What is SEND?
From the SEND Code of Practice (2015) SEND stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
A child or young person of compulsory school age is defined as SEND if they have a special educational need/learning difficulty or a disability.
This can be:
- If they have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
- If they 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.
Children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities may need extra help or support, or special provision made for them to allow them to have the same opportunities as others of the same age. If a child or young person has special educational needs or disabilities their needs will fall into one or more of the following four areas:
Cognition and Learning (C+L)
Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)
Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)
Physical and/or Sensory needs