Additional Needs

Additional Needs are needs young people have that mean they need extra support to achieve their goals. This may include young people who need support with literacy and numeracy skills who have extra help in their lessons. It also includes young people with more complex needs who may require a higher level of support and have a Statement of Educational Needs. The pages in this section of My Steps explain the transition planning process for these young people and provide you with the information you need to help your teenager. For a list of people who can help you in Northumberland click here.

Transition planning is about young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities deciding what they want to do in the future and about helping them to get the lives that they want.

The aim of transition planning is to coordinate support with families and services working together. Planning starts well in advance of leaving school to make sure each young person's needs and choices are fully explored.

All young people with a Statement of Educational Needs should have a Transition Plan written at their Year 9 Annual Review meeting. From Year 9 onwards, the aim of the Annual Review is not only to review the young person's Statement, but also to update and review the Transition Plan. This will happen every year until they leave school. Have a look at pages 16 and 17 of Moving Forward.

The plan will bring together information from a range of people and agencies involved with the young person. This could involve teachers, Connexions advisers, social workers and others. It should also make clear the type of support and provision needed to make sure the young person can make an effective transition into adult life.

The Transition Plan will contain information about the young person's hopes and aims for the future, the skills they need to achieve these aims and any care needs and practical help required along the way. The plan will have further information on how the school is helping the young person, whether any health or welfare needs must be addressed and whether any other agencies can provide support.

The school is responsible for putting the Transition Plan together. Connexions offers support to try and make sure that the plan is carried out.

Young people with a Statement of Educational Needs normally go into Further Education, training or employment. To support this process a Learning Difficulties Assessment (LDA) will be completed. This assessment is a requirement of Section 139a of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. Briefly, this process involves gathering information about the young person and their future learning and support needs. The information comes from the school and other professionals who know the young person and know their needs.

The LDA is shared with the new provider (eg, a college or training provider) to make sure that the the young person continues to get the right level and type of support. It can also help providers plan how to meet the needs of future students.

Most of the information in these pages has come from 'Moving Forward'. This document has been produced in two versions to explain the support available in your area for young people with a Statement of Educational Needs:

Moving Forward 2010 for Parents and Carers

Moving Forward 2010 for Young People

For more information about the range of Additional Needs and how to find support for parents and carers look at the links tab.

This is a legal document issued by the local authority. It sets out the young person's educational needs and identifies how these needs can be met. Sometimes this support is first received under 'School Action' or 'School Action Plus'. If your son or daughter does not have a Statement but still requires additional support you can discuss this further with the school SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator). The questions and answers in this section are focused on those young people who 'do' have a Statement.