOnTheHill

We've had a few calls with the class teacher, but by the sound of it there should be more. I will chase up the school and ask for a meeting - I'm more confident to do that now so thanks for that.

I did try contacting our local support group (recommended by CAMHS at diagnosis) a few months ago - the only contact information provided was an email and they never replied. I'll have another go now things are opening up a bit more.

He does manage mostly in mainstream classes but his focus is often non-existent. We thought his diagnosis might be inattentive ADHD for a while. But then sometimes he really is paying attention, it just doesn't look like it! On the few topics that really grab him, he can focus very strongly, and it's hard to get him to move on. I do a 15 minutes a day maths website with him, it's very interactive and targeted at his level but I commonly have to nudge him back to it every 2 minutes. He really struggles putting pen to paper too (they do let him use ipad & keyboard for some writing tasks and that helps). I suspect the best thing for him at school would simply be extra staffing so that someone can nudge him every 2 minutes but I don't expect that's possible.