🌍 Spotting Additional Needs Holistically

How schools can identify additional needs by looking beyond behaviour and grades

👋 Welcome to SEMH Education

I post weekly strategies and insights for professionals supporting children with social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) needs.

I’m Kieran, a former teacher and current Education Officer. Each week, I share evidence-informed tools, practical advice, and real-world reflections to help you create safer, more inclusive learning environments.

📌 In this post: Moving from who we miss to how we see the whole child.

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👀 Beyond What Meets the Eye

A note on last week’s post:

Last week, we explored the children who slip under the radar, those with invisible SEMH needs who don’t disrupt but still struggle. This week builds directly on that foundation. If last week was about recognising that we miss certain children, this week is about how we develop the skills to truly see them.

The two posts share common ground intentionally: both challenge us to look beyond surface-level behaviour, and both emphasise that quiet children deserve our attention. But where last week asked “Who are we missing?”, this week asks “How do we make sure we’re looking properly in the first place?”

Consider this your toolkit for the spotting work we discussed last week.

🔍 The Challenge: Needs That Don’t Announce Themselves

In schools, additional needs don’t always arrive with a loud bang. Some children present with obvious signs: frequently in crisis, significant attainment gaps, or medical diagnoses already known to staff. But many others fly under the radar entirely.

The truth is, spotting additional needs isn’t about ticking boxes or waiting for a label. It’s about developing a holistic lens, seeing the whole child, not just the part of them that shows up in a lesson observation, behaviour log, or test score.

🧩 What Does “Holistic” Really Mean?

A holistic approach means piecing together information from different areas of a child’s life, rather than relying on one data point or symptom. This includes:

Academic data 📊
Progress, gaps, and patterns in learning across subjects and time.

Behavioural observations 👀
Both disruptive behaviours and signs of withdrawal, masking, or avoidance.

Social interaction 🤝
Relationships with peers, participation in group work, and playground dynamics.

Emotional well-being 💭
Mood patterns, self-esteem, resilience, expressed worries or fears

Physical presentation 🏃
Tiredness, fidgeting, somatic complaints like headaches or stomach aches.

Family and context 🏠
Home factors, safeguarding concerns, cultural expectations, bereavement, or significant life changes.

When schools only focus on one lens, for example, “behaviour”, they risk mislabelling needs and missing the full picture.

A child who is withdrawn might be labelled as “unmotivated” when anxiety is the real driver.

A child who fidgets constantly might be seen as “disruptive” when sensory needs or trauma responses are at play.

📚 The Policy Foundation

The SEND Code of Practice (2014) is explicit: identification of special educational needs should draw on a range of evidence, including teacher assessments, discussions with parents and pupils, and involvement of external professionals where needed.

The Code also outlines the graduated approach (assess–plan–do–review), which requires schools to regularly review how effectively support meets a child’s needs. A holistic view isn’t optional; it’s part of statutory SEND practice.

Ofsted’s focus on inclusive practice reinforces this, expecting schools to demonstrate how they meet the needs of all learners through thoughtful identification and responsive support.

🛠️ Practical Tips for Spotting Needs Holistically

Here are some simple ways schools can embed holistic identification into their everyday culture:

1. Notice patterns, not one-offs
A single incident tells you little. Patterns across subjects, days, or environments provide far more insight. Track behaviours over time rather than reacting to isolated moments.

👨‍🏫Own Example: For me, it was noticing that a child always refused to go to the DT room. Once we unpicked this with the child & family, they explained that they were getting a sensory overload in the lesson. Once we got a suitable pair of noise-cancelling headphones, the child was able to engage again.

2. Value pupil and parent voice
Children and families often see things staff can’t. Simple check-ins, structured questionnaires, or informal conversations can uncover hidden needs that data alone won’t reveal.

👨‍🏫Own Example: I made sure I called most parents every week in my last specialist setting. Parents/carers’ voices are invaluable. I’ve had countless tips from them to help engage pupils. E.G. putting a manga book on the desk of a new pupil. This build a connection immediately and enabled them to find friends and build trust in the staff team from day 1.

3. Look beyond the classroom
Lunchtimes, corridors, and playgrounds often reveal more about social and emotional needs than a neat exercise book does. Train lunchtime supervisors, admin staff, and site teams to notice and report concerns too.

👨‍🏫Own Example: In my experience, if there have been difficulties at playtime, these are the children who won’t offer up that information. Getting this information from lunchtime supervisors or admin staff is essential. This way you can resolve potential conflicts before they grow into something unmanageable!

4. Collaborate across staff teams
A teaching assistant may notice something in 1:1 moments that a teacher misses during whole-class teaching. Every adult’s perspective adds value. Create time and systems for staff to share observations meaningfully.

👨‍🏫Own Example: You’re supposed to have eyes in the back of your head as a teacher, many of us do! That’s still not enough for a class of 30+, though! Make sure you debrief with your class staff every day! They might have spotted something you’ll need to action tomorrow morning! This has saved my skin countless times!

5. Don’t wait for a diagnosis
Support should start when a need is identified, not when paperwork arrives. Early adjustments, whether environmental, relational, or pedagogical, can prevent escalation and crisis.

👨‍🏫Own Example: As we all know, you shouldn’t wait for a diagnosis to provide support. However, I also know there’s a lack of urgency when there isn’t a diagnosis. In my LA, a diagnosis for ADHD takes up to 4 years! It’s so important to support children and pass on what works to the next year.

6. Use soft data alongside hard data
Attendance figures and attainment scores matter, but so do staff observations, peer feedback, and changes in a child’s demeanour or engagement. Soft data often reveals what numbers can’t.

👨‍🏫Own Example: My frustration with this one is that there is rarely any place to record these pieces of soft data! That’s why I love pupil passports. These are gold for capturing these unofficial observations and feedback.

💡 A Reflective Takeaway

Holistic identification is about curiosity. Instead of asking “What’s wrong with this child?” we should be asking “What’s this child telling us, and what might we be missing?”

It’s also about slowing down. In the rush of day-to-day teaching, it’s easy to focus on what’s immediate and visible. But by zooming out and piecing together the whole picture, across contexts, across time, across different voices. Schools can spot additional needs earlier, respond more effectively, and prevent children from becoming “invisible” until crisis point.

✨ Takeaway

Spotting additional needs holistically is less about finding a label and more about noticing the child in front of you, in every setting, every interaction, and every small clue they give us. When we develop this lens as a whole-school practice, we move closer to true inclusion, where every child’s needs are recognised before they become crises.

👉 Next step: This week, choose one pupil you’ve been curious about. Gather observations from at least three different adults who interact with them. What patterns emerge when you piece their perspectives together?

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