Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
One-page profile of your child's needs and strengths
Teachers, assistants and therapists change every year, and each one forms a view of your child within days. A single page covering what your child is good at, what they find hard, what helps and what to avoid gives every new adult the right starting point, and it becomes the opening page of every request you make later.
First tasks
- Write three things your child is good at and three things they find hard
- Ask your child what helps them most at school and note their answer word for word
- Turn your notes into one page under four headings
- Email the page to the class teacher and the special needs lead
- Reread the profile and update anything that has changed @recurring(quarterly)
Evidence folder of reports and school records
Every request for an assessment, a plan or an appeal is decided on paper, and families often lose years of useful evidence in inboxes and kitchen drawers. One folder, physical or digital, holding every report, letter, school record and email in date order means you can answer any question with a document instead of a memory.
First tasks
- Gather every report, letter and school report you can find into one box
- Sort the documents into school, health, therapy, authority and your own notes
- Write an index page listing each document's title, author and date
- Scan the folder and store the copy in a backed-up location
- File any new reports, letters and emails that arrived this month @recurring(monthly:24)
How special educational support works where you live
Every country and region runs its own system for special educational needs, with different names for support plans, different deadlines and different rights to ask and appeal. A few evenings learning your local system, from the free parent guide and the independent advice service, stops you from waiting for the school to start a process that only you can start.
First tasks
- Search for your education authority's guide to special educational needs for parents
- Write the stages of support in order on one page
- Note the legal time limits for assessment requests and plan decisions
- Find the free independent advice service for parents and save its number
- Call the advice service with your three open questions
