Norfolk’s Local Offer
What a setting will do if they are concerned about
your child’s progress
Easy read guide for parents
Who is this guide for?
This guide may be useful if you:

are a parent

you have a learning disability

you have a child who has special
educational needs or disabilities.
If you do not have a learning disability, this guide
can still help you to understand the support that
children and young people who have special
educational needs and disabilities can get.
In this guide, the person who parents look after will
be called ‘a child’. They will be called a child no
matter what age they are.
Thank you to Photosymbols for the images in this guide and the Department
for Education and Mencap for some of the definitions of important words
used in this guide.
What a setting will do if they are concerned about your child’s
progress.
Children and young people do not all learn at the
same rate or in the same way.
To find out how your child learns best your child’s
teacher will try different ways to teach your child.
This is called differentiating the curriculum.
Sometimes a teaching assistant will help your child
with their work, but this work will always be given
by their teacher.
If your child does not make the progress they are
expected to make, even after trying different ways
of teaching, your child may have special
educational needs.
You must be told if the school or college is
concerned about your child’s progress and they
plan to do something to help.
You will be contacted to have your say about
what support your child gets at school or college.
You might be asked to go to a meeting with your
child’s teacher to talk about what your views and
wishes are, and what outcomes you would like.
The school will then see how best to support your
child, this is called special educational needs
support.
See our “How schools and colleges support
children and young people” guide for more details
Most children and young people who have
special educational needs are very well supported
and included in the everyday activities of our
mainstream schools and colleges.
If your child still does not make the progress they
are expected to make, even with special
educational needs support, you or your child’s
school may ask the county council to carry out an
assessment of your child’s needs.
This could lead to your child receiving an
Education, health and care plan.
See our “Education, health and care plans” guide
for more details on Education, health and care
plans.
If you have any questions or worries about your
child’s support in school or college you can
contact Norfolk Send Partnership Information,
advice and Support Service for free, impartial
advice and support.
Questions you might want to ask
You might want to find out more information about
the support your child can get in school or college.
Here are some questions you might want to ask
your child’s school or college:
• Who can I talk to about the support my child
gets at school or college?
• What support does the school or college
offer for students who have special
educational needs and disabilities?
• What sort of things does my child need help
with?
• What support can my child get to help
them?
• What decisions can I be involved in?
Important words
Assess / assessment is a way of working out what
kind of support someone needs.
Children are aged between 0 and 16.
College is where young people go to learn skills
that they might need when they are older.
If someone is aged between 16 and 25 years old,
then they can go to a college.
The county council is the group of people who look
after things in a local area like services to support
children and young people who have special
educational needs and disabilities.
Decisions are choices people make about what
happens in their life.
Some people may need support to make
decisions. For example, having things explained in
a different way.
The differentiated curriculum is a way of teaching
lessons and making school activities accessible to
people with different abilities, knowledge and skills.
This could include small group support, special
equipment, or a particular teaching program.
A person who has disabilities:
• may have problems with their health
• may find it harder to do things than other
people
An education, health and care plan says what
support a child or young person who has special
educational needs must get.
An information, advice and support service is
where children, young people and parents can go
to find out more information about special
educational needs and disabilities and how to get
the support they need.
Parents are people who look after children and
young people.
Often that is a mum or dad. But some children and
young people are looked after by other people
who act as parents. This could be:
• a grandparent
• a brother or sister
• a carer.
School is where children and young people go to
learn skills that they might need when they are
older.
If someone is aged between 2 and 5 years old,
they can go to a nursery school.
If someone is aged between 5 and 16 years old,
they must receive an education.
A child or young person who has special
educational needs may:
• find it harder to learn than other people of
their age
• face challenges that make it hard to go to
school or college
• need different or extra help to learn.
Special educational needs support is the different
or extra help that children and young people who
have special educational needs can get in school
or college.
Young people are aged between 16 and 25.