SEN support in mainstream school Angie Fenn – Contact a Family

legal duties and the SEND code of practice getting SEN support tips, advice and next steps resources and how Contact a Family can help What will we look at today

Children and Families Act 2014 Replaces Education Act 1996 New regulations and SEND Code of practice Previous law still apply to some children and young people until they move over to the new system Transition to new system until 2018 The Law

Nursery/school Early Years/School Action Early Years/School Action Plus Statement of SEN Further education Learning Difficulty Assessment ‘old’ system

Early years/school SEN support Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan Further education SEN support Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan ‘new’ system

now one single category of support in mainstream schools replaces School Action and School Action Plus school’s must identify pupils who have SEN and need extra help through SEN support They must tell parents if they are providing SEN support for their child They must keep a record of the support they provide SEN support

Definition of SEN A child or young person has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her

A child or young person has learning difficulty or disability if he or she: a)Has significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age or b)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

1.Communication and interaction 2.Cognition and learning 3.Social, emotional and mental health 4.Sensory and/or physical Four areas of SEN

Guidance to schools on their legal duties is contained in section 6 of the Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0-25 years. Schools’ duties

Use their best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEN gets the support they need – this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people’s SEN. The Code says that schools must

Schools must Have a SENCO Publish SEN information on their school website Have inclusion policy and accessibility plan

1.Assess – gather information about needs 2.Plan – decide what support is needed 3.Do – support given by teacher, SENCO specialists 4.Review - revise plan in consultation with parents Assess, Plan, Do, Review

involve specialists if your child continues to male little progress, or work at substantially lower levels than expected. Schools should:

Activity In small groups, read the case scenario, and discuss your answers 1. Agree who will take notes 2. Agree how will feedback to rest of the group

Tips, advice and next steps

If you have questions or concerns about how the school is supporting your child - make an appointment to meet with the SENCO.

Before the meeting: Look at the school's information about the support they provide for SEN. This should be on their website. Collect any information you think will help, such as a medical report if your child has had a recent diagnosis, examples of school work or test results, your own notes about your child's mood and behaviour at home. Make a list of any questions or concerns you have

During the meeting, you may want to ask: Does the school have any concerns about my child's progress or behaviour? Is my child on SEN support? What extra help are they getting? How is the school keeping track of my child's progress?

Find out: Has the school referred my child to other support services? What will the next stage be if my child needs more help? How can we work together to help my child ?

What next? If your child needs more support than a mainstream school can provide through SEN support, remember you can request an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment from your local authority.

How Contact a Family can help

My son has just been diagnosed with autism, what should the school be doing? My child’s school say they cannot meet his needs and keep calling me to collect him from school early, can they do this? What does the law say about SEN? The school says my daughter is a model pupil but at home her behaviour is difficult, please help? How do I challenge a decision? How do I get an EHC plan ? freephone Helpline

SEND factsheets  Changing from the old system to the new  Introduction to the Children and Families Act 2014  Extra support in mainstream school – SEN support  Help in the early years if your child has additional needs  Education, Health and Care Needs assessments  Education, Health and Care plans  Preparing for adulthood  The local offer explained  Personal budgets

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