Guidance

CEAS information 6: Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Updated 15 November 2022

CEAS: Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) including Additional Needs (AN) and CEAS Support

(1.) Terminology regarding SEND and AN differs between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. However one central approach is that all teachers in state-maintained schools across the UK and MOD schools overseas are teachers of children with special and additional educational needs with duties to identify and meet these needs.

(2.) SEND and AN are terms that cover a wide range of need across various areas of a child’s life be they in relation to:

• communication and interaction
• cognition and learning
• social, emotional or mental health needs
• sensory needs
• physical needs

This may be a temporary need or an enduring need which presents a potential barrier to children and young people making progress in line with their peers and/or meeting age related expectations.

(3.) Most children with special educational needs are taught in their local school; all teachers are teachers of children with additional educational needs. Children and young people with identified additional educational needs should have their needs acknowledged and met by their class teachers.

All state-maintained schools are under duties to make universal provision for presenting needs and this may be via differentiation by the classroom teacher, planning reasonable adjustments or a more personalised plan of support. A child-focused approach should be used to plan support. We would recommend that families refer to school policies in relation to how they identify and plan for additional support needs.

(4.) School staff are best placed to offer advice and guidance on your child or young person’s SEND or AN. They can advise on the local systems for the provision of additional support and on the best course of action within your local area. The Local Authority website may also offer some overview of what resources are available within a given area.

Identifying need

(5.) It is important for a child or young person’s special or additional educational needs to be identified as early as possible so that appropriate support can be put in place. This can prevent further difficulties developing later and maximise learning opportunities.

(6.) The professionals who work with your child/ young person daily may identify a possible need for additional support. They should work closely with you if concerns arise. However, you must always remember that, as a parent/carer, you have knowledge about your child/ young person that is valuable to the professionals who work with them: you are the expert in your child and your voice should be listened to.

(7.) You know your child/young person’s strengths, and you will also be aware of the areas in which they need extra support.

Raising a concern

(8.) If you are concerned that your child/ young person is not making appropriate progress in their education, you should contact their school and ask to discuss your concerns. Most issues can be resolved through discussion and agreement. Refer to the school’s additional needs policy.

(9.) All schools in the UK have duties under the Equality Act 2010 to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all including those with additional educational needs and/ or disabilities.

(10.) Each of the Devolved Administrations has their own policies and terminology in relation to additional educational needs and a set of guidelines (Code of Practice) to follow to ensure that there is consistency around the planning and provision of additional support for children/young people. A summary can be found in the table at school responsibilities and additional information relating to SEND.

(11.) All schools should have a member of staff who is responsible for co-ordinating the provision for students with additional educational needs. These might be called the SENCo or the Principle Teacher for Support for Learning and will be in addition to the class or subject teachers. The best advice is if you have a question then contact the school.

What to expect

(12.) Assessment of your child/young person’s abilities should be continuous and may occur in stages. It should involve gathering evidence of your child/ young person’s progress, giving feedback on their strengths and areas where they need to improve, and planning next steps to make sure those improvements are made.

(13.) The assessment may also involve other teachers and professionals who know your child/ young person and should take account of all relevant aspects of your child/young person’s life.

(14.) You and your child/young person should be involved in setting learning goals and discussing progress in achieving them. You can discuss your child/ young person’s progress at a parents’ evening or arrange an informal meeting with their teacher.

(15.) If your child/young person has any difficulties, if they need more attention or more help with their work, then they are likely to come to the teacher’s attention as a result of these day-to-day assessments. This informal method aims to help identify and resolve any problems as early and as quickly as possible.

(16.) Most additional educational needs will be supported through good quality teaching and differentiation by the classroom teacher.

(17.) However, if this fails to determine what support your child/ young person requires, the school may need to get help from other appropriate agencies, such as health or social work services, which can carry out specific types of assessment.

(18.) You too can ask for a specific type of assessment for your child/ young person if you deem this necessary. There will be different pathways for assessment which will depend upon the needs your child is presenting. It may be that the school, yourselves or a medical practitioner can initiate further assessment of need.

(19.) Local authorities do have legal responsibilities around assessment as well as the placement of children who have particularly complex needs. The interaction between the school, parents and local authority is very important when it comes to the statutory assessment and planning for children with SEND and AN.

(20.) The different systems and differing terminology can seem quite confusing. Each Devolved Administration has their own policies, systems and procedures (see the table below).

CEAS Support

(21.) If you wish to seek support from CEAS in relation to your child/young person’s additional needs, we would advise you to complete a consent form to allow us to maintain a record of interaction. If your child has undergone statutory assessment of their needs and/or is receiving a bespoke package of support we would recommend that it is best interest of the child/young people to be identified to CEAS.

(22.) In order to formally notify CEAS that your child/young person has a Special Education Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND), Service Personnel must complete a CEAS support application form and return this form along with Annex A to CEAS form 3 to CEAS.

The AGAI 108 mandates Service Personnel in the Army to identify their child with CEAS if they have SEND. Service Personnel in the RAF, RN, Marines are strongly recommended to identify their child with CEAS if they have SEND (JSP 820 and 770).

ALL Service personnel are to register any children with additional needs or SEND if they are in receipt of an Overseas Assignment Order.

(23.) We would recommend that you notify CEAS if your child/young person’s needs are as follows:

• they have a current plan for additional needs: Education, Health and Care Plan (England/ MOD Schools), Co-ordinated Support Plan (Scotland), Individual Development Plan or Statement (Wales), Statutory Assessment (Northern Ireland). Formerly a Statement of SEN in England and Wales
• is currently undergoing assessment for a statutory plan (detailed above)
• currently attends a special school or a special unit in the UK
• currently has support from a multi-agency team, for example, specialist teachers, social workers, therapists etc.

Why should I identify my child to CEAS?

(24.) CEAS can provide advice on the provision for additional educational needs in the UK and overseas. It is crucial that forward planning takes places for children/ young people with additional educational needs, especially when assigned, as this can potentially prevent significant problems occurring for families later.

(25.) CEAS can assist you to liaise with local education authorities and Service personnel staff to ensure the needs of your child/young person can be met effectively when families assigned. Find at Annex A useful information relating to school SEN responsibilities and further information relating to the legislation and corresponding SEN documents.

(26) Staff can provide guidance on your statutory rights regarding education, empower you with information about routes to support and also (if relevant) any MOD entitlements.

(27.) CEAS staff will help you to gain the knowledge required for you to communicate the needs of your child/ young person to the new school and try and assist you to establish continuity of support where possible.

What to do next

(28.) In order to formally notify CEAS that your child/young person has a Special Educational Need and/or Disability (SEND), service personnel must complete a CEAS support application form and return this form along with Annex A to CEAS form 3 to CEAS. These forms can be accessed on CEAS’ website or by requesting them via email. Complete the form, including supporting documents and return to CEAS at:

DCYP-CEAS[email protected]

(29.) If you have any further questions you can contact CEAS.

School responsibilities and additional information relating to SEND

	England	Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
Teacher responsible for overseeing the provision for Additional Educational Needs	Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) Special Educational Needs & Disability Co-ordinator (SENDCo)	Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinator (ALNCo)	Principle Teacher of Support for Learning/Additional Support Needs	Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo)
Formal Action Plans for children/young people with identified needs	Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) Formerly Statement of Special Educational Needs	Individual Development Plan (IDP) Formerly Statement of Special Educational Needs	Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP)	Statement of Special Educational Needs
Information on the legislation to support AEN	SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years	Education and skills	Additional support for learning	Children with special educational needs