Additional support
Every child with special educational needs should have SEN support. This means help that is additional to or different from the support generally given to other children of the same age.
The purpose of SEN support is to help children achieve the outcomes or learning objectives set for them by the school. Schools should involve parents in this process.
Every school must publish a SEN information report about the SEN provision the school makes on their own website. You can also ask your child’s teacher or the school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) for information on the SEN provision made by the school.
Who decides what SEN support my child has?
The school should decide if your child needs SEN support. The school 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 teacher or to the SENCo. If you are not happy about the support your child has you can ask to talk to the SENCo or headteacher. You can also find out more contacting the SEND Partnership Service.
When your child is identified with SEN, the school should use a graduated approach based on four steps. These are Assess, Plan, Do and Review.
Assess
Teaching staff should work with the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator to assess your child’s needs, so that they give the right support. They should involve you in this and, where possible, seek your child’s views. Sometimes schools will seek advice from a specialist teacher or a health professional. They should talk to you about this first.
Plan
If the school decides that your child needs SEN support it must tell you. The school should talk with you about the outcomes that will be set, what help will be provided and agree a date for progress to be reviewed.
Do
Your child’s class or subject teacher is usually responsible for the work that is done with your child, and should work closely with any teaching assistants or specialist staff involved. The school should tell you who is responsible for the support your child receives. All those who work with your child should be made aware of their needs and support agreed.
Review
The school should review your child’s progress, and the difference that the help your child has been given has made, on the date agreed in the plan. You and your child should be involved in the review and in planning the next step. Sometimes it helps to involve other professionals in further assessment or to support planning the next steps.
If your child has not made reasonable progress it will be important to agree with the school what should happen next. You and the school can look at the Local Offer to see what support is available that could help achieve your child’s outcomes.
SEN Support - what does it mean for your children - A video by Nasen
This link takes you to a video - SEN Support - what does it mean for your children
The video is of a webinar hosted by the charity organisation, National Association of Special Educational Needs (nasen) and posted on YouTube.
It addresses 3 key questions,:
- What is SEND legislation and what does it mean for your children?
- How do schools identify and support pupils with SEND?
- How should parents be involved in this process?