What are Special Educational Needs (SEN)?
- A child has SEN if they have learning difficulties or disabilities that require extra support in school.
- This might be because they learn differently than most other children of the same age, or they have a disability that affects their ability to learn.
How can you get help?
- Every school has a SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) who can offer advice and support.
- Primary School:
- Start by talking to your child’s class teacher.
- Share your concerns and ask if they agree.
- Ask about the support already in place and how you can help at home.
- If you want to involve a specialist, ask about speaking to the SENCO.
- Secondary School:
- Talk to your child’s Form Tutor and share your concerns.
- They may involve the SENCO if needed.
- Together, they can discuss what support your child needs, which may include:
- In-class support from the teacher or a Learning Support Assistant.
- Adapted learning materials or resources.
- Small group or individual support.
- Specialist help.
Important Note:
- When talking to teachers, it helps if you take a specific list of your concerns or things you have noticed.
- Getting support for your child can take time due to various factors such as budget constraints and resource availability.
- Schools are committed to supporting all children, but the level of readily available resources may vary across the UK.
Remember:
- Early intervention and open communication with the school are key.
- The SENCO and other school staff are there to help you and your child.
How strict are the definitions for SEN in the UK? How easy is it to get my child’s needs recognised or diagnosed and where can I get help from?
Schools in the UK have a duty to adhere to the statutory Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs. The definition of a child who has a special need in this Code of Practice is:
‘A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.
A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
– has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
– has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions’
Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years Statutory guidance for organisations which work with and support children and young people who have special educational needs or disabilities – January 2015
Every school should have a qualified SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) with whom you can speak. They are not medically trained but can give you advice, support your child, suggest ideas and signpost you to resources or organisations that might help.
At primary school, if you have concerns about your child’s needs, make an appointment to see the class teacher first, through the school office. Take a list of concerns or issues that you have noticed along to the meeting as a reminder and so that you can be specific when you meet. Ask whether the class teacher shares your concerns and if so, how is your child being supported in class to address these concerns? Has the teacher got any suggestions about how you might help your child at home with these concerns? If you feel that you would like to speak to the SENCO or would like to involve a specialist about your concerns e.g. about Autism Spectrum Disorder, ask if you can arrange an appointment to see them. The school may not be able to give a medical diagnosis but they should know who can help you if they can’t.
If the class teacher shares your concerns and they feel that they require additional advice about how to support your child with their learning in class, they will work with the SENCO to offer this help. It may be that your child has support in class with personalised strategies or a Learning Support Assistant. They may have resources which are adapted to make it easier for your child to access them or it could be that your child is offered small group or individual support to help them. It may be that your child requires more specialist teacher input and the SENCO will discuss this with you and your child and an Educational Health and Care Plan can be applied for which, if granted, might give your child additional funding for support and resources.
At secondary School, make an appointment to speak to your child’s Form Tutor and take along your list of concerns to discuss. If the child’s Form Tutor needs to find out more information about your child from their subject teachers, they may ask you to arrange another meeting or if they do have concerns themselves, they may suggest that you meet together with the SENCO to discuss your concerns. This may result in additional help or resources in the classroom or specific help from a Learning Support Assistant in some or all subjects. It may be that your child is offered individual or small group learning for particular subjects or it may mean that specialist help is required and the SENCO can signpost you to this or apply for an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) to request additional funding and support.
Note: Detection of a special need, diagnosis of this and delivering support to pupils with additional needs can be a lengthy journey. Budgets, human resources, local authority and government funding all have to be considered when providing extra resources and support and the collaboration and finance are not always readily available in every area of the UK to deliver this as effectively as desired in all schools.
This question was asked by one of our parents during our recent webinar ‘Unlocking the Power of Parent-Teacher Communication‘ and was answered by a very experienced primary school teacher who has also held a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo) role.
If you have any questions for our bilingual team (English and Cantonese), reach out via email contact@seven-springs.co.uk