Where does law stand on how behind a child has to be to trigger Educational Phycologist

[Childlaw2014]

My dd is one of the eldest in year 2.

Didn't have her alphabet, (tutor over half term sorted that out)

Is on level 5 Oxford Reading and is a comfortable level 5. Gets between 0 and 3 in spelling test. I've not been told by the school but she goes down to year 1 for maths, has extra phonics.

The tutor I saw recommend testing for auditory processing and dyslexia. She said was /saw getting mixed up and some other signs.

The doctor said '' I don't know how to request that ask the school '' today we met with the teacher who said..

We don't test for dyslexia here.

I asked about triggering educational psychologist, and teacher said dd isn't bad enough. She said... If she was reception level but she's breaking through year 1.

So what is behind in law terms to trigger Ep who then triggers... Ap tests and dyslexia tests. Thank you

In the meantime ask the school to do the 'phonological assessment battery'. She may be a touch to young but its good at flagging if there are processing delays and or gaps in her knowledge. The school may not be able to afford an EP but they might afford this as it can be used with lots of children. The other thing is Nessy which has a screening test and is a reading app for children with dyslexia that a lot of schools have bought.
Obviously pursue the other stuff to but these are quicker to sort

www.gl-assessment.co.uk/products/phonological-assessment-battery-phab/

I’m a SENCo and would not appreciate being told to do the PhAB as we don’t have it and I don’t have a budget to buy it!

There are free resources available which are not standardised though, and these can be used to identify where any gaps lie, such as ‘The Ultimate Guide to Phonological awareness’ which the school may find useful.

Once dyslexia etc is confirmed then we get the echp.

This is unlikely.

There is a difference between asking and telling fedup! People are free to say no its not appropriate. My school bought it as did my sons school as i asked if they had it.

It costs the school hundreds to get an Ed psych in.

Not necessarily. Some schools "buy in" EP time and allocate it as appropriate for pupils who need it.

not necessarily. Some schools "buy in" EP time and allocate it as appropriate for pupils who need it.

But it’s still costing the school hundreds no matter how they buy it in...

There isn't an automatic right to an EP assessment. If your child might need an EHCP, you can ask for an assessment under the Children and Families Act 2014: the criteria are that the child might have SEN and might need support through an EHCP. The second limb of that test basically requires it to be demonstrated that the child is not making progress and/or needing help which is beyond the resources normally available to mainstream schools. If assessment is refused, you have a right of appeal and over 85% of such appeals are conceded by local authorities or won by parents.

If assessment is agreed, the council has obtain advice and information from various sources, including an educational psychologist, before deciding whether to issue an EHCP.

You might find SOS SEN's booklets helpful: www.sossen.org/shop247/index.php?cPath=22

But it’s still costing the school hundreds no matter how they buy it in...

But (a) that is for a number of pupils and (b) if they don't use the time they have bought for pupils who need it, it's wasted money.

Beveren “The second limb of that test basically requires it to be demonstrated that the child is not making progress and/or needing help which is beyond the resources normally available to mainstream schools.“

Sorry that’s incorrect and sounds like local guidance rather than the legal position. There is only one legal test.

But (a) that is for a number of pupils and (b) if they don't use the time they have bought for pupils who need it, it's wasted money.

It’s not wasted-it would be used on another child who needed it or rolled over to the next year and used then.

Aside from the LEA allocating EP time for Statutory assessments, we have to buy in our own additional EP time. This is either paying for x number of sessions (which I allocate where needed) or by additional 0.5 of a day or 1 day of EP time. Either way we do it, we have to pay hundreds of pounds to get an EP in.

No, it isn't incorrect, Ketomeato. It refers to the test for whether to issue an EHCP.

@fedup21, do you refer pupils for EHC needs assessments without getting EP reports?

Yes, I have done and they have gone through. Not usually though-we buy in blocks of EP time and use where appropriate. It is expensive.

Beveren yes you’re right x

Fed up your comments are confusing me.

What does your school, or you do when a child is very behind and needs extra support then?

Where does your budget go?

I'm getting the impression that schools and teachers don't flag things up, because it's better to keep difficulties quiet and off their money books?

BTW dd is 7 years old. She's one of the eldest in her class and is one of the most behind.

The educational psychology profession as a whole is becoming increasingly unwilling to 'diagnose' dyslexia due to the fact that there is no actual agreed-upon test for it and due to the fact that there is NO strategy or provision that you'd give to a dyslexic child that you wouldn't also give to a child without a diagnosis. It's a real hot topic at the moment for the profession. Some EPs don't even want to use the term dyslexia, instead preferring 'literacy difficulties.'

You may find private EPs willing to give a diagnosis but that's because, of course, these diagnoses pay for their mortgage. But there is nothing that they could suggest that wouldn't also work for general 'poor readers.'

In our area, the schools don't test for dyslexia. You have to pay privately for assessment.

I would recommend asking the school to use dyslexia friendly strategies and teaching as they can do this regardless of any diagnosis

Agree with this.

If a child was working one year below age related expectations in literacy, as yours is, and the gap is widening, they would most likely be put on the SEN register and targeted provision would be put in place to support them to make progress. Appropriate assessments would be carried out to see where the areas of need were. We would not offer any sort of dyslexia screening below year 3 as they are notoriously inaccurate at this age. We could not carry out dyslexia testing as we are not qualified. Our LEA does not fund EP time for dyslexia screening so if parents want this to take place, they pay and go to a nearby private clinic where a qualified specialist teacher/assessor will assess.

If a child was working at P scales (or equivalent) in Y2, I would be looking at getting an EP in to assess them. This would depend on funding, EP availability and other needs in the school.

What is p scales.

What about auditory processing as well fed up..

At the moment we know she's not learning so how do find out what the issues are. It's really confusing.

My other concern is... Let's say she's tested for dyslexia and has this, and auditory processing.. There is not much the school can do in terms of proper special help.

So at the moment moment I'm thinking a tutor with actual special needs experience and dyslexia training maybe the very best thing I can do for her at the moment?

There's so much the school can do in terms of help - even without a diagnosis. So many classroom adaptations can be put into place - lots of suggestions for a 'dyslexia friendly classroom' - assistive technology can also be introduced for her to record and produce her report...

Record and produce her work I mean - I have reports on the brain right now!

What is p scales.

P scales were devised so that progress could be measured and recorded for those children who were not able to achieve, or record progress against the National Curriculum levels. They originated in specialist provision. From your brief description, it sounds as if your dd is working considerably above the level a child would be measured against P scales.

What does your school, or you do when a child is very behind and needs extra support then?
A child would be on what is now called 'SEN Support'. There should be some form of written plan in place, with targets as to what the child will hopefully achieve in 3 months time, and a section where the school record what they are doing, over and above what all dc receive, in order to help the child reach this targets....... From your earlier posts, this would be, as an example, the 'extra phonics' you mention.

Where does your budget go?

Well, for a start, on the member of staff providing the 'extra phonics'

I'm getting the impression that schools and teachers don't flag things up, because it's better to keep difficulties quiet and off their money books?
Well, you'd be wrong, in that impression.

P scales are attainment targets for children with SEN working below Y1 (old Level 1) but these are being phased out.

There is lots a school can do.

If you were to have her externally tested and she was found to have dyslexia or dyslexic traits, you would be given a long report with suggestions in it for her.