Introduction to SEND

Introduction

A child or young person has Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. When we say special educational provision, this can mean additional support from a teacher or member of staff, work that is more tailored to the child or young person's ability, interventions such as visual timetables, movement breaks, or fidget aids, etc. 

Learning difficulty or disability

A learning difficulty or disability is where a child or a young person has:

• a significantly greater difficulty in learning than most others of the same age, or
• a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or colleges

Special educational provision

Special educational provision is any educational or training provision that is different from or additional to that normally provide to other children of the same age. SEN is a legal term which is set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.

Often, children and young people with SEN also have a disability.

What disability means

A child or young person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

This is the legal definition of disability which is set out in the Equality Act 2010. Some children and young people who are disabled might not have SEN. But they are still protected by the Equality Act.