SEND Code of Practice

The SEND Code of Practice identifies four areas of SEND. These areas are used to help practitioners, families and services understand a child or young person's needs and plan appropriate support.  

These four areas are:

• Communication and Interaction
• Cognition and Learning
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health
• Sensory and/or Physical Needs.

Every child or young person is unique, and many will have needs that span more than one area. This can be particularly true for children and young people with a learning disability . The categories should be used as a guide only to describe areas of needs but are not ‘fixed labels’, as needs can change between ages, stages and changes of need.  

The code recognises that identifying a child’s SEND needs early, and supporting early is best. You may hear this be referred to as ‘early intervention’. The send code of practice places expectation on the SEND system to:

• Monitor children's progress and development
• Identify barriers to learning and participation
• Provide early support when concerns arise
• Review the effectiveness of support regularly.

If a child or young person is identified as having a SEND need, they may be supported through something called SEN support. SEN support depends on the types of support that is needed for a child, some children may need short term support, some children may need longer term support.  

You may have heard your child or young person’s education provision talk about the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ cycle or the ‘graduated approach’. This simply refers to how a education provision must decide what support is needed, whether the support given is working, and whether that support needs to change, is completed, or is ongoing.  

For more information on SEN Support visit our website.

Sometimes a child or young person’s needs cannot be met through SEND Support. In these circumstances, a local authority may carry out an Education, Health and Care needs assessment (EHC needs assessment). Where appropriate, this may lead to an EHCP.

An EHCP is a legal document that:

• Identifies a child's needs
• Describes the outcomes being sought
• Specifies the support required
• Brings together education, health and social care provision.

EHC Plans are intended to provide a coordinated approach to meeting more complex needs.

Sometimes a needs assessment may find there is not enough evidence. For that reason, the education provision will often do the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ cycle 3 times. This is to ensure a child or young person is being accurately assessed, seeing what works and what may not, and also creates evidence that may show a child need’s support that cannot be offered through SEN Support alone.  

Evidence is an essential part of the application process, and can come from a variety of places, for instance your child or young person’s speech and language reports. For more information on EHCP’s visit our website.

There are statutory timescales for an EHCP to be completed to avoid unnecessary delay to a child or young person receiving the needed support. The process from requesting a needs assessment to issuing an EHCP should be 20 weeks.  

The Code encourages concerns to be addressed as early as possible through discussion and collaborative problem-solving.

Where disagreements cannot be resolved informally, parents and young people have access to:

• Independent disagreement resolution services.
• Mediation.
• Appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). 

Preparing for adulthood is an important aspect of SEND planning and should be considered from an early stage.

As young people move towards adulthood, planning should focus on helping them develop the skills and support they need for future life.

Areas commonly considered include:

• Employment and further education.
• Independent living.
• Community participation.
• Health and wellbeing.

Particular attention should be given to these areas from Year 9 (approximately when a child is 14 years old) onwards.

The Code recognises that children and young people with SEND often require support from more than one service.

Education, health and social care organisations are expected to work together to:

• Assess needs.
• Plan support.
• Share information appropriately.
• Improve outcomes for children and young people.

This collaborative approach aims to create a more coordinated and effective system of support.

The SEND Code of Practice promotes a coordinated, person-centred approach to supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Its key messages are:

• Children, young people and families should be at the centre of decision-making.
• Needs should be identified and supported as early as possible.
• Support should follow a graduated Assess–Plan–Do–Review approach.
• Education, health and social care services should work together effectively.
• Planning should focus on achieving meaningful outcomes.
• Preparation for adulthood should begin early.
• Families should understand their rights and be involved throughout the process.