We work alongside a range of specialist services who support us to assess, diagnose and make appropriate provision for pupils with SEND. These include:

Solihull Specialist Inclusion Support Services - SISS

• Social, Emotional and Mental Health Team - we pay for 80 hours of specialist support a year. This is used for observations of pupils, meetings with parents, 1:1 diagnostic work with pupils, 1:1 therapeutic work with pupils, production of reports and for staff training.
• ASD Team - support from this team is free to school and targeted at pupils with a diagnosis of autism who are struggling in school. It includes observations of pupils, advice and support to the SENCO, teachers, parents and carers. We can also apply for ISP support where a member of the team will come in to school and work with a child on a specific difficulty over the course of a few weeks.
• Sensory and Physical Impairment Team - pupils in school with diagnosed hearing loss, visual impairments or physical disabilities are supported by members of this team who visit to support pupils in class, provide advice to teachers and parents and conduct appropriate staff training.
• Speech Language and Communication Disorders Team - This team will only work with pupils who have a diagnosed speech or language disorder and referrals are made via the NHS speech therapists. They offer blocks of support through staff from the two speech and language ARCs and provide targets for pupils and support to staff as well as meeting with parents.

Solihull SEND team

Early Years Support and Assessment Team EYSAT - support from this team is free to school, a specialist member of staff will observe the child in our Nursery and provide advice and support to staff and parents and assist with referrals to other services or for an EHCP if required. Support is only available from this team in the first two terms of Nursery and in pre-school settings.

Educational Psychology EP - The school has a named EP whose time we buy in each term.  She will assess or work with individual children, advise teachers and provide training as required.

SENTAA

SENTAA is a private organisation who provide learning assessments of pupils. We pay for 120 hours of support from this organisation each year. They visit school to work 1:1 with pupils assessing their reading, writing and mathematical skills and underlying ability. Their reports provide an overview of the pupils’ ability and suggest appropriate actions and interventions to support their learning. They can diagnose dyslexia and dyscalculia.  In addition, they provide training to school staff.

NHS

In addition to these school specific services, we are also able to make referrals to NHS bodies including:

• Speech therapy - we can refer for blocks of speech support or for diagnosis of language difficulties. Since Covid there has been a long wait for this service.
• Occupational Therapy - we make referrals for this service to diagnose specific physical difficulties such as dyspraxia (although a diagnosis must be confirmed by a paediatrician) and suggest interventions and equipment to support children with physical difficulties, also to support pupils with high levels of sensory need. Note there is currently a long waiting list for this service.
• Specialist Assessment Service - Where needed we can refer to the SAS for a diagnosis of autism. This is a lengthy process as we are required to collect evidence over at least 2 terms and involve external specialists.