Is Your Child’s School Support Actually Working?

An adjustment written on a plan and an adjustment happening consistently in a classroom are two different things.

Your child has a learning plan. Adjustments have been agreed on. Maybe you’ve had the meetings, spoken to the teacher and been reassured that support is in place.

But your child is still coming home completely dysregulated.

They’re still struggling to access learning. Their academic progress hasn’t changed. The same behavioural concerns keep coming up. Or perhaps they’re still being suspended despite having a plan that is supposed to support them.

At this point, the question isn’t necessarily:

“What other adjustments can we add?”

I’d start somewhere else:

Is the support that’s already in place actually working?

Having a plan and being supported aren't necessarily the same thing

I speak to parents who haven't looked at their child's learning plan for six months. And I understand why. Life is busy. You attend the meeting, the plan gets written, everyone agrees on what will happen and then you assume it’s being implemented.

Schools are busy too.

I've worked in schools for many years, and I know how easily a learning plan can be written, saved away and not reviewed as regularly as it should be. That doesn't necessarily mean the teacher doesn't care or isn't trying. Teachers are managing an enormous number of competing demands. An adjustment that requires someone to remember something specific for one child at a particular point in the day can simply get missed.

So before deciding your child needs more support, there are four questions I’d ask.

1. What barrier are we actually trying to address?

Start with the child, not the adjustment.

What is currently making it difficult for your child to participate, learn or feel safe and regulated at school?

Perhaps transitions are overwhelming.

Maybe they struggle to begin written tasks independently.

Perhaps the classroom environment is creating sensory overload.

Maybe anxiety is preventing them from entering the classroom in the morning.

Get specific about the barrier, because that gives you something meaningful to measure the support against.

2. What support is currently being used?

Now look at what has actually been agreed upon.

Pull out the learning plan you haven't looked at since February.

What adjustments are listed?

What has the school said it is doing?

And importantly, what does that support actually look like in the classroom?

“Movement breaks” on a plan doesn't tell you very much.

When do they happen? Who prompts them? Can your child access one when they need it? Where do they go? What happens afterwards?

An adjustment written on a plan and an adjustment happening consistently in a classroom are two different things.

3. How consistently is it actually happening?

This is the question parents can sometimes feel uncomfortable asking.

But asking isn't an accusation.

You can work collaboratively with your child's school and still ask:

“How often is this adjustment actually being used?”

If an adjustment is only happening occasionally, it's very difficult to decide whether the adjustment itself isn't working.

Sometimes the problem isn't what has been recommended.

It's the implementation.

4. What evidence do we have that it's helping?

Even when an adjustment is being implemented consistently, there's another question to ask:

Is it removing the barrier we identified?

Because a perfectly reasonable adjustment can still be the wrong adjustment for your child.

Take sensory supports.

A fidget tool might help one child regulate and concentrate beautifully. Give the same tool to another child and it may do absolutely nothing because that isn't the sensory input their body needs.

The same principle applies to school adjustments more broadly.

We're not asking whether the adjustment sounds appropriate.

We're asking whether your child can now do something they couldn't previously do, or do it with less distress, support or difficulty.

Depending on the barrier, you might look at:

• engagement and participation

• regulation at school and after school

• attendance or school refusal

• behavioural incidents or suspensions

• academic progress

• independence

• your child's own feedback about how school feels.

The evidence won't look the same for every child because the outcome we're looking for depends on the barrier we're trying to remove.

A learning plan shouldn't be a set-and-forget document

Your child's needs change.

Classrooms change. Teachers change. Expectations change.

And sometimes an adjustment that seemed like a good idea simply doesn't have the impact everyone hoped it would.

That's why reviewing support matters.

You don't necessarily need to walk into the next school meeting with a list of new adjustments.

Start with four questions:

What is the barrier?
What support is being used?
How consistently is it happening?
What evidence do we have that it's helping?

The answers will tell you far more about what needs to happen next.

Need help working out what adjustments might support your child?

My School Adjustments Guide will help you understand how to identify appropriate adjustments based on the barriers your child is experiencing, rather than simply choosing from a list of strategies.

And if your child's situation feels more complicated and you're struggling to work out what needs to happen next, you can also get in touch about 1:1 support. I can help you untangle what's happening, identify your priorities and work out your next steps.