Special educational needs are referred to as SEN. The abbreviation SEND relates to special educational needs and/or disabilities. Guidance, legislation, and regulations sometimes use the abbreviation SEND.
“A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
(a) has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
(b) has a 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.” SEND Code of Practice 0 to 25 2015
Special educational needs can mean that a child or young person has:
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Communication and interaction needs - difficulty in expressing themselves, understanding what others are saying or difficulties socially interacting with others
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Cognition and learning needs – difficulties in learning or retaining basic skills or a specific difficulty with reading, writing, mathematics or understanding information
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Social, emotional and mental health needs – difficulties making friends or relating to adults. May be withdrawn, isolated or find regulating their behaviours challenging
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Sensory and/or physical needs –sensory impairments or difficulties such as those affecting sight or hearing, or physical difficulties which impact on their learning Individual children or young people may have needs that cut across some or all these areas and their needs may change over time.
A child or young person may have needs in more than one area of need
