Learning Difficulty Assessment (LDA) Guidance Notes on ...



Learning Difficulty Assessment (LDA) Guidance Notes on Completion

Introduction

This guidance documentation has been written to give practical advice to schools and professionals completing the Learning Difficulty Assessment (LDA) for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities. This should be used in conjunction with the statutory guidance for Local Authorities on Learning Difficulty Assessments (Section 139a) please see the Department for Education website and download the guidance documentation from the link:

Some key principles from the LDA statutory guidance

• Local authorities must use the evidence from the LDA to make consistent, effective and robust decisions that will support the young person to move towards positive outcomes.

• The LDA report must be specific about the level of need required and the support and learning provision required to meet those needs.

• The LDA should have a specific focus on the learning programme that is required to enable the young person to progress towards greater independence and where appropriate employment.

• The LDA should take account of the young person’s aspirations and views.

• The LDA should build on the views, and where appropriate, expertise of other people who have already supported the person being assessed.

• Unless the learner/parent/carer has expressly refused permission, the local authority should share the LDA with the college or other education or training provider and do so in sufficient time to ensure provision and support are in place from the outset.

• The local authority should ensure that the young person and their parents/carers understand the Learning Difficulty Assessment process and the decisions that are made as part of that process.

• LDAs should be shared with the young person and/or their parents or carers.

• Local authorities should ensure that the young person and their parent/carers are aware of the duties and powers a local authority has in relation to learners with learning difficulties or disabilities, the procedure for obtaining a LDA and the complaints process.

• The LDA should provide robust and impartial information.

Section 2 of the MOP

Section 2 of the combined MOP and Annual Review documentation is the Learning Difficulty Assessment (LDA). The LDA is the statutory and legal document conducted under Section 139A of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. The purpose of the LDA is to identify the young person's needs and suitable Post 16 provision to meet those needs. For more details please see introduction of this paper and follow the link attached.

LDA Part a – Identifying needs and the support required to meet those needs

|My Difficulties and Disabilities – (Please ☒ all that apply and indicate the primary difficulty) |

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|☐ Academic/Learning |☐ Personal Safety and Vulnerability |

|☐ Attendance |☐ Physical Difficulty/Disability |

|☐ Behaviour |☐ Sensory Impairment |

|☐ Medical and Health |☐ Other (for example a young carer) |

|☐ Mental Health |If other, please specify below: |

|☐ Mobility | |

|☐ Personal Care and Hygiene | |

|☐ Personal and Social Relationships | |

|Recommended additional or specialist support required to meet identified needs and access the curriculum. |

|(Please ☒ all that apply) |

| | |

|☐ Additional Tuition |☐ Independence training |

|☐ In Class Support (1 to 1) |☐ Therapy and/or counselling |

|☐ In Class Support (Shared) |☐ Ability to travel independently |

|☐ Personal care support |☐ Health/medical support |

|☐ Equipment |☐ Speech and Language therapy |

|☐ Transition Mentor |☐ Social skills/behaviour management |

| |☐ Transitions Social Worker |

| |☐ Other (please specify below): |

|Please give any specific details of the support provision needed. For example the number of hours of 1-1 support or particular areas of |

|the curriculum it is needed, the type and frequency of therapy, and the type of equipment (mobility, communication etc.) |

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|Agencies that I am working with – please indicate the lead professional if applicable: |

| |Current Report attached (within | |Current Report attached (within |

| |last 2 years) | |last 2 years) |

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|☐ Behaviour support worker |

|☐ Educational psychologists |

|☐ Education Welfare Service |

|☐ Health Professionals |

|☐ Learning mentor |

|☐ Looked After Children Service |

|☐ Mental Health Specialists |

|Type of provision identified as the most appropriate to meet my personal and individual needs (name of the Provider and the Learning |

|Programme); including reasons why, where my needs cannot be met locally: Please note that this is a recommendation and does not |

|constitute an agreement that placement will be made at the identified provision. Placement is subject to agreement by the Local |

|Authority and in consultation with the appropriate provisions who will advise if they can meet the young person’s needs. |

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| |Student |Parent/Carer |School |

|Continue education at the current school in post 16 | | | |

|provision | | | |

|Continue education at a different school in post 16 | | | |

|provision | | | |

|Continue education at a local Further Education | | | |

|College (FE College) | | | |

|Continue Education at an Alternative Learning Provider| | | |

|Apprenticeship or other training | | | |

|Employment | | | |

|Continuing in education at a specialist day or | | | |

|residential specialist college (ISP) | | | |

|Has a provision been secured? |

|☐ Yes ☐ No |

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|If NO, what action needs to be taken and who is responsible for this action? |

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LDA Part C – Predicted Level of Support needed by me at my Post16/19 Placement

|Please indicate ☒the predicted level of support needed by this Young Person in Post-16 provision: |

|Level One: this Young Person requires additional support >£5K and £19K, with the additional costs above £19K, | |

|negotiated on their behalf with a Post 16/19 placement (further education college or work related learning | |

|placement) and funded by the Learner’s with Learning Difficulties or Disabilities (LLDD) Specialist Placement |☐ |

|Budget from the EFA. | |

|Level Three: this Young Person requires a Specialist Placement with both programme of learning and support | |

|negotiated on their behalf and funded as part of the LLDD Specialist Placement budget from the EFA, which includes|☐ |

|provision at Independent Specialist Providers (ISPs) where this Young Person’s needs cannot be met locally. | |

Other Key information to help when completing the Learning Difficulty Assessment and Moving on Plan:

Who should contribute?

It is good practice to include contributions from all or some of the following people depending on who is involved with the individual:

- Young Person

- Parents or carers of the young person (where appropriate)

- School the young person attends or previously attended

- Social Worker (if young person has a named Social Worker)

- Health Professionals (if the young person is working with Health and contributions are able to be gained)

- Educational Psychologist

- Any other relevant professionals working with the individual

These contributions can come from discussion at the Transitional/ Annual review or written evidence such as a medical report or professional assessment.

What Evidence can inform the LDA?

Evidence can come from a variety of sources to inform the LDA. If an individual is Statemented then evidence from their statement of SEN must be included, however you should be mindful about the relevance of statements which are out of date or written prior to starting secondary education. The statement should be reviewed as part of the combined MOP and Annual Review.

Other evidence can come from:

- Transitional Review

- Annual Review

- Parent/ Carer views (this can come from the Transition/ Annual Review, a separate meeting or a letter)

- Guidance Action Plan (this identifies career aims)

- Individual Education Plan (School)

- Behaviour Management Plan (School)

- Educational Psychologist Report

- Leaving Care Plan (Social Services)

- Personal Education Plan (Social Services)

- Social Care Assessment (Social Services)

- Health Assessment (for example of on-going medical needs)

- Any other relevant supporting evidence

Evidence must be relevant to support the needs of the individual and outline the support they require in order to reach their full potential. All information should be backed by evidence and evidence should be sent to Local Authority and the provider to support the application process and identification of additional support.

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Select the type of needs the YP has, as described in the statement and any secondary needs – note if there are any diagnosis’

This recommendation should be based on the level of support received in school but also consider the college environment. Recommendation for therapy etc should be in line with recommendations from professionals (e.g. Speech & Language Therapist, Physiotherapist, Educational Psychologist)

This is more detail of the provision indicated in the previous section with particular reference to the curriculum. This could be similar format to an IEP. Consideration should be given to in class time, unstructured time, practical sessions and additional support programmes such as behaviour skills, social skills and therapy. Include ratio of support and number of hours per week which may be required. Progression should be considered and increasing independence, therefore if the level of support should be reduced over time or if a young person should access shared support after transition this should be noted with expected timescales as an example.

Recommendations should be made in line with views of professionals involved. This can also focus on areas where support is not needed and areas of relative strength to give a full picture of the support needs.

Key Questions/Evidence:

• How will the college training provider meet the identified learning needs of the young person?

• What staff to pupil ratio is needed specify the number of hours

• What specialist teaching/learning support/equipment is needed?

• Is there a health or therapy support required as part of their programme – be specific and on recommendation of relevant professional.

Indicate which agencies are involved and those where a referral has been made awaiting assessment (e.g. social care) If a professional has been identified as a Lead Professional as part of the CAF/TAC process please indicate.

Attach relevant reports. It is useful to mark reports as an appendix.

Identify the young person’s goals. For learning goals identify the type and level of programme needed to achieve that goal.

Key Questions/evidence

• What courses/training programmes are being considered by the young person?

• Why is this course/training programme suitable?

• What short term goals would the YP like to achieve (include goals from outside education and training)?

• What are their long term goals – after the course and on-going into adulthood?

For more details on type and level of courses visit

The Young person’s wider needs must be considered here as well, for example housing needs, care needs and health needs and short and long term goals. This section should focus on progression and the expected outcomes from completing their learning. There should be a clear emphasis on the student’s realistic aspirations, focusing on progression towards independence and eventual employment where appropriate.

From the identification of goals and learning programmes in the previous section and the level of support needed to access a type of provision should be identified. All possible options which support the aspirations of the young person should be considered; including work based learning, apprenticeships and supported internships. As part of this process a range of local provisions should be considered with the young person and consulted ideally by involvement in the review or by copy of the MOP to see if they can meet needs and offer a place. ABP…•5 C ab¥¦§¨ÅÝíÜÈ·¥·¥·?·?}?·o^J&hkj°hkj°5?>*[pic]CJOJ[?]QJ[?]^J[?]aJ hkj°5?>*[pic]CJOJ[?]QJ[?]^J[?]aJhO}CJOJ[?]QJ[?]^J[?]aJ$hkj°hO}0JCJOJ[?]QJ[?]^J[?]aJ)jhkj°hO}CJOJ[?]QJ[?]U[pic]^J[?]aJ#hkj°hO}5?CJOJ[?]QJ[?]^J[?]aJ hkj°hO}CJBe mindful that each college will have its own application procedure for students/parents to complete. For more details on future learning pathways available within Swindon and surrounding areas visit (Site live from September 2012)

If it is deemed through consultation, that local colleges and alternative provisions can not meet the educational support needs identified, an Independent Specialist College can be identified. It should be made clear to all parties at an early stage that a place at an Independent Specialist Provision (ISP) will only be agreed by the Local Authority if local options have been considered and deemed unable to meet needs. It is important that young people and parents are clear about the Policy and Procedure for post 16 young people with SEN/LDD. A copy is attached to this guidance.

If a residential provision is being recommended the reasons for this should be clearly identified and related to the needs identified earlier in the document. Social Care professionals should be consulted as appropriate and an assessment of their wider care needs completed stating whether the social care needs can or cannot be met locally. Further details will be collected through section 3 of this combined MOP/Annual Review Document.

Key Questions/Evidence

• What provision has been explored?

• What visits/links/discussions have taken place?

• Have applications (to mainstream colleges/providers) been made and places offered?

• How can the proposed placement ensure positive success in meeting the young person’s short/long term goals?

Identify the preferred provision and make application or arrangements to share the MOP as part of transition arrangement. Please note that if identifying an ISP, assessments or applications should not be made until agreement has been reached by the LA through the Multi Agency Panel on return of the completed MOP.

Please note that the funding of Additional support will change from April 2013 and therefore the levels here may change. However the principal will remain the same. This section is asking you to identify the level of support required in financial terms.

This is used as an indication of the level of support needed in further education provision, with 1 being the lowest and 3 meaning that needs cannot be met locally in mainstream or alternative provision. (In line with the guidance in the previous sections) The college will be required to make application for support costs following an assessment of need, however, this will be used as an initial indication of the level of need for planning and forecasting purposes.

Level 1 – if the package of additional support identified through the MOP to meet the young persons needs costs between £5000 and £19000 of Additional Learning Support. This will be the majority of learners with a range of additional needs currently met within mainstream and specialist provision. As a rough guide 1 hour in class LSA (1-1) is approximately £20

Level 2 – if the support identified through the MOP required to meet the young persons needs within the identified provision costs in excess of £19000 of Additional Learning Support. This will be learners requiring significant high levels of additional support over and above £19000 in total.

Level 3 – where the recommendation from the MOP indicates that the learners additional support needs cannot be met in local mainstream provision or alternative providers

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