We know that for some children specialist provision is what is required, but for others it is possible for mainstream schools to meet your child’s needs. As part of the process, our team will work with you to determine the best place for your child and what provision can be put in place in their mainstream school. This may include support and advice from a specialist teacher or educational psychologist and a teacher from the most suitable special school or learning centre. For many children, being in their local school with their friends, is the best option and with support this can be made entirely possible.
If specialist provision is needed, your SEND Provision Lead will look for suitable schools, starting with the closest option. You can also suggest schools you prefer. We’ll let you know the panel’s decision within 3 working days. We work with Dorset Special Schools every three weeks to review available spaces and ensure the right school can meet your child’s needs based on their education health and care plan.
If your child isn’t offered a place in one of our special schools, those schools provide outreach support to mainstream schools to help them implement inclusive practices.
If you would like a further conversation about your particular situation, please contact us at letstalksend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
We know that a small number of children and young people might need some additional support in their education and learning. Sometimes they are offered good alternative provision for a short-term period. During this if they maintain contact with their peers and home school, they can often be successfully supported to return to their home school or onto their next setting, helping them to feel more confident and able to thrive at their original setting.
For some young people, who are in alternative provision over a longer period, it can be harder to support them returning to their home school. We always encourage alternative provision to be short-term and focused on specific learning goals for the child. We encourage parents and carers to work with their child or young person’s usual setting first – it may be that they can provide additional support or mentoring.
There is also information on the Dorset SEND Local Offer on exclusions and alternative provision.
We are aware of the numbers of children in mainstream schools who may require specialist provision or a special school place. We are actively working to address this. We are using data analysis to forecast future demand and are developing new provisions, including primary inclusion hubs and satellite provision, enhanced outreach for mainstream special classrooms, to provide tailored support for children with complex needs. In line with our belonging and SEND strategy we are working towards to ensuring we are meeting as many children’s needs as possible in a mainstream setting.
The V-SEND trial is being used to assess a child’s needs and supporting the schools training and readiness to meet children with additional needs. We know it is not the answer for all children, and for those requiring specialist provision we will work with parents and carers and their setting, so they receive appropriate placements.
Inclusion Hubs are being developed within mainstream schools to provide specialised support for children with complex needs, with trained staff working under the guidance of specialist teachers or SENDCOs to ensure appropriate interventions and strategies are in place.
2. Simplifying the EHC Assessment Process
We acknowledge that the Education, Health, and Care (EHC) assessment process can be time-consuming. While we continue to explore ways to streamline the process and reduce administrative burdens for families and professionals, it is also essential to gather comprehensive information to fully understand a child’s needs.
3. High Needs Funding Challenges
We recognise that High Needs Funding remains a concern. For children with an EHCP, we are looking at ways to simplify funding applications, including reducing repetitive form-filling. For children awaiting an EHCP, we are working to improve access to funding, ensuring that schools can secure the necessary support as quickly and efficiently as possible.
For further support or to discuss specific concerns, please email letstalksend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
Schools are expected to follow the DfE guidance Working together to improve school attendance. you can see the statutory guidance for maintained schools, academies, independent schools and local authorities August 2024. Our inclusion leads work with our schools to support them to follow this guidance and will discuss the need of individual children.
In some circumstances a child’s education may be provided partially at school and partially at another educational setting or through education otherwise than at a school. This is usually when a child has additional health needs that means they are at risk of not reaching their full potential within a school context. This is true for children whose health needs prevent them from attending school for an extended period or their health needs restrict then from attending school such as chronic fatigue, cancer treatment or a mental health condition. The child may have an Individual Health Care Plan (IHCP) which will have been developed with the relevant medical professional, family and child. Any education otherwise should be planned and be reviewed together.
If the child has an EHCP and it is clear that the child requires alternative provision, then the school should call an interim review of the EHCP and let the SEND provision lead know.
We understand how difficult it can be when a mainstream school isn't meeting a child’s needs, but they won’t formally acknowledge this. If you feel your child needs a specialist setting or an inclusion hub, the best time to raise this is during the EHCP review process. You can request that this is recorded in the review notes and discussed with the SEND Provision Lead.
The SEND Provision Lead can then consult with schools that have inclusion hubs and present the request to the locality panel for consideration. If the panel agrees, the request will go to the admissions planning meeting for that hub, which takes place every half-term.
We are sorry that you clearly feel let down by us. We understand that it is frustrating to wait for a response, especially when it comes to your child’s support. While Dorset Council’s standard response time is 5 working days, we recognise that there are times when delays occur, and we are working on improving this. Some of these delays are due to the high volume of cases we manage and recent staff turnover, but we know that doesn’t make the wait any easier for you.
We are also reviewing our Children and Families Charter and Service Standards to ensure better clarity and timeliness in our responses.
If you’re experiencing a longer wait than expected, please reach out to us at letstalksend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk with your details, so we can take a look into it.
Masking affects a range of needs, not just neurodiverse children, it’s about concealing how we truly feel, and many young people experience it.
We’ve provided schools with a quick guidance sheet on masking, including signs to look for and how to support students. It’s also covered in Autism Education Trust training as part of the Autism in Schools initiative. Identifying masking can be challenging, so asking curious questions, through educational psychologists, specialist teachers, and special school expertise is key.
We recommend you talk with your child’s school SENCO in the first instance, to have an open conversation about these concerns. Mainstream schools receive outreach support from special schools, offering advice and guidance. While training is valuable its real impact comes from applying it, engaging in conversations and thinking creatively to meet students' needs.
All children and young people should receive high quality teaching (known as Quality First Teaching) through ordinarily available provision. We call this universal support. Some children and young people need additional and different support. We call this SEN support. Following implementation of the Graduated Approach, if the school feels that further support is required to implement interventions or increase support then we would recommend the school considers whether an EHC needs Assessment is required. You can read more about the Graduated Approach.
You can book a session with one of our Educational Psychologists, we also have the Family Support and advice line 01305 228558.
We would be happy to pick up a further conversation with you around your child and ask you contact us through letstalksend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
Some children and young people need additional and different targeted or specialist support. We call this SEN support. To help ensure the right support if being given to children, schools follow something called the Graduated Approach. Each school has a Specialist Teacher allocated to them who can support and advise about dyscalculia.
In the first instance, we always recommend you have an honest conversation with your child’s education setting, so it’s good that you have already done this. Some parents and carers may find that there is support available for them, and that together they may be able to get a plan to help their child.
In your case, the school have told you they cannot help, We would recommend you speak to your Locality Inclusion lead about what steps can be taken to get your child the best possible education. You reach them by contacting the Education and Early Help (SEND) Team.
If you would like to pick up an individual conversation about your situation, please contact us at letstalksend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
We are sorry to hear the adaptations being made are not having the impact on your child, and they are still struggling. Our approach is to first try to meet children’s needs in their local school. Schools can access support from the Dorset Learning Centres (DLC) to receive specialist advice and implement tailored strategies to help your child. If referrals to DLC have already been made, we recommend following up with the school or your locality team for updates on progress.
We are also expanding primary inclusion hubs and satellite provision to provide additional specialist support within mainstream schools. Satellite provision allows special schools to operate classrooms within mainstream settings, offering opportunities for integration where appropriate. Inclusion Hubs have trained staff, overseen by a Specialist Teacher or SENCO, to support children with complex needs.
Since your child is in the process of having an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) drafted, we recommend speaking with their SEND Provision Lead for guidance on next steps. They can advise on available options, including alternative provisions, outreach support, and appropriate middle school settings.
For further support, contact your locality team.
Mainstream school teachers receive ongoing training to support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Each school arranges professional development, often led by the headteacher, with additional training provided by the local authority.
Key training includes:
Schools also receive follow-up support to ensure training is effectively embedded, ensuring all staff are equipped to support SEND students.
Thank you for asking about the framework. This is managed by our commissioning and brokerage team.
We use the Arranging Alternative Provision (AP) guidance to guide our use of AP.
There are currently 76 children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan in Dorset who are electively home educated.
There is further information about educating your child at home and flexi-schooling.
There are some things in law that the local authority will do differently for children who are electively home educated, for example we do not have a duty under section 22 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to assess every home educated child to see whether they have Special Educational Needs, but we can still work with parent carers to help them understand how best to support their child. However, every child with an EHCP will have an annual review to discuss their progress against a set of agreed outcomes. You can read more in this in the SEND Code of Practice.
Inclusion Leads in our localities work with families who electively home educate. You can find contact details for the locality teams on this page: Locality teams in Dorset - Dorset Council
