Special Educational Needs

What are Special Educational Needs?

A child is said to experience special education needs (SEN) if he or she finds it more difficult to learn than other children of the same age.

For about one in five children the difficulty will only be temporary and overcome by extra help.  For example, the child may have difficulties with reading, writing, speaking or maths work.

For about 2% of children the difficulty may be longer term and might be due to:

• A physical disability
• A problem with speech, sight or hearing
• A learning difficulty
• Emotional or behavioural difficulty
• A medical or health problem

In these cases it is sometimes necessary to complete a statutory assessment, which may result in a Statement of Special Educational Needs or a Note in Lieu.

What is a Statement of Special Educational Needs?

A Statement of Special Educational Needs is a legal document, which is a collection of assessment reports on your child, made by various professionals.  This might include Teachers, Educational Psychologists, Medical Officers, Social Workers and so on.  It will describe what your child’s difficulties are and what provision should be made for them.

What is a Note in Lieu?

A Note in Lieu of the statement is issued if, after a statutory assessment, Southampton Children’s Services and Learning Directorate or Hampshire County Council Children’s Services Department decides that your child’s school can meet his or her needs from resources already delegated to schools.

Where possible, a child will remain at a mainstream school.  In some cases it will be appropriate for a child to attend a special school or a resourced mainstream school.

Where can I get more information?

Contact your Children’s Services Department for:

• A list of both mainstream and special schools.
• A booklet “What are Special Educational Needs?” This can help you to find out what to do if you feel your child has a special educational need and help you find out where to obtain advice.

If you still have concerns and your child is pre-school age, talk to your Health Visitor.  He/she should be able to put you in touch with other people who can advise you, i.e. Doctors, Speech Therapists, Portage Home Visitors, Social Workers.

If your child is at school and you have concerns, then speak to his or her Teacher or Headteacher.