jargon buster / glossaryThere are many words and abbreviations used in the SEN world, listed below are some of the most common.
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CONTACT (The national charity supporting special needs and disabled children) have an excellent jargon buster, click here to find out more. |
Academy - An independently run school that receives government funding. Many academies have converted from maintained schools. Academies may be run by businesses, other schools, charities or voluntary groups. Academies are not controlled by the local authority and have a lot of freedom to set their own rules.
Children and Families Act 2014 - Part 3 of this Act highlights the law around SEND. The Act is supported by other documentation: SEND Regulations 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice: 0-25 Years.
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Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) - Across the country numerous individuals and organisations are working together to purchase health services to meet the needs of local people.
Code of Practice - Government guidance on the duties of local authorities, schools, colleges, health services and others who support children and young people with special educational needs (SEN)
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Direct payments - A payment given to a parent, young person or someone on their behalf so that they can arrange the support detailed in an EHC plan themselves.
Disability - A mental or physical impairment which strongly affects a person's ability to carry out normal daily activities. Many people with a disability will also have a SEN.
DLA - Disability Living Allowance is a benefit claimed by some parents for their child under age 16, to provide extra living expenses support, resources and activities.
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Education setting - A general phrase to describe a place where a child or young person receives their education, for example a nursery, school or college.
Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment - A formal assessment carried out by a local authority to decide how much extra support a child or young person needs.
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EHC plan - Education, Health and Care Plan - A legal document issued by the local authority describing a child or young person's education, health and social care needs and the support that will be given to them.
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EHC Plan Annual Review - Local authorities have to carry out a review of each EHC Plan at least once in every 12 months.
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EHC Plan Case Officer - The main person supporting parents and children through the EHC Plan process and reviews. They should be your first point of contact for EHC Plan issues. In Bexley, the case officer team all have an administration person for support.
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EITS Team - Early Intervention Teams are a Local Authority service supporting schools to provide early SEN support and interventions for pupils.
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Exam Access Arrangements - Extra support for exams including SAT's and GCSE's.
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Free school - A type of academy. Usually describes a new school which has been set up by parents, a charity, business or other groups or individuals.
Graduated Approach - Schools are expected to follow a ‘graduated approach when providing SEND support. It involves four key phases: access, plan, do, review.
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Health provision - The medical care or support set out in an EHC plan. This could include medication, nursing or special equipment.
Independent school - A school that is not maintained by the state and charges fees. They are often run by a charity or charitable trust. Independent schools will have their own policies on admissions and exclusions. Independent schools do not have to follow the National Curriculum. Some independent schools provide education specifically for pupils with special educational needs (SEN).
Interventions - An instructional intervention is a recorded specific program or set of steps to help a child improve in an area of need. Interventions are designed so that parents and the school can track your child's progress. There are many interventions that can be put in place by a school to support a child or young person with SEND, including visual aids, teacher/learning assistance support, coloured paper/overlays, a quiet room, extra lessons, reduced timetables and many more.
Learning Difficulty Assessment (LDA)/Section 139a assessment - An assessment of needs carried out before a young person with SEN moves from school to further education. The local authority must arrange this for a pupil with a statement. In 2014 this has changed to the EHC Plan system.
Local Offer - Information published by the local authority about the education, health and social care support available in the area for children and young people with SEN and disabilities.
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Mainstream school - Any school that is not a special school.
Maintained school - Sometimes called a state school. A mainstream or special school funded by the local education authority. These include community and voluntary controlled schools. They also include voluntary aided and foundation schools, for example faith schools that are controlled by the governing body. Maintained schools have to follow education law on special educational needs, admissions and the curriculum.
Mediation - Local authorities have to provide independent to help parents and young people resolve any disputes with local authorities (eg around EHC Plans and assessments).
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NNPCF - National Network of Parent Carer Forums.
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Occupational Therapy - Occupational therapy is to enable you to live as independently as possible. This is usually achieved by treating mentally or physically ill/disabled people by getting them to do special activities.
Outcomes - The benefit or difference that a particular bit of help makes to a child or young person.
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Parent Carer Forum - A local group of parents/carers and young people who work together with local authorities and other organisations to ensure local services meet the needs of children with SEND and their families. Bexley Voice is the Parent Carer Forum for Bexley and is supported by the NNPCF's. (See NNPCF).
Pathfinder - One of the local authorities that was involved in testing the new SEN system before it became law.
Personal budget - An amount of money which can be used to buy support described in an EHC plan. A young person or their family can have a say in how the budget is used.
Physical Disability (PD) - There are a number of medical conditions associated with physical disability which can impact on mobility. These include cerebral palsy, heart disease, spina bifida, hydrocephalus and muscular dystrophy.
PIP - Personal Independence Payment is a benefit claimed by some young people over age 16, to provide extra living expenses support, resources and activities.
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Portage - a planned approach to home-based pre-school education for children with developmental delay, disabilities or any other special educational needs.
Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty (PMLD) - People with profound and multiple learning difficulties have complex learning needs. In addition to very severe learning difficulties, they have other significant difficulties, such as physical disabilities, sensory impairment or a severe medical condition, they require a high level of adult support, both for their learning needs and also for their personal care.
PRU - Pupil Referral Unit - PRUs are a type of school that caters for children who aren't able to attend a mainstream school. Pupils are often referred there if they need greater care and support than their school can provide, normally for a fixed short term period.
Reasonable Adjustments - These are the changes that schools etc are expected to make to help meet a child’s needs (eg one-to-one support from a teacher).
School/Early years Action
School/Early years Action Plus - The stages of support for children with SEN in early years settings and schools that was provided before September 2014. These stages have been replaced by SEN support.
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SENCO - Special educational needs coordinator: a qualified teacher in a mainstream nursery or school who arranges the extra help for pupils with SEN.
SEN support - The first level of extra support in mainstream education settings for children and young people with SEN. It replaced school action/action plus in September 2014.
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SEN Information Report - All schools must put detailed information on their website about their SEND policies and how they support children with SEND.
Social care provision - The support that someone receives to help them at home or in the community.
Special educational needs (SEN) - A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability that makes it harder for them to learn that it is for most people of their age.
Special educational provision - A general term for any extra help given to children or young people with SEN that is over and above the help normally given to pupils of their age in mainstream education settings.
Special school - A school that provides education only for pupils with special educational needs. Some special schools provide for pupils with moderate or severe learning difficulties. Many special schools provide for a particular type of need such as autism, visual impairment or dyslexia.
Statement of special educational needs - A legal document issued by the local authority describing a child's SEN and the support they will receive. From September 2014 statements have been gradually replaced by EHC plans.
Young person - A child becomes a young person when they have reached the end of compulsory schooling. This is the end of the school year in which they turn 16 - year 11 for most pupils. A young person between 16 and 25 has the right to make their own decisions related to their EHC plan.
