This page is all about what support is available for school-age children (ages 5-15) with special educational needs (SEN) and\/or disabilities (SEND) in England. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It can be difficult to decide whether your child would do better in a SEN school, or a mainstream school with SEN support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On this page, find out more about choosing and getting into a school, SEN support plans and homeschooling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On this page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We support people with complex disabilities of all ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From our free play sessions for children under eight, to our adult residential care services<\/a>, we\u2019re with disabled people and their families every step of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get in touch with our team to find out how our services could support you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like all parents, you will need to make choices about which school you think will be best for your child\u2019s education and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s worth starting to think about it as early as possible, especially if your child has special educational needs and disabilities<\/a> (SEND).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Usually, children start primary school at the start of the term after their fifth birthday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can ask for your child to go to school part time until then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don\u2019t think they\u2019re ready to start school, you can also ask the school if your child can start later in the school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Talk to the schools you\u2019re interested in about your child\u2019s needs and find out what help the school can offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might choose to send your child to a specialist school for children with disabilities, sometimes called a SEN school<\/a><\/strong>, or to a mainstream school<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s okay if your child\u2019s needs change, and they later move from a SEN school to a mainstream school or vice versa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some children are registered at a mainstream school and also a SEN school, and attend both part-time. This is called dual registration<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If your child has complex needs, a specialist school with specially trained teachers, therapists and equipment may be best for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schools that are specially equipped to educate children with special educational needs and\/or disabilities are sometimes referred to as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n On this page, we\u2019ll use the phrase SEN schools to mean all schools that specifically teach children with SEN or SEND. <\/p>\n\n\n\n SEN schools are schools that teach children with special educational needs and\/or disabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nearly all students of SEN schools have education, health, and care plans, or EHCPs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that they\u2019ve been assessed by the local authority as needing more support than they can generally get in mainstream schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Find out more about EHCPs.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The first step is to get an EHCP<\/a> for your child. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Children with an EHCP do not go through the usual admissions system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, as part of the EHCP, you can say if you want your child to go to a SEN school, and name a school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can say which school you want your child to go to when you first get the EHCP or when your child moves to a different phase of education, for example, from primary to secondary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also ask for a change of school at an annual review. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Find out more about getting an EHCP.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, in some situations, your local authority can refuse the school of your choice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are turned down, ask for detailed reasons. This will help you decide whether you want to appeal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read more about challenging decisions, appeals and tribunals.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n If your child has an EHCP<\/a>, you will be asked which secondary school you would like your child to go to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You will probably discuss options at the annual review before transfer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By law, the local authority must name the secondary school by 15 February, for entry in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You will need to think about which school you want well before this date. It\u2019s good to start planning when your child is in Year 5 (ages nine to ten) and arrange to visit the schools that you\u2019re interested in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, many children with SEN or SEND go to a mainstream school through the normal admissions procedure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You have a general right in law to send your child to a mainstream school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you can\u2019t get a place in your mainstream school of choice, your local authority needs to look at other mainstream schools in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The local authority can only insist your child goes to a SEN school against your wishes if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Find out more about challenging decisions, appeals and tribunals.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n By law, schools must do everything they can to make sure children with SEN\/SEND get the extra support they need to achieve as well as they can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This extra support comes from school staff and staff from outside the school, including educational psychologists, behaviour support staff and speech and language therapists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The SEND code of practice<\/a> <\/strong>says schools should use a graduated approach to support your child. This approach has four stages: Assess, Plan, Do and Review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Assess<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The early years setting, together with the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) and parents, work to explore the cause of any learning difficulties or delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Staff should talk to you about your child and any extra support you think they need. If necessary, they\u2019ll ask for more information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if your child has multi-sensory impairments, they may ask an MSI specialist teacher to visit and advise them on how to support your child. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There should be a written plan setting out this support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Do<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on your child\u2019s needs, they may receive extra support, to learn communication and language skills, for example, from an adult or in a small group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, a specialist may work with your child directly or set up a programme and train staff to follow it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Review<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The review is a chance to look at your child\u2019s progress, see if the support is working and if your child needs more of the same support or support of a different kind.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n The SEND register (or SEN register) is a list of all the children in a school who have special educational needs and\/or disabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is so that the school has a record of who has special educational needs, and what kind of support they might benefit from. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Only the school can decide if a child should be on the SEND register. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They should take into account information from parents and other professionals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your child\u2019s school should tell you if your child is on the SEND register. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you would like to discuss your child\u2019s inclusion on the SEND register, you should contact their school\u2019s SENco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SENCo is short for SEN co-ordinator. Your school might call it a SENDCo, or SEND co-ordinator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A SENCo is a teacher who is responsible for identifying students with SEN in the school and making sure they get the support they need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n SENCos should make sure that their school follows the SEND code of practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If your child is receiving support because they have SEN (or SEND), the school should draw up a SEN support plan (or SEND support plan).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This should focus on what your child needs and wants to achieve, and how the school will help them to achieve these goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The school should give you clear information about the extra support your child is getting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The school should also meet with you at least three times a year to review how your child is progressing and decide on next steps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These meetings should be on top of regular parents\u2019 evening meetings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The school should provide a report on your child\u2019s progress at least once a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your child\u2019s SEN support plan might include various ways in which your child should be supported at school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find some examples of SEN support plans on the following local authority websites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Norfolk – SEN support plan examples<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n London Waltham Forest – SEN support plan examples<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bristol – SEN support plan examples<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n To find out more about SEN support in your area, find your local authority<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n If you think your child needs extra support in the classroom, ask to have a meeting with your child\u2019s teacher, the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) and any other staff who should attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important to spend some time preparing for your meeting with the school to discuss your child\u2019s SEN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every school must publish a SEND Information Report. You should be able to find it on their website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at the school\u2019s policies on SEN\/SEND, equality and behaviour to see how the school supports pupils with SEN\/SEND. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gather your own evidence to show the difficulties your child is having. This can include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Write a list of your concerns, covering:<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the meeting, you could ask questions like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the meeting, you, the SENCo, the teacher and anyone else attending should agree what will happen next and fix a date for another meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask for this to be put in writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you think your child needs more support than is being offered to them by their school, you might want to consider asking your local authority for an education, health and care needs assessment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some children may become so anxious or worried about school that they don\u2019t feel able to go in at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is often called \u201cschool refusal\u201d, although some prefer the term \u201cemotionally-based school avoidance\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If your child is not having their special educational needs met at school, this could make school a very stressful and exhausting environment for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read this guide to school refusal from Young Minds<\/a> for advice on how to approach the school, how to cope at home and what support to ask for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Action for Children has more advice on how to cope<\/a> when your child doesn\u2019t want to go to school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can choose to educate your child at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\nChoosing a school for your child<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
SEN schools<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What is a SEN school?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do I get my child into a SEN school?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Can my child be refused a place at a SEN school?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Moving from a SEN primary school to a SEN secondary school<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
SEN support in mainstream schools<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can my child go to a mainstream school if they have SEN?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Can my child be refused a place in a mainstream school?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Getting SEN support in a mainstream school<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The graduated approach<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The school should agree with you when your child\u2019s progress will be reviewed. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is the SEND register?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do I know if my child is on the SEND register?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What is a SENCo?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What is a SEN support plan?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
SEN support plan examples<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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My child\u2019s school isn\u2019t meeting their SEN needs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Preparing for a SEN meeting at school<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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School refusal<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Homeschooling<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n