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PAGS' Impact at Queen Mary’s Grammar School:

The PAGS (Profile Assessment and Goal Setting) framework has been developed for children and young adults between the ages of 5 and 25 who have social communication and thinking  difficulties, related to autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, conduct disorder, attachment disorder, moderate and mild learning difficulties, global developmental delay and mental health problems.

PAGS is a new system designed to help schools and organizations to assess the strengths and areas of development for all neuro-diverse learners who need support to achieve their expected level. The assessment tool assists teachers and professionals in producing coherent, well-documented strategies and plans for all their relevant children. The assessment, PAGS®, has been developed to underpin curricular learning and set curricular targets for neuro-diverse learners. PAGS® recognizes the uniqueness of learners. It produces a summary of strengths and needs; giving the professionals the information to develop effective interventions. PAGS® is a mapping process in which any progress or regression is highlighted guiding the practitioners to meet and support development of functional skills for life.

PAGS® is based on the concept that neuro-diverse children and young people should be assessed developmentally so that it is possible to look at the areas of skill deficit they have as a result of either their schooling or their neurological condition.  PAGS® is developed on a clear understanding of the ways in which neurotypical children and adults acquire skills and looks roughly at age groups in neurotypical development. PAGS® explores how skills in each of the assessment categories are typically developed from the age of 5 to 25 years old. PAGS® explores these findings in relation to the impact of ASC (Autism Spectrum Condition) and related neurological conditions on individuals' memories and capacity for learning and generalising, so that the opportunities for these learners to acquire important skills are maximised. PAGS® removes the concept of failure from any test results. Personalised targets are key in highlighting both behaviour and achievement plans. PAGS® links together information from the parents and teachers in a distinctive fashion and supports the writing of Education Health Care Plan (ECHP).

PAGS® is built around a recognition that every individual is different and unique.  It is consistent with the demand for a personalised approach to intervention which targets the specific needs of each individual child, as advocated by The Rochford Review (2017). The approach is firmly embedded within the concept of achieving small steps in order to make progress in line with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability).  PAGS® provides an overview of the concepts that a learner or adult has understood and mastered, while identifying potential steps available to them for further learning. Each area assessed has three main stages – Interim, Concept Operational and Advanced. Although these 3 stages relate to rough age groups in neurotypical development, some of the skills may be delayed or absent in atypical development.  Consequently, it is more meaningful to use a developmental approach that is not age related.  Learners and adults working with PAGS® Assessments will be given access to a visual representation of the progress the learner is making in four distinct areas:

Communication and Interaction
Cognition and Learning
Self-Regulation
Social Interaction and Social Awareness

Communication and Interaction

Looks at a variety of skills that learners use in order to interact in a variety of situations.  It includes areas such as vocabulary and general language development; questioning and conversational skills, non-verbal communication skills and understanding of contextual information.

‍Cognition and Learning

Analyses the learner’s processes of being able to plan, think, make decisions and problem solve in real life and meaningful situations.  This involves the individual’s ability to use memory and learning strategies.   Our students often experience difficulties with adaptation skills, generalisation and the ability to adjust to new and different information and situations; therefore, it is important that these are also assessed and supported.  Individual’s ability to make informed decisions about the use of their money is covered in this module.

‍Social Interaction and Social Awareness

Identifies skills needed for developing and maintaining a variety of relationships.  Skills such as assertiveness, empathy and the ability to keep oneself safe are evaluated.  Individuals become increasingly aware of their own rights and responsibilities. They also develop their own beliefs and attitudes and it is important that they know how to share these and also how to respond to other people’s stated views and beliefs. This module aims to assess their knowledge of these skills.

‍Self-Regulation

‍Physical and mental health can have a significant effect upon an individual’s ability to self-regulate on a day-to-day basis, these are included in this module.   This module measures the individual’s ability to adapt their behaviour, cope with change and manage stress.  It looks at their management of their emotions and knowledge of strategies that support them to regulate their presenting behaviours.  

The PAGS® system is designed to highlight the strengths and areas of development in order to produce an overall profile of the child or adult. Each of the assessments follows a progressive developmental sequence, divided into components that secures and consolidates aspects of learning. The assessment is based on acquiring skills and concepts. For each level, there is a set of questions or statements which will help the teacher, professional or carer to asses if the learner has the skill. These questions or statements are based on empirical research and practical knowledge from experienced practitioners. The questions are the foundation-based research, being able to point to a source like any other quantifiable assessments. Neurodiverse individuals may not show a developmental pattern in the acquisition of skills therefore significant gaps in the attainment of the individual can be missed, assuming that certain level of performance was automatically credited from early skills. The risk of continuing to neglect missing skills is that it hinders secure development of subsequent skills.

PAGS® has been trialled in schools and colleges in the UK and Belgium. It has been trialled on individual cases with ages 5-25y and on neurotypical children and adults. The assessment has been presented at European Conferences and in September 2019 at the 12th International Autism Congress as Poster Presentation.

PAGS® is a digital communication platform for all professionals who are working with your son/daughter. Parents can share the PAGS® report, child’s personalized goals and effective strategies and with the class teacher, learning coach, private tutor or an educational consultant.

The concept of PAGS® was initiated by Feliciea Jibson MEd, Qualified Teacher with 17 years of special needs experience with students on the autism spectrum and challenging behaviour, Lead Teacher in a Centre of Excellence for students with severe and profound learning difficulties, autism, physical disabilities and complex medical needs, and is now a continued collaboration with a group of professionals, pooling a wealth of experience.  

June Hill BSc Speech Therapy is an Independent Speech and Language Therapist, passionate about developing practical communication intervention strategies for parents and professionals dealing with autism. She is a highly recognised practitioner in autism; she has designed and implemented therapy programmes and training in specialist and mainstream schools, as well as having her own clinic.  She also provides assessments and reports for tribunals; UK

Nazia Ansari B. Ed is an inclusive education consultant with 14 years of experience in the field of special education. She has taken on leadership roles in a variety of settings and has been actively involved in the development of resources aimed at improving assessment and goal setting for neurodiverse learners; UK and in Kenya.

Dr Kwan Bruhl, PhD, Clinical and Cognitive-Behavioural Psychologist, is a key note speaker at international conferences. She has years of experience in Psycho-educational assessments in English and French for children and adolescents, is a Specialist in Autistic Spectrum Disorders and Social Skills training for children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome; Belgium. A head of specialist provision for complex communication difficulties at a mainstream secondary school; UK.

Scilla Allen M.Ed. PGC APC has over 35 years of experience in mainstream and special education, working in the International and British education systems, mostly within Kenya. She has a Masters in Special Education, a Post graduate certificate in psychology, an assessment practicing certificate and is registered with the British Psychological Society as a specialist assessor. Scilla is currently working on a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology.

Two experienced Speech and Language Therapists from the UK and Belgium specialised in assessment and treatment service for children and young adults who have communication difficulties.