Support 4 kids

If your child has additional needs they should get SEN support at their school or college.

Your child may need an education, health and care (EHC) plan if they need more support than their school provides.

Children under 5

SEN support for children under 5 includes:

• a written progress check when your child is 2 years old
• a child health visitor carrying out a health check for your child if they’re aged 2 to 3
• a written assessment in the summer term of your child’s first year of primary school
• making reasonable adjustments for disabled children, like providing aids like tactile signs

Nurseries, playgroups and childminders registered with Ofsted follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. The framework makes sure that there’s support in place for children with SEND.

Children between 5 and 15

Talk to the teacher or the SEN co-ordinator (SENCO) if you think your child needs:

• a special learning programme
• extra help from a teacher or assistant
• to work in a smaller group
• observation in class or at break     
• help taking part in class activities
• extra encouragement in their learning, for example to ask questions or to try something they find difficult
• help communicating with other children
• support with physical or personal care difficulties, for example eating, getting around school safely or using the toilet

Young people aged 16 or over in further education

Contact the college before your child starts further education to make sure that they can meet your child’s needs.

The college and your local authority will talk to your child about the support they need.

How easy is it to get support? 

Support varies between schools and Colleges, some schools have excellent provisions and others are poor at picking up SEN, it may feel like a post code lottery. We have created some resources to help you get the support your child needs. 

Evidence 

It really helps to have lots of evidence of your child's difficulties as a parent you have a right to request information on your child or young persons education record. You can find information on how to do this here 

Get a referral if needed

If your child has already been diagnosed, ask your GP to refer you to a health visitor or paediatrician.

If your child has a diagnosis, you can also ask a specialist or consultant to refer you. The process and services provided will vary depending on where you live.

For example, if your child has a visual impairment, you want to know what adjustments will help them to read the whiteboard and use textbooks. An eye specialist could help you to know what might help at school.

Talking to your child’s school

The first people to talk to about your child’s needs are the head teacher and the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). All schools in England have a SENCO.

SENCOs work with teachers, parents and health professionals to meet pupils’ special educational needs:

• Ask for an appointment with the SENCO.
• Explain why your child needs extra support.
• If the school is unaware of your child’s needs, ask for a SEN assessment.

You could ask questions like:

• Where is my child academically?
• How is my child coping in school socially?
• Is my child getting any extra support?
• Is the school making any specialist referrals for things like occupational therapy (OT) and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)?

If the SENCO says they expect your child to catch up

The SENCO may say that they expect your child to catch up.

If they do this, you could ask:

• How are you going to support my child to catch up?
• When will you review this

If you are not happy with the support offered 

If you are not satisfied with your schools support you can either make a complaint, request a EHCP from your local authority or alternatively you can consider home schooling your child.