I'm concerned about my child's progress
Support for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in school
Teachers monitor the progress of all the pupils in their class through regular assessments. If your child or young person is not making the level of progress expected for their age, the teacher will put in place additional help and support to catch-up. They should discuss this with you at parents evening.
Some children or young people in school may be identified as having a special educational need (SEN) and will require additional support to remove any barriers to learning. Schools/settings must keep a record of all pupils with SEN in their school – this is sometimes called the SEN register.
If your child or young person has SEN, the first step should be to put in place a SEN support plan (sometimes called an Individual Education Plan). If your child or young person has a SEN support plan, schools/settings should share this with you and keep you informed of the progress made by your child or young person on at least a termly basis.
The SEND code of practice 2015 stresses the need for schools/settings to take a graduated approach when supporting pupils with SEN. This means looking at the impact of the support they have put in place on a regular basis and revising the plan, so they build a growing understanding of your child or young person’s needs and the impact of the additional support given.
If further support is needed, schools may ask for advice from specialists and follow their suggestions. After an agreed period of time they would review your child’s progress. These specialists include:
What might be right for one child may not be right for another, even if they have the same medical diagnosis or primary area of need. This is why it is important for a school/ setting to look at the impact of teaching on your child or young person’s learning and development.
If your child or young person continues to not make any progress, then a request for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment should be submitted to the SEND service either by:
- The parent/carer of the child or young person.
- A young person over the age of 16 but under 25
- A professional acting on behalf of an education setting, such as an early year’s provider, a school, or post-16 setting. This should be done with agreement of the parents or young person, where possible
- Other people who know the child or young person well, such as a health or social care professional. This should be done with agreement of the parents or young person, where possible.
If you are not happy about the support your child receives in school
If you are unhappy about the support that your child or young person receives in school for their special educational needs (SEN), you should speak to your child’s teacher and/or the school/ setting’s special educational needs and disability coordinator (SENDCo).
If you are still not happy, you can make a formal complaint to the school/setting by following your school’s complaint procedure.
If the school cannot solve the problem, you can complain to the Department for Education (DfE) (external link). They can ask the school/setting to take action if they find your complaint was not handled correctly. The DfE cannot normally change the decision, but they can look into how it was made and ask the school/setting to take action where appropriate.
Further information about SEN complaints and schools can be found at complain about a school: special educational needs (SEN) - GOV.UK (external link).
For more information, visit education and health care plan, assessment and reviews.