Sensory diet in secondary school. Teachers, please can you help?

[TowelTopia]

DD12 (Year 8) is waiting for an asd assessment. She has been prescribed a ‘sensory diet’ for school which has to be done in one ten minute and one twenty minute block, every day. She will need someone to help her with this at school.

I asked my teacher friend and she laughed telling me teachers barely have time for a tea break and DD has no chance of getting this support.

Can any teachers help whether I should ask the school to do this or is it too much?

It’s a normal bog standard secondary school.

TIA

Should I apply for an EHCP? It doesn’t sound like it will happen without one.

People that prescribe these things often have little to no clue about schools.

It's not even just having a member of staff available (which they won't) it's the space to do it in.

Without an EHCP I’d think it was unlikely to be something that school could commit to. Especially not on a daily basis. That’s a huge commitment of time for just one child with no additional funding.
It’s definitely worth asking and seeing what they say but I’d not get my hopes up.

Absolutely, therapists of all types are notorious for this, not only should they check what is available before recommending interventions but also not set the client up for disappointment.

You could try and get school to start the process for an EHCP, it takes a long time and school will need to prioritise the kids they think need it most. Be prepared for it to very difficult.
The last one we applied for (primary school) was for a 7 year old with little speech, multiple daily meltdowns, serious sensory issues and 3 year behind academically. Requires 1:1 at all times. EHCP was denied as he was deemed to not need it!
You can apply for them yourself but I’ve no idea how that works.

If DD did have an EHCP would that make it easier to make sure it’s done? I know they are hard to get but I could try.

My autistic yr7 has had daily sensory breaks in the secondary schools send base, it includes a variety of activities to help regulate themself. These were timetabled without a EHCP in place as ‘reasonable adjustments’. As a parent you can apply for a needs assessment for a EHCP it sounds like your child may need the extra support it can bring

Absolutely, therapists of all types are notorious for this, not only should they check what is available before recommending interventions but also not set the client up for disappointment.

Errr no. Therapists should state what a persons needs are and what is required to meet them. They should never being adjusting provision to fit in with a school/service feel like providing.

There are clearly quite a few on here who don't understand sensory support/circuits and why it's needed. It's not something that can just be done at home instead.

Speak to your senco op as if they already have something similar set up it may not be an issue, but i too think it's highly likely you will require an EHCP to get this in place.

Even with an EHCP, this almost certainly won't get done in a mainstream secondary school.

I say this as the parent of a child who has had an EHCP for 5 years across 3 schools, and has basically never had any of the sensory provision implemented.

They just won't do it. They should do it, they'll nod and say yes yes yes we can do that, they'll take the money intended to provide it, but they won't actually do it. I'd bet you a tenner.

(Signed, one exhausted and very cynical parent of an autistic 13 yr old)

They should be recoemmending services and interventions that are available and accessible, otherwise it just sits there being irrelevant as a recommendation.

It’s not about what schools ‘feel like’ providing! It’s what they got money for. What they’ve got trained staff for.
Which is usually none of these things.
No money and no staff means you Can’t provide it, not that you just don’t ‘feel’ like it.

They should recommend what's needed and if that's not normally available within school then the pupil should have an EHCP.

@YarisKaris you saved me a long post! A child’s needs can’t be made to fit a school environment, if the school can’t meet the recommendations then an EHCP should be applied for and then the most appropriate options can be considered (1:1, other provision etc).

Sensory diets absolutely do get implemented in mainstream sensory schools but that’s a slightly strange way of doing it OP as sensory diets shouldn’t be that prescriptive because the demands of each day can be very different. Little and often and proactive rather than reactive usually works best.

Lots of mainstream secondary schools are brilliant but many are a long way behind primary schools and sensory needs don’t disappear between year 6 and 7!

*mainstream secondary schools!

That's what EHCPs and high needs funding are for are for. Last time I checked, schools can apply for both when required to meet additional needs outside their usual resources.

That was for @Smartiepants79

In theory, this should be a simple thing to accommodate. In reality and put simply; there just simply aren’t enough staff.
A sendco would certainly want this to happen if it was going to have positive outcomes on the learning but without any extra one to one funding, I know my mainstream school would not be able to provide any staff for this. It should be a TA that provided this support but in my school there aren’t even enough to cover access arrangements at exam times at present and those that we do have don’t ever get a break time. Heck, one pupil in my school has severe emotional needs and is known to throw things at teachers as his coping mechanism. This was raised on my risk assessment when pregnant as he was in my class but nothing could be done as there aren’t enough staff and low and behold, three weeks before my due date, he threw something directly at my stomach…he still had no TA support even after that (even just in my lessons).
Perhaps your school has more resources but I would be applying for the EHCP as I don’t see it happening without it. It’s a sad reality I’m afraid.

Speak with the SENCO in the school and see if anything can be done day to day. In the meantime, apply for a EHCP. You need quite a bit of evidence and even those with a diagnosis sometimes get denied! It’s a crazy system

They can apply for it.
Not necessarily going to get it though…
Do you work in education?
Did you read what wrote about EHCP not being awarded even for those with really very severe needs?
We have several children who all need interventions you are talking about. None of them have currently been awarded any additional funding. We are doing what we can but we’ve had to cut staff this year due to costs. We simply do not have the staff available to provide all these things. My headteacher has actually been running some of these interventions. It’s not a long term viable solution.

Who prescribed this? I should imagine this is something that could be carried out during break and lunch times.

This would be done in my school by a teaching assistant who would have it planned into their day. Speak to the senco as your first port of call. It wouldn’t be an issue in my school at all, but we are very inclusive and forward thinking (and decently funded).

Sensory diet in a secondary school with no ehcp will be very hard to implement. They just won't have the staff. They might have sensory circuits that dc could join with a personalised programme though.

Does your dc exhibit difficulties in school that school staff will want to support or is she a masker?

I'd wait and ask school in September and see what they say. If they say no then gather evidence and apply for an ehcp yourself.

How does your dc's asd impact their daily life, in school, home and community?

Please don’t email the SENCO in the holidays, they really won’t thank you and I would be extremely surprised if any would apply for an EHCP at this time.

Whilst the schools should put this in place, and wouldn’t normally need an EHCP as it is within the realms of the notional SEN funding, there is a desperate shortage of TAs and support in general. That shouldn’t be a reason needs aren’t met, but how do you juggle the individual needs of all the students without enough staff? Statutory provision has to come first. I would be extremely surprised if you could get an EHCP for 2.5 hours of sensory diet provision across the week, unless there are other needs that are unable to be met. The LA will say that it can be managed in school budgets, which it potentially could, but not when they can’t employ the staff to do it.

The advice already given is sound. Ask to meet with the SENCO and see what the school can manage.

@Smartiepants79 no I 'work' (volunteer) in send law. Something many schools could do with a lot more training in.

Without an EHCP, this is unrealistic and the OT is overstepping the mark if she.he has said it has to be done.
2.5 hours a week would cost the school approx £50 a week is staff costs, over 39 weeks that equates to just short of £2000 from what will be a very overstretched SEN budget.
As a Senco, this is something I would hope to provide for a child via an EHCP under the direction of the LA SEN services. You could always suggest that the OT comes into school to assist with the therapy?