SEN Support

Mainstream nurseries, schools and colleges must support all those with special educational needs (SEN) through SEN Support. This includes:

1. Recording for every child or young person, their SEN, what outcomes it expects the child or young person to achieve, and what provision is being put in place to reach those outcomes.
2. Doing everything that could reasonably be expected of it to meet a child or young person’s SEN (called the “best endeavours” duty).
3. Requesting an EHC needs assessment if it cannot meet a child or young person’s needs.
4. If a child or young person has an EHC plan, doing its best to deliver the special educational provision specified in Section F. If it cannot, the local authority must provide the resources to do so.

In addition, for example:

• Nurseries – must involve parents with decisions around special educational provision.
• Schools – should meet with parents at least three times a year to discuss the pupil’s SEN and progress record.
• Colleges – should involve the student and (particularly if aged 16-18) their parents in decisions around the support they receive for their SEN.

Nurseries, schools and colleges have legal duties to support children and young people with special educational needs (SEN), including those with medical needs. All settings must make sure they do not treat children and young people worse than others, or badly, because of their disability. They must also change what they do (or were planning to do) to make sure a disabled child or young person is not disadvantaged.

There are many different types of early years settings, schools or colleges which a child or young person can attend.

Nurseries, schools and colleges should identify and support children and young people with SEN and/or disabilities.

One of the key duties for the nursery, school or college is to use its ‘best endeavours’ to support children and young people with SEN. This means doing everything that could reasonably be expected. This duty applies to mainstream settings and alternative provision settings, but not special settings or independent schools.

The SEN and Disability Code of Practice 2015 (known as the Code) contains guidance on what nurseries, schools and colleges should be doing to identify and support children and young people with SEN. The Code applies to all settings except independent schools.

Nurseries, schools and colleges must “have regard” to the Code. This means that they should do what it says or be able to explain why they have not done so, and what alternative has been put in place instead.

All children and young people have the right to an inclusive education in a mainstream school or college with their typically developing peers if they want it. This includes being included in the activities of the school.

Mainstream schools and maintained nursery schools (but not FE institutions) must make sure that children with SEN engage in the activities of the school together with children who do not have special educational needs.

The school can only exclude them from activities if:

• it is not reasonably practicable for them to be included
• being included would prevent them from receiving the support they need, or
• being included would prevent the efficient education of other children or the efficient use of resources.

These conditions are set out in law (section 35 of the Children and Families Act 2014). Therefore, a child can only be excluded from activities if one or more of these conditions applies.

The Equality Act 2010 is also useful if your disabled child is, or you as a disabled young person are, being excluded from activities. This exclusion could amount to disability discrimination.

Inclusion is a fundamental principle underpinning the Code, which can be seen from paragraphs 1.24 onwards.

Schools, education and training providers are required to have Accessibility Plans outlining how they intend to make their setting more accessible for disabled pupils. You can find out more information on this on Alliance for Inclusive Education’s (ALLFIE) website.

If a lack of resources is a barrier to inclusion then this may be evidence that more or better provision is required, for example through the issuing of an EHC plan or by changes to an existing EHC plan.

Children or young people who attend a maintained school, an academy or a pupil referral unit and have a medical condition, the governing body/proprietor must make arrangements to support those children or young people at school.

You can check this guidance to see if your school is meeting its duties and find out more about this on IPSEA’s website.

Independent schools: Most of these duties (aside from those arising under the Equality Act 2010) do not apply to fully independent schools and other institutions.