What steps must the nursery, school or college take to support a child or young person with SEN? Expand If a child or young person has SEN but does not have an EHC plan, they are still entitled to the support necessary to meet their needs. All mainstream nurseries, schools or colleges should provide support through SEN Support. The FAQs on this page provide more information on what this means in each setting. They must also use their best endeavours to make sure their pupils receive the support they need. If your child has/ you as a young person have an EHC plan, the nursery, school or college must do their best to deliver the special educational provision specified in Section F. If they cannot do this, the LA, who has an absolute legal duty to your child/you as a young person to secure the provision needed, must provide the nursery, school or college with the resources (finances or expertise) to do so. Whether or not your child has/you have an EHC plan, the school or college must: tell you if your child has/been identified as having SEN, or if you as a young person have been identified as having SEN identify your child’s/your needs to the best of their ability, and put the right support in place to make sure they/you progress and achieve specified outcomes. All this information should be documented in a clear record that should be available to you on request. If your child attends a nursery, they must involve you in decisions around special educational provision. If your child is at school, it should meet with you at least three times a year to discuss the record kept of the pupil’s SEN and progress. If you attend college however, then it should involve you as the student and (particularly where you are aged 16-18) your parents in decisions around the support you receive for your SEN.
My child attends an independent school and we pay the fees. Are children at independent settings entitled to support? Expand Children who do not have an EHC plan Under Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014, nurseries, schools and colleges have legal duties to identify and support children and young people with special educational needs. These duties are explained in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2015 and on our web page on how your nursery, school or college should help. However, the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice do not apply to wholly independent schools, and so these duties do not apply to them. If your child attends an independent school and you pay the fees, the school is not legally required to identify SEN or provide support in the same way. The Equality Act 2010 does apply to all schools and education settings. Independent schools must not discriminate against disabled pupils, and must make reasonable adjustments where necessary to avoid disability discrimination. All providers of early years education that are funded by the local authority (LA), including those in the private and independent sector, must have arrangements in place to identify and support children with SEN and disabilities as required by the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. They must also have regard to the SEN and Disability Code of Practice. Children who have an EHC plan If your child has an EHC plan, it is the LA’s duty to make sure the provision set out in the EHC plan is made. However, under section 42(5) of the Children and Families Act 2014, the LA does not need to do so if you have made “suitable alternative arrangements”. If the independent school is named in Section I of your child’s EHC plan, and there is no other suitable school which your child could attend, it is likely that the LA remains responsible for your child’s special educational provision as set out in Section F of the EHC plan and should be paying the school fees. However, if the LA suggested that a different suitable school should be named in the EHC plan, and you chose to send your child to an independent school and pay for it yourself instead, then this is likely to count as making suitable alternative arrangements. In this case the LA won’t have any further duties towards your child in relation to their SEN, and you will be responsible for arranging (and paying for) any special educational provision they require. However, your LA must still review your child’s EHC plan on an annual basis even if you did decide to make suitable alternative arrangements. If you are unsure of the situation, you should book an appointment to speak with us.
Our son is on SEN Support and is falling behind at school. We believe an educational psychologist (EP) is needed to assess our son, but the school say they cannot afford this as they have used up all of their EP time for this term. What can I do? Expand Ask the school for a meeting to discuss your son’s special educational needs (SEN) and review his current support arrangements. If you can identify, with the school, that your son is not making progress and/or his needs have not been fully identified, then this supports your request for support from an outside professional. Schools are under a legal duty to use their best endeavours to ensure children with SEN have their needs met, and this includes appropriately identifying their needs. Many schools have limited access to outside specialists such as educational psychologists. However, this is not a reason in law to deny a child outside support. Paragraph 6.59 of The SEN and Disability Code of Practice (the Code) says that “A school should always involve a specialist where a pupil continues to make little or no progress or where they continue to work at levels substantially below those expected of pupils of a similar age despite evidence-based SEN support delivered by appropriately trained staff.” If assessment by a specialist indicates that ongoing support from outside services is required, it is important that the child and young person receives it as quickly as possible (paragraph 6.60 of the Code). If the school will not agree, you could consider making a complaint to the governing body of the school (or the proprietor if it is an academy) on the basis that it is not using its best endeavours or following the guidance in the Code. If you decide to complain, keep the letter as constructive as possible, as it is important to try and maintain a good working relationship with the school. You could also consider asking the local authority (LA) for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment. When a child has unidentified needs which prevent them from receiving the right support, schools are expected to act proactively, which includes seeking advice from outside specialists. If a school does not have the resources to do this then it is an indication that an EHC needs assessment is required so that all of the child’s SEN can be properly identified, including the arrangements for meeting the identified needs. The test in law for triggering an EHC needs assessment is relatively low. The school suggesting that they cannot arrange outside support for your son implies that he may need provision to be made for him by way of an EHC plan so an assessment is likely to be necessary. Schools can be reluctant to request an EHC needs assessment as they often believe they must follow their LA’s policy for requesting an assessment, which may be set at a threshold higher than the test contained in law. Parents do not have to wait for the school to request an EHC needs assessment, and it is often better that they make the request themselves (you can find out how to request an assessment here). In some cases, parents may feel discouraged from pressing the issue of requesting the school seek outside support, especially when the school claims to have limited resources and/or have other children in the school with greater needs. It is important to remember that you are acting for your child and although you may be sympathetic to the school’s reasons, this should not prevent you from pursuing the right support for your own child.
My child is dyslexic and needs help with reading. Can pupils with SEN get extra help with exams at school or college? Expand Yes - pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities may qualify for help (called ‘access arrangements’) in public exams. The most common arrangements are extra time, or provision of a computer, or a person to read or write for the pupil (except for exams that specifically test these skills, such as English).
Can the school send my child home to ‘cool off’ or ask me to collect my child from school early to prevent exclusion? Expand No – this is likely to amount to an unlawful exclusion.
Is it the responsibility of the nursery, school or college to arrange the provision specified in an EHC plan? Expand No – this is a common myth. The legal responsibility for securing the provision specified in Section F of an EHC plan falls upon the local authority (LA). This is an absolute obligation. LAs rely on schools to make the special educational provision set out in EHC plans and will give funding to the school to enable them to do this. However, if the school is unable to deliver the provision, or even if they are unwilling to do so, then the LA has a legal duty to secure the provision. LAs cannot reduce or remove funding from an EHC plan when the provision in the plan hasn’t changed. We have produced a template letter which can be used to complain if your child is not receiving the special educational provision set out in Section F of their EHC Plan.
What does SEN Support in post-16 education mean? Expand Chapter seven of the SEN and Disability Code of Practice 2015 (the Code) contains the statutory guidance in relation to; further education colleges sixth form colleges 16 – 19 academies, and some independent specialist colleges to identify, assess and provide support for young people with SEN. As young people, you should be supported to participate in discussions about your aspirations, your needs, and the support that you think will help you best. Support should be aimed at promoting your independence and enabling you to make good progress towards employment and/or higher education, independent living, good health and participating in the community. SEN Support should follow a cycle of action: Assess: Colleges should bring together all the relevant information from you, the school and anyone else working with you. This should be discussed with you and you can be accompanied by a parent, advocate or other supporter if you like. Plan: A support plan should be developed together with you. Support might include assistive technology, specialist tuition, note takers, access to therapies (for example, speech and language therapy) or a range of other types of support. Do: This plan should be put into place by the college. Review: The effectiveness of the support should be reviewed regularly, taking into account your progress and any changes to your own ambitions and aspirations, which may lead to changes in the type and level of support. External specialist help can be involved at any time, and should always be involved where your needs are not being met by the interventions put in place. A record should be kept of the support provided and of your progress. If the college has taken relevant and purposeful action to identify and meet your needs, but you are still not making expected progress, the college should consider requesting an Education, Health and Care needs assessment. You can also make this request yourself if you prefer, and your parents or other helper can support you in making it if you like.
What does SEN Support in school mean? Expand Chapter six of the SEN and Disability Code of Practice 2015 (the Code) sets out the actions that mainstream schools (including mainstream academies) should take to meet their duties in relation to identifying and supporting children with SEN. (This chapter does not apply to children in special schools, because special schools are specifically organised to provide for children with SEN, and all children in special schools should have an EHC plan setting out the provision required to meet their needs.) Schools should assess each pupil’s current skills and levels of attainment on entry and regular further assessments should take place. These should seek to identify pupils making less than expected progress. The Code refers to four broad areas of need: communication and interaction cognition and learning social, emotional and mental health, and sensory and/or physical needs. There is more detail given in relation to each area in the Code. A child could, of course, have needs falling in more than one area or maybe in a different area altogether. Schools are expected to plan how to deal with each of these areas of need, and make sure that their staff have relevant training and are equipped to respond. Special educational provision in schools is called SEN Support. The school should use a graduated approach following the cycle of Assess, Plan, Do and Review: Assess: The class teacher or subject teacher (working with the SENCO) is responsible for carrying out a clear analysis of a pupil’s needs, drawing on teacher assessments and experience of the pupil. Plan: Where it is decided to provide a pupil with SEN Support, their parents must be notified. All teachers and support staff who work with a pupil should be made aware of their needs, the outcomes sought, the support provided and any teaching strategies that are required. Do: The planned interventions should then be put into place. The class or subject teacher should work closely with any teaching assistants or specialist staff involved and the SENCO should support the class or subject teacher. Review: Reviews should take place and inform feed back into the analysis of the child’s needs. The Code is not prescriptive about how often reviews should take place, but given the Code suggests schools should meet with parents three times a year, good practice would indicate that such reviews will be at least termly. The decision to involve specialists can be taken at any time and should always involve parents. If your child’s school has taken relevant and purposeful action to identify and meet your child’s needs, but they are still not making expected progress, the school should consider requesting an Education, Health and Care needs assessment. You are also entitled to make such a request.
What does SEN Support in the early years mean? Expand Chapter five of the SEN and Disability Code of Practice 2015 (the Code) deals with SEN in the early years. The Code applies to all children in early years settings that receive local authority funding (including private/independent providers), whether or not they have an EHC plan. The Code emphasises the legal requirement upon early years’ providers to have arrangements in place to identify and support children with SEN and disabilities. This could be done through the universal progress checks at age two or five, or at any other time. The Code identifies four broad areas of need: communication and interaction cognition and learning social, emotional and mental health, and sensory and/or physical needs. Special educational provision given to children is called SEN Support. The Code recommends a graduated approach which has four stages of action: Assess; Plan; Do; Review. Early years settings are advised to involve specialists “where a child continues to make less than expected progress, despite evidence-based support and interventions that are matched to the child’s area of need”. The decision to involve specialists should be taken with the child’s parents (paragraph 5.48 of the Code). Records about their children must be available to parents and they must include information about how the setting supports children with SEN and disabilities.
Can provision be extended in a school setting for those aged 19 and over? Expand Where a local authority (LA) decides that a young person would be best served by remaining in a school setting after they have turned 19 years of age, it can apply for a relaxation of the normal rules via the Education and Skills Funding Agency. Approval must be given by the Secretary of State to allow a young person aged 19 or over to remain at a school. The government states that this may be necessary in “exceptional circumstances”. However, we have been advised previously that the process can be relatively straightforward and LAs may want to consider whether such application is necessary in light of individual students’ circumstances. Remember that considerations for children and young people with SEND include whether they may need more time to complete their studies.
If a child/young person with SEND missed education due to Covid, what provision will school/college make to help them catch up? Expand This is going to be something to discuss with the school. We expect most settings will have reviewed their students following their return to school to try to identify gaps in learning and barriers to learning arising from their prolonged periods of absence.
What is the National Tutoring Programme and how can my child access this? Expand This is a programme available to state (that means maintained and Academy) schools. Your child’s school is the first point of contact for any information about how they are using this programme and what support your child might receive through it. The academic year 2023/24 is the fourth and final year of the National Tutoring Programme. For children/young people with SEND, if it becomes clear that they will require educational provision which goes beyond what the setting can provide from within its current resources (or through the additional funding the school has been provided with) then it may be necessary to use the Children and Families Act 2014 process to secure additional support. This could include for example, requesting an EHC needs assessment if your child is currently receiving SEN Support, or by seeking changes to an EHC plan which no longer meets need.