What is SEND and what support is available?

Communication and Interaction

Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile for every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all areas of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives.

Cognition and Learning

Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical dis ability or sensory impairment. 

Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.

Social Emotional and Mental Health

Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. 

These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) or attachment disorder.

Sensory and/or Physical needs

Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. 

Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or habilitation support. Children and young people with an MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties. 

Some children and young people with a physical disability (PD) require additional ongoing support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.

Is SEN the same as disability?

A disability is a physical or mental impairment that has a long term and substantial negative impact on daily life.

Not all children with special educational needs are disabled. At the same time, a child or young person may be disabled but will only have special educational needs if the disability impacts on his or her learning.

Whether a child or young person has a disability and/or special educational needs, there are laws and guidance to help ensure that their needs are recognised and supported.

I think my child has special educational needs. What now?

 If you have concerns about your child’s progress:

• Have you spoken to your child’s school or setting about your concerns?
• Does your child have an Individual Plan?

Who should you speak to in school or setting?

The first person to speak to is always your child’s class teacher or form tutor.

You might want to do this at a parent consultation session or to make a separate appointment to see them. If you want to, you could ask for the meeting in writing or by email, setting out what it is you want to talk about.

After you have spoken to the key worker or class teacher, they may involve another teacher in the school known as the SENCo.

The SENCo has responsibility for what happens on a day-to-day basis in the school for pupils with special educational needs and provides professional advice to other teachers in the school to help all pupils make progress. The centre manager, head teacher, and school governors also have responsibilities in law, concerning children with special educational needs.

Whether a child or young person has a disability and/or special educational needs, there are laws and guidance to help ensure that their needs are recognised and supported.

How do I decide which school is best for my child with SEN?

This is a common question for parents, whether your child is starting school, moving to secondary school, or you are considering a specialist setting (including where your child has an EHC Plan).

Every child is different, and schools vary in how they support additional needs. Visiting a range of schools can be a really helpful way to understand what is available and to see how different settings approach support. This can help you decide where your child is most likely to feel comfortable, included, and well supported.

We have a list of all the schools in Oxfordshire, with a direct link to their SEND and Inclusion policies on the ‘Schools and Settings SEND Information’ page.

The SENDIASS leaflet Choosing a school (pdf format, 79Kb) also has some questions that you might like to ask during your visit. It helps to ask the same questions at each school. We also have some example questions that you may want to ask on our webpage.

If you are deciding which school to name in your child’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, the discussions you had with professionals during the planning process can help guide you. These professionals know your child well and can provide valuable insight into which setting is best suited to meet your child’s needs. For many children, this will be the same local mainstream school they attended before the EHC Plan was in place.

My child has SEN and is finding school hard. What can I do to help?

As your child already has identified Special Educational Needs, it is a good idea to ask to meet with the staff team working with your child and the SENDCO at the school. You may already have a review meeting arranged to look at your child's progress and support but,  if not, you can contact your child’s teacher to ask for one to be set up.

You can explain at the meeting why you think your child needs more help. Perhaps you feel they are not making progress, are falling further behind or just telling you and showing you that they are unhappy at school. You can ask to see evidence of the progress your child is making and talk through any changes to support that you feel would help.

The school might offer increased support or adapt the ways they are teaching your child. The school should always be able to show you what support your child is getting, how they are monitoring progress and who else is involved in planning their support, for example, an educational psychologist or a speech and language therapist.

How should a school or setting help my child?

All schools and settings must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to support your child. They do this as part of a graduated approach to meeting needs.

Depending on your child’s needs, this may include:

• Differentiating tasks (i.e. making tasks simpler or tailoring them to your child’s ability)
• Offering different ways of recording information (e.g. labelling pictures, diagrams or flow charts)
• Using multi-sensory activities
• Breaking down learning into small manageable steps
• Helping children to organise their written work by using writing frames
• Allowing extra time to complete tasks
• Keeping instructions short and clear
• Constantly praising and encouraging the child for achievements made

Some children may work with a teaching assistant – before, during or at the end of a lesson. However, children should be encouraged to work independently whenever possible.

Your child or young person may have different types of observations, and assessments to help inform the support they need to reach their learning, social and emotional potential.

You can find more information about SEN support in mainstream schools here.

Who decides what SEN provision my child needs?

Key workers or class teachers, supported by the senior leadership team and the SENCo should make regular assessments of progress for all pupils. These should seek to identify pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances.

The school or setting should then decide if your child needs additional support. The school or setting should talk to you and your child about this.

If a young person is 16 or older the school should involve them directly.

Sometimes you may be the first to be aware that your child has some special educational needs. If you think your child may need SEN support you should talk to your child’s key worker, teacher or to the SENCo

If you are not happy about the support your child has you can ask to talk to the SENCo, headteacher or centre manager.

Will my child need an EHCP?

The special educational needs or disabilities of the great majority of children will be met effectively within mainstream settings through SEN support, without the local authority needing to make a statutory assessment. A statutory assessment can also be known as an education, health and care needs assessment (EHCNA).

In a very small number of cases, the local authority will need to make a statutory assessment of special educational needs, and then consider whether or not to issue an EHCP. There are clear time frames set out for the stages of statutory assessment, the total length of the process should be no longer than 20 weeks. There is also a clear process of appeal for parents and carers.

You can find out more about Education, Health and Care Assessments and Plans, including how to request an assessment.

What is Person-centred Planning?

Person-centred Planning (PCP) is a way of working together and communicating positively with each other, always with the child or young person at the centre of the process.

The views, wishes and feelings of the child or young person will be at the heart of decision-making. PCP involves using a variety of different ‘tools’ or methods to develop the child or young person’s plan.

There are many different approaches to PCP but they all centre on the child or young person’s views, wishes and feelings, aspirations and hopes for the future.