WHAT IS MEANT BY 'SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS'? "Children have special educational needs if they have learning difficulties that need special educational provision to be made for them. Children have a learning difficulty if they have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age or they may have a disability which makes it difficult for them to access educational facilities. Many children at some time in their lives, have special educational needs of some kind. The vast majority will have their needs met in their local mainstream school." - Reference SEN Code of Practice What does the law say? The law says that all schools must do their best to see that proper education is provided for all children, including those with special educational needs. The most important legislation dealing with special education is the Education Act 1996 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001. The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice is part of this legislation and gives guidance to schools about how a child’s needs can be identified and assessed. The Children Act includes children with special needs and sets down the responsibilities of social services working with Health and Education Authorities to help ‘children in need’. This can include children with special educational needs. The Education Act, Special Needs and Disability Act and Children Act emphasise the importance of consulting with children and young people and taking their wishes and views into account where possible. The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice The Code of Practice on the identification and assessment of SEN (Department for Education and Skills 2001) provides guidance on the identification and assessment process and the way in which pupils’ special educational needs should be met. There is detailed information about the responsibilities of Social Care and the Health Authority. The Code of Practice highlights the importance of working in partnership with parents and pupils. All maintained schools must have SEN policies which clearly set out how they intend to identify, assess and meet special education needs and involve parents in their children’s education. Also outlined in the Code of Practice are the arrangements for transition from primary to secondary school and from secondary to further and higher education. This requires local education authorities to consult with a variety of bodies, including Social Care, the Health Authority, the Learning and Skills Council and the Connexions Service in planning for a young person’s transition to adult life. You can order copies of the full SEN Code of Practice, DCSF 581/2001 (You will need to register with Teachernet first). Alternatively, you can order from the publication centre: telephone 0845 6022260 or email dcsf@prolog.uk.com, quoting the DCSF reference number above. Further information about the SENCcode of Practice can be obtained from: www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/sencodeintro The Code of Practice says: The knowledge, views and experiences of parents are vital. This means that people should listen to you as a parent when deciding how best to help your child. Whatever your child’s difficulties in school it is important that they are helped to overcome them. Wherever possible children with special educational needs should be educated in their local school, alongside other children and have the right to benefit from education in all school subjects. If your child has difficulties it is important that these are recognised as soon as possible. Some children’s difficulties may be recognised before they start school and the Local Authority (LA) and other services such as Health and Social Care may become involved at an early stage. You must be informed that a school is making Special Educational Needs provision for your child. The best way to help your child is by everyone sharing information and working closely together. Your child’s own views are important and should be listened to. Return to Top