Resources
Special Educational Needs (SEN) System
Children have special educational needs (SEN) if they have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it hard for them to reach their full potential without extra or different support.
Because every child’s needs are different, schools, government-funded early years settings, and local authorities (LAs) follow a step-by-step approach laid out in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice to ensure that each child with SEN gets the right type and level of support. Your perspective on your child’s needs is very important to getting the right support for your child, and schools and other settings must consult with you at each stage of the process.
The Person Centred Thinking Tools contained on this site can be useful in helping you to organise your thoughts and communicate your child’s needs and preferences to professionals working to support your child. We have briefly outlined the different stages of SEN support in the following pages, and have included links to the PC Thinking Tools that might be the most useful to you at each stage.
Annual Review (AR) is a statutory meeting that takes place every 12 months to review your child’s Statement of Special Educational Needs and progress at school. The school is responsible for making necessary arrangements for the meeting and ensuring that all involved in supporting your child are invited.
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Education for children with special educational needs can be arranged in different ways depending what your child needs and what is best for your child to ensure that your son or daughter have every opportunity to learn and develop skills for life.
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Educational professionals are working with your child and your family to ensure that your child’s educational needs are met. They can be nursery, school or college staff, or people who work for the local educational authority. They are specialised in all areas of education, teaching and learning.
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Health professionals are working with your child and your family to ensure that your child’s medical needs are recognised and met. They can be based in nurseries, schools, GP surgeries, children centres, dental practice, medical centres and hospitals.
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Before and during the assessment your child will be working with professionals who work for the local authority. You can however ask for a second opinion of an independednt professional.
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If you child has additional needs and requires specific support in class on a daily basis, you and the school team (e.g headteacher, teacher, SENCO, learning support assistant, specialists) will device an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) for your child. This plan is a helpful and practical tool with actions for everyone working with your child to provide the best possible support during the school time.
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All maintained schools organise their teaching and learning using the National Curriculum framework. It’s purpose is to ensure that all students have access to a wide range of subjects; their teaching staff have necessary knowledge, skills and understanding how to deliver teaching in all subjects; and your child’s progress is measured against set targets and used to enhance his or her learning throughout their school life.
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Children with special educational needs have rights to access education which is appropriate to their needs.
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If a professional at your child’s school identifies that your child may need some extra or different support because of a special educational need, the school is required to let you know.
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In some cases a school may seek extra support for your child from one or more outside professionals who have a specialism in your child’s area of need. This level of support is usually called School Action Plus.
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The SEN Code of Practice is based on Part IV of the Education Act 1996 and states how local educational authorities (LEA), maintained schools, early years settings and other providers who receive Government funding organise education for children with special educational Needs (SEN). It is their statutory duty to indentify and assess individual child’s needs and ensure that they have access to appropriate support.
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Social care professionals are working with your child and your family to ensure that your child’s care needs are recognised and the wellbeing of your child and your family is at the heart of all the decisions made. They are employed by the Local Authority and based are in the community.
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When a statutory assessment has been completed and the local authority has agreed to issue a statement of special educational needs (SEN), parents often feel they are home and dry but the proposed statement seems to offer very little.
Statements are in six parts, of which Parts 2, 3 and 4 are the most important. Part 1sets out the child's and parents' details, whilst parts 5 and 6 set out respectively the child’s non-educational needs and provision to meet those needs.
There is no statutory duty for the local authority to supply what is set out in Part 6. The statement should also have copies of all reports from the assessment process, and any other relevant documents, including the statement of the parents’ views attached to the back of the document.
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The special educational needs (SEN) Code of practice states that, in deciding whether to assess, the question is whether there is convincing evidence that the school has tried but cannot meet the child’s special educational needs within its existing resources. The statutory assessment process can be used for children in independent schools, and children being educated at home, as well as children in maintained schools.
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What can you appeal against?
- A refusal to make a statutory assessment or reassessment (in the latter event, provided there has been no new assessment within the preceding 6 months)
- Following statutory assessment, a refusal to issue a statement
- A refusal to change a statement after reassessment
- The contents of a statement
- A decision to cancel a child’s statement
- A refusal to change the school named in the statement, provided the statement is at least a year old, the school requested is maintained, and the parent is asking for the same type of school as the one in the statement.
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