SEN support guide for professionals

2. The SEND Code of Practice

The Special Education Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2015 (GOV.UK) is the statutory guidance that supports Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014. It tells local authorities, early years settings, schools, colleges, health and social care providers and others what they must and should do to identify, assess and provide for children and young people with Special Educational Needs or disabilities.

The SEND Code of Practice says:

All children and young people are entitled to an education that enables them to make progress so that they:

• achieve their best
• become confident individuals living fulfilling lives, and
• make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training (6.1)

Mainstream schools must:

• use their best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEN gets the support they need – this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people’s SEN
• ensure that children and young people with SEN engage in the activities of the school alongside pupils who do not have SEN
• designate a teacher to be responsible for co-ordinating SEN provision – the SEND co-ordinator, or SENDCO.
• inform parents when they are making special educational provision for a child
• publish an SEN information report and their arrangements for the admission of disabled children, the steps being taken to prevent disabled children from being treated less favourably than others, the facilities provided to enable access to the school for disabled children and their accessibility plan showing how they plan to improve access progressively over time (6.2)

Mainstream schools should:

• Where a child is identified as having SEN, schools should take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place. (6.44)
• When a child is identified has having SEN, the school should use a graduated approach.