SEND

The SEND Code of Practice is guidance on the laws which affect SEND. This extract from the SEND Code of Practice explains what Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) means.

‘A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her’.

  1. Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than majority of others within the same age.
  2. Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
  3. A child under compulsory school age has SEND if they fall within the definitions above or would do if special educational provision was not made for them.

Many children and young people who have SEND may have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 – that is ‘…a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. This definition provides a relatively low threshold and includes more children than many realise: ‘long-term’ is defined as ‘a year or more’ and ‘substantial’ is defined as ‘more than minor or trivial’.

This definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight or hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and cancer. Children and young people with such conditions do not necessarily have SEN, but there is a significant overlap between disabled children and young people and those with SEN. Where a disabled child or young person requires special educational provision, they will also be covered by the SEN definition.

The Four Broad Areas of SEND are:

  1. Communication and interaction.
  2. Cognition and learning.
  3. Social, emotional, and mental health difficulties.
  4. Sensory and/or physical needs

If you live in Barnet, the Borough’s Local offer, can be accessed from the link below.  This site offers comprehensive advice and guidance for parents, children, and carers.

https://www.barnetlocaloffer.org.uk/

The SEND Code of Practice can be accessed from:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25