Special Needs

We have developed a statement of policy and provision for special education as a result of consultation with parents, local schools and other professionals and organisations. The policy sets out a shared view on principles and values, strategies and approaches and links to the Education Development Plan, the Behaviour Support Plan and other current policies. It also sets out areas where special education will develop over the next few years.

The vast majority of children with special needs will be taught in their local school, but some will need more specialised help.

In some cases, such as a heavy hearing loss, the need for a special approach to educating a particular child will be noted in the very early years. For others, maybe those with emotional difficulties or with dyslexia, it will only be after some time in school that difficulties affecting educational progress will become apparent. In all cases, those who are to teach the child need to know what approaches will be most successful. Identification of special needs starts with the parent and teacher. The Social Care and Learning Department is there to oversee assessments of more severe or complex needs, which will include parental, educational, medical and psychological advice.

The action taken by the Social Care and Learning Department to address special needs varies widely, depending on the individual pupil concerned. Children who are not yet in school and their parents may be supported by a pre-school teacher counsellor. Each school is given additional money to work with pupils with special needs - amongst maybe one in five of pupils in any one age group. Many parents want their child who has special education needs to be educated in their local school. Schools across Bracknell Forest therefore have children with a variety of learning difficulties or physical disabilities and can call on professional advice from educational psychologists or health services.

About 500 youngsters in Bracknell Forest have extra individual help, around half in a local school and half in a special school or unit, based on the outcome of specialist assessment. Their special educational needs include learning difficulties, speech and language difficulties, or physical or medical difficulties, including vision or hearing impairments. Some have emotional or behavioural difficulties.

We have a high commitment to improving literacy and numeracy. Younger children who have difficulties reading, writing or spelling can be considered for help at the local Language and Literacy Centre. Staff there work with the child, as well as offering advice to the school and parents. The National Numeracy Strategy is supported by the Borough, as it is intended to raise the standards achieved in mathematics by all its pupils, including those with special educational needs.

In providing services for special educational needs, we strive to minimise bureaucracy and delay. Services that directly affect the child have a high priority, as does careful consideration of what has been shown to work for children with special needs.