Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN): An analysis in 2011

The Special Educational Needs (SEN) Information Act (2008) required the Secretary of State to publish information about children in England with SEN to help improve the well-being of these children.


The publication includes new information on pupils with SEN alongside further interpretation of existing findings. There are new sections on activities at ages 16, 18 and 19 for young people with SEN. All figures are provided at national level, with some Regional and Local Authority level information. The publication is divided into the following five key themes with data derived from a range of sources, including the School Census and National Pupil Database:

• Theme 1: Characteristics of pupils with SEN 
• http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001032/osr20-2011c1.xls
• Theme 2: Attainment of pupils with SEN
• http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001032/osr20-2011c2.xls
• Theme 3: Progression of pupils with SEN
• http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001032/osr20-2011c3.xls
• Theme 4: Activities up to age 19 for young people with SEN
• http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001032/osr20-2011c4.xls
• Theme 5: Absence and exclusions from school of pupils with SEN
• http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001032/osr20-2011c5.xls

Taken from DfE Website at http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001032/index.shtml

Checklist of School Governors’ legal duties towards children with SEN

Checklist of Governors’ legal duties towards children with SEN

Duty Practical evidence

1. Do its best to ensure that necessary provision is made for any pupil who has SEN – use its best endeavours

• Be aware of number of children being supported at SA, SA+, under a statement of SEN within the school population

• Request to see a sample of IEP to see if they include SMART objective

• Attend a sample number of Annual Review of Statement meetings

• Ask to see teaching lesson plans to ensure they show relevant differentiation of work for children with SEN

• Be informed specifically where a child has been excluded – fixed term, permanently who has SEN

2. Ensure that the school appoint a SENCO who has the appropriate teaching background/ experience or training to comply with Statutory obligations

• Know who the school SENCO is

• Ensure that their background complies

3. Make sure that, where the head teacher or the appropriate governor (the responsible person) has been informed by the local authority that a pupil has SEN, those needs are made known to all who are likely to teach him or her

• Ensure systems are in place for the circulation of IEPs to staff in contact with a child with SEN

• SENCO and /or specialist teacher advice is available to teaching staff to support differentiation

• Ask to see teaching lesson plans to ensure they show relevant differentiation of work for children with SEN

4. Ensure that teachers in the school are aware of the importance of identifying and providing for pupils with SEN

• Ensure staff are trained in the different stages of SEN support & triggers

• That staff regularly review IEPs specifically to consider progress against SMART objectives and review support to ensure adequate progress is being made

5. Consult with the local authority and other bodies over special needs provision where this is desirable

• Make clear, formal request to LA when additional expertise and support are required which are outside a school‘s expertise and resources i.e. behavioural support

• Head teacher to consider requesting Statutory Assessment of a child‘s need to ensure additional professional support and resources are made available

• Be clear that the legal duty to met a child‘s SEN ultimately lies with the LA

6. Ensure that a pupil with special educational needs joins in school activities with pupils who do not have such needs so far as is reasonably practical and compatible with the pupil receiving the necessary special education, the efficient education of other children in the school and the efficient use of resources

• Ensure that you are made aware where a child with a disability is not being included within a school activity i.e. swimming, school trip, PE, playground activity, assembly

• Explore what alternative means of achieving the same educational goal could be used

7. Ensure that when a child begins receiving provision for special educational needs his or her parents are informed. This duty may be delegated to the head teacher

• Ensure that parents regularly receive IEP‘s and are invited to IEP review meetings i.e. at least termly

• Ask to review complaints concerning children with SEN

8. Publish and review a policy on special education and a behavioural policy which must be available free of charge to parents and prospective parents.

• Draft an SEN policy & behavioural policy

• Make arrangements to regularly review (3 yearly)

• Publish it on school website and with school prospectus

The full report for School governors understand their legal duties to children with SEN from IPSEA can be downloaded from here
http://tinyurl.com/governors-duties-SEN

IPSEA is a registered charity offering free and independent advice to parents of children with special educational needs in England and Wales on:

• local authorities’ legal duties to assess and provide for children with special educational needs;
• exclusions of children with special needs/disabilities;
• actions or inaction by local authorities and/or schools which discriminate against children with disabilities

Website http://www.ipsea.org.uk/ Twitter @IPSEAcharity
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ipsea.page

School Governors’ duties towards children with SEN (Non Statutory Guidance)

School Governors’ duties towards children with SEN

Non Statutory Guidance

School discipline and pupil-behaviour policies: guidance for schools

www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/behaviour/schooldisciplinepupilbehaviourpolicies/

Includes a useful checklist for governors planning behaviour policies which take into account pupils with SEN.

• Schools must make reasonable adjustments in the application of their behaviour policy to disabled pupils.

• Schools must make special educational provision for pupils whose behaviour-related learning difficulties call for it to be made.

• Schools should be alert to the potentially disproportionate impact of the school's disciplinary framework on vulnerable pupils.

• Schools should identify at-risk pupils in advance.

• Schools should plan proactively how the school's disciplinary framework should be applied for each of these pupils.

• Schools should ensure that all those in contact with the pupil know what has been agreed.

• Schools should make sure that every vulnerable pupil has a key person in school who knows them well, has good links with the home, and can act as a reference point for staff when they are unsure about how to apply the disciplinary framework.

Schools should ensure that all staff are aware of appropriate referral procedures.

The full report for School governors understand their legal duties to children with SEN from IPSEA can be downloaded from here
http://tinyurl.com/governors-duties-SEN

IPSEA is a registered charity offering free and independent advice to parents of children with special educational needs in England and Wales on:

• local authorities’ legal duties to assess and provide for children with special educational needs;
• exclusions of children with special needs/disabilities;
• actions or inaction by local authorities and/or schools which discriminate against children with disabilities

Website http://www.ipsea.org.uk/ Twitter @IPSEAcharity
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ipsea.page

School Governors’ duties towards children with SEN (SEN and exclusion)

School Governors’ duties towards children with SEN

SEN and exclusion

Official figures show that exclusion is largely a problem affecting children with SEN who are nine times more likely to be permanently excluded than other children (government stats for the academic year 2008/09). Governing Bodies can play an important role in reducing this by ensuring that their schoolsanticipate the needs of children with SEN and disabilities, adequately resource their support, ensure that staff receive training and monitor the levels of exclusion and other sanctions which are used in relation to this group. Governing Bodies can consider the support and strategies available to help vulnerable groups of pupils when they review the school‘s SEN and behaviour policies.

The discipline committee

Governing bodies generally choose to set up a committee to hear exclusion cases, sometimes establishing a pool of governors on whom they may call. At least three members must sit. The GB must be informed immediately of all exclusions which total more than five school days or ten lunchtimes in any one term or which deny a pupil the opportunity to take a public exam. Shorter exclusions must be reported to the governing body once a term.

The full report for School governors understand their legal duties to children with SEN from IPSEA can be downloaded from here
http://tinyurl.com/governors-duties-SEN

IPSEA is a registered charity offering free and independent advice to parents of children with special educational needs in England and Wales on:

• local authorities’ legal duties to assess and provide for children with special educational needs;
• exclusions of children with special needs/disabilities;
• actions or inaction by local authorities and/or schools which discriminate against children with disabilities

Website http://www.ipsea.org.uk/ Twitter @IPSEAcharity
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ipsea.page

School Governors’ duties towards children with SEN (SEN & Behaviour Policy)

Governors’ Information duties – an SEN Policy

As well as ensuring individual parents are told when their child receives special educational help, governing bodies must publish an SEN policy which must contain the following:

1) Basic information about the school‘s special educational provision:

• the objectives of the policy

• name of the SENCO

• arrangements for co-ordinating educational provision for pupils with SEN

• admission arrangements

• any SEN specialism

• any facilities for pupils with SEN including those which help access.

2) Information about the school‘s policies for identifying, assessing and making provision for pupils with SEN:

• the allocation of resources to and amongst pupils with SEN

• identification, assessment and review procedures

• arrangements for providing access to the curriculum for pupils with SEN

• how children with SEN are integrated into the school

• criteria for evaluating the success of the SEN policy

• arrangements for considering parents‘ complaints about SEN provision within the school.

3) Information about the school‘s staffing policies and partnership with bodies beyond the school:

• arrangements for SEN training for staff

• use made of teachers and facilities from outside the school including support services

• arrangements for partnership with parents

• links with other mainstream and special schools, including arrangements when pupils change or leave school

• links with health and social services, education welfare services and any voluntary organisations.

Governing bodies must also publish the following information in their school prospectus each year:

• arrangements for admission of disabled pupils

• steps taken to prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably than other pupils

• facilities provided to assist access to the school by disabled pupils

• details of the accessibility plan prepared by the governing body

• details of any changes to the SEN policy and a report on its implementation.

Governors’ duties for school discipline

The behaviour policy

The governing body should set the framework of a school‘s behaviour policy through a written statement of general principles which takes account of the needs of all pupils, including any with SEN. The statement should cover:

• the ethos of the school

• the school‘s moral code

• positive and constructive rules of conduct; and

• the rewards and punishments to be fairly and consistently applied.

The Governing Body should consult the head teacher and parents of pupils before making or revising the statement, and take account of their views. The GB should advise the head teacher of its views on specific measures for promoting good behaviour. This might include such issues as bullying.

The head teacher must follow the Governing Body‘s statement of principles and have regard to any guidance they give. The head has day-to-day responsibility for discipline and responsibility for establishing and maintaining a behaviour policy that promotes self-discipline and respect for others, prevents all forms of bullying and secures completion of tasks. It can include reasonable measures to regulate the behaviour of pupils when they are off the school site or not under the control of a member of the school staff. The behaviour policy must be reviewed regularly by the GB and made known to staff, pupils and parents. It should be brought to their attention at least once a year.

The full report for School governors understand their legal duties to children with SEN from IPSEA can be downloaded from here
http://tinyurl.com/governors-duties-SEN

IPSEA is a registered charity offering free and independent advice to parents of children with special educational needs in England and Wales on:

• local authorities’ legal duties to assess and provide for children with special educational needs;
• exclusions of children with special needs/disabilities;
• actions or inaction by local authorities and/or schools which discriminate against children with disabilities

Website http://www.ipsea.org.uk/ Twitter @IPSEAcharity
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ipsea.page

School Governors’ duties towards children with SEN (Annual Review)

Annual Review

Once a local authority (LA) has drawn up a statement the LA must review it within 12 months of the date the final statement was issued and thereafter within 12 months of the previous review (EA 1996 s.328 (5) (b)). The process which the LA and school are required to follow is set out in great detail in the Education (Special Educational Needs) (England)Regulations 2001 (the SEN Regs) in Regulations 20, 21 and 22. Regulation 20 covers most annual reviews, Regulation 21 covers the review for a pupil in Year 9, and Regulation 22 covers reviews where the child does not attend school.

A simpler guide to the Annual Review process is detailed in chapter 9 of the SEN Code of Practice.

Process and timetable

Within two weeks of the beginning of each term, the local authority must write to head teachers with the names of all pupils whose statements will require reviewing that term (SEN Reg 2001 18). The LA, or the head teacher on its behalf, must also notify Social Services and the Health Service who must respond (unless certain exceptions apply) with advice if requested by the head. (EA 1996 s.322(1) & (2) and COP para 9:15). The head teacher (or their delegate) must request written advice from:

• the child‘s parents

• anyone specified by the LA

• anyone the head teacher considers appropriate. (SEN Reg 2001 20(4))

The advice must cover

• the child‘s progress

• the application of the National Curriculum and/or substitutions for the National Curriculum

• whether the Statement is still appropriate, or needs to be amended or dropped

• any Transition Plan (see below) (SEN Reg 2001 20(5))

Arranging a review meeting

The head teacher must invite:

• the child‘s parents

• appropriate members of staff

• someone from the LA who looks after the statement

• anyone else the head or LA thinks appropriate. (SEN Reg. 2001 20(6)

Before the meeting

At least two weeks before the meeting, the head teacher must circulate copies of any written advice, inviting comments, to anyone who has not said that they will not be attending (SEN Reg 2001 20(7)). Very often only teachers and parents will attend and the head will delegate his or her responsibility to the SENCO.

At the meeting

As well as considering the written advice and any new targets for the coming year, the annual review must consider any significant changes to the child‘s circumstances. The meeting may recommend changes to the statement if:

• there is significant new evidence not already covered by the statement

• significant needs recorded on the statement are no longer present

• different help is required to meet the child‘s changing needs and new targets

• the child should change school.

After the meeting

No later than ten school days after the meeting, or at the end of that school term (whichever is earlier), the head teacher must send a report to the local authority and copies to parents and others involved in the review or to anyone else whom the LA or head teacher consider it appropriate that a copy be sent (SEN Reg. 2001 18(4) & 20(12). The report summaries the meeting‘s conclusions and includes recommendations.

Local authority reviews the Statement

The local authority must send a copy of any decision to amend or cease to maintain a Statement to the head teacher and child‘s parents within a week of making the decision. There is no time limit on the LA‘s consideration of the head teacher‘s report but the decision needs to be made within one year of the issuing of the Statement or the previous decision being made.
If an LA decides not to amend a Statement following an Annual Review parents have a right to appeal the decision to the Special Educational Needs and Disability tribunal (SEND).

Other types of review

Transition review for young person in year 9

The process for reviewing the Statements of year 9 pupils is very similar to that of younger pupils (with for instance the same timetable and same issues to be considered) but in addition there must be:

• a focus on post 16 options

• advice sought from the Connexions adviser (or Career Wales adviser),and an invitation to the transition review meeting, which a representative from Connexions must attend.

• a transition plan drawn up by the head teacher in consultation with Connexions covering post-16 options as well as Key Stage 4 support.

Annual reviews after year 9

In addition to the considerations made at annual reviews of younger pupils, these focus on the transition plan and decide whether any additions or amendments should be made.

Interim reviews

Local authorities may use their discretion to bring forward an annual review and a school or parent may ask for (but not require) an early review. The SEN COP and other government guidance suggests this might be appropriate in the following circumstances:

• a sudden deterioration of a child‘s health or development (although reassessment may be more appropriate)

• where a child is under five – the Code suggests more frequent informal reviews (COP Para 4:46)

• a change to their circumstances such as a new diagnosis or a crisis (although again reassessment may be more appropriate) (SEN Toolkit,Section 9, Para. 3)

• exclusion from school or where a child is at risk of permanent exclusion (COP Para 9:44)

• where there is a disagreement at a review meeting over a particular course of action, a review over a shorter period might resolve the dispute. (SEN Toolkit, Section 9, Para. 3)

• where there is doubt about the child‘s transfer to secondary education which cannot be resolved in Year 5, an interim review in the autumn term of year 6 is often required to ensure the statement is amended by the legal date (the Code suggests this is rare but experience suggests otherwise) (COP Para 5:71)


The full report for School governors understand their legal duties to children with SEN from IPSEA can be downloaded from here
http://tinyurl.com/governors-duties-SEN

IPSEA is a registered charity offering free and independent advice to parents of children with special educational needs in England and Wales on:

• local authorities’ legal duties to assess and provide for children with special educational needs;
• exclusions of children with special needs/disabilities;
• actions or inaction by local authorities and/or schools which discriminate against children with disabilities

Website http://www.ipsea.org.uk/ Twitter @IPSEAcharity
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ipsea.page

School Governors’ duties towards children with SEN (Legal Duty & Law)

School Governors’ duties towards children with SEN

Governors‘ legal duties to children with special educational needs apply to the governing bodies of all maintained schools. It is the governing body as whole,not individual governors, which has legal duties.

Legal duty

The Education Act 1996 s. 317 requires Governing bodies of schools to use their best endeavours to:

• Ensure that for any pupil who has SEN the special educational provision which his learning difficulty calls for is made

• Ensure that where a pupil has special educational needs, those needs are made known to all who are likely to teach him

• Ensure that the teachers in the school are aware of the importance of identifying, and providing for, those registered pupils who have special educational needs

• Designate a member of the staff at the school (to be known as the ―special educational needs co-ordinator‖) as having responsibility for co-ordinating the provision for pupils with special educational needs and make sure they are suitably qualified.

The Law

Governing body SEN duties are set out in the following legislation:

Part IV of the Education Act 1996 as amended by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA).

Key regulations are the Education (SEN) (England) (Consolidation)

Regulations 2001 and the Education (SEN) (Information (England)

Regulations 1999 amended in 2005.

SEN Code of Practice – Statutory guidance which Governing bodies must have regard to when fulfilling legal duties towards children with SEN should be followed unless there are ―exceptional reasons not to do so.

Governor duties regarding the appointment of SENCOs are contained in:

The Education (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2009

Duties towards children with SEN

• Consult the local education authority and the governing bodies of other schools to ensure co-ordination of Special Educational Provision

• Inform the child's parent that special educational provision is being made for him there because it is considered that he has special educational needs.

• Shall secure, so far as is reasonably practicable and is compatible with—

(a) the child receiving the special educational provision which his learning difficulty calls for,

(b) the provision of efficient education for the children with whom he will be educated, and

(c) the efficient use of resources,ensure that the child engages in the activities of the school together with children who do not have special educational needs.

The responsible person: either the head teacher or a designated governor whom the local authority will inform when a statement is made for a child. The responsible person must then ensure that all the child‘s teachers know about their SEN.

A duty to have regard to the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice

Under Education Act 1996 s.313 the Secretary of State has a duty to issue a Code of Practice containing guidance on the law on special educational needs and provision, and all relevant bodies have a duty to have regard to‘ the guidance in the Code. To have regard to‘ the Code means that the guidance:


1. Must always be considered; and

2. Should always be followed - unless there is a very good reason not to (for example, because a school has found a better way of achieving the Code‘s aims for children with special educational needs).

Much of the Code paraphrases the law, and when possible it is better if the law is relied upon rather than the Code.


The full report for School governors understand their legal duties to children with SEN from IPSEA can be downloaded from here
http://tinyurl.com/governors-duties-SEN

IPSEA is a registered charity offering free and independent advice to parents of children with special educational needs in England and Wales on:

• local authorities’ legal duties to assess and provide for children with special educational needs;
• exclusions of children with special needs/disabilities;
• actions or inaction by local authorities and/or schools which discriminate against children with disabilities

Website http://www.ipsea.org.uk/ Twitter @IPSEAcharity
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ipsea.page

School Governors’ duties towards children with SEN What is SEN?

School Governors’ duties towards children with SEN

What is SEN?

Special educational needs are defined by the Education Act 1996 in the following way:

A child has special educational needs for the purposes of this Act if he has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him.

A child has a learning difficulty if he has:

a) a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of his age (for example emotional, behavioural, communication or cognitive difficulties)

b) a disability which either prevents or hinders him from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of his age in schools within the area of the local education authority, or

c) he is under the age of five and is, or would be if special educational provision were not made for him, likely to fall within paragraph a) or b) when of or over that age.

Special Educational Provision are educational provision which is additional to, or otherwise different from, the educational provision made generally for children of his age in schools
maintained by the Local Authority”

Support for children with SEN within in school

School based stages

Support for the special educational needs (SEN) of children in school who do not have a statement is provided at two levels:

School Action (SA) and School Action Plus (SA+).

Increasingly extra help for children with high levels of SEN is given under the school stages as LAs make no secret of the fact that they are aiming to restrict statements to a smaller proportion of children with SEN.

Children making adequate progress (definition in the SEN Code of Practice:

paragraphs 5:42 for primary and 6:49 for secondary) may still need additional support but do not fall into SEN category.

School Action (SA)

Triggers for receiving help at SA include the concern of teachers or others (including parents) backed by evidence that:

• Child is making little or no progress despite targeted teaching strategies

• Child has difficulty developing literacy and/or numeracy skills resulting in poor attainment

• Child has persistent emotional and/or behaviour difficulties, not improved by normal behaviour management

• Child has sensory or physical problems and is making little or no progress despite specialist equipment

• Child with communication/interaction difficulties, making little or no progress despite differentiated curriculum.

School Action Plus (SA+)

Despite extra help at SA, one or more of the following applies:

• Child is still failing to make much progress in specific areas over a long period

• Child is still working at National Curriculum levels well below his or her age group

• Child continues to have difficulty developing literacy and numeracy skills

• Child‘s behaviour substantially and regularly interferes with his or her learning and that of the class despite an individualised behaviour management programme

• Child with sensory or physical difficulties needs more help

• Child has ongoing communication/interaction difficulties which are impeding social relationships and learning.

• Provision at SA+ is characterised by the involvement of external support, e.g.specialist teaching or LA educational psychologist who may provide general advice, specialist assessments or advice on different strategies or materials.

There is no requirement that a child must progress through SA and SA+ to statutory assessment, although that may happen. A child may need help immediately at SA+ and may proceed immediately to statutory assessment.

Similarly, a child at any level of help may require more or less as they go on.

Individual Education Plan (IEP)

This is a working document which records the help for any child with SEN,including those with statements, and which should be reviewed at least twice a year (three times for under-fives) in consultation with parents. Unlike a statement, an IEP is not a legal requirement although the Code expects a school to use them or have an alternative method of fulfilling the same duties. If an LEA uses an alternative approach i.e. Provision Mapping, it must contain the information required under the SEN Code of Practice in order to be accepted as being an effective way of recording support given to a child and progress made against measurable objectives.

Reviews of the IEP should be informal and parents‘ views actively sought.

An IEP should include:

• 3 or 4 short-term targets

• teaching strategies

• extra help

• date of review

• success and/or exit criteria

• outcomes of action taken IEP targets should be SMART:

Specific, Measurable , Achievable , Relevant, Time-bound

As a School Governor asking to see and review a sample of the IEPs for children with SEN within your school is a good way to fulfil your duty to ensure needs are being met.

A Statement of SEN

A Statement of a child‘s Special Educational Needs is a legal document setting out:

Part 1 The child‘s & parents personal details as well as a list of the reports that were used as evidence in drafting the statement

Part 2 All the child‘s educational needs identified in the parents‘ and professionals‘ report as being different from those of their ordinary developing peers.

Part 3 Section 1 Details the objectives for the child

Section 2 The special educational provision which has been identified as being needed to meet each of the child‘s special educational needs. This must be specified and quantified. This should be dictated by the child‘s needs not the LA‘s or school‘s available resources. This is the special educational provision which a child must receive by law.

Section 3 The arrangements for monitoring the statement

Part 4 Names the type of provision that a child should be educated at i.e. Maintain Special primary school Names the actual school where a child will receive their education.

Part 5 Non education needs (not legally enforceable against the LA)

Part 6 Non education provision (not legally enforceable against the LA) The legal entitlement only has worth, however, if the Statement is written in accordance with the law and provides detailed information about the child‘s difficulties and the help to address those difficulties.
There is no duty on the LA to provide help listed in Part 6 so it is important to check whether difficulties described in Part 5 should appear in Part 2 and whether the help in Part 6 should appear in Part 3.

Sometimes LAs list provision such as speech therapy, occupational therapy or physiotherapy in Part 6 in order that they are not held responsible for providing it. The law is clear that such therapies are special educational needs so should be clearly set out in Part 3 and properly specified and quantified.

The full report for School governors understand their legal duties to children with SEN from IPSEA can be downloaded from here
http://tinyurl.com/governors-duties-SEN

IPSEA is a registered charity offering free and independent advice to parents of children with special educational needs in England and Wales on:

• local authorities’ legal duties to assess and provide for children with special educational needs;
• exclusions of children with special needs/disabilities;
• actions or inaction by local authorities and/or schools which discriminate against children with disabilities

Website http://www.ipsea.org.uk/ Twitter @IPSEAcharity
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ipsea.page