When I first walked into a classroom in 1991 I was entirely unaware of the Special Educational Needs (SEN) system. I had an awareness of disability and had come across SpLDs like dyslexia but was not aware of how teaching could be modified to enable such learners to succeed. I was starting from scratch in a way that it would be hard to replicate today. With no internet, no social media and nothing like the public and political awareness about SEND that surrounds classroom practice today, it was not uncommon for teachers to be similarly unfamiliar with this aspect of education.
The knowledge and experience I have gained since then can be roughly divided into four main areas: the law, leadership and management of SEND, specialist approaches to teaching and learning, and working with children and families. While no classroom teacher necessarily needs to become an expert in all four, having some awareness of the way the system has evolved and its legal structure is a distinct advantage and underpins good practice.
Why is the law relating to SEND relevant for classroom teachers?
As a school-wide provision, rather than a traditional department, school arrangements for SEND lack the usual curricular structure which underpins other school departments. Its constitution and principles are constructed by educational law and the official guidance about implementation produced by the Department for Education (DFE).
The Code of Practice refers to the commitment of the UK Government to the āinclusive education of disabled children and young people and the progressive removal of barriers to learning and participation in mainstream educationā under articles 7 and 24 of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (DFE, 2015, pp. 1.26, 25).
The right to a mainstream education for children with SEN was first described in legal terms relatively recently. Following the Warnock report of 1978 and inclusions in the subsequent Education Acts of 1981 and 1993, the existing definitions relating to SEND were finally consolidated into the Education Act of 1996; this has recently been superseded by the Children and Family Act 2014 (CAFA).
CAFA sets out explicit duties in respect of children with SEN or disabilities. School duties, along with those of Local Authorities and other organisations, are set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0ā25 years (Code of Practice) which relates directly to CAFA.
The Code of Practice took effect on September 1st 2014 and details statutory guidance to organisations, including schools, relating to young people with SEND.
It relates to Part 3 of CAFA along with other regulations (DFE, 2015, p. 12).
The Code of Practice refers to the statutory duties placed on organisations regarding disabled children and young people by the Equality Act 2010 (DFE, 2015, p. 16).
Forming an understanding of the key definitions contained in CAFA is an essential, but often overlooked, starting point for teachers. The terms ālearning difficultyā, ādisabilityā, āspecial educational needsā and āspecial educational provisionā are interrelated but not interchangeable.
The definitions of a special education need, a learning difficulty and special educational provision, along with a definition of disability are as follows.
Definition of SEN
Section 20 (1) of CAFA
A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.
Definition of a learning difficulty
Section 20 (2) of CAFA
A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:
- (a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
- (b) have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
Special Educational Provision
Section 21 of CAFA
- (1) āSpecial educational provisionā, for a child aged two or more or a young person, means educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for others of the same age inā
- (a) mainstream schools in England,
- (b) maintained nursery schools in England,
- (c) mainstream post-16 institutions in England, or
- (d) places in England at which relevant early years education is provided.
Disability
Section 6 (1) of the Equality Act 2010
A person (P) has a disability for the purposes of this Act if:
- P has a physical or mental impairment; and
- the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on Pās ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. (Section 6),
The Code of Practice explains the relationship between SEN, special educational provision and disability (DFE, 2015, pp. xviii, 16). A learning difficulty may or may not constitute a disability and in either case may or may not result in SEN and the implementation of a special educational provision.
Three principles underpinning the Code of Practice, taken from Section 19 of the Children and Families Act 2014, are set out in detail in Chapter 1 (see DFE, 2015, pp. 1.1, 19). In brief, Local Authorities take the following into consideration in carrying out functions under the Act:
- the voice of pupils and their families;
- support for participation of pupils and families in decision-making processes; and
- support for child facilitating successful outcomes in terms of educational achievement and preparation for adulthood.
In respect to schools, the Code of Practice refers to eight sections of legislation The Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, as the relevant primary legislation. The Code refers to statutory responsibilities placed upon schools1 in terms of duties they āmustā perform.
As well as being required to identify and address the SEN of the pupils that they support, these āmustā duties include:
- use their best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEN gets the support they need ā this means doing everything they can to meet children and young peopleās SEN
- ensure that children and young people with SEN engage in the activities of the school alongside pupils who do not have SEN
- designate a teacher to be responsible for co-ordinating SEN provision ā the SEN co-ordinator, or SENCO (this does not apply to 16 to 19 academies)
- inform parents when they are making special educational provision for a child
- prepare an SEN information report and their arrangements for the admission of disabled children, the steps being taken to prevent disabled children from being treated less favourably than others, the facilities provided to enable access to the school for disabled children and their accessibility plan showing how they plan to improve access progressively over time
(DFE, 2015, p. 92)
When successfully applied, the Act and the guidance to schools provided in the Code of Practice sets out a process designed to enable pupils with SEND (whether or not they are in receipt of an Education, Health and Care [EHC] plan) to access an appropriate education, āachieve their bestā (DFE, 2015, p. 92) and make a successful transition to the next stage of their lives with confidence.
The principles are designed to support 7 outcomes in terms of practice: participation of children and families, early identification and support, choice, collaboration across services, high quality provision, inclusive practice and successful preparation for adulthood (DFE, 2015, pp. 1.2, 19).
