some children of living away from family or friends.  Both the education welfare service and social services departments should be able to contribute to realistic planning and parental involvement in the resolution of any difficulties.  Schools should consider whether the child's teacher or the school's SEN coordinator should attend the child's care plan review.  In some instances children may have missed developmental or health checks, and the school health service should be consulted if there is any doubt about the child's health or well-being, and to ensure that there is no remediable sensory or other impairment or medical condition which is contributing to any difficulties the child has in school.  For further information, see the Circular: 'The Education of Children Being Looked After By Local Authorities'.

2:57.   Schools should therefore have suitable arrangements for:

·   liaising with social services

·   registering a concern about a child's welfare

·   putting into practice any local procedures relating to child protection issues

·   liaising with the local authority when a child is looked after by that authority

·   obtaining information on services provided by the local authority for children 'in need'.

Special educational needs support services

2:58.   Special educational needs support services can play an important part in helping schools identify, assess and make provision for children with special educational needs.  Such services include specialist teachers of children with hearing, visual, and speech and language impairments, teachers in more general learning and behaviour support services, educational psychologists and advisers or teachers with a knowledge of information technology for children with special educational needs.

2:59.   Schools should work in close partnership with the providers of such services.  The SEN coordinator, in particular, should be aware of the LEA's policy for the provision of support services and how the school can secure access to them.  LEAs should provide full information to all schools in their area about the range of services locally available and how they can be secured.  Whether or not funding for particular support services is delegated to schools, it may be helpful for schools and LEAs to make service level agreements for such services, specifying the scope, quality and duration of the service.  When schools enter into contracts with private or voluntary sector providers, they should satisfy themselves of the qualifications and experience of the specialists involved and that the service represents good value for money.

2:60.   Schools should always consult specialists when they take action on behalf of a child at stage 3.  But the involvement of specialists need not be confined to stage 3. Outside specialists can play an important part in the very early identification of special educational needs and in advising schools on effective provision which can prevent the development of more significant needs.