SEND local offer - education support

Every child or young person with special education needs and or disabilities (SEND) should be supported throughout their education.

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SEN Support

SEN Support is the first level of additional support provided for pupils with SEND at their educational setting. If there is evidence to show that a pupil with SEND is not making as much progress as they could be, then the setting will put the pupil on the SEN register for early intervention.  

With the right early intervention, children make better progress, the longer-term impacts are minimised and many children can even catch up. 

Schools

All schools must publish information on their websites about how they implement their policy for SEN (known as the SEN Information Report). This must include information on 'policies for identifying children and young people with SEN and assessing their needs.' (Section 6.79 of the SEND Code of Practice) 

Schools should adopt a graduated approach with 4 stages of action:

Assess
Plan
Do
Review

This will aim to address a pupil who is struggling compared to their peers by providing them with additional support in school.

This could include: 

involvement of extra staff (teachers or teaching assistants) 
the use of different learning materials or special equipment  
a different teaching strategy

A school's Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) will work alongside a pupil's teacher to help find ways of supporting and improving the pupil's learning whilst they're receiving support on 'SEN Support'. They must also ensure the pupil's progress is regularly monitored and reviewed. 

We have produced a SEN Support in mainstream school guidance document. This guidance aims to make it clear what provision Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council expects to be made available to support children and young people who have SEND in:

all mainstream schools (including academies)
Pupil Referral Units (PRU)
early years settings
post-16 educational providers at SEN Support level

View our SEN support guidance for mainstream schools.

For further information, you can also view our guide to key points of SEN support in schools.

Local Authority

Children and young people with SEN who attend a school or nursery can receive additional support from the Local Authority.

Educational settings must apply for this support through the One Point Panel. As part of the One Point Panel application schools and nurseries will band the child or young person according to the grade descriptors within Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's provision guidance documents.

This process will enable professionals to identify the child's prime area of need and determine the level of support required.

Support could be in the form of:

funding given directly to the school or nursery
a referral to other services
support of one of the Local Authority's Specialist Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTA)

The Early Years One Point Referral Process Information for Parents and Carers
The One Point Referral Process Information for Parents and Carers

Inclusive Education

Inclusive education happens when children with and without disabilities participate and learn together in the same classes. Research shows that when a child with disabilities attends classes alongside peers who do not have disabilities, good things happen. 

For a long time, children with disabilities were educated in separate classes or in separate schools. People got used to the idea that special education meant separate education. But we now know that when children are educated together, positive academic and social outcomes occur for all the children involved. 

We also know that simply placing children with and without disabilities together does not produce positive outcomes.

Inclusive education occurs when there is:

ongoing advocacy
planning
support
commitment

The following 3 principles guide quality inclusive education. 

All children belong

Inclusive education is based on the simple idea that every child and family is valued equally and deserves the same opportunities and experiences. Inclusive education is about children with disabilities - whether the disability is mild or severe, hidden or obvious - participating in everyday activities, just like they would if their disability was not present. It's about building friendships, membership and having opportunities just like everyone else. 

All children learn in different ways

Inclusion is about providing the help children need to learn and participate in meaningful ways. Sometimes, help from friends or teachers works best. Other times, specially designed materials or technology can help. The key is to give only as much help as needed. 

It is every child's right to be included

Inclusive education is a child's right, not a privilege. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act clearly states that all children with disabilities should be educated with non-disabled children their own age and have access to the general education curriculum. 

Quality First Teaching

The SEND code of practice explains that:

high-quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN
additional intervention and support cannot compensate for a lack of good quality teaching
the need of children and young people for 'SEN support' assumes that they are already receiving high quality teaching that is differentiated and personalised to meet the individual needs of the majority of children and young people
special educational provision is underpinned by high quality teaching and is compromised by anything less

View the SEND code of practice on the Gov.uk website.

The Graduated Response

The SEND code of practice states that where a pupil is identified as having SEN, schools should take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place.

This SEN support should take the form of a four-part cycle through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised with a growing understanding of the pupil's needs and what supports the pupil in making good progress and securing good outcomes.

Every child or young person who has been identified as having SEN should have their needs identified, their desired outcomes agreed, and provision made that will enable the child to reach these outcomes. The child's progress should be reviewed regularly. This is a four-step cycle known as assess, plan, do, review or The Graduated Response. 

The Graduated Response starts in the classroom. Teachers are continually assessing, planning, implementing and reviewing their approach to teaching all children. However, where a possible special educational need has been identified, this process becomes increasingly personalised and intensive. The responsibility and accountability for the progress of pupils with SEN lies with the class or subject teacher. 

Visit the SOS!SEN website for more information on the Graduated Response.

The duty to make reasonable adjustments

The Equalities Act 2010 requires schools to make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services, to ensure that children and young people with additional needs are not at a substantial disadvantage compared to their peers.

In some cases, the support a pupil may receive because of their special educational needs may mean that they do not suffer a substantial disadvantage and so there is no need for additional reasonable adjustments to be made for them. In other cases, pupils may require reasonable adjustments in addition to the special educational provision they are receiving. There are also disabled pupils who do not have special educational needs but still require reasonable adjustments to be made for them.

If any of the following apply it is likely that a reasonable adjustment is required to prevent a substantial disadvantage:

a child or young person with additional needs would need to expend extra time and effort to participate when compared with a peer without additional needs
a child or young person with additional needs would suffer inconvenience, indignity or discomfort if you did not make an adjustment
a child or young person with additional needs would lose an opportunity or make diminished progress when compared to peers without additional needs

In law reasonable adjustments are different from expensive projects like installing a lift or building an accessible toilet. Schools still have a duty to do this kind of improvement work in a planned way with support from the local authority but these actions are not reasonable adjustments. Cost is a factor when considering whether or not a suggested adjustment is reasonable or not in law.

Schools should not expect pupils or their families to suggest adjustments but if a school does receive suggestions, they should consider if those adjustments would help to overcome the disadvantage and if the suggestions are reasonable. It is good practice for schools to work with pupils and their parents in determining what reasonable adjustments can be made.

For more information watch a reasonable adjustments video presented by children and young people in their own words.

Exam and test arrangements for pupils with SEND

View a short video about reasonable adjustments in exams.

Access arrangements, including modified question papers, enable students with special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries to take tests, exams and assessments.

Guidance is issued by the Government and examination boards. The guidance is updated each year, usually in the autumn term.

View the 2024 key stage 1: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA) on the Gov.uk website.

View the 2024 key stage 2: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA) on the Gov.uk website.

View the latest guidance on GCSE and A level access arrangements on the AQA website.

SEND inspections

Gov.uk have created a number of guides and videos that explain what happens when Ofsted and The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspect local services for children and young people with special educational needs and or disabilities (SEND).

Visit the Area SEND inspections: information about ongoing inspections page on the Gov.uk website