Introduction:
The Equality Act of 2010 replaced the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995, and brought together a number of existing laws to protect people with ‘protected characteristics’ from discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Disability is one of the nine protected characteristics, and so it is crucial for SENCOs, SLT, governors and all staff to understand their responsibilities under this Act. (See SEND Code of Practice 2015, pp. 16-17).
 

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Introduction:
SEN Support is part of a staged approach to identifying needs and providing support. The SEND Code of Practice (section 6.17) indicates that a pupil may have SEN if progress:

Introduction:
The SEND Code of Practice (2015) specifies four ‘broad areas of need’, one of which is ‘Sensory and/or Physical Needs’. Everyone whose primary need is in this category likely to have a recognised disability or need with a diagnosis; these needs will be either sensory (hearing impairment, visual impairment or multi-sensory impairment) or physical (there is a wide range of physical disabilities. Some individuals may have more than one of these disabilities.

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The SENCO has the responsibility for overseeing the provision that is made for the children and young people in their setting who have been identified as having special educational needs and disability (SEND). The SENCO will have a strategic overview of policy and practice and is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the SEND provision across the whole setting. SENCOs will be most effective in this if they are part of the school leadership team.

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A key principle within the SEND Code of Practice (2015) is that parents and other stakeholders (including children and young people) should be involved in decision making and have their voices heard. One of the ways that this is facilitated is by making sure that information is clear, transparent, and readily available. The SEN Information Report is the first port of call for anyone wanting to know about SEN policy, provision and practice within a school.

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Introduction

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Introduction:
The SEND Code of Practice (2015) specifies four ‘broad areas of need’, one of which is ‘Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs’ or ‘SEMH’. SEMH needs includes all pupils who may be experiencing a wide range of social and emotional difficulties, which manifest themselves in many ways. Pupils with SEMH needs made up 17% of all pupils with SEND in 2019 (DfE SEN data, 2019), making it the third most commonly identified area of need. The rate of identification of SEMH needs increases with age.

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