Provision for children and young people with Special Educati

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 The team at The Old Post Office have a wealth of knowledge and experience of working with children and young people with Special Educational Needs. We are a growing service and are looking to offer the following:

 Navigating the SEND system can sometimes be confusing and isolating. We can offer support in enabling parents and carers to feel prepared, supported and educated with the information required to support their child for meetings with multi agencies, such as Annual Reviews for EHC plans and Social care meetings. 

 We can offer bespoke, unique and holistic packages of support to ensure no child or young person is left behind.

A range of assessments can be offered including dyslexia screens, ADOS, S & L, emotional well-being, learning profiles.

We can offer support enabling those struggling to communicate their thoughts and feelings which may be having an impact on their education, family and wider aspects of life.

 Support to SENDCo’s on an individual, targeted and whole school level in a cost effective way to achieve value for money & improved outcomes. 

  Anita Auer is an experienced educator with an outstanding record of working with children with dyslexia and those considered to be at risk of dyslexia. She has a BA with first class honours in Professional Studies in Learning and Development, is a qualified SENDCo, holds a qualification from the University of Brighton: ‘Supporting the Learning of Children with Dyslexia’, and is about to start training with Canterbury Christ Church University towards achieving her PgCert Specialist Teaching and Assessment for Dyslexia which she hopes will lead to her achieving her ‘Assessment Practicing Certificate’ to be able to formally assess for Dyslexia and become an associate member of the British Dyslexia Association. 

A recent ‘parent voice’ sent to a local school commented: 

Mrs Auer – she has been amazing and whatever teaching techniques she uses are great. My son has come on leaps and bounds this year.

Dyslexia Screening Test

A Dyslexia Screening Test (DST) is designed to provide an indication to the likelihood of a child / young person being identified as dyslexic if they were to undertake a full diagnostic assessment. A dyslexia screening test does not provide a formal diagnosis of dyslexia; only a full diagnostic assessment can determine if dyslexia is present. 

Schools often provide DSTs as part of their routine SEN provision as the outcomes can help to inform next steps. Anita also offers this test at The Old Post Office Wellbeing Hub as part of their SEN provision; the test takes approximately an hour. The DST is quicker and less formal than the full diagnostic assessment and looks at a range of skills including non-verbal language, language skills, speed, and hand-eye skills. Anita can facilitate a DST from the age of six and a half, through secondary. The DST is summarised and interpreted by Anita and provides an ‘At Risk Quotient’ which is a score that indicates whether the child / young person is at risk of dyslexia. Risks will be recorded in a range of ‘no risk of dyslexia’, ‘mild risk of dyslexia’, ‘at risk of dyslexia’ and ‘strong risk of dyslexia’. If the DST indicates a high possibility of dyslexic tendencies, Anita advises following up with a full diagnostic test and would recommend someone to carry this out this until she is qualified to do it herself. 

If the outcome of the DST shows a moderate risk, or specific areas of weakness, Anita would put together a report to suggest next steps. In her experience, Anita finds that it is often worth repeating this test after interventions have been put in place for some time; comparing the results can continue to inform diagnosis and next steps. 

Anita offers the following as part of her dyslexia support package:

Dyslexia Screening Test  £70.00

This includes some information gathering before the test, followed by the test. Anita then provides a written report which will summarise and interpret the test results and provide an ‘At Risk Quotient’. The parent / carer will then be invited back to The Old Post Office to discuss the outcomes and possible next steps; this could be advice on areas to concentrate on at home or signposting to other professionals who could support. 

Specialist Tuition  £40 per 45 min session + feedback to parent

Anita is a Specialist Leader of Education for Primary English, has undertaken two pieces of research into using art to engage reluctant writers, and has had excellent outcomes when supporting those who struggle with English. Anita can provide personalised, 1-1 specialist tuition for children who are struggling; this would include support for both technical skills and confidence.

For more information, or to book, contact Anita on anita.auer2021@outlook.com 

Anita Auer and Claire Cavie are both experienced senior leaders in education, teachers with a specialism in ‘quality first teaching’ and ‘inclusive classroom’, and SENCOs. Between them, they have a wealth of knowledge and experience of working with children and young people with Special Educational Needs. We are a growing service and aim to support children, families, and school staff to be the best that they can be. We are gradually bringing onboard professional associates who specialise in speech and language, occupational therapy, mental health etc who we can refer on to. 

Support throughout the EHCP Process

At The Old Post Office Wellbeing Hub, we appreciate that finding your way through the EHCP maze can be difficult, stressful, and time-consuming; we are here to help you. If what you need help with isn’t covered below, please contact us – we are very adaptable!

Initial Meeting  £75.00

The initial meeting is a chance for you to meet us personally and offload; this allows us to get a better picture of where you are at and what to suggest or help with next. This meeting can be held at our purpose-built venue in Mountfield or at an alternative venue.

Identification and assessment of needs  £40 per hour

This can happen at any time, from a parent first having concerns about their child’s progress and attainment, through considering whether the child should be in receipt of additional support in school and placed on the SEN register, to the EHCP process. Our support can range from support to identify concerns, raising concerns with the school, assessments of need, guidance for parents on how to support targets identified on their child’s ‘Personal Learning Plan’, ‘Additional Needs Plan’ or similar documentation, and support through the EHCP process. We can help your child to write their own ‘Pupil Passport’ which will inform those around them how they can support them. We would also be willing to go into school (with their permission) to observe the child to collect and collate information for a report, and we could gather baseline assessments for their Pupil Profile. Alternatively, the school could approach us directly to create a complete observation and assessment package. 

Specialist Assessments Details of cost given at time of referral

We have a group of associates who can formally test and diagnose your child in a range of areas, including speech and language, occupational therapy etc. After our initial meeting with you, we may direct you directly to one of these specialists so that you get the best support immediately. 

Specialist Tuition  £40 per 45 min session + feedback to parent

We have a team of tutors who would be able to provide specialised support for your child’s needs. This can range from academic subjects, emotional regulation, social skills, functional skills and work towards AQA Unit Award Scheme certification.

Parent Drop-in Sessions 

On the first Thursday of every month, we hold a meeting for parents to drop in and chat about their child's needs with us or other parents. These are detailed each month on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095283307561. 

For more information, or to book, contact us on topo.send@outlook.com 

Above all, we appreciate that this can be tough on parents – we are here to help and support you.