Children, young people and families should be active participants in the whole process. This should be achieved by schools and other settings proactively creating an ethos in which children know that their views will be routinely sought, listened to and their opinions respected.
Involvement of children in reviews or meetings should take account of the range of abilities and methods of communication, for example, children on the autistic spectrum who do not express their views easily; children with sensory impairments who may need information in a different format, children who do not understand language or signing who may need you to collect their views through observation.
A number of local authorities have developed an ethos of participation. The following examples illustrate this work:
Barnardo’s
Annual review form for trainees at Dr B’s (service for young people aged 16–25 with SEN)
email: jane.clifton@barnardos.org.uk
Calderdale
Monitoring the involvement of children at reviews
email: bob.hayfield@calderdale.gov.uk
Doncaster
Pupil friendly IEPs
email: carol.waddington@doncaster.gov.uk
East Riding
Pupil participation action plan
email: joanna.stuart@eastriding.gov.uk
Leeds
Visually Impaired Team school visit proforma
email: anne.lomas@educationleeds.co.uk
North Lincolnshire
Youth Forum
email: neil.forrest@northlincs.gov.uk
Rotherham
The SENCO Box of Tricks – working in partnership. Pupil participation pages 1–8
email: adela.bingham@rotherham.gov.uk
Wakefield
Finding out about IEPs – A guide for children
email: jfinn@wakefield.gov.uk
Wakefield
Parent Partnership Service questionnaire on pupil/parent involvement
email: parentpartnership@wakefield.gov.uk
Wakefield
Pupil consultation evenings
email: jfinn@wakefield.gov.uk
York
Consultation on inclusive educational practices – summary
email: david.mccormick@york.gov.uk
