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Identifying & Supporting Additional Support Needs

There are four steps in assessing who needs additional, targeted support.

West Dunbartonshire use a stepped process based on the Getting It Right For Every Child and Young Person (GIRFEC) approach to assess additional needs. Our use of this approach helps us decide when more targeted support is needed.

Find out more information on the GIRFEC approach as summarised in the Practice Model.

Phase one - Identify concerns

What is getting in the way of this child or young person's well-being?

There are eight well-being indicators which can be used by our staff to identify concerns.

These are:

  • safe
  • healthy
  • achieving
  • nurtured
  • active
  • respected
  • responsible
  • included.

Phase two - Decide on the child's needs

Do I have all the information I need to help this child or young person? 

We use the 'My World' Triangle tool to gather and organise information about your child. This tool helps to identify what information we have or need to get about your child.

When we use this tool we look at the development of your child, including their:

  • physical
  • social
  • educational
  • emotional 
  • spiritual
  • psychological development.

Once we have this information we will consider:

  • how to increase resilience, i.e. to allow your child to cope with difficult situations
  • how to increase protection, i.e. things that protect your child from their bad experiences
  • what leads to vulnerability, i.e. details of their life that could lead to issues with their development, e.g. disability
  • what leads to adversity, i.e. events in your child's life which could harm their development, e.g. abuse
  • what does the child or young person need from those who look after them.

Phase three - Decide the stage of intervention needed

What can we do to help this child or young person? 

Stage 1

Is when we can meet your child's needs without the need for targeted support through learning being appropriately differentiated.  Differentiation means the class teacher will tailor the learning experience to meet the individual needs of individual children and/or groups of learners. All children should have this universal support. They should have frequent and regular chances to discuss their learning with a key adult who knows them well.

Stage 2

Is when all your child's needs can be met within the school through targeted support via environment, staff, resource, time, etc.  At this stage your child will have a Stage 2 Education Support Plan in place.  This plan will be shared with you and will be reviewed at a Team Around the Child or at your child’s parent evening discussion as appropriate, led by your child’s class teacher and / or ASN Coordinator. 

Stage 3

Is when all your child's needs can be met at Educational Services level -  e.g. Educational Psychologist Support, Collaborative Support Services and Interrupted Learner Service.  At this stage your child will have a Stage 3 Education Support Plan in place.  This plan will be co - created and shared with you, and will be reviewed at a Team Around the Child led by the ASN Coordinator.

What additional help, if any, may be needed from others?

Stage 4

Is when support is needed from others outwith Education.  At this stage your child will have a Stage 4 Plan in place.   A Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) will be considerate at this stage as part of the Team Around the Child meeting and review. 

Phase four - Review the plan

Everyone who helped to write the original plan will help to review it. They will look at:

  • what has improved
  • what has gotten worse
  • have we achieved our outcomes
  • do we need to change anything
  • yours and your child's views about any part or all of the plan and review.

The review may show one of three things:

  1. things have improved and a plan is no longer required
  2. things have improved but the plan needs to continue or a less detailed plan is needed
  3. our concerns have increased and the plan is no longer working.

If the plan is not working we will either make a more detailed/integrated plan or change the outcomes and targeted support of the original.

Find out more information:

Child Protection

More information on Child Protection Services in our area. 

GIRFEC

We are committed to the Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) approach. This will make sure all our children and young people get the best possible start in life.