SEN Assessment Process
The British School in The Netherlands is proud of its reputation for high quality Special Educational Needs provision and works hard to ensure that all applications are dealt with as quickly and thoroughly as possible. The Senior Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (Junior Schools) or Head of Learning Support (Senior School) review all applications of students with Special Educational Needs and provide their advice to the School’s admissions team.
Parents must provide school reports, details of assessments and reports from specialists (with translations as necessary) at the time of application for a place at the School. This enables the school to make correct judgements about the level of support that the student will need when joining the school.
Sometimes the school will request that further assessment is carried out before a student’s application can be considered further. The school may also request that the funding of additional expenses for future assessment (for example, by an educational psychologist) be guaranteed before a place is offered at the school.
The school is only able to offer places to children with complex needs, providing that they will benefit educationally from a mainstream placement. If this is only possible through the provision of a Learning Support Assistant, then the parents must guarantee funding for these additional expenses before a place is offered. Due to restrictions of space, facilities and personnel trained to work with such students, the School may, in some cases, be unable to offer a place.
It should be noted that the application procedure for children with special educational needs can take longer than other applications. Parents are advised to apply at the earliest opportunity to allow time for the SEN team to consider the application thoroughly.
Levels of Support
The class teachers and the SEN teams at the BSN work together to provide the learning support that the children need. A combination of in-class support and withdrawal from the classroom, for both individual and small group work, is provided by SEN staff all of whom have specialist qualifications. The progress of children receiving support is monitored and recorded, with consultation and feedback to parents being seen as a vital and integral part of SEN support.
The school is proud of its record of integrating children with special educational needs into its mainstream classes. For children who have complex learning needs, their needs may only be met through the provision of a specially designated Learning Support Assistant. The school appoints and trains Learning Support Assistants, who work under the direction of the SEN team. There are additional costs connected with the provision of a Learning Support Assistant – please contact the school for more details.
Sometimes children may require the additional support of outside experts, such as speech therapists or educational psychologists. The SEN team work closely with professionals in the community and can advise parents who are looking for additional help for their children.