All about SEND

This video has been created by local Children and Young People. 

Torbay Council has worked with young people to put together this short video to explain all about our Graduated Response toolkits and how they can help young people who may need additional support.

You’ll see characters drawn by students at South Devon College and voiceovers recorded by students from the Spires College, Paignton Academy, South Devon College, Mayfield School and Mayfield Chestnut. Altogether, 26 young people were involved with the production of the video.

If you are not already accessing this from the “SEND Support and Provision – Graduated Response” home page please see SEND Support and Provision – Graduated Response – Family Hub (torbayfamilyhub.org.uk) for more information.

There is also a series of 3 videos to help children, young people and their families understand more about Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs). 

• What is an Education, Health and Care Plan? (video for Children & Young People) – Family Hub (torbayfamilyhub.org.uk)
• What Happens In My Annual Review (video for Children & Young People) – Family Hub (torbayfamilyhub.org.uk)
• What is a phase transfer (video for Children & Young People) – Family Hub (torbayfamilyhub.org.uk)

View and/or download the Introduction to Graduated Response

SEND is an acronym for Special Educational Needs and/or Disability/ies.

Children and young people learn at different speeds and in different ways. Often children or young people may need extra support with some learning tasks. Teachers take account of this in the way they organise their lessons and teach. This does not always mean that they have SEND. Children making slower progress or having particular difficulties in one area may be given extra help or different lessons to help them succeed. You should not assume that, because your child is making slower progress than you expected or the teachers are providing different support, help or activities in class, that your child has SEND.

Children or young people only have SEND if they:

• have a learning difficulty which makes it much harder for them to learn than other children or young people
• or have a disability which prevents or hinders them from being able to access learning in the same way as other children or young people
• and need extra and different support with their learning

A learning difficulty or disability might cause difficulties with:

• Some or all of your child’s work
• Reading, writing or number work
• Your child’s ability to express themselves or understand information
• Making friends or relating to adults
• Behaviour in school
• Personal Organisation
• Tasks or activities which depend on sensory or physical skills

Children or young people do not have learning difficulties or a disability simply because their home language is not English. But some of these children or young people may also have SEND.

All educational setting (Nurseries, Schools and Colleges) have a legal responsibility to:

• identify if a child or young person has SEND
• inform parents and/or carers if they have identified a child or young person has SEND
• make sure children and young people with SEND get the right support as early as possible
• support children and young people who have SEND through a graduated response of SEND Support

This is described in detail within the SEND Code of Practice.

Most children and young people with SEND have their needs met in mainstream education (Nurseries, Schools and Colleges). This works through high-quality teaching differentiated for individual pupils or under SEND Support.

Every educational setting (Nursery, School or College) has to:

• publish an SEN Information report which describes what they have in place to meet SEND for pupils in their school
• have a Special Educational Needs and Disability Co-Ordinator (SENDCO).

Please see SEND Support in Mainstream Schools to find out more about SEND Support.

Only a very small number of children and young people with more complex SEND will need be supported via an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP).

• Most children with an EHCP will continue to attend mainstream educational setting (Nursery, School or College)
• Only a small number of children with an EHCP will be placed in a more specialist setting (e.g. enhanced provision within a mainstream school or special school).

An EHCP will only be issued for a child or young person following them having had an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment. To find out more please see EHC needs assessments.

Section 20 of the Children and Families Act 2014 explains that a child or young person aged from 0 to 25 years old is said to have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) if they have:

• a learning difficulty
  • significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age
• and/or disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions
  • A disability is defined under the Equality Act 2010 as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.
• which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her
  • educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for others of the same age in –
    • mainstream schools in England,
    • maintained nursery schools in England,
    • mainstream post-16 institutions in England, or
    • places in England at which relevant early years education is provided.
  • for a child under 2 years of age, special educational provision means educational provision of any kind.

A child under compulsory school age (aged 5 – 16) has special educational needs if he or she is likely to fall within the definition above when they reach compulsory school age or would do so if special educational provision was not made for them.

Post-16 institutions often use the term learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD). The term SEND is used across the 0-25 age range and includes LDD

The SEND Code of Practice categorises SEND into 4 areas of need:

Cognition and Learning

• SpLD – Specific learning Difficulty – difficulty that affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions including dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia etc. 
• MLD – Moderate Learning Difficulty – well below expected levels of attainment in all or most areas of the curriculum, despite appropriate interventions. They will have much greater difficulty than their peers in acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills and in understanding concepts. They may also have associated speech and language delay, low self-esteem, low levels of concentration and underdeveloped social skills.
• SLD – Severe Learning Difficulty – significant intellectual or cognitive impairments and are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum.
• PMLD – Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty – have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment.

Communication and Interaction

• SLCN – Speech, Language and Communication Needs – difficulty in communicating with others such as difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them, difficulties understanding and applying social rules. 
• ASC – Autistic Spectrum Condition – including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism with associated difficulties such as difficulties with language, communication, imagination and social interactions.

Social, Emotional and Mental Health

• SEMH – Social, Emotional and Mental Health difficulties – These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have recognised disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD),  Obsesive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Conduct Disorder (CD), attachment disorder etc.

Physical and/or Sensory

• VI – Visual Impairment – Partial or complete loss of sight not correctable by usual means (e.g. prescribed glasses or contact lens).
• HI – Hearing Impairment – With a degree of hearing loss.
• MSI – Multi Sensory Impairment – combined vision and hearing impairments.
• PD – Physical Disability – limitation on a person’s physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina.

All educational establishments (nurseries and pre-schools, schools and colleges) must have arrangements in place to identify SEND.

The SEND Code of Practice 2015 states,

All schools should have a clear approach to identifying learners with SEN. The benefits of early identification are widely recognised – identifying need at the earliest point and then making effective provision improves long-term outcomes for the child or young person. (SEND CoP 6.14)

Parents know their children best, and it is important that all professionals listen and understand when parents/carers express concerns about their child’s development. They should also listen to and address any concerns raised by children and young people themselves. (SEND CoP 5.5 & 6.20)

Slow progress and low attainment do not necessarily mean that a child has SEN and should not automatically lead to a pupil being recorded as having SEN.  However, they may be an indicator of a range of learning difficulties or disabilities. Equally, it should not be assumed that attainment in line with chronological age means that there is no learning difficulty or disability present. Some learning difficulties and disabilities occur across the range of cognitive ability and, left unaddressed may lead to frustration, which may manifest itself as disaffection, emotional or behavioural difficulties. (SEND CoP 6.23)

This process should include: 

• Clear routes for raising of an initial concern (this may be by the class teacher, parent/carer, child or young person, SENDCo, School or relevant specialist) that ensure parents / carers are included and kept informed
• All conserns raised being recorded by the educational establishment (nursery and pre-school, school or college)
• Robust processes in place to monitor and review every child/young person’s progress over time making reasonable adjustments/adaptations where necessary

SEND Support and Provision – Graduated Response toolkits

The Graduated Response, or Graduated Approach, is the process which must be carried out when there are concerns about a possible special educational need.

Torbay’s Graduated Response toolkits have been developed to ensure all partners work together to get the “right support in the right place at the right time” by the right people for every child or young person with special educational needs and disabilities.

Find out more about the following age specific Torbay Graduated Response toolkits:

• Torbay Early Years Graduated Approach Toolkit – children below age 5
• SEND Support and Provision (Graduated Response Toolkits) – children of compulsory school age (5 – 16)
• Age 16-18 SEND Support and Provision Toolkit

A SEND Support and Provision Toolkit for young people aged 19 – 25 is currently in the process of being developed and will be coming soon.

What is a Section 23 notification?

Health professionals have a duty to tell the local authority if they believe a child under school age has, or is likely to have, special educational needs or a disability (SEND).

Usually, this notification is made by any Health professional, who must in the first instance:

• inform parents that they believe their child has (or is likely to have) SEND
• arrange for parents to discuss this opinion with appropriate health professionals
• inform parents that they have a duty to notify their child to the local authority
• advise parents of organisations that may be able to support them in relation to their child’s SEND

As part of the Section 23, Health professionals will share information about the named child. The local authority will respond to the notification, and act upon the shared information.

What is SEND?

What the SEND Code of Practice says:

“A child or young person has special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.”

SEND Code of Practice 2015, Introduction xiii

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can affect a child or young person’s ability to learn. They can affect their:

• behaviour or ability to socialise, for example they struggle to make friends
• reading and writing, for example because they have dyslexia
• ability to understand things
• concentration levels, for example because they have ADHD
• physical ability

What is special educational provision?

• Special educational provision is the additional or different help given to children with special educational needs. For children under two years old any educational provision is special educational provision.
• Special educational provision takes many different forms. Most children with special educational needs have support in their class under SEN Support. It might be additional or different help provided in a mainstream class for a small group or an individual child. It can include group work or individual support that takes place outside the classroom. It could also be attendance in a specialist class or in a special school.
• In only a small number of cases, where a child/young person is experiencing particularly high levels of difficulty, and is unable to make adequate progress, will a statutory assessment be necessary.

Under what Law?

This duty is Section 23 of the Children and Families Act 2014 Children and Families Act 2014. Section 23 Duty of health bodies to bring certain children to local authority’s attention.

(1) This section applies where, in the course of exercising functions in relation to a child who is under compulsory school age, a clinical commissioning group, NHS trust or NHS foundation trust form the opinion that the child has (or probably has) special educational needs or a disability.

(2) The group or trust must —

(a) inform the child’s parent of their opinion and of their duty under subsection (3), and

(b) give the child’s parent an opportunity to discuss their opinion with an officer of the group or trust.

(3) The group or trust must then bring their opinion to the attention of the appropriate local authority in England.

(4) If the group or trust think a particular voluntary organisation is likely to be able to give the parent advice or assistance in connection with any special educational needs or disability the child may have, they must inform the parent of that.

Children & Families Act 2014, Section 23

What is the process:

• Health visitors, Paediatrics and GP’s will email earlyyearssend@torbay.gov.uk  and let the Local Education Authority know that there is a child or young person with SEND who meets the above criteria. There will be an acknowledgement of the notification.
• Health services will need to share that they have brought a child to the LA attention through Section 23 notification, paedsdictation.sdhct@nhs.net  for Paediatrics,  publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net Health Visitor contact. GP’s would need to email both emails.
• There will be signposting at this stage is necessary.
• Health visitors will send a Section 23 notification for children who score in the Black or multiple Grey areas (over 3 following a review) in the ASQ3/ELIM assessment.
• The information is gathered into a data base and discussed in a multi-agency forum quarterly. The interventions and support for children and its impact will be analysed and reviewed.

How this will help us as a partnership serve our children and young people?

• Data will be used to inform planning and support for children in Torbay.
• Pathways for support for children and young people will be discussed.
• The multi-agency (MA) group will meet quarterly to sign post to services at the right time, right place, right support. Names will be shared in advance of the meeting to ensure multi agency gathering of appropriate information.
• If there are a lack of services and support involved with the child the MA group will make contact to support

Helping you understand the meaning of acronyms and terms frequently used in relation to Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in Torbay.

Glossary of SEND acronyms and terms