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Additional support in schools – England

Additional support in schools – England

Last checked: May 2025

The Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo)

This teacher is responsible for assessing how much and what sort of extra support is needed by any child with SEND in their school. The SENCo then works with teachers and liaises with parents to make sure the support is put in place and is working.

SEN Support Plan

Children and young people with SEND have the right to extra support, whatever their educational setting.

An SEN Support Plan sets out what outcomes a child is expected to achieve, and what support is being put in place to get to them. The Plan should be based on an individual assessment of the child and parents should be fully involved in discussions.

Any child who can be supported by an SEN Support Plan has a legal right to attend a mainstream school – if this is what the family wants. Most children with SEN go to mainstream school.

The school should regularly check how well the Plan is working and make changes if necessary. They should meet with the parents at least three times a year to review progress and what the next steps will be. This should be in addition to the usual parents’ evening meetings. The child’s views should be included. The school should provide a progress report at least once a year.

If needed, the school can ask specialist support services (such as educational psychology or speech and language therapy) to carry out assessments and provide further advice and support. There may be a waiting list.

Schools may, or may not, be able to seek extra SEN funding from their Local Authority.

Independent schools, where parents pay fees, are not legally required to identify SEN or provide SEN support in the same way as a state school.

Many, but not all, children who have SMA, need a lot of support at home and when out and about. They may need therapies from external specialists, or specialist equipment beyond what a mainstream school can provide. They may need an EHCP to support this.

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This must be agreed between the parents and the health professionals that support any child with health needs. When a child starts school, this should also include the school nurse and /or whoever has responsibility for First Aid and health.

Whether or not they have an EHCP, many children who have SMA will have health needs that need careful management and monitoring. This may be from early on or needs may develop later.

Your child’s school will need to know about the current and possible impact your child’s SMA may have – especially what the signs are that your child needs urgent medical attention and what to do in case of any emergency.

The plan may include, for example:

  • who will give any medication
  • what to do in an emergency
  • any other special arrangements such as:
  • the need for your child to use an accessible toilet
  • assistance with any suctioning or non-invasive ventilation.

It is important that the plan is shared with, and understood by, all staff and that you make the school aware of any Emergency Healthcare Plan (see Tab 11)> your child has.

Some children who have more complex healthcare needs may already receive nursing support at home, funded by Continuing Health Care (CHC) (see Tab 1) >. If so, this will be reviewed at a Panel meeting, to discuss whether that support can continue at school.

There must be an individual PEEP in place for every pupil who has mobility difficulties. It must describe their needs and how they will be managed in any building where they will be.

If you choose a state-funded school and your child is allocated a place, by law the school will need to make "reasonable adjustments" for your child, including to the building.

"Reasonable" can be interpreted differently.

‘It is important to ask how willing the school seem to make necessary adaptations. If they seem negative, how important is it to you that your child goes to this school? Will you continue to have battles?’ Parent.

SEN Information Report

All schools must have one of these. It explains such things as:

  • The kinds of SEN the school is able to support
  • How children’s needs are identified and assessed
  • What support is offered
  • How the curriculum is adapted

 

SEN Policy

Every school should also have a policy which says how it supports disabled pupils to be included in school activities. Examples of what this must include are:

  • The expertise and training of school staff and how other specialist expertise will be available.
  • The support the school provides for improving emotional and social development and what it does to prevent bullying.
  • How children with SEN are supported to access activities in the school that are available to pupils without SEN.

 

Accessibility Plan

This includes information about what the school is doing to make both the environment and the curriculum more accessible for disabled pupils. It may be included within the SEN Information Report.

 

Medical Needs Policy

All state-funded schools must make arrangements to support children with medical needs – and say what these are.

 

Behaviour Policy

All state-maintained schools must publish this on the school’s website. This covers how the school encourages good behaviour and what happens if school rules are broken. It must also cover what the school does to prevent bullying.

Academies and Independent Schools must also have a behaviour and anti-bullying policy. There is no legal duty to publish it on the school’s website, though this is good practice.

 

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