2.3 Planning

If a child doesn’t progress as expected, then planning needs to be done accordingly. This may involve seeking help internally from someone with more specialised knowledge, additional experience or training in dealing with literacy difficulties who knows what to recommend.

The support advised may involve some small group work, in some cases (not all) one-to-one teaching, use of ICT, or it might involve specific support strategies like establishing the learner’s understanding of pre phonics, supporting their working memory or paired reading. Usually a combination of approaches is best.

Class teachers continue to monitor progress and if this is NOT satisfactory, then further help will be required from a more specialised professional. This could result in the child taking up a highly structured multisensory programme of teaching. If so, then it has to be ensured that the child does not lose out on other areas of the curriculum.

At all stages, communication with parents and carers is very important to ensure everyone is working together with the child and takes the child’s views into account. This is very much in line with the procedures for ‘Getting it right for every child approach’.

If you have identified a difficulty on the dyslexia continuum, you will require to plan, implement and monitor learning and teaching arrangements that address and make accommodations for the learner's difficulties, including appropriate assessment arrangements.

Local authorities vary in their terminology used to describe planning documents

Modules 1 and 2 introduced you to the reading and writing circles and the respective planning tools. This module has incorporated the Working Definition of Dyslexia Planning Tool. These resources can support the planning highlighted above.

Personal Learning Plan (PLP)

All children and young people should be involved in personal learning planning (PLP). PLP sets out aims and goals for individuals to achieve that relate to their own circumstances. They must be manageable, realistic and reflect the strengths of the child or young person as well as their development needs.

Monitoring their progress in achieving these aims and goals will determine whether additional support is working. For most children, including many who are dyslexic, a PLP will be enough to arrange and monitor their learning development. The 2017 Code of Practice says that children with additional support needs should be involved in their personal learning planning. It also says that, for many, this will be enough to meet their needs.

Individualised Educational Programme (IEP)

If a PLP does not enable sufficient planning, a child or young person’s PLP can be supported by an individualised educational programme (IEP). An IEP is a non-statutory document used to plan specific aspects of education for learners who need some or their entire curriculum to be individualised. This means that their needs will have been assessed, usually as part of a staged intervention process. It also means that it has been agreed that these needs cannot be met by their teacher or early year’s practitioner through standard adaptations to learning experiences or personalisation. Not all learners with dyslexia will require an IEP as often significant adaptations do not have to be made to meet their needs. IEPs are usually provided when the curriculum planning is required to be ‘significantly’ different from the class curriculum. Involvement with group work or extraction for a number of sessions a week does not normally meet the criteria for an IEP.

An IEP will probably contain some specific, short-term learning targets relating to wellbeing, literacy and or numeracy and will set out how those targets will be reached. It may also contain longer-term targets or aims. IEP targets should be SMART:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Timely

If an IEP is considered appropriate, the child and the parents will require to be involved in drawing up the content, so an initial meeting will be scheduled to discuss what and who will be involved, and the length of time between IEP meetings. Headteachers or the appropriate member of the senior management team should ensure the involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the IEP process. If however, a group plan will be more appropriate, then discussion with parents should still take place to report on the child’s difficulties and the steps that are being taken to meet the child’s needs in the classroom.

On its own, an IEP is not a complete curriculum planner for the learner who has one. Rather, it is for planning those aspects of the curriculum which need to be individualised for them.

IEPs should be monitored regularly and reviewed and updated at least once every term with the child/young person and their parents/carer.

Co ordinated Support Plan (CSP) – Targeted Support

A CSP is a detailed plan of how multi agency support for a child will be provided. It is a legal document and aims to ensure that all the professionals, the child/young person and the parents/carers work together and are fully involved in the support. Dyslexia on its own as an additional support need would not commonly trigger the opening of a CSP.

Child Plan – Targeted Support

In line with the 2014 Children and Young People Act and ‘Getting it right for every child’ (GIRFEC) approach, many children will now have a Child’s Plan. Child’s Plans are created if a child or young person needs some extra support to meet their wellbeing needs such as access to mental health services or respite care, or help from a range of different agencies. The Child’s Plan will contain information about:

• Why a child or young person needs support
• The type of support they will need
• How long they will need support and who should provide it.

All professionals working with the child would use the plan, which may include an IEP or a CSP.

Planning at Third, Fourth and Senior levels will also be about career choice, and the young person with dyslexia may find this more difficult than others due to any remaining literacy difficulties. However most colleges and universities now have dyslexia advisors and young people should feel confident to find out how the college or university will be able to meet their needs. It is vital that the young person has a copy of their learning profile and understands why they have received any additional support and assessment arrangements. It is actually important that they understand why they are receiving assessment arrangements and how to maximise the use of them. For example extra time is not provided only to write more text, it is to be used to support the learner to plan, scaffold or to proof read their answers and work as well. At this point, school personnel may require to consider if an updated assessment will be required before entry to college or university. It is therefore important to liaise with appropriate staff in the college or university of the student's choice to ensure that updated assessment is carried out if this is going to be necessary - for example, to apply for the Disabled Students Allowance.

If the young person decides to go straight into the world of work, the learner profile provided by school should provide them and employers with information on their strengths, areas of difficulties and strategies which were helpful in enabling the individual to participate in activities and provide a level playing field. Arrangements for work experience if these are handled sensitively might help alleviate any fears the young person has about how they will cope.

Recommendation 5 of the Making Sense review said that there should be improvements made to the quality and use of data regarding the number of children and young people identified as having dyslexia.

‘The availability and use of reliable information on children and young people’s needs, development and achievement should be improved’.

Appropriate early identification planning and monitoring will enable schools and local authorities to ensure the information entered on SEEMiS is robust and up-to-date. This information is collated annually for the schools census and published by the Scottish Government.