Special Education Needs in the UK: Overview

Identifying special needs

Does my child have a special need or are the difficulties they seem to have ‘normal’? You don’t have to have a formal diagnosis to request help for your child. If you suspect your child has a ‘learning difference’ or difficulty, or you’re just worried, seek advice. No two children progress at the same rate, so how do you determine if your child has special needs?

Children with special educational needs (SEN) are defined as those who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age. These can be social, emotional, intellectual, behavioural, physical or sensory, or a mixture of some or all.

Not all children with special needs are readily identified. Some develop coping strategies to mask their difficulties; others may have, for example, a hearing loss that has not been identified or may be considered naughty, a fidget, a daydreamer – symptoms of everyday childhood but also ones that can conceal underlying special needs. Parents know their children well, so don’t feel, just because nobody else has said anything, that ‘it’s just you’.

Detection and diagnosis of SEN on the one hand, coupled with medical advances and better neo-natal survival rates on the other, mean that approximately 20 percent of children have special needs at some point during their school life. What 's more, it seems it’s not just children who are being diagnosed with SEN; often, parents, on getting a diagnosis for their child, realise they have a previously undetected difficulty themselves.

For some children, having an SEN is a transitory phase; it may be that following suitable intervention, the child will be ‘cured’. At the other extreme, some will have special educational needs throughout school and into adult life. Type, nature and severity of SEN vary, but approximately 2 per cent of children have needs that require a statement of special educational needs, or the Scottish equivalent, a co-ordinated support plan (still referred to as a record of need in some places).

The government believes the majority of children with special needs should attend and have their needs met in ordinary mainstream schools – this is known as INCLUSION. However, for a minority of children (but not all those with statements), special schools or other provision will be necessary to meet their needs. Even in a special school, children will usually be offered ‘inclusion’ opportunities wherever possible. This takes many forms, including regular visits to a local mainstream school for lessons, or the opportunity to socialise with mainstream children.

What problems might a child with special needs have?

The degree and extent of SEN will vary considerably between and within conditions. Difficulties may occur with:

all school work

specific areas of school work such as reading, writing, numeracy, understanding or processing information
self-expression or expressing and understanding what others are saying
listening or paying attention
establishing relationships, making friends or relating to adult
behaving appropriately in or out of school
personal organisation
impaired or slower-processing motor skills
sensory or physical needs
a combination of any of the aforementioned.

Many of the difficulties have labels: autistic spectrum disorders (pervasive development disorders), learning difficulties, developmental delay, social emotional and behavioural difficulties, sensory impairments, medical and genetic disorders; some children will have a number of difficulties or complex needs. These are explained in greater depth in The Good Schools Guide-Special Educational Needs.

Action to take if you think your child has a special need:

Firstly, bear in mind that children progress at different rates and have different ways in which they learn best. If this doesn't reassure you, then trust your instincts and seek a second (or third) opinion:

Talk to your child’s teacher, or Head-teacher. Make sure you are prepared before you go in: write down all the points you want to make - better still keep a diary or record of incidents and experiences that support your case; remember you know your child best.
Find out if the school also thinks your child may have difficulties or special needs, whether your child is making the progress expected for his age and if there is anything you can do to help at home. If the school share your concerns, they will decide on the appropriate type and level of support or intervention. If the school doesn’t share your concerns and you are still not happy with the explanations given, pursue the matter, seeking independent advice or information if necessary.
You may find it useful to make an appointment to speak to the school’s special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCo). The SENCo is the person in school who oversees all special needs; he or she will be involved with children who require extra help, have IEPs or statements (more on these later).
With luck, working together with your child’s teachers will help to sort out many worries and problems, but be prepared to be the person keeping on top of matters – schools focus on all children, but it’s your child that matters to you. The closer you work with your child’s teachers, the more successful any help for your child should be. If you disagree with something said or done, ask for an explanation but try not to be defensive or aggressive – antagonising teachers won’t help, but don’t let them railroad you either – they don't always know best.
Parents are often the first ones to identify a difficulty, so they can rightly request help for their child. Seek the help and support of professionals. Your GP (or health visitor for pre-school children) will be a useful starting point.
If necessary, ask the school if your child can be referred to an educational psychologist or other appropriate specialist. If they refuse and you think there is a need, most offer private consultations.
Use the Useful Contacts section in this Guide to get in touch with people and organisations that can help. There’s a lot of experience out there to be tapped into.

How a school can help:

There is statutory guidance on inclusive schooling for all maintained (state) schools for children with SEN in England, including City Academies and maintained nursery schools. This doesn’t apply to schools in other parts of the United Kingdom or those in the independent sector, who can please themselves. However, fears of future litigation mean independent schools are beginning to take special needs very seriously and many will follow the guidelines or similar.

With or without the guidance, many schools are getting much better at detecting and managing special needs, but some are still slow to recognise and assess problems. As a rule:

Good teachers will choose the best way to help a child learn from a range of activities and will "differentiate the curriculum" (teacher-speak for "adapt lessons") to take account of individual learning need.
Teachers should carefully organise lessons, the classroom, social groupings, books, materials and the way they teach to ensure a child can make the most of any given learning opportunity – if this isn’t happening for your child, ask why.
Every school should have a policy that explains how they provide education for children with SEN. Do ask for a copy and for an explanation of how the policy is implemented (if it’s full of jargon, ask for the information in plain speak).
Where a school believes a child’s difficulties require extra measures, they will follow The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice which gives guidance on how to provide help for children with special educational needs. Basically, this uses a graduated approach to help children identified as having SEN. If a child’s needs are clearly greater than the norm, stages can be skipped and the process speeded up.
Under the Disability Discrimination Act, appropriate help must be provided by schools and colleges so that children with special needs are ‘on a level playing field’ with their peers. Someone with dyspraxia who writes very slowly may qualify for extra time in exams, get help with typing tuition and be permitted to use a laptop in class. Some strategies are simple and don’t cost anything: for example, having a ‘buddy’ for a dyspraxic child new to the school who gets lost easily, will help him settle in. Others are complex bureaucratic processes that it may seem daunting to tackle but which can open doors to invaluable extra support.

The current Code of Practice on Special Educational Needs expects a lot from schools, and some may have genuine difficulties in successfully meeting those expectations, so it may be up to you to keep on top of issues and concerns. You can order a free copy of the SEN Code Of practice from the Department of Education and Science (DfES) - details in GSGI SEN UK Useful Organizations and Contacts.

If school think your child requires extra help or support, they may recommend your child be placed on School Action or School Action Plus. School action involves giving a child extra or different help, perhaps teaching in a different way; involving the child in small group or one to one tuition for some of the time; the use of specialist equipment etc. School Action/plus may involve all of school action and will involve intervention by outside agencies, perhaps the educational psychologist, health professionals or therapists. Naturally the school has a duty to let parents know about this extra support, and school and parents should work together to give the child the best possible chance of success. If a child makes good progress, School Action/plus may be discontinued.
Some schools use Individual Education Plans (IEPs) to write down actions or help for a child. These contain targets for your child to work towards. Targets are usually SMART, that is: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time related and should be monitored and reviewed on a regular basis, rather than a generic ‘must improve hand-writing’, or ‘pay more attention in class’.

What you can do if you’re dissatisfied with the provision currently being made for your child:

If you are not happy with your child’s progress, whatever the reason, there are several things you can do. But most importantly, keep in sight the fact that your child will get one shot at education and deserves at all times to get appropriate help and support, so if you think you have a genuine gripe but are being fobbed off, pursue the issues.

If your child is already being given additional or different provision, but you think he needs more support, then discuss with the child’s class teacher, SENCo or Head teacher whether to ask the Local Education Authority (LEA) to make a statutory assessment of your child to determine whether he or she needs a statement. An assessment will only be necessary if the school can't provide all the help a child needs (sometimes just asking for an assessment is enough to keep the school on its toes with regard to provision made for a child).

At any meeting with school staff about the school’s handling of your child’s educational needs, do write everything down – make notes before, during and after the meeting. It often helps to take a friend or relative with you, if only for much needed moral support. If you feel you want someone experienced in such matters, representatives of local parent partnership service or local voluntary organisations or parents’ groups may be able to help.

If you have concerns that you feel are not being properly addressed, you can speak to the Governor with responsibility for SEN or the Chair of the Governing Body, or ask for a copy of the school’s complaints procedure and follow the procedure outlined. If necessary, speak to the LEA – they should have a special needs advisor or similar.

Finding schools that provide for particular educational or medical needs:

Seek advice from your LEA about the range of school provision available locally, including special school provision. Charities also have lists of schools they recommend for certain conditions. Additionally, the Good Schools Guide and Good Schools Guide International web sites offer users the opportunity to search for schools for free.

Further information about particular schools – including independent and non-maintained special schools – can be obtained from the schools themselves. Additionally the local Parent Partnership Service will be able to offer factual and impartial information and advice: ask the LEA for the service’s phone number, or you may be able to find it online. It’s also invaluable to talk with other parents who have had similar experiences, and to use guides such as the Good Schools Guide and Good Schools Guide – Special Educational Needs (as well as various articles in the Good Schools Guide International) as these offer an independent insight into schools based on the experiences of other parents. Most importantly, though, you need to visit schools to see if they really will meet your child’s needs before making any decisions.

Preschool children and special needs

You do not have to wait until a child starts school to get help and support.

You may have concerns about your child’s sensory development (sight, hearing, speech and language); physical, social, emotional development or behaviour; or the way in which he or she plays, learns and interacts with others and his/her environment.

It’s recognised that early intervention can make a big difference, so if you think your child needs extra support to develop and learn, speak to your Health Visitor, family GP or preschool. They will either allay your fears that it is quite normal for little Laurie not to be able to recite War and Peace by the age of two (whatever other mothers at nursery say) or, if professionals share your concerns, they may want to look more closely at your child’s needs and may involve staff based at one of the Child Development Centres.

In addition, you may be able to get extra help through the Portage Service, a preschool home visiting educational service for children with additional support needs.

To enable her to learn and develop, a young child, identified as having SEN, may be put on Early Years Action or Early Years Action Plus. When preschool and other support services can't provide all the help needed, they may request a statutory assessment of the child’s needs, which can lead to a statement of special educational needs. Parents, too, can request a statutory assessment. The decision on whether to actually carry out an assessment rests with the Local Education Authority.

At whatever age, or whatever the nature of the difficulty or worry, if you think your child has special educational needs, then seek help, advice and support. Your child isn’t alone and you shouldn’t be either.

If you need a more indepth look at British special educational needs provision, consult The Good Schools Guide-Special Educational Needs – over a thousand pages of help, advice and support, plus reviews of 300 schools illustrating what good SEN provision should be.

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