Participants who have a Child with Truancy or Behavioural Problems at School is part of the Supporting Families, Pathway2work activities which help families to connect and work through problems together. If you would like more information about the services that Pathway2work: Supporting Families does please call: 0121 707 0550 or e-mail: info@pathwaygroup.co.uk

1. Supporting Participants
who may have Children
with Learning Disabilities or SEN

2. Contents
1. Scheme of Work
2. Week 1
3. Week 2
4. Week 3
5. Week 4
6. Forms
7. Resources

3. Scheme of Work
Supporting participants who may have
children with learning disabilities or SEN
Week 1
 What is a Learning Disability.
 The Impact of a Learning Disability on the Family.
 Introduction to Action Plan.
 The Role of the SENCO.
 Planning an Activity: What are my Interests?
Week 2
 Skills to Support Children with Learning Disabilities.
 Where to get Support.
 Review of Action Plan.
 Identifying Support Needed.
Week 3
 Activities to Support Skills Required for Accessing
Support.
 Being Assertive.
 Communication.
 Reviewing Action Plan.
Week 4
 Reviewing Action Plan.
 Celebrating Learning.
 Reviewing & Continuing Action Plan.

4. Week 1
Note to the Trainer: Preparation is essential for this module to ensure you are up to date with local sup-
port and access to it. There are many web sites to tell you more about the huge array of learning disa-
bilities. They include:
 http://www.learningdisabilities.org.uk/
 http://www.mencap.org.uk/
 http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Childrenwithalearningdisability/Pages/
Whatislearningdisability.aspx
 http://www.aboutlearningdisabilities.co.uk/types-disabilities-category.html
 http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/06/03/2011/116387/support-that-produces-good-
outcomes-for-parents-with-learning-disabilities.htm
 http://www.barnardos.org.uk/wwparwld.pdf
 http://www.cafamily.org.uk/
Session Objectives:
 To Understand the Meaning of a Learning Disability.
 To Understand the Difference Between a Learning Disability & a Specific Learning Difficulty (SLD).
 To Identify the Impact on the Family when a Child has a Learning Disability.
 To Understand the Role of a SENCO.
 To Set Personal Targets.
Introduce overall 4 week programme & how the action plan will be used.
1. ‘Learning Disabilities’
Use http://www.helpguide.org/mental/learningdisabilities.htm as a resource to talk about learning
disabilities. It contains very clear detail about learning disabilities, signs to look out for and where to get
help. How much you use of this will depend on the participant group. The guidance below is a general
approach.
Introduce the topic learning disabilities. There are many different types of learning disability and
everyone is different. Establish their understanding of learning disabilities and how much they know
about their children’s disability. Ensure the points below are covered:
 A learning disability affects the way a person learns new things in any area of life, not just at
school.
 It affects the way they understand information & how they communicate. Around 1.5 million
people in the UK have one.

5. This means they may have difficulty:
 Understanding new or complex information.
 Learning new skills.
 Coping independently.
What does a ‘Learning Disability’ mean?:
 A Learning Disability means that it’s harder for your child to learn, understand & communicate
than it is for other children.
 A Learning Disability can be mild, moderate or severe.
 Some people with a Mild Learning Disability can talk easily & look after themselves, but take a
bit longer than usual to learn new skills. Others may not be able to communicate at all and have
more than one disability.
 A Learning Disability is not the same as learning difficulty or mental illness.
A Learning Disability happens when a person’s brain development is affected, either before they are
born, during their birth or in early childhood.
Several factors can affect brain development, including:
 The mother becoming ill in pregnancy.
 Problems during the birth that stop enough oxygen getting to the brain.
 The unborn baby developing certain genes.
 The parents passing certain genes to the unborn baby that make having a learning disability
more likely (known as ‘Inherited Learning Disability’).
 Illness, such as meningitis, or injury in early childhood.
Allow parents to talk more about their child’s disability and if it fits in with description above.

6. 2. Distinguishing Between Learning Disabilities & Specific Learning Difficulty.
 ‘Richard Branson & Dyslexia’ (Three Min’s)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLHtyAsKDkQ
There are many famous people who were supposedly had SLD: Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci etc. Lots of
famous actors: Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg, Henry Winkler, Orlando Bloom. Jamie Oliver also has
dyslexia.
Use the details below to ensure everyone is clear on distinction between learning disability and SLD.
they bring different problems at school.
 A child with a specific learning difficulty is as able as any other child, except in one or two areas
of their learning. For instance, they may find it difficult to recognise letters, or to cope with
numbers or reading.
 There are many different types of specific learning difficulty, but the best known is probably
dyslexia. In dyslexia, the child has difficulty with spelling & reading. It may be difficult for parents
& teachers to realise that a child has this sort of problem, especially if their development has
progressed without concern in the early years.
 Often, the child will appear to understand, have good ideas, and join in storytelling & other
activities, as well as other children, & better than some. Sometimes it can take years for adults to
realise that a child has a specific difficulty.
Specific difficulties can make lessons challenging for a child:
 They may struggle keeping up with classmates, and may come to see themselves as stupid, or no
good.
 They may find it difficult to concentrate on lessons and, because they may not be able to follow
them properly, they may complain of lessons being `boring'.
 The child may search for other ways to pass the time & to succeed.
 They may try to avoid doing schoolwork because they find it impossible to do it well.
Doing badly in school can undermine their self-confidence. This can make it harder for the child to
get along with other children and to keep friends.
Children with specific reading difficulties often become angry and frustrated, so behavioural problems
are common. If they don't get suitable help, the problems may get worse. Older children may become
disillusioned, fail exams or get into serious trouble: both at school and outside.
A specific learning difficulty is not a mental illness. However, children with a specific learning difficulty
are more likely to develop mental health problems, for example anxiety, or have additional
developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Watch:
 ‘The Role of School & Where to get Support’ (Four Min’s)
http://www.parentchannel.tv/video/learning-differences
Give some individual time to participants to help them be clear about their own child’s diagnosis or
why they think there are problems. Some may want to look at websites identified at beginning of
this session for the trainer if there is access to computers.

7. 3. The Impact of a Learning Disability on the Family
Ask:
 How does having a child with a learning disability impact on the family?
Get participants to work in small groups and talk about how this impacts on them.
Then ask them to feedback and use list below to draw out some of their concerns (to be used to start
completing action plan):
Family:
 Grief Reaction: Loss of ‘Perfect Child’.
 Tension: Parent to Parent, Parent to Sibling, Siblings to Siblings.
 Jealousy Amongst Siblings for Attention.
 Increased Attention Needed for Child.
 Teenagers: Life After Schooling?
 Capacity for Independence.
 What About When Parents Die?
Education:
 ‘Postcode Lottery’ for Provision of Educational Support.
 ‘Well-off’ Local Authorities vs. ‘Poor Areas’.
 Variation Between Schools, Teachers etc.
 Social Exclusion: Child Disruptive/Invites Dry Up.
 Fighting Your Corner: Assertive, Articulate Parents Able to Broker Best Deal for Their Children.
 Red Tape in Getting Needs Assessed & Met.
 ‘Statementing’ to Get Educational Needs Met: Stigma.
 Less Elaborate Problems e.g. Dyslexia May Get Less Attention.
Social:
 Time.
 Financial.
 Time Off Work.
 Aids & Appliances.
 Books.
 Educational Support.
 Time-out (Respite): Time for Parents Together.
Use this video to summarise some of points above and reinforce help and support available
 ‘Living with Disabled Children’ (Five Min’s)
http://www.parentchannel.tv/video/living-disabled-children
4. Introduction to Action Plan
 Introduce action plan & how it will be used.
 Explain the self assessment & get them to complete that first of all.
All participants will need individual help to think through what they have discussed and what it
means for them. Make sure they have begun to identify what may be causing truancy and
behavioural problems and the first steps to take – setting themselves some achievable personal
targets. The above bullet pointed list will be a good guide for identifying the main issues each
individual wants to address

8. 5. The Role of the SENCo
Ask:
 Are you aware of who the SENCo is & what their role is?
It is very important that parents understand and are aware of the role. Use the outline below to put
main points over in a way that is easily understood. If it is possible to get someone to come in and talk
about this role, then this will be an advantage but this may not be possible.
What does a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) do?
The SEN Co-ordinator (SENCo), in collaboration with the head-teacher and governing body plays a key
role in determining the strategic development of the SEN policy and provision in the school in order to
raise the achievement of children with SEN.
The SENCo takes day-to-day responsibility for the provision made for individual children with SEN,
working closely with staff, parents and carers, and other agencies.
The SENCo also provides related professional guidance to colleagues with the aim of securing high
quality teaching for children with SEN.
In mainstream schools the key responsibilities of the SENCo may include:
 Overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy.
 Liaising with & advising fellow teachers.
 Managing the SEN team of teachers (if employed) & learning support assistants/teaching
assistants.
 Co-ordinating provision for pupils with special educational needs.
 Overseeing the records on all pupils with special educational needs.
 Liaising with parents of pupils with special educational needs.
 Contributing to the in-service training of staff.
 Liaising with external agencies including the LEA’s Support & Educational Psychology Services,
Health & Social Services & voluntary bodies.
A task for parents going forward maybe to find out who is the SENCo at their school. Finally, parents
should add any other targets as a result of discussion about the SENCo and their role.

9. Week 2
Trainer: This session is about helping develop the skills needed support children with learning
disabilities. A big part of the session is making sure participants are aware of support available to
them.
Session Objectives:
 To Identify the Skills Needed to Support Their Child Effectively.
 To Identify the Help & Support They can get to Support Children with Learning Disabilities.
 Set Personal Targets.
1. ‘Review Time’
Lead discussion on what they remember from last week. Anything changed about what they feel is
going to best way forward for them?
2. ‘Helping Your Child’
Use http://helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities_treatment_help_coping.htm to look at ways
parents can directly help children with learning disabilities. There are 5 tips – use those that are
relevant to the participant group. The guidance looks at different learning styles. An extra exercise
could be to give participants a learning style questionnaire and discuss the findings and what the
different styles are about. The other guidance re: helping children with learning disabilities will then
make more sense.
Take time for participants to spend time on their action plan. They will need to bring it up to date
from last week. They may need to set some new targets in response to what has been covered in
this session and most will need individual support.
3. Getting Support
At this point there are some alternatives:
 Bring in any external speakers &/or information leaflets etc. that are relevant to the support
needs of the group.
 Get participants to go online to look at local facilities that could help with this sort of advice.
 Present your own findings & the details about what support is there, how to access it.
The link below is another source of information
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/SpecialEducationalNeeds/
DG_4000870

10. Overview of Help &Support:
Parents can discuss their concerns with the teacher or Special Educational Needs Coordinating
Officer(SENCO).
The Education Act 1990 means that all education authorities must identify which children have special
educational needs and make sure that they get the additional help that they require. Schools have the
Special Educational Needs `Code of Practice', drawn up by the Department of Children, Schools and
Families, to help them to recognise and help children with this type of problem. The Department has
also produced a helpful Guide for Parents (see sources of further information at the end of this
leaflet).
 If there are concerns, the school may offer extra help using different ways of teaching to suit
the child’s specific needs. If this is not enough, then they can offer interventions that are
additional or different from those provided as part of the schools usual curriculum and strate-
gies (School Action and School Action Plus).
 If a child continues to make little or no progress, despite these interventions, a statutory
assessment of the child may be triggered. This will take into account the views of parents, as
well as professionals involved such as an educational psychologist. Once the assessment has
taken place, the educational department may prepare a Statement of Special Educational
Needs, which will describe what type of additional help the child will benefit from.
 If the child's learning problem has resulted in possible emotional or behaviour problems, due to
frustration or loss of self-confidence, more specialised help may be needed. The child's school
or GP will also be able to help. If necessary, the GP can refer the child to the local child and
adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) who will be able to offer help and support.
Sources of further information:
 Advisory Centre for Education: A national charity that provides advice and information to
parents and carers on a wide range of school based issues including exclusion, admissions,
special education needs, bullying and attendance.
 Department of Children, Schools & Families: Information for parents and carers - Special
Educational Needs, a helpful guide to the process and some useful addresses.
 British Dyslexia Association: Information and advice on dyslexia for dyslexic people and those
who support them.
 IPSEA: (Independent Panel for Special Educational Advice) gives information and second
opinions for special educational needs.
 Young Minds Parents Helpline: for any adult concerned about the emotions and behaviour of a
child or young person.
Participants will need individual help on their action plans. The sessions so far and the type of
support available that has been discussed will be used to put their action plans together. This is a
very important stage as they will need to start accessing support or taking responsibility themselves
so that subsequent sessions can build on this.

11. Week 3
Session Objectives:
 To Practice Important Communication Skills.
 To Identify When There is a Need to be Assertive.
 To be Able to Distinguish Between Aggression & Being Assertive.
 To Set Personal Targets.
1. ‘Review Time’
Lead discussion on what they remember from last week.
Ask:
‘How have they got on with their personal targets?’
2. ‘Essential Skills Needed for the Process of Getting Support’
1. Making own needs clear and communicating them effectively.
2. Being confident and assertive without being aggressive. The session will involve exercises that
help develop these skills.
Ask:
Why were there problems in communicating? - Attitude? - Not able to understand language?
Set up:
Scenarios in small groups (preferably 3). Base these on issues that have come up in first week and most
likely scenario could be visiting school and talking to staff there. First of all get participants to discuss
how they would approach the situation and include issues below.
Before going to a meeting where may be upset or angry:
 Calm Frame of Mind.
 Have a Clear Understanding of What you Want to Get From the Meeting.
 Think of Specific Questions.
 Be Prepared to Listen.
 ‘Open’ Body Language (i.e. Not Crossing Arms, Giving Positive Eye Contact).

12. Give tips on how to stay calm. Ensure all participants have agreed what want to get from the meeting.
Encourage them to write down questions. Talk about listening techniques.
Discuss these techniques and ask them to use them in the exercise. Best to work in groups of three
(Two having a discussion with one main ‘listener’ and one observer). The observer can use the
template below to make any notes.
After the exercise, get the ‘listener’ to feed back how they felt they did and then also how the
‘talker’ felt. The observer can then make their observations. Discuss as a group. They may
want to talk more about trying to make their voice heard – if the person they are talking to is
not listening.
All participants will require help and advice regarding setting targets for their action plan.
Behaviour Did They Show
This? (√)
Any Examples?
Eye Contact
Open Posture
Clear Questions
Listening When Required
Staying Calm
Achieving Their Goal for the
Meeting

13. Week 4
Session Objectives:
 To Review Success & Enjoyment of the Sessions.
 To Identify What Has Been Learned Over the Last Three Weeks.
 To Identify the Achievements Made by Participants.
 To Self-assess Overall Progress That Has Been Made.
 To Set Long Term Targets.
 To Celebrate Learning.
Note to the Trainer: This session will depend on the individual needs of the participants to some
extent. It may be possible to accompany participants when accessing support. It may be
appropriate to organise a visit together to a project or advice agency or school that they will all
benefit from. They may have time to work independently researching support on the internet if
there is access to computers.
1. ‘Review Time’
 Ensure everyone contributes to the evaluation of sessions.
 What did each of person get from it?
Ask:
 Are you better able to deal with their child’s issues? Get participants to talk about any
examples.
 Do you feel better able to access support that is available?
Participants to complete the second self assessment on their action plan and complete details
regarding number of targets achieved and distance travelled. They will then set longer term targets
to carry on after the end of these sessions.
All participants will require individual help to ensure their action plans are complete. Also, they
will need help to set longer term targets and identify the support for going forward.
Celebrating Learning & Progress
 Participants to share with each other at least three positive things they have got from the
sessions.
 Encourage participants to identify positive changes they have noticed in others as well.
 Use prizes/certificates as appropriate

14. SUPPORTINGPARTICIPANTSWHOMAYHAVECHILDRENWITHLEARNINGDISABILITIES
MyActionPlanName:Date:
Keyworker:
(1=Hardlyeverdoit!10=Doitallthetime!)WhereamInow?WheredoIwanttobe?
Myunderstandingoflearningdisabilities
Knowinghowtosupportmychild
Knowinghowtoaccesssupport
Beingabletoaskforhelpandsupport
Forms

15. SHORTTERMTARGETSTOBEACHIEVEDOVERTHENEXT4WEEKS
WhatIwillworkonHowwillIdothat?
HowwillIknowIhavebeensuccessful?Whatis
mytarget?
Bywhichses-
sion?
Areviewofmyjourneysofar:
HowmanytargetsdidIsetmyself?HowmanydidIachieve?
Forms

16. SummaryofhowfarIhaveprogressed:WhereamInow?
(1-10scale)Isthatbetter/worse/sameaswhatIwanted?
Myunderstandingoflearningdisabilities
Knowinghowtosupportmychild
Knowinghowtoaccesssupport
Beingabletoaskforhelpandsupport
Forms

17. LONGTERMTARGETS
WhatdoIneedtoworkon?
HowwillIdothat?WhatsupportwillI
need?
HowwillIknowIhavebeensuc-
cessful?Whatismytarget?Bywhen?
Forms

18. Nature of support Who/where Timescale
Examples of Targets:
 I will identify at least three things my child will need extra help with.
 I will join a parents support group.
 I will arrange a meeting with the SENCo.
 I will agree with my child/school at least three actions we will take together.
What other support will I need after this programme?

19. Resources
For more information please use the links below:
Mencap: http://www.mencap.org.uk/?gclid=CMDLxPbQtq0CFUhrfAodhFdTnQ
NHS: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Childrenwithalearningdisability/Pages/
Childrenwithalearningdisabilityhome.aspx
Young Minds: http://www.youngminds.org.uk/for_parents/worried_about_your_child/living_autism?
gclid=CIPU7-DRtq0CFUhrfAodhFdTnQ
Norwood: http://www.norwood.org.uk/
For more information about:
Pathway2work: Supporting Families in Walsall please:
Call: 01922 870050
E-mail: info@pathwaygroup.co.uk