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Secondary School

When children and young people move between phases of education parents, carers or young people often have to think about what school or college should be named in their education, health and care (EHC) plan. The phase transfer process for young peopl with an EHC plan begins when they are in year 5 if they are transferring to secondary school.

Regulation 18 of The SEND Regulations 2014 states  that the EHC plan must be reviewed and amended before the 15th February in the year they transfer. This deadline is very important because if the amended EHC plan names a setting you do not agree with, you will have a right to appeal the to the SEND Tribunal, and you would ideally want your appeal to be decided in time for a September start date at the new setting.

You need to understand what is expected of you in secondary school, be prepared for the level and style of work, and be challenged to build on progress at primary school.

There is a 4 stage process.

  1. The Local Authority reviews the EHC plan.
  2. The Local Authority sends its proposed changes and a copy of the plan (with section I left blank) to you within 4 weeks of the annual review meeting.
  3. You have at least 15 days to make comments about the proposed changes and content of the plan and to either request that a particular school (from the list in section 38(3) Children and Families Act 2014) is named or to express a preference for an independent placement
  4. The Local Authority issues a final amended EHC plan, with notice of appeal rights, by the statutory deadlines in regulation 18 of The SEND Regulations 2014.
  5. If you get the school you have asked for – the process is over. If you do not, you have the right to appeal.

This plan gets shared with the secondary school and they will most likely ask for you to make a special visit to the new school before the end of the summer term.

How to choose the right secondary school for you (whether you have an EHCP or not)

  • Ask whether you can meet with the SENCO (Special Educational Needs
  • Coordinator) at the secondary school.
  • Discuss the transition to secondary school during your child’s annual review in
  • year 5 or before to allow yourself more time to be prepared.
  • Gather as much information about the individual schools as possible.
  • Information you can access includes (some of these can be found on the
  • school’s website):
    • The school prospectus
    • SEN information report or School SEN Offer
    • A copy of the school’s Ofsted report
    • A copy of the school’s policies and procedures (especially the SEN and bullying policy)
    • Talking to parents that send their children to the school
    • Talking to the teachers

Before your visit

After you have read the information you’ve accumulated and decided on the schools you think would be the best fto look at, a visit to the school can give you a real understanding of the environment and support the school can provide for you.

Things to consider:

  • When would you want to visit (Going at different times through the day can give you a real sense of the school)
  • Writing a list of questions that you might want to ask (look below at some suggested questions)
  • Transportation (Is the school easy to get to?)
  • Will you meet staff members who would be involved with you?
  • Will you be able to talk to parents of pupils that attend the school?
  • Will you have a guided tour or are you allowed to wander around?

Questions you might want to ask before visiting the school:

  • Will the size of the class suit me?
  • How will the school cater for my needs?
  • How does the school support children with SEN?
  • Does the school know anything about my disability?
  • Has the school ever taught any other children with the same disability?
  • Are all areas of the school accessible to me?
  • How will I be supported outside lesson time?
  • How does the school deal with difficult behaviour?
  • How is bullying dealt with?
  • How does the school help children mix and make friends?
  • How does the school communicate with parents?
  • When can I talk to my teacher/s?
  • Can we see a copy of the school’s policy on bullying, SEN and inclusion?
  • Will I be able to have extra visits to the school before they transfer and what arrangements will be made to help me settle in?

Visiting the School

Keep an open mind when visiting the schools and make sure to ask any questions you think might be crucial in your decision on whether you want to go there.

All visits to schools are varied with a different process for each institution, check with your chosen school about the visiting process for young people with SEN on an Open Day.

Constantly keep in mind questions such as:

  • Is the school accessible?
  • Do the staff and pupils look happy?
  • Is there noise or complete silence?
  • Do they have artwork and pictures on the wall or are the walls plain?
  • What does the school do to support children with SEN?

After your visit

After you visit the school a reflective process should take place. This is where you can ask yourself:

  • Did I feel welcome at the school?
  • Did the pupils and teachers seem friendly and helpful?
  • Do I think I would be happy at this school?
  • Did the school answer all of my questions?
  • Will I get the support they need?
  • Is the whole school accessible? (if applicable)
  • Is the school easy to get to?
  • Was it easy to communicate with the teachers and SENCO?
  • Did the school show me what they do to help children with a variety of needs?

 

During my time at school, I found it quite difficult adapting everyday tasks to fit the needs of my EDS, however I did find some things that worked best for me.

First, pear shaped pen grips which helped with finger and hand pain while writing or drawing, you can easily find these online in many colours and sizes.

Second, body braces, I found ankle braces helped me as in school you were on your feet quite often from moving around to different classes to walking to and from school, I simply ordered mine from Amazon as it’s quite difficult to get any prescribed through my uk gps.

Thirdly, joint spray I found that this helped ease the pain on my knees from walking around school all day, and it was nice to have a alternate pain relief instead of oral medication.

Another thing which was helpful was having extra time to move around to classes before the bell rang as it would help avoid corridor rushes and avoiding risk of getting injured from people knocking into you and getting squashed.

Using accommodations and asking for help is never anything to be ashamed of, they are there for you and for a reason education and school is very difficult and if small things like these can help your day-to-day life definitely try them out!

Here Leilani shares her own experience with reasonable adjustments at he Secondary School

There are so many adjustments that can be made in the education system to improve an individual’s access to the education system. They are designed to allow a person that is disadvantaged by a health condition, disability, learning difficulty, or other circumstances to access a similar quality of education to their peers.

They can be so helpful for those attending school with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder, as they can be the difference between pacing and managing at school and being unable to attend at all. Adjustments at school can help people in so many ways and can be more helpful for some than others. It is important to note that if an adjustment works for one person with EDS/HSD, it may not suit another as the conditions effect the individual in so many ways.

How to find out which reasonable adjustments suit you?

This process is mostly trial and error. It is important to communicate with the school and your SENCO team as they can give permission and help you put these adjustments in place. The important thing about these adjustments is that they are reasonable, if it is possible for them to be implemented anything that can help you manage your condition can be considered.

Not all adjustments will suit you, your condition, and your way of learning and so the trial-and-error process is the most important thing as something small can actually make a significant difference.

Examples of reasonable adjustments:

  • All exam adjustments used for regular in class assessments
  • Permission to eat/drink at all times
  • Bathroom passes/Permission to leave for the bathroom
  • Ability to communicate with a member of staff in the classroom
    • Either through a card, or a system to represent how you are doing that day – For example, colour coded laces, hairbands, watch straps etc.
  • Self-heating/Cooling pads for temperature regulation.
  • Permission to wear compression garments
  • Alternative uniform provisions to make it easier to wear/dress
  • Rest breaks in the day and a space to take them in
  • Reduced timetable
  • Flexible remote learning
  • Nurses pass – instead of asking a teacher to leave, placing a card on the table
  • Permission to leave the classroom and walk nearby
  • Tinted glasses – both coloured and light reducing
  • Earplugs/Noise cancelling headphones

These are just some examples of reasonable adjustments that schools can put in place, but it is important to discuss with your school what adjustments they have the funding and capabilities to put in place for you.

There are a multitude of Exam adjustments that can be made to assist students in their exams when they are disadvantaged by a chronic health condition, learning difficulty or disability, including all types of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder. Exam adjustments should be your normal way of learning, and so if you have an exam adjustment it should be one of your reasonable adjustments that you use in your day-to-day school life and should also be used in in-class assessments.

Exam adjustments are extremely important in making exams accessible for those with learning disabilities and health conditions. Most people with any type of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome or Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder find their exams and schoolwork are impacted by their health condition.

They are designed to even the playing field, allowing someone to reach their greatest academic potential. They can help to reduce the impact that your health conditions have on performance with the aim of reducing exam related barriers.

 

What can’t exam adjustments do?

Exam adjustments can do a lot of things, but they aren’t allowed to give you an unfair advantage in the exam room. This means that an example of an exam adjustment isn’t giving you the answers or allowing notes about possible content in the exam when other’s taking it do not get the same.

How to find out which exam adjustments help you?

The process of finding exam adjustments that will work for you can be complicated. It is important to work with your school or exam boards to find out what resources they can provide, and what exam adjustments they can reasonably implement. Developing adjustments does require a bit of creativity as some adjustments may not be possible with certain exam boards or approved by certain schools but if they are altered slightly, they are more likely to be approved.

Exam adjustments can also be adapted to suit you, for example some people may prefer a standing desk to allow them to stretch out and some may prefer having a larger table but still sitting down, however these are both examples of changing the table being used to make the exam less strenuous.

It is also important to use these adjustments in classroom tests and the general school environment, as an adjustment may seem helpful for you in theory, but it may not suit you as much as it does others. In this case you do not want to be experimenting with exam adjustments during your real exams. Most exam adjustments can’t be awarded without evidence of use in day-to-day classroom life, and so this is another reason it is so important to try out different adjustments.

How to get exam adjustments?

It is important to talk to your school and the exams officer at your school. The more information they have about your condition the easier it is to award exam adjustments as tests for intellectual disabilities do not need to be performed unless applicable.

Exam adjustments are awarded based on the symptoms of a condition and not the diagnosis, however a diagnosis can be helpful and so if you have a diagnosis, it can make the process easier. However, any letter mentioning symptoms or impacts of your condition are vital for evidence that the adjustments are necessary.

Examples of Exam Adjustments:

Below are some examples of exam adjustments, these will not all be the right adjustments for you but can provide you with ideas to try.

  • Scribe
  • Practical Assistant
  • Reader/Prompter
  • Laptop (in exam mode)
  • iPad with keyboard (in exam mode)
  • Specialist Keyboards
  • Mobile phone or glide pad for a small space to write on (in exam mode)
    • With the aim of decreasing fatigue
  • Late exam start time
  • Supervised rest breaks
  • Extra Time
  • Dictation
  • Screen Readers
  • Speech-To-Text software
  • Lying down for the exam
  • Standing up for exams
  • Separate Room
  • Bed or flat chair to lie down in rest breaks
  • Snacks in clear bags
  • Non-water drinks (still in a clear water bottle)
  • Medication to be brought into exam room
  • Modified Question Papers
  • Large print or braille papers
  • Coloured Overlays or paper
  • Tinted glasses – both coloured and light reducing
  • Earplugs/Noise cancelling headphones

There are many more exam adjustments that can be beneficial to different individuals, it is just building from the adjustments used in school on a regular basis and adapting them to make them suitable for exam conditions.