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Rebecca Marriage takes a look at recent changes to provision for special educational needs in England, and suggests points to consider when helping a family to make an international relocation with a child with special needs.Parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) often have to battle to get the support they need for their child. When moving between areas in the UK, the process becomes even more challenging. The UK government recognises this, and is updating its system of support in England.For families moving overseas, the situation becomes even more uncertain, with little to no regulation and consistency of integrated support in some international schools.According to recent statistics, more than a fifth of children in England have some form of special educational need. The government considers children to have SEN if they have a learning difficulty that calls for special educational provision to be made for them. All state schools in England are required by law to ensure that help is provided for children with SEN, and every local authority has a responsibility to support the children living in its area.But, by their own admission, the system of support available for children with SEN through the network of local authorities in England is very complex. Teachers, health workers and social care workers often work separately to meet the particular needs of the child. Parents very often have to battle to confirm that their child even requires extra help and to be provided with what is currently known as a statement of special education needs, an official record of the specific needs and requirements of the individual child.It can take years for parents to get an acceptable level of provision, so for them to up sticks and start again will be a not-insignificant task, and the ability to get it right for these families could be a deal-breaker when it comes to accepting a new assignment.This year, the UK government has announced that it wants to make the process easier for parents. From September, there are plans to introduce a single assessment process for education, health and care, which would result in replacing SEN statements with an ‘education, health and care plan’ for children and young people aged 0 to 25 years with SEN. Parents would also be provided with their own personal budgets, to allow them to choose the best services for their family.It is important that parents of a child who is currently receiving assistance in a mainstream school have documentation of everything that is being provided, to enable the new school and authority to make similar provision. A visit and an interview with the headteacher and the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) will also be indispensable.For example, at Marymount International School, an independent girls’ school in London, the learning resources and enrichment programme co-ordinator, Sandra Forrest, is always included, at the earliest possible stage, in the admissions process of students who might need SEN support.“I work very closely with families before they even enrol at Marymount,” says Ms Forrest. “They send the relevant documentation to me when they apply, and I write a report for the headmistress and the admissions director outlining exactly what the student requires in the way of support, and whether or not we can provide that support. If they enrol and are accepted, an IEP [Individualised Education Plan] is developed in conjunction with the families before the student starts school, and is sent to teachers before the student enters their class.”In some cases, though, a mainstream school, no matter how well intentioned, will not suit the child’s needs, and parents will need to investigate a school specialising in the provision of education and care for children with specific learning difficulties, and to cope with particularly demanding emotional and social issues that can arise.Lucia Santi is head of the Holmewood School in London (THSL), an independent co-educational day school for students with high-functioning autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and language, communication and social pragmatic difficulties.“Our aim,” says Ms Santi, “is to enable every child to flourish by encouraging and building upon their unique strengths and interests. In addition to academic achievement, the focus at THSL is on every child’s social, emotional and personal development. This is supported by ensuring each child strengthens his or her independent and living skills, which are key to building confidence and self-esteem.”It is possible that a family could be entitled to an element of funding for the provision of specialist teaching in a school designed around meeting the needs of children with SEN. The local authority will be able to advise.However, for parents of SEN children moving overseas, the situation is even more complex. “International schools are not generally bound by local or national law in regards to special education and learning support provision,” says the European Council of International Schools’ (ECIS) SEN guidance. “Often, schools do not write learning plans for their students.”The ECIS has, in fact, attempted to address the problem by creating, and offering its member schools access to, an International Individual Learning Plan (IILP). The IILP is a document which was developed by the ECIS to record how individual students with learning difficulties were supported at international schools.According to the ECIS, it is “a detailed plan that sets targets for students to achieve and dates for reviews to see what progress has been made”.“A well-written IILP can allow for good communication at the school level between teachers, learning support POTENTIAL specialists and parents, and for the transfer of information between international schools, reducing educational time lost,” says the ECIS. Prospective schools should be able to talk through with parents their system for target setting, monitoring and recording the progress of children with SEN.Reports of a lack of SEN provision in Middle East schools may cause anxiety to parents. Following a damning inspection report by Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority, which identified a weakness in the provision for children with SEN in the independent school sector in Dubai, the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau has increased the focus on special needs assessment in its updated inspection guidelines.Schools must now demonstrate that they can meet the needs of all students, including those with learning difficulties or special talents. Schools in the region teaching the International Baccalaureate or British Curriculum were found to have the best SEN provision.Parents will need reassurance that the school they choose will meet their child’s needs. Properly accredited international schools are a good place to start. ISL Qatar, an international school based in Doha, is an International Baccalaureate World School, as well as being one of the first schools to open as part of the Qatari Supreme Education Council’s Outstanding Schools initiative, and takes its POTENTIAL specialists and parents, and for the transfer of information between international schools, reducing educational time lost,” says the ECIS.“ISL Qatar prides itself on being one of a small number of international schools that provide learning support across the school as part of its access and diversity agenda,” says head of school Chris Charleson. “This forms part of our philosophy to maintain a broad and diverse population of students who can enjoy counselling, language support and special needs support, allowing them to access the mainstream curriculum.”No matter which school parents choose, they should ask about the individual staff who will be helping their child and, ideally, meet them, in person or via video conferencing. Providing honest information about the child’s needs is also vital.Marymount’s Sandra Forrest explains that working very closely with families during the transition is a key to success. “SEN support needs to be individually tailored and flexible in order to be effective,” she says. “This ensures that students who require support for SEN can make as smooth and successful a transition as possible.”

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