It is absolutely possible to use the Boxall Profile® Online effectively for pupils with complex needs, as the tool is designed to capture a snapshot of a child's developmental progress regardless of their starting point.
Please see guidance below:
- Complete the profile with a colleague – e.g. teacher and support practitioner – each adult may notice and be able to comment on different behaviours or responses – we can never always see absolutely everything.
- Don't worry if the student's scores are significantly lower than the norms The purpose is not to compare them to verbal peers, but to create a baseline for that specific student.
- If it really is not possible to observe, then score a 0 but only after thinking if a nonverbal behaviour does the same job such as Instead of verbal responses look for active listening such a turning towards the adult or eye contact of pointing to a visual schedule / timetable.
- Annotate your assessment to indicate why you have done this, this will also help inform the follow-on assessment and could well indicate incremental progression.
- The aim will be for scores to increase incrementally - additional classroom or setting observation and data will support the tracking of incremental progression.
The Boxall Profile® examples | |
Column A Gives purposeful attention | Eye gaze, looking in the direction of the adult, following a visual timetable |
Column B Participates constructively | Willing to physically be with others in an activity or intervention |
Column Q Disengaged | Repetitive "stimming", turning the body completely away from the activity or intervention |