Additional Support Needs Placement Group

The ASN Placement group considers the needs of children who generally have longstanding additional support needs arising from disability.

The Team with the Family has assessed that the child’s needs may be such that they need a highly specialist educational offer that cannot be met in a mainstream school as the curriculum, teaching and learning approach, learning environment and assessment approach needed is not able to be offered within a mainstream school. 

Where a Team with the Family have agreed that assessment suggests that the removal of the presumption of mainstream should be considered, they submit their assessment with parent and/or carers’ consent to be considered by the ASN Placement Group.

A member of the group will observe the child and the group will meet to discuss the child’s needs. This can only occur with your consent. We would not proceed with a request to the ASN Placement Group if parent or Carer did not consent to this.

Assessment at the Early Years stage would involve a minimum consultation with an East Ayrshire Educational Psychologists (EP) and in some situations the EP would, with your consent, become involved in the assessment process with the Early Childhood Centre. 

For school aged children, if a school assessment suggests that the barriers to learning for a child are so great that they are unsure if their needs can be met in mainstream, they should already be seeking advice from their link Educational Psychologist to inform planning.

Where an ASN Placement Group submission is agreed at a Team with the Family meeting this should be undertaken collaboratively and submitted by the Educational Psychologist.

Your views and the views of your child should be sought and good practice is that you as your child’s parent or carer would receive a copy of this assessment if you wish to see it.

The Early Years to P1 ASN Placement Group meets in November of the child’s Pre-school year. Decisions are usually communicated in January of the child’s preschool year, before P1 enrolment. 

The Schools’ ASN Placement Group meets three times per year:

1. In January to consider the removal of the presumption of mainstream for children with a view to them enrolling in an ASN Centre from April of that year. We aim to have this decision with you within 28 term time days.
2. In April to consider the removal of the presumption of mainstream for children with a view to them enrolling in an ASN Centre from August of that next academic year. We aim to have this decision with you within 28 term time days.
3. In the summer term to consider P6s to allow for appropriate transition planning to take place in the P7 year to S1. We aim to have decisions communicated to parents and carers by October of the child’s P7 year. 

The Early Years to P1 ASN Placement Group is Chaired by the Principal Educational Psychologist and has the representations below: 

• Headteacher and/or their designate for all East Ayrshire Primary School ASN Centres, namely:
  • Park, Willowbank and Hillside schools
  • Patna, Lochnorris, Crosshouse and Onthank Additional Support Needs Centres
  • Newmilns, Netherthird and Nether Robertland ASN Classes
• Strategic Inclusion Manager: Inclusion
• Principal Teacher Central Inclusion Team
• Early Years Improvement Officers
• Where appropriate the Deaf Education Service Manager
• East Ayrshire Education Service Admin Officer 
• Data and Intelligence Officer  

The Schools  ASN Placement Group is Chaired by the Principal Educational Psychologist and has the representations below:

• Headteacher and/or their designate for all East Ayrshire ASN Centres, namely:
  • Park, Willowbank and Hillside schools
  • Patna, Lochnorris, Crosshouse and Onthank, Doon, Robert Burns & Loudon Academy Additional Support Needs Centres
  • Newmilns, Netherthird and Nether Robertland ASN Classes
• Strategic Inclusion Manager: Inclusion
• Principal Teacher Central Inclusion Team
• Where appropriate the Deaf Education Service Manager
• East Ayrshire Education Service Admin Officer
• Data and Intelligence Officer  

It can recommend:

• mainstream school
• a placement in an East Ayrshire ASN Centre

In East Ayrshire our ASN Centres are standalone  schools or ASN Centres located in mainstream schools. They are deemed to be specialist under the law. 

These are:

• Grange Education Group:

  •  Park School

  • Crosshouse Primary School ASN Centre

• Doon Education Group:

  • Patna Primary School ASN Centre

  • Doon Academy ASN Centre

• • Children in Drongan Primary School typically access Patna ASN Centre

• Barony Education Group:

  • Hillside School and Lochnorris ASN Centre

  • Netherthird ASN Class (These Centres will shortly be going to statutory consultation around becoming ASN Centres by law)

• Kilmarnock Education Group:

  • Willowbank School

  • Onthank Primary School ASN Centre

• Loudon Education Group 

  • Loudon Academy ASN Centre

• • Newmilns ASN Class (These Centres will shortly be going to statutory consultation around becoming ASN Centres by law) 

• Stewarton Education Group:

  • Nether Robertland ASN Class (These Centres will shortly be going to statutory consultation around becoming ASN Centres by law)

Generally, children attend the ASN Centre within their Education Group or locality. 

Our ASN Centres typically cater for the needs of children with complex and enduring additional support need linked to disability.

The majority of children within our ASN Centres have Autism or a neurodevelopmental condition such as Fragile X. The majority of our children in ASN Centres have significant learning needs and would often meet criteria for a Learning Disability. 

The children have been assessed as requiring a highly specialist educational offer that cannot be met in a mainstream school as the curriculum, teaching and learning approach, learning environment and assessment approach needed is not able to be offered within a mainstream environment. 

Children typically will require this level of support for all of their school education years. 

Where a child makes significant progress, or circumstances mean that an ASN Centre is not best placed to meet a child's assessed Additional Support Needs, consideration may be given to transition to mainstream school. This would happen via a Team with the Family meeting and parent and carers would be fully involved.

Willowbank and Hillside School also have a small number of classes that cater for children who have multiple complex health needs in addition to their significant additional support needs.

East Ayrshire Education Service is committed to working with parents and carers. Your views about your child’s needs and how you feel these should be met are important. The school or ECC must seek and record your views and include this in the ASN Placement Group submission.  

When a submission to the ASN Placement Group has been made by the school or ECC, they will receive an email once the agenda has been set to make them aware of the next steps.

Schools and ECCs are aware of the submission dates and can keep you informed timeframes.

You will receive a written decision of the group within the timescales outlined above in 'When does the group meet and when will I know the decision?'. This letter will be emailed to you and will outline what you can do if you are dissatisfied with the decision.