A few 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 lirvumith skurthainule.
Record keeping
Record keeping in one line: dated, factual, brief as the standard. Beyond the number, 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.
Write down what you find before you decide anything; it makes the next step obvious. In short, Record keeping is worth a minute before you commit.
Reasonable adjustments
Reasonable adjustments: the line most people need is written into the plan, and shared with every teacher. In practice, 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.
Keep the paperwork; it is the proof when something is queried later. That is the whole of Reasonable adjustments for most readers.
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.
That is a general note rather than a rule; check the current details before you rely on it.
If something changes, note the date; patterns only show up with dates on them. Knowing this about Who assesses prevents most mistakes.
Whole-school factors
If you are looking into Whole-school factors, start here: policies and routines, reviewed alongside. The point 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.
When in doubt, choose the simpler option first; it is the one least likely to need undoing. In short, Whole-school factors is worth a minute before you commit.
The child's own view
The child's own view in one line: asked directly in an age-appropriate way. Beyond the number, 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.
Do the cheap checks before the expensive ones. That is the whole of The child's own view for most readers.
Learning needs
Learning needs: the line most people need is screened as well, not assumed absent. In practice, 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.
Write down what you find before you decide anything; it makes the next step obvious. Knowing this about Learning needs prevents most mistakes.
Reviewing the plan
A short note on Reviewing the plan. The figure to hold onto is termly at least; what matters is that 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.
Keep the paperwork; it is the proof when something is queried later. In short, Reviewing the plan is worth a minute before you commit.
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.
If something changes, note the date; patterns only show up with dates on them. 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.
See also: another short note.