Directory of Services
- Adoption Support Team
- Area SENCOs
- Children with Disabilities
- County Psychologist Service
- Education Welfare Service
- Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties Support Team
- Pupil Referral Unit
- Hospital and Home Tuition Service
- Looked After Children Education Services
- Parent Support Advisors
- Social Care
- Special Educational Needs
- Specialist Advisory Teaching Service
Introduction to Service/Eligibility Criteria
What is the Specialist Advisory Teaching Service?
The Specialist Advisory Teaching Service (SATS) aims to provide skilled specialist staff to support schools and settings to promote inclusion and raise the achievements of children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and/or Additional Educational Needs (AEN) in the following Specialist Areas:
- Cognition and Learning
- Physical and Sensory
- Communication and Interaction
- Early Years
- Ethnic Minority Achievement
What do Specialist Advisory Teachers do?
We work with a range of different people to provide a service that supports inclusion and raises the educational attainments and achievements of pupils with special or additional educational needs.
Much of our work is around supporting schools to meet the needs of pupils, and we do this in a variety of ways. Sometimes our work could be very individual, by providing support to individual pupils. Other times we may give advice to school staff, in order that they feel sufficiently confident that their school are able to meet the needs of a group of pupils with a specific need. We might do this through INSET, or through a series of visits. We do sometimes need to challenge school practice if we feel that the needs of individual pupils are not being met, however we would always wish to work with schools in a supportive and empathetic manner.
You can read more about Specialist Advisory Teachers by using the link in this sentence.
Supporting Information Required
What supporting information is required beyond the CAF Pre-assessment Checklist and the standard Children's Services Single Referral Form?
Referrals can be made for intervention at Early Years/ School Action Plus of the Code of Practice for individual pupils with special needs.
Referrals can also be made for pupils who are not on the Code of Practice with additional needs:
- Pupils with English as an additional language
- Travellers where appropriate
Schools & settings should make use of the Initial Support Pack for English as an additional language prior to referral.
This can be found at:
SATs - Ethnic Minority Achievement
1. For pupils with special needs in the following areas:
- ASD
- Developmental delay/ Early Years
- Hearing Impairment
- Literacy
- Physical/medical difficulties
- SLD
- Speech & Language difficulties
- Visual Impairment
The following information is needed:
- Clear evidence of intervention by settings/ school staff at Early Years/ School Action (reviewed IEPs)
- Evidence of medical diagnosis if appropriate
- Details of the involvement by other agencies
- National Curriculum/ foundation Stage Attainments & any other standardised tests
- Home language
2. For pupils with additional needs in the following areas:
- English as an additional language
- Travellers (with interrupted learning)
The following information is needed:
- Any previous education in the United Kingdom & other countries
- Home language & any knowledge of language levels in English
- Date of arrival in school
The Specialist Advisory Teaching Service can also provide advice, training & information to help schools/ settings provide a whole school response to areas of special and additional need
The following supplementary information needs to be supplied for all referrals to the SATS:
- Has the child/young person ever been excluded from schools? Yes/No
- Are you aware of anything in relation to this Child/Young Person that might present a risk to the safety of any professional coming into contact with them? Yes/No
- Has a risk assessment been made? Yes/No (If Yes - please attach a copy)
Please indicate the specialist skills required: (Please select one only)
- Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Developmental Delay/Early Years
- English as an additional language
- Hearing Impairment
- Literacy
- Physical/Medical
- Severe Learning Difficulties
- Speech and Language
- Traveller Education
- Visual Impairment
Contact Details
Where should referral forms and any additional information be sent?
Eden & Carlisle
Specialist Advisory Teaching Service
The Richmond Centre
Wigton Road
Carlisle
CA2 6LA
Tel: 01228 22 6955
Allerdale & Copeland
Specialist Advisory Teaching Service
Melbreak House
Main Street
Hensingham
Whitehaven
CA28 8TH
Tel: 01946 59 5862
Barrow & South Lakes
Specialist Advisory Teaching Service
Priory Grove
Friars Lane
Barrow in Furness
LA13 9NP
Tel: 01228 89 4456
Our generic email address for all areas is: