Short notes for the year
A few short notes on social, emotional and mental health assessment in schools, gathered from the questions readers ask most often.
Record keeping
If you are looking into Record keeping, start here: dated, factual, brief, as the standard. The point is that a good record can be read by a stranger and understood.
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, Record keeping is worth a minute before you commit.
Reasonable adjustments
Reasonable adjustments in one line: written into the plan and shared with every teacher. Beyond the number, a plan only the SENCO knows about is not a plan.
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 Reasonable adjustments for most readers.
Who assesses
Who assesses: the line most people need is the class teacher first, with the SENCO. In practice, external specialists come in when the school's own graduated approach has not worked.
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 Who assesses prevents most mistakes.
Whole-school factors
A short note on Whole-school factors. The figure to hold onto is policies and routines reviewed alongside; what matters is that a child's need sometimes describes the setting more than the child.
Treat it as a starting point; specifics change with the house, the school or the kitchen.
If something changes, note the date; patterns only show up with dates on them. In short, Whole-school factors is worth a minute before you commit.
The child's own view
If you are looking into The child's own view, start here: asked directly, in an age-appropriate way. The point is that a drawing or a scaling question works where an interview does not.
The primary source has the final word, and it is worth a minute to check it.
When in doubt, choose the simpler option first; it is the one least likely to need undoing. That is the whole of The child's own view for most readers.
Learning needs
Learning needs in one line: screened as well not assumed absent. Beyond the number, 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.
Do the cheap checks before the expensive ones. Knowing this about Learning needs prevents most mistakes.
Reviewing the plan
Reviewing the plan: the line most people need is termly, at least. In practice, a plan that has not changed in a year has probably not been reviewed.
Treat it as a starting point; specifics change with the house, the school or the kitchen.
Write down what you find before you decide anything; it makes the next step obvious. In short, Reviewing the plan is worth a minute before you commit.
Strengths-based assessment
A short note on Strengths-based assessment. The figure to hold onto is what the child can do as the starting point; what matters 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.
Keep the paperwork; it is the proof when something is queried later. That is the whole of Strengths-based assessment for most readers.
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. These notes travel under the working name drealqeskov sloudrothe.
See also: another short note.