Schools Are Being Asked to Identify Needs Earlier, Could SOI Help?

The Government’s Schools White Paper places greater emphasis on inclusion, early identification and support that is better matched to individual pupils.

This is welcome. But it raises an important question:

How will schools understand exactly why a child is struggling?

A child may be bright, capable and trying hard, yet continue to struggle with reading, writing, attention, memory, organisation or completing work independently.

Too often, support is chosen according to what the difficulty looks like.

A child struggling with reading receives a reading intervention. A child who appears distracted receives more reminders. A child avoiding written work may be treated as unmotivated.

But two children showing the same difficulty may need very different support.

One child may struggle to remember what they have read. Another may have difficulty understanding vocabulary, recognising details or connecting information.

Before choosing an intervention, we need to understand the individual abilities creating the barrier.

What is SOI?

SOI stands for Structure of Intellect.

An SOI Learning Profile Assessment looks at the different abilities involved in thinking and learning. These include areas connected to comprehension, memory, attention, reasoning, evaluation, problem-solving, creativity, reading, writing and mathematics.

It identifies both strengths and abilities that may need further development.

SOI is not a diagnosis of autism, ADHD or dyslexia. It does not reduce a child to one overall intelligence score.

It asks a more useful question:

How does this child learn, and which abilities may be making learning more difficult?

Understanding the learner before choosing the support

Many children have uneven learning profiles.

A child may have excellent ideas and strong reasoning skills but find it difficult to remember instructions, organise written work or complete tasks independently.

Because their strengths are obvious, adults may assume they are not trying.

The child hears:

“You can do it when you want to.”

“You understood this yesterday.”

“You just need to concentrate.”

An SOI Learning Profile can help replace those assumptions with a clearer understanding of what the child is experiencing.

It can also guide targeted developmental work. Instead of every child receiving the same general intervention, support can focus on the abilities identified through the assessment.

Progress can then be measured through retesting.

Why SOI matters now

Schools are being encouraged to recognise needs earlier and provide more targeted support without always waiting for a formal diagnosis.

SOI offers a practical way to look beneath the visible difficulty and understand the learner more fully.

It would not replace teachers, SENCOs, Educational Psychologists or specialist assessments.

It could provide them with an additional tool to identify barriers, build on strengths and make support more individual.

Could this begin a UK SOI movement?

SOI has existed for many years, but it remains largely unknown within UK education.

I believe this needs to change.

I would like to connect with SENCOs, school leaders, teachers, Educational Psychologists and other SEND professionals who want to help introduce SOI Learning Profiles into UK schools.

It does not need to begin as a huge national programme.

It could begin with a small number of schools using SOI to assess learners, provide targeted development and measure progress through retesting.

A child should not have to fail repeatedly before we ask how they learn.

The White Paper has created a stronger focus on early support.

Now we need to ensure schools have the tools to understand what each child genuinely needs.

Could SOI become part of that change? I believe it can.

Please comment or message me if you would like to help bring SOI Learning Profiles into UK schools.

SOI Learning Profile Assessments | Children, Teenagers & Adults | The Autism & ADHD Advocates CIC