1. DRAFT GUIDANCE CONSULTATION Criteria for applying for an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) for pupils on the Autism Spectrum Introduction: From September 2014 Statements for Special Educational Needs will be replaced by Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs). These will provide legal protection for pupils up to the age of 25. In North Somerset a document has been written setting out the general criteria for applying for an EHCP and with some guidance for those on the autism spectrum. It was always anticipated that in April more detailed criteria and guidance would be produced. This document sets out some ideas about how information could be collected and it would be so helpful to have any feedback about what you think of it. Any feedback should be sent to Jenny.maxwell@n-somerset.gov.uk or ring 01275 885298 or send to Castlewood at Clevedon.Jenny.maxwell@n-somerset.gov.uk The SEND Code of Practice asks whether ‘there is evidence that despite … relevant and purposeful action to identify, assess and meet the special educational needs of the child or young person, the child or young person has not made expected progress’. The criteria means providing information on the following: The following pages set out the type of needs you might see and the ways these needs might be supported. You can highlight the ones that apply if wished. The final grid provides a structure for providing information to the panel so that you can demonstrate the severity of need and that despite support inadequate progress has been made. Evidence of needs Evidence of additional support Impact of support and what difficulties persist What an EHCP would provide

2. Autism and Social Communication Needs Education and Health Care Plan Criteria Needs (please highlight ones that apply): Communication and language 1.Limited verbal communication or no language 2.Repetitive or stereotyped phrases 3.Understanding tends to be literal 4.Significant difficulty with non-verbal communication e.g. body language/facial expressions 5.Difficulties demonstrating joint attention 6.May use behaviour to communicate, including challenging/inappropriate behaviour or withdrawn/anxious behaviour Emotional and social development 1.Limited understanding of own feelings and difficulty recognising feelings in others 2.Lack of awareness of others, difficulty with turn taking or seeing things from the perspective of others 3.Limited or inappropriate peer interactions 4.Approaches others in unusual or inappropriate way 5.Withdrawn/isolated or dependent on adults 6.High anxiety 7.Negative about self Learning and flexible thinking: Requires adult intervention/supervision/prompting for self-care routines Needs support to maintain attention on tasks Repetitive/ritualistic behaviour prevents learning Difficulty with motivation, including response to classroom rewards Difficulty organising self and materials for a task even with visual and verbal prompts and adult modelling May not generalise learning from one setting to another Difficulty managing change even if prepared Own interests prevent focus on others/tasks Sensory issues: Unusual response to some sensory stimuli Extreme reaction or difficulty tolerating stimuli such as noise May seek sensory feedback such as rocking, mouthing At risk of self-harm due to sensory needs

3. Types of support Examples of support that may have been used please highlight what has been done At the bottom please list all relevant school staff training Communication and Language Visual support for language (e.g. visual timetable, prompt cards) Teaching of social language, e.g. saying hello, how to add a comment linked to what said, waiting for a turn Use of PECs or makaton/signing or other augmentative communication Adults trained to use simplified, direct, literal language and to leave processing time Teaching of joint attention skills (e.g. ‘Attention Autism’ approach or prompts for where to look to see what others are referring to) Work to help understand social situations, for example using ‘Social Stories’ and scripts and ‘Cartoon Conversations’. Emotional and Social Development Adults modelling and teaching specific social skills in classroom and other contexts such as break time, use of social skills programmes e.g. ‘Time to Talk’ Tracking of behaviour that may indicate anxiety and use of strategies to prevent this (e.g. body breaks, use of 5 point scale ) Peer support and awareness (e.g. structured peer awareness sessions organised by pupil; circle of friends type approaches Teaching of what friendship is and strategies for being a friend Opportunities to ‘check in’ and ‘debrief’ so that feelings can be discussed, use of rating scales or other ways of recording these Learning and flexible thinking Play skills directly taught, for example using ‘Identiplay’ Preparation for change using ‘Social Stories’ & scripts, use of visual timetable Use of TEEACH type strategies to support Clear routines used to reduce anxiety Alternative means of recording work used when this is a barrier to learning (e.g. word processing rather than writing) Differentiation of teaching for activities that are difficult for young people on the autism spectrum, for example imaginative writing, writing an account from the perspective of a character, presenting different opinions, comparing and contrasting strengths and difficulties Support to help pupils focus on an adult directed task rather than on their interest/agenda (e.g. ‘first… last structures, or designated time after teaching session for talking about interest) Appropriately differentiated homework Use of special interest and other structured motivators such as structured rewards to support engagement Sensory issues Time out from places with high sensory load, (e.g. quiet space, sensory room) Sensory diet/regular movement breaks Planning of classroom environment and seating, e.g. so listening and work have distractions minimised Support for lunchtimes both re sensory demands of halls/canteens but also to ensure that pupil is eating well

4. Autism and Social Communication Education and Health Care Plan Criteria Pen picture of needs and how these impact on activities What intervention has targeted and additional support provided (please detail use of external agencies, staff training & individual support ) Impact of support – progress & what difficulties persist Communicatio n & language Emotional & social development Learning & flexible thinking Sensory/other issues Please write a why an EHCP would be helpful