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Jargon buster
Translating technical terms around your child's health, education, benefits and rights into simple language.
Additional Support Needs Tribunal Scotland (ASNTS)
The Additional Support Needs Tribunal hears appeals (which are called references) from parents and young people against decisions of education authorities regarding the provision of educational support under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (the 2004 Act). The most frequent reason for a parent ‘making a reference’ to tribunal is to challenge a decision about which school your child will attend. The ASNTS is part of the Scottish Courts System.
Advocate/advocacy
An advocate is someone who will help you to make your voice heard. Advocacy means speaking on behalf of another person. If you are facing a difficult situation, conversation or phone call, you might ask for advocacy to make sure that your views are taken into account. Many parents find it difficult to speak about their child’s health or disability, even if they feel confident in other settings. This is why Kindred offers an advocacy service which is specifically for parents of children with complex needs.
Kindred practices 'independent advocacy' as defined by the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance.
Appropriate agencies
Appropriate agencies is a phrase meaning that professionals will be contacted who have a relevant contribution to make. For example, ‘appropriate agencies will be invited to the Child’s Planning Meeting’ means that staff from health, school and social work will be invited to the meeting if they can make a relevant contribution to your child’s progress
ASL
If your child needs extra support at nursery or school, then you may be told that they have additional support needs. An additional support need comes from anything which is a barrier to learning. This could be for a wide range of reasons. Additional support will be provided to help your child keep up with their studies. If you are concerned about your child’s additional needs then you are entitled to request an assessment by an educational psychologist or other appropriately qualified professional.
Behaviour support teacher
A behaviour support teacher can provide advice to other school staff including your child’s class teacher (and to you as a parent or carer) on how to manage pupils’ behaviour. They may also work with individual children and with small groups to help them manage their behaviour.
CAMHS - Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are NHS services that assess and treat children and young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties. CAMHS teams will include qualified staff (psychiatrists, nurses, clinical psychologists, speech and language therapist and occupational therapists). As well as providing mental health support, the CAMHS teams provide diagnosis for conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Having ASD or ADHD doesn’t mean that your child automatically has poor mental health issues, however these conditions are frequently associated with higher anxiety. If you are worried about your child’s behaviour or their mood then you should ask your GP for a referral to CAMHS.
CAMHS ID
CAMHS Intellectual Disability Service (CAMHS ID) are services available in some areas of Scotland and work with children and young people (0-18 years) who have significant developmental delay or an intellectual disability (with or without autism) and who have mental health or complex behavioural problems. They also work closely with and support families and carers. As well as an outpatient service, they also offer specialist Early Years and Intensive Treatment Services in the Lothian area. The CAMHS ID team offer specialist advice for parents including supporting positive behaviour, sleep issues, feeding issues and social skills.
Child’s Plan (or Young Person’s Plan)
A Child's Plan will be available for a child who needs extra support to address their needs and improve their wellbeing. A Child's Plan is developed in partnership with the child, their parent(s) and the services involved.
Child’s Planning Meeting (and YPPM)
A Child’s Planning Meeting (CPM) or Young Person’s Planning Meeting (YPPM) is a meeting of all the professionals who are involved in the child or young person’s care, support and education. As a parent, you would normally be invited to attend the CPM or YPPM. This is a meeting to consider your child's additional support needs and wellbeing. It will note what the needs are and record the plan to support your child.
Children’s Hearing
A children's hearing is a legal meeting set up because there are concerns about a child’s wellbeing or the care they are receiving. At every children’s hearing there are always three volunteers, called Panel Members, and it is their role to understand the child’s circumstances, listen to their views, and then make legal decisions about how to make sure the child is protected and cared for.
Clinical Psychologist
A Clinical Psychologist will help you with strategies to manage your child’s behaviour. Clinical psychologists are trained to work with individuals of different ages with behavioural, emotional and/or psychological distress which disrupts their everyday activities and well-being. A child Clinical Psychologist will aim to help your child to engage in meaningful relationships, school and leisure activities. The Clinical Psychologist will be part of the CAMHS team (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).
Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP)
A Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) is a legal document prepared by local authorities for certain children and young people with additional support needs (i.e. the support from education to reach their full potential). The plan outlines: their additional support needs, objectives that have been set for them to achieve and the support they need to achieve the objectives. A parent can challenge the contents of a Co-ordinated Support Plan at an Additional Support Needs Tribunal. To meet the criteria for a co-ordinated support plan a child or young person must have additional support needs arising from one or more complex factors or multiple factors and these needs must be likely to continue for more than a year.
Co-ordinated Support Plan Co-ordinator (CSP Co-ordinator)
A CSP co-ordinator will be appointed to be in charge of the CSP and will make sure people carry out the actions set out in the plan. They are also responsible for telling you, your child and everyone involved in providing additional support what is expected of them.
Counselling
Counselling offers an opportunity for you to reflect on what’s going on in your life in a one to one conversation with a qualified counsellor. Each session will provide a safe and confidential place for you to think out loud and put feelings into words. Counselling can offer an opportunity to slow down, take stock of emotions and look for alternative perspectives on your worries, stresses and fears. Kindred runs a counselling service providing specialist support to parents and carers of children with complex needs. Counselling sessions last an hour and you usually attend weekly or fortnightly. There is no charge to you for the Kindred counselling sessions.
Curriculum for Excellence
Curriculum for Excellence is the national programme of learning for Scottish Schools for children aged 3–18. It was developed following a 'National Debate on Education' in 2002. The curriculum is based on four key purposes of education; those that enable young people to become, "successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors." The aim is that each child and young person in Scotland has a coherent experience of education, and that they have opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to adapt, think critically and flourish in today’s world.
Disability Discrimination Claim
If you believe your child has been treated unfavourably you should seek advice on whether your situation meets the criteria for a Disability Discrimination Claim. The education department has a duty under the law to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to ensure that your child can access their education. If you believe your child has been treated unfavourably because of their disability and this affects their education you can appeal to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal (this is called ‘making a claim’).
Dispute resolution
The term dispute resolution covers several different ways that can be used to help resolve disagreements between parents or young people and a school or local authority. The most frequent area of dispute is on the decision about which school the child should attend. The three ways of resolving disputes are:
- mediation
- independent adjudication
- the Additional Support Needs Tribunal Scotland
Educational Psychologist
Educational psychologists use their training in psychology and knowledge of child development to assess difficulties children may be having with their learning. The Educational Psychologist is likely to be involved in the Child’s Planning Meeting (or Young Person’s Planning Meeting). They will advise you, on behalf of the local authority, about the best school place for your child and what individual support your child might require in school. If you have concerns about your child’s development or learning you should raise these with the Educational Psychologist.
English as an additional language teacher
An English as an additional language teacher specialises in helping children whose first language is not English.
Enquire
Enquire is the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning. The service provides easy to understand advice and information about additional support for learning. Enquire has many useful factsheets and also produce ‘The parent’s guide to additional support for learning’.
Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC)
This is a Scottish Government programme that aims to improve outcomes for all children and young people in Scotland. It applies to all services working with children – social work, health, education, police, housing and voluntary organisations. The aim of this programme is to encourage everyone to work together. One of the benefits of GIRFEC is that professionals work together to plan the support for the child (the Child’s Plan) and hold joint meetings (the Child’s Planning Meeting or Young Person’s Planning Meeting). Under GIRFEC, one professional is identified to be responsible for your child’s wellbeing (the Named Person).
Grant-aided schools
Grant-aided special schools are independent of local authorities but are supported financially by the Scottish Government. The schools provide education for children who have additional support needs, often because of long-term, complex or multiple factors.
Guardianship
When your child reaches the age of 16, they will automatically have the legal right to make decisions affecting their life. If you feel your child will not be able to make decisions then you may need to apply for guardianship. A guardianship order allows you to make ongoing decisions on behalf of your child (like paying bills, dealing with bank accounts, or making decisions about care and personal welfare matters). The order is granted by a sheriff and is usually in place for a set period of time – for example 3 years. Applying for guardianship requires the assessment of two medical professionals and a Mental Health Officer. There are lots of administrative steps involved and many parents ask for advocacy support to complete the process. Most parents take legal advice and there is usually a cost involved.
Health visitor
A health visitor is a registered nurse who is employed to give advice to people, especially the parents of very young children, about health care, sometimes by visiting them in their own homes.
Holistic Care
A holistic approach means to provide support that looks at the whole person, not just their mental health needs. The support should also consider their physical, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing.
Inclusion Resource
An Inclusion Resource is a support base in a mainstream high school which supports students who have significant additional support needs, arising from learning difficulties and/ or language communication difficulties. These children are part of their mainstream class and additional curriculum activities specific to the child’s needs are offered by a team of trained support staff and qualified teachers.
Independent adjudication
Independent adjudication is available if you have a disagreement with your local authority over your child’s education. However, this form of ‘dispute resolution’ is only available for certain types of disagreement (more information is available in a factsheet provided by Enquire). The adjudicator is someone who is independent of your local authority and has expertise in dealing with children who have additional support needs. Applications for independent adjudication are made to Scottish Government.
Independent advocacy
This definition of Independent advocacy is given by the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA):
Independent advocacy is about speaking up for, and standing alongside individuals or groups, and not being influenced by the views of others. Fundamentally it is about everyone having the right to a voice: addressing barriers and imbalances of power, and ensuring that an individual’s human rights are recognised, respected, and secured.
Independent advocacy supports people to navigate systems and acts as a catalyst for change in a situation. Independent advocacy can have a preventative role and stop situations from escalating, and it can help individuals and groups being supported to develop the skills, confidence and understanding to advocate for themselves.
Independent advocacy is especially important when individuals or groups are not heard, are vulnerable or are discriminated against. This can happen where support networks are limited or if there are barriers to communication. Independent advocacy also enables people to stay engaged with services that are struggling to meet their needs.
Independent schools
Independent or ‘private’ schools are schools which are managed independently of any local authority and do not receive grant funding from the Scottish Government. They usually charge fees for providing full- time education for pupils of school age.
Independent special schools
Independent special schools are schools which are not grant-aided or under the management of a local authority, and offer enhanced provision for pupils who have additional support needs.
Language Unit
Language Units are for primary aged children who have additional language and communication needs, often with a diagnosis of autism. They are designed to provide an environment which has low sensory stimulation and are situated within mainstream primary schools.
Lead professional
When two or more agencies (for example social work and health) need to work together to provide help to a child or young person and family, there will be a lead professional to co-ordinate the help. The lead professional is the main point of contact for parents.
Looked after
Some children and young people have difficult life experiences that may mean involvement of the local authority and the Children’s Hearing system and the law courts. Sometimes the child or young person becomes looked after by their local authority. A child may be looked after at home by their parents or looked after away from home through placement in foster, kinship or residential care. All children and young people who are looked after must have a regularly reviewed care plan.
Mediation
Mediation is a voluntary process during which a neutral third person (a mediator) helps those involved in a disagreement or dispute to work towards an agreement that is acceptable to everyone involved. Mediation may be funded by the local authority if the disagreement is about additional support for learning.
Mental health
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It is about feeling good about life and this affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
See Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and CAMHS Intellectual Disability Service (CAMHS ID).
Multi Agency Meeting
A meeting in which professionals from different services (e.g. your child’s teacher, paediatrician and social worker) come together to discuss your child’s needs and co-ordinate the support which they will provide. The Child’s Planning Meeting and the Young Person’s Planning Meeting are usually Multi Agency Meetings. Bringing together all the relevant professionals saves a lot of time because each professional can contribute their opinion and this means that the plan for your child is better informed and more likely to proceed without changes.
Named Person
A Named Person is a single point of contact who can work with a child and their family to sort out any additional help, advice or support if they need it. Health visitors, head teachers or senior teachers will be the Named Person for most children and young people, depending on their age. They will also be the main contact for children and families. The Named Person scheme is a voluntary scheme and is not obligatory for you to have a Named Person for your child.
Nurse Practitioner (can usually prescribe medication)
Nurse Practitioners are registered nurses with advanced training with a graduate (Master of Science in Nursing or Doctor of Nursing Practice) education that includes skills and expertise to assess patient needs. A key difference from other nurses is that a Nurse Practitioner can prescribe medication.
Occupational Therapist
Occupational therapists work with parents and others to assess a child to find out if they have difficulties with the practical and social skills necessary for everyday life. The therapist will aim to help the child be as physically, psychologically and socially independent as possible. They are often referred to as O.T's
Paediatrician and Community Paediatrician
A paediatrician is a doctor who has special training in medical care for children. If your child has medical condition then you will usually be supported by a Community Paediatrician who will get to know your child and keep an eye on their development.
Palliative Care
Palliative care is care which relieves pain and other distressing symptoms (rather than focussing on cure or treatment of a condition). Usually, palliative care is provided near the end of a child’s life. Palliative care to make them as comfortable as possible, by managing their pain and other distressing symptoms. It also involves psychological, social and spiritual support for you and your family. This is called a holistic approach, because it deals with you as a "whole" person, not just your illness or symptoms. In Scotland, Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) provides palliative care services to many families.
Physical health
Physical health relates to the function of the body. Good physical health is not just the absence of disease. Regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and adequate rest all contribute to good health of your child.
Physiotherapist (and physio)
Physiotherapists assess and manage children with movement disorders, disability or illness. They aim to help the child reach their full potential and improve their quality of life by encouraging independence, physical fitness and wellbeing. They will do this by providing physical intervention, advice and support. People often referred to them as "Physio's" and the physiotherapy they offer as "physio".
Placing request
A placing request is a formal, recorded request that a parent or young person aged 16 or over makes to a local authority for a place in a school that is neither the local catchment school nor the school recommended by the local authority. A local authority must reply to a placing request within set timescales and there is a right of appeal if a request is refused. Local guidelines on placing requests are available from the local authority. If you make a placing request for a special school which is turned down by the local authority then you can appeal the decision to the Additional Support Needs Tribunals Scotland.
Play therapist, ( including psycho-therapeutic support) art therapy, music therapy, group therapy
Play therapists use play as a communication tool to help children understand their world and deal with emotional distress and trauma.
Positive Behavioural Support (PBS)
Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) aims to encourage positive behaviour and reduce challenging behaviour. It involves recording a child’s harmful or negative behaviour (when does it happen, what is the context, how long does it last, the intensity). It is then possible to identify ‘triggers’ and to work out strategies for reducing harmful or negative behaviour, and for encouraging positive behaviour.
Power of Attorney (or POA's)
A Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows someone to make decisions on your behalf if you are over 16 years old in Scotland. To appoint a Power of Attorney you have to be capable of asking another person to make decisions for you. If your child does not have the ability to appoint you Power of Attorney (e.g. because of learning disability) then you will need to seek guardianship to make decision on their behalf. Guardianship is the right route if your young person has a learning disability (lacks capacity) and Power of Attorney is the right route for people who want to ensure that legal processes are in place if they become incapable of making decisions for themselves in future (this may be due to natural ageing, or to a degenerative condition). Sometimes Power of Attorney is shortened to POA.
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a medically trained doctor who specialises in mental health problems and their diagnosis, management and prevention. Psychiatrists are also often involved in diagnosis of conditions including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Tourette’s Syndrome. A diagnosis of one of these conditions does not mean your child has mental health problems but your child may be more likely to have anxiety or poor sleep and these can be linked to mental health problems. A psychiatrist will advise on treatment, including behavioural support and may suggest medication.
Psychologist
A psychologist is someone who studies the human mind and human emotions and behaviour and how different situations have an effect on people. Look up ‘clinical psychologist’ and ‘educational psychologist’ in our jargon buster for more information on these roles.
Pupil Support Assistant (PSA) - also called learning support assistant
A Pupil Support Assistant (PSA) works closely with teachers in the classroom and their role is to encourage children and young people with learning activities. The PSA may support your child 1:1 for some of the time, or support your child in small groups. If your child has a high level of need a PSA may support them throughout the school day. The PSA will try to encourage your child to interact with the teacher and other children as much as possible.
Respite
‘Respite’ means a short break. It is any form of service or assistance which allows you (as a parent or carer) to have sufficient and regular periods away from you caring routines or responsibilities. The purpose of respite is to support the caring relationship and promote the health and well-being of the carer, the supported person, and other family members affected by the caring situation. It is a big step to accept respite care for the first time, but many parents are surprised how much the child or young person enjoy their break. Overnight respite providers have trained staff who can help with therapeutic support for your child. It can be make a big difference to your child and your family to get overnight respite.
School nurse
School nurses are involved with health promotion and education, prevention of ill-health, immunisation, health surveillance and screening. They will inform parents and the family doctor if further action is necessary and act as an important link between home and school. The school nurse can advise on issues such as soiling, bedwetting, and emotional and behavioural problems.
Section 23 Assessment
If your child has a disability or long-term health condition then you are likely to require additional help with family life. The Social Work department of your local authority has a duty to assess the needs of your child. This is called a Section 23 Assessment, which refers to the relevant section of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. Most local authorities have a social work team which is dedicated to working with children with disabilities and you will find their contact details on your council’s website or through Directory Enquiries. Social work departments usually have ‘eligibility criteria’ for deciding which children will receive services and how much support will be provided depending on the level of need. Be prepared for a bit of a wait for an assessment. A social worker will come to your home to assess your child’s needs. The assessment will be based on a range of factors such as your child’s health and behaviour, but also your family circumstances and your home environment.
Self Directed Support (SDS)
Self Directed Support (SDS) means having choice and control over support for your child which is provided by social work. If your child has significant needs you will be allocated a budget. The Social Work Department will calculate how much money you can use (your individual budget). Through SDS, you or your family can spend your individual budget on services (such as respite and leisure activities) that support your child’s health and wellbeing. You or your family can manage this budget (Direct Payment), or the Council can manage it for you.
Social worker
Social workers can offer a range of support to individual children or to whole families. Services offered could include respite, holiday help, advocacy, befriending, help with behaviour management and money or benefits advice. If a child or their family already has a social worker, it is likely that he or she will be involved in deciding what additional support the child needs at school.
Specialist Nurse
Specialist nurses are qualified nurses with additional training who have developed a particular area expertise, often for long term conditions. In children’s health, there are nurse specialists in areas such as epilepsy, asthma, pain management, and neurology. Nurse specialists are often the person to turn to with questions about your child’s condition and to discuss best ways to manage care at home.
Speech and language therapist (SALT)
Speech and language therapists work with parents and others to assess a child to find out if they have difficulties with speech and/or language, communication or eating and drinking. The therapist will consider how the difficulties might affect their life and, if appropriate, decide how the child can be helped to reach their full communication potential.
Staged intervention
A staged intervention process means that there is a step by step approach to plans and support for your child. As you child grows and develops they will grow out of one stage and move up to the next stage. This process is used by most local authorities. The ‘staged intervention’ process helps you to check that your child is making progress.
Support Base
A Support Base is a classroom or area within a mainstream school where young people can go for extra support or to take a bit of time out of the busy school environment. Some young people find it helpful to have a place where they can spend break and lunchtimes and the Support Base sometimes offers activities such as chess or computing.
Support for learning teacher
Support for learning teachers advise other members of staff on the full range of teaching/learning strategies, methods and resources. Sometimes, they will provide individual tutorial support to a child who has additional support needs, or they might take small groups of pupils.
Therapist
There are a number of different types of therapists including physiotherapists and occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, play therapists, music therapists, drama therapists and art therapists. Increasingly, therapists are seeking to transfer skills to parents and staff who work with children every day so that they are better able to help children reach their full potential.
Transition / transition stages
Transitions are the moves children and young people make from home to an early learning and childcare (ELC) setting, from there to primary, from stage to stage, from primary to secondary, between schools and from secondary to further education and beyond. Transitions and changes are part of everyone's life. The vast majority of children and young people look forward to moving on. However transitions can be challenging and support from parents and staff can help transitions go more smoothly.
Young People’s Planning Meeting
A Child’s Planning Meeting (CPM) or Young Person’s Planning Meeting (YPPM) is a meeting of all the professionals who are involved in the child or young person’s care, support and education. As a parent, you will be invited to attend the CPM or YPPM. This is a meeting to consider your child's additional support needs and wellbeing. It will note what the needs are and record the plan to support your child. If possible, your child will also be invited to attend or contribute their views.
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