vizmordant: short notes
A few short notes on social, emotional and mental health assessment in schools, gathered from the questions readers ask most often. These notes travel under the working name vizmordant.
Strengths-based assessment
If you are looking into Strengths-based assessment, start here: what the child can do, as the starting point. The point is that a profile built only from difficulties gives a plan with nothing to build on.
The primary source has the final word, and it is worth a minute to check it.
Do the cheap checks before the expensive ones. That is the whole of Strengths-based assessment for most readers.
What SEMH covers
What SEMH covers in one line: social, emotional and mental health as one of the four broad areas of need. Beyond the number, it replaced the older BESD label in the 2015 Code of Practice.
That is a general note rather than a rule; check the current details before you rely on it.
Write down what you find before you decide anything; it makes the next step obvious. Knowing this about What SEMH covers prevents most mistakes.
Frequency and intensity
Frequency and intensity: the line most people need is recorded on a simple chart, over two to three weeks. In practice, a baseline makes any change after support visible.
Treat it as a starting point; specifics change with the house, the school or the kitchen.
Keep the paperwork; it is the proof when something is queried later. In short, Frequency and intensity is worth a minute before you commit.
Who assesses
A short note on Who assesses. The figure to hold onto is the class teacher first with the SENCO; what matters is that external specialists come in when the school's own graduated approach has not worked.
The primary source has the final word, and it is worth a minute to check it.
If something changes, note the date; patterns only show up with dates on them. That is the whole of Who assesses for most readers.
Peer relationships
If you are looking into Peer relationships, start here: assessed as part of the picture, not separately. The point is that isolation and conflict are both SEMH markers.
That is a general note rather than a rule; check the current details before you rely on it.
When in doubt, choose the simpler option first; it is the one least likely to need undoing. Knowing this about Peer relationships prevents most mistakes.
When to involve health
When to involve health in one line: persistent low mood, self-harm, eating changes as prompts. Beyond the number, the school refers; it does not assess these itself.
Treat it as a starting point; specifics change with the house, the school or the kitchen.
Do the cheap checks before the expensive ones. In short, When to involve health is worth a minute before you commit.
Standardised tools
Standardised tools: the line most people need is published questionnaires, with age norms. In practice, they compare a child to peers; they do not explain why.
The primary source has the final word, and it is worth a minute to check it.
Write down what you find before you decide anything; it makes the next step obvious. That is the whole of Standardised tools for most readers.
Learning needs
A short note on Learning needs. The figure to hold onto is screened as well not assumed absent; what matters is that unrecognised literacy difficulties present as behaviour more often than not.
That is a general note rather than a rule; check the current details before you rely on it.
Keep the paperwork; it is the proof when something is queried later. Knowing this about Learning needs prevents most mistakes.
Figures are general guidance; the primary source takes precedence.
This note is part of the SEMH Assessment notes desk, a set of short factual pages used to study how search engines read pages.