The SEND Code of Practice - Guidance on the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system for children and young people aged 0 to 25
A guide on the support system for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), for parents and carers
To find contact details of your local Information Advice and Support Services. IAS Services have a duty to provide information, advice and support to disabled children and young people, and those with SEN, and their parents. There should be an IAS Service in every local authority.
Your child’s school may decide that they need extra help because they are not making enough progress or are finding it harder to learn than other children of their age.
The school must tell you about this and involve you at every stage. You should be told about any extra help your child is given.
The school will provide extra help called SEN Support. Your child’s class teacher will involve the Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) at the school. The SENCO will be responsible for planning and monitoring but day-to-day teaching will be carried out by individual class or subject teachers. School support staff may also be involved.
The exact help will depend on the circumstances of your child. This may include:
Individual or small group work
Social skills groups
Different learning materials or special equipment
Staff training for specific activities and interventions
External specialists and professionals to work with your child
You and your child should be involved in agreeing the outcomes and targets that the SEN support will achieve. The targets for your child should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound).
It should be clear to you what support your child will receive, who will provide it, what the desired outcomes are and when progress will be evaluated.
Progress should be reviewed regualarly, involving parents and the child. Parents should be updated at least three times per year.
Some children have severe or complex needs and require more help than the school can provide using SEN Support. They may need a statutory assessment to find out what their difficulties are and the precise help they need.