Level D of this module builds on what has been learned at levels B and C. Level
B explains what emotional well-being and mental health are and looks at approaches
to promoting well-being for children with SLD/PMLD/CLDD.
Level C looks at the identification of mental health difficulties and the impact
upon the child, family and school and how schools can build emotional resilience
and improve well-being.
Level D focuses on the whole-school approach to promoting mental health and well-being
and the ways in which school-based staff can develop appropriate policy and procedures
to meet children's and staff needs.
The materials in this level are intended to provide those working with children with SLD/PMLD/CLDD the tools to be able to:
- Evaluate the importance of a whole school approach for children and identify the appropriate pathways to professional support; and
- Understand the importance of both monitoring staff effectiveness and supporting staff with the emotional demands of the work and identifying strategies which will address these issues.
Details of the professional standards that apply to all teachers in England can be obtained from the Department for Education website. These standards apply to all teachers regardless of their career stage and all aspects of the standards are relevant to teachers working with children with special educational needs.
As defined by the Department for Education Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2001), children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.
Children have a learning difficulty if they have:
- A significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age, or
- A disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the local education authority.
