School duties

Access arrangements

Can special arrangements be made for pupils taking tests in key stages 1 and 2?

The Standards and Testing Agency (GOV.UK) publishes important guidance to schools about assessments and reporting arrangements. The range of special arrangements set out in the guidance applies to children in all schools. The Standards and Testing Agency is a Department of Education (DfE) organisation that is responsible for curriculum and associated assessments in all maintained schools in England.

Special arrangements may be appropriate for:

  • pupils with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan or who are currently undergoing a statutory assessment (or reassessment) of their special educational needs;
  • pupils for whom SEND Support Arrangements provision is being made, and whose learning difficulty or disability significantly affects access to tests;
  • pupils who are unable to sit and work at a test for a sustained period because of a disability or emotional, social or behavioural difficulties;
  • pupils for who English is an additional language and who have limited fluency in English.

The type of special arrangements can include:

  • rest breaks to separate the tests into sections or 'stopping the clock'
  • the use of a reader to read to the child all or any part of the test and the general instructions. The reader can also read back to the child any part of his or her responses
  • the use of amanuenses (a writing assistant or scribe who is available to write out answers as dictated by the pupil)
  • a transcript where an adult would copy a child's writing when it would be difficult for an external marker to read the child's handwriting
  • the use of communicators and signers who are available to communicate or sign instructions and questions to the child
  • the use of a prompter to be used for children who have a severe attention problem. The prompter is used for the purpose of drawing a child's attention back to the task in hand
  • modified versions of materials e.g. large print, braille and tapes, photocopying onto coloured paper, enlargement and/or shading of diagrams
  • the use of apparatus, word processors and other aids that look like those illustrated in the tests
  • the use of dictionaries, word lists and electronic spell checkers
  • the use of a separate room may allow the school to meet the needs of a pupil who finds it hard to concentrate for long periods and who requires rest breaks and additional time
  • administering the test off-site, either at home or in hospital for those children who are unable to attend school through illness, incapacity, or any other reason accepted by the school
  • in some of the above circumstances test packs may be opened early in order to allow school to prepare the special arrangements.
  • Some of these arrangements can be authorised by head teachers and some require head teachers to seek permission from external sources.

Pupils who are out of their chronological year group would usually sit the tests when they reach the end of each key stage.

What can parents do?

Parents should discuss any concerns they have about their child sitting tests with the head teacher or special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCo).

Parents may ask a head teacher to implement any of the special arrangements. The head teacher must respond to the request within a fortnight.

If a head teacher accepts the request, they must send a copy of the direction to the parents, governing body and, if appropriate, the local multi-professional team.

If a head teacher decides not to meet the request, he or she must write to the parents giving reasons for rejecting it and also giving details of parents rights of appeal.

Standards and Testing Agency contact details

Speak to a member of staff at the Standards and Testing Agency by phoning the National Curriculum Assessment helpline on 0300 303 3013 or email assessments@education.gov.uk. Alternatively send a letter to: Standards and Testing Agency, 53-55 Butts Road, Earlsdon Park, Coventry, CV1 3BH.

Best endeavours duty

A key duty for certain settings is the duty to use their 'best endeavours' to secure special educational provision (SEP) for all children or young people for whom they are responsible.

This duty applies to:

  • mainstream schools (including mainstream academies)
  • maintained (state-funded) nursery schools
  • 16 to 19 academies
  • alternative provision academies
  • Further Education institutions and
  • Pupil referral units.

(Note that this does not apply to non-maintained special schools or non-maintained independent schools).

"If a registered pupil or a student at a school or other institution has special educational needs, the appropriate authority must, in exercising its functions in relation to the school or other institution, use its best endeavours to secure that the special educational provision called for by the pupil's or student's special educational needs is made.

Section 66 of the Children and Families Act 2014

The reference to the 'appropriate authority' means the governing body, proprietor or management committee of the school or other setting. The legal duty is directly on them as a body and not the head teacher of the school or principal of the college.

The governing body (or equivalent) is in a position to effect change as it is responsible for the appointment and performance management of such posts. This means that the governing body, proprietor or management committee must use their best endeavours to secure the SEP. This means doing everything they can to meet the child or young person's specials educational needs (SEN).

There are further details of what this might include in the SEN and Disability Code of Practice 2015. It is a proactive duty that requires Surrey to inquire and ensure that the nursery, school or college is actually making the SEP that your children or young people requires. It is not enough to accept the word of a school's head teacher, for example, that an adequate record keeping process is in place, the school governors should ensure that it is.

The best endeavours duty can require schools or other settings to obtain specialist help, such as speech and language therapists or educational psychologists (EPs). The Code also includes a requirement that "where a pupil continues to make less than expected progress, despite evidence based support and interventions that are matched to the pupil's area of need, the school should consider involving specialists, including those secured by the school itself or from outside agencies" (paragraph 6.58 for schools, or 5.48 for early years settings).

For children or young people with an EHC plan, the best endeavours duty also applies, but additionally the Local Authority (LA) has an absolute duty to secure the provision in their EHC plan. It is not enough for the LA to simply 'try their best' to provide it: the LA must ensure that it is provided.

The SEN information report

The governing bodies of all maintained schools and nursery schools and the proprietors of academies must also publish a SEN information report. This report should be found on the school's website.

The report must contain details of:

  • how the school identifies children with SEN
  • how it makes provision for children with SEN and the facilities available to do this;
  • details of the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo); and, importantly
  • what arrangements the governing body themselves have for dealing with complaints from parents about their child's SEN provision.

This should include the name of the governor responsible for SEN matters on the governing body. (Full details of the items which it must include are found in Schedule 1 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014).

This report will therefore contain information which should help a parent check whether the governing body or proprietor is complying with its 'best endeavours' duty and to take steps to complain if they feel they are not doing so.

Bullying

What can I do if my child is being bullied?

In the first instance, ask to see a copy of the school's anti-bullying policy or behaviour policy. You can search for this on their website. Top tip: We would advise to search for "anti-bullying policy" then the school name if you can't find it under Policies on the Schools website.

Keep a record of all bullying incidents with names of children/young people/adults present, times, dates, location. Also keep records of all communication including telephone conversations and meetings with dates and times.

You can request a meeting with the class teacher, SENCo (Special Educational Needs coordinator), head of year for example. You are requesting any adults that the child has told about the bullying be present at the meeting.

Questions to think about or ask

  • Ask how the school implements the anti-bullying policy and/or the behaviour policy.
  • Ask how they can ensure your child's safety in school and what support is in place.
  • Did your child tell anyone? Who was it and what was your child told would be done about it?
  • Agree all actions with timescales, with reference to feedback given.

You could take someone with you to make notes. You could also ask the school to provide minutes.

If you don't think the situation has been resolved, ask for a meeting with the Headteacher. Take all records of communication with you. Agree actions with timescales.

When any or all of the above has failed to improve the situation, write to the Headteacher stating you are making an official complaint. The School should have the Complaints Procedure on their website.

Whilst there is no legal definition of bullying there is still some Law and guidance which schools and other settings must have regard to.

The Department for Education (DfE) has produced guidance for all schools, including academies and free schools, which outlines its duties towards preventing and tackling bullying in schools.

The Education Act 2002 Section 175 placed a legal duty on maintained schools and LAs to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Some incidents of bullying may also be a child protection issue. A bullying incident should be addressed as a child protection issue under the Children Act 1989 when there is 'reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm". These concerns must be reported to the member of staff in school responsible for child protection and then reported to the local authority's children's social services.

Section 89 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 states that maintained schools must have measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils. Some schools choose to include this information in an anti-bullying policy, whilst others include it in their behaviour policy. These measures must be communicated to all pupils, school staff and parents. The head teacher must follow through and adopt the policy and all students, parents and teachers should be notified of it once it has been decided.

The Independent School Standards (England)(Amendment) Regulations 2012 state that the proprietor of an academy or other independent school is required to ensure that an effective anti-bullying strategy and health and safety strategy is drawn up and implemented.

Under the Public Sector Equality Duty of the Equality Act 2010, schools and childcare providers must take steps to prevent and respond to discriminatory language.

Schools have the powers to intervene in bullying incidents outside of the school ground including on home-to-school transport, in the community and online.

Most bullying incidents are not crimes. But some types of bullying are illegal and should be reported to the police. This includes bullying that involves violence or assault; theft; harassment and intimidation over a period of time including calling someone names or threatening them, making abusive phone calls, and sending abusive emails or text messages (one incident is not normally enough to get a conviction); and anything involving hate crimes.

Some cyberbullying activities could be criminal offences under a range of different laws, including the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. There have been some instances of such prosecutions in the UK.

Useful contacts

Reasonable adjustments

A child or young person has special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) if they have a learning difficulty and/or a disability that means they need special health and education support.

Schools and education authorities have had a duty to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils since 2002 (originally under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (the DDA) and from October 2010, under the Equality Act 2010.

The reasonable adjustments duty for schools and education authorities now includes a duty to provide auxiliary aids and services for disabled pupils. The duty to provide auxiliary aids also applies in other contexts such as employment, service provision and further and higher education.

Schools must provide detailed information about their arrangements for the admission of disabled pupils to the school and publish an accessibility plan explaining adjustments they can make and ongoing plans to improve access.

They must also publish a SEN information report explaining how they identify and support children with SEND. This can be found on the school's website.

Nurseries, Schools and Colleges should be thinking in advance, and reviewing what adjustments they may need to make to avoid substantial disadvantage for disabled children.

  • All aspects are covered, including homework, school trips, provision of education and around exclusions.
  • They must make reasonable adjustments to procedures, criteria and practices and by the provision of auxiliary aids and services.
  • Nurseries and post-16 providers must also make reasonable adjustments by making physical alterations.
  • Schools and the local authority are not required to make physical alterations, but they must publish accessibility plans (and local authorities, accessibility strategies) setting out how they plan to increase access for disabled pupils to the curriculum, the physical environment and to information.

Examples of reasonable adjustments (not limited to)

  • providing access to classroom materials through assistive technologies such as screen readers
  • adapting the physical environment, for example installing ramps
  • modifying the curriculum and assessments, for example allowing a student to answer assessments orally or use a computer
  • presenting classroom materials in a different way such as visual, oral or demonstrations
  • adapting teaching style, for example breaking lessons and/or activities into smaller sections so they are easier to understand
  • reducing the distance between classes/classrooms for students who have physical disabilities
  • giving extra time to move from class to class
  • allowing more time to complete an exam or assessment, or giving the student rest breaks
  • planning excursions in accessible locations, for example making sure the location is wheelchair accessible.

Ordinarily available provision

Please visit Surrey Local Offer for further information on ordinarily available provision.

Dyslexia support

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Characteristic features of Dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed.

It is estimated that up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree of Dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a lifelong learning difficulty that can present challenges on a daily basis, but support is available to improve reading and writing skills and help those to be successful at school and work. Dyslexia can impact how you process and remember information, but it doesn't affect intelligence.

It's very common, with around 10% of the population thought to be affected,

Usually, Surrey categorise Dyslexia as a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) in the area of Learning and Additional Needs (LAN).

What causes dyslexia?

It's not exactly known what causes dyslexia, but there is some evidence that it can be linked to certain genes inherited by your parents.

Dyslexia symptoms

Typical dyslexia symptoms can vary according to your age:

  • Dyslexia symptoms for pre-school children
  • Slower speech development than what's expected for your age
  • Pronunciation problems
  • Difficulties using language to express yourself
  • Problems learning the alphabet

Dyslexia symptoms for primary school children

  • Difficulty learning letters, putting letters in the wrong order or making anagrams of words
  • Confused by numbers and letters that appear similar (for example, b and d or 6 and 9)
  • Reading slowly and finding it hard to read aloud
  • Feeling like the words on a page are moving around or blurred
  • Difficulty completing written tasks, poor handwriting and writing slowly
  • Finding it hard to learn sequences, like months of the year
  • Struggling to follow instructions
  • Difficulties telling the time, bad timekeeping and problems remembering days of the week
  • Can be easily distracted and use avoidance techniques rather than working

Dyslexia symptoms for secondary school children and adults

Additional symptoms in this age group can include:

  • Appearing knowledgeable about a subject but not being able to express this through writing
  • Problems studying for exams, essays or reports
  • Avoiding reading and writing whenever possible
  • Struggling to meet deadlines
  • Difficulties remembering a list of instructions
  • Being disorganised and forgetful in daily life

Dyslexia diagnosis

If your child shows difficulties with reading and writing, the first step is to talk to their teacher. If you both agree that there are obvious problems, it's a good idea to speak to a doctor. They will be able to check their health for underlying issues, like hearing or eyesight, that might be at the root of the problem.

Once any underlying health problems have been ruled out, you can talk to your child's school about what specialist educational support they can offer. This is given through the school's special educational needs coordinator (SENCo).

Dyslexia assessment

If your child continues to have difficulties, you can request that your child is referred for an in-depth dyslexia assessment. This will be carried out by an educational psychologist (EP) or a dyslexia specialist.

The dyslexia assessment might include:

  • a pre-assessment questionnaire sent to you and your child's school
  • observing your child at school
  • talking to teachers
  • tests to assess reading and writing skills, memory, vocabulary, language developments, processing skills and organisational skills

Dyslexia support and interventions

After the assessment, you'll receive a report covering your child's strengths and weaknesses, with suggestions of how to improve the areas they're struggling with.

There's a range of support and interventions available if your child is diagnosed with dyslexia, depending on how severe it is and what they need the most help with.

Many children receive all the support they need through SENCO services in their school. An individual action plan will be drawn up for your child, which may include one-to-one support and small group work.

How to obtain a referral/assessment?

Most schools in Surrey should be able to carry out a Dyslexia screening which will give parents an indicator of whether a child has Dyslexia. Schools can then implement provisions from their SEN core offer in order to support a child's special educational needs. However, a school cannot formally diagnose.

For a diagnostic assessment parents should go to Helen Arkell Dyslexia Support From The Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre

Alternatively parents can look on the British dyslexia association's website.

Even without a formal diagnosis the school should be able to recognise the additional needs and implement any provisions that may be required.

The following link is for Surrey County Councils Dyslexia policy which can be useful to parents of children with concerns of Dyslexia or with formal diagnosis.

Below are some of the teams in Surrey who may be able to offer parents and schools advice on how to support a child or young person with Dyslexia:

Managing bladder and bowel issues in nurseries, schools and colleges

Schools can not refuse to support a child who has yet to be toilet trained. There is more information at the bottom of page 18 of this booklet from Bladder and Bowel UK.

The role of SENCo

Special educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) has a critical role to play in ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities within a school receive the support they need.

The SEND Code of Practice 2015 describes the importance of the role in all school settings, from pre-school to secondary.

The role of the SENCo in early year's provision

A maintained nursery school must ensure that there is a qualified teacher designated as the SENCo in order to ensure the detailed implementation of support for children with SEN. This individual should also have the prescribed qualification for SENCo or relevant experience.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework requires other early years providers to have arrangements in place for meeting children's SEND. Those in group provision are expected to identify a SENCo. Childminders are encouraged to identify a person to act as SENCo and childminders who are registered with a childminder agency or who are part of a network may wish to share that role between them.

The role of the SENCo involves:

  • ensuring all practitioners in the setting understand their responsibilities to children with SEN and the setting's approach to identifying and meeting SEN
  • advising and supporting colleagues
  • ensuring parents are closely involved throughout and that their insights inform action taken by the setting, and
  • liaising with professionals or agencies beyond the setting.

The role of the Area SENCo

To fulfil their role in identifying and planning for the needs of children with SEND, Surrey should ensure that there is sufficient expertise and experience amongst local early years providers to support children with SEND.

Local authorities often make use of Area SENCo's to provide advice and guidance to early years providers on the development of inclusive early learning environments. The Area SENCo helps make the links between education, health and social care to facilitate appropriate early provision for children with SEND and their transition to compulsory schooling.

Typically, the role of the Area SENCo includes:

  • providing advice and practical support to early years providers about approaches to identification, assessment and intervention within the SEN Code of Practice
  • providing day-to-day support for setting-based SENCo s in ensuring arrangements are in place to support children with SEND
  • strengthening the links between the settings, parents, schools, social care and health services
    developing and disseminating good practice
  • supporting the development and delivery of training both for individual settings and on a wider basis
    developing links with existing SENCo networks to support smooth transitions to school nursery and reception classes, and
  • informing parents of and working with local impartial Information, Advice and Support Services, to promote effective work with parents of children in the early years.

The Area SENCo plays an important part in planning for children with SEND to transfer between early year's provision and schools. They would also attend meetings where possible to update their knowledge and skills, e.g. Area SENCo Meetings.

Where there is an Area SENCo in place, they will want to work with early years providers who are registered with either Ofsted or a childminder agency. They should consider how they work with and provide advice to childminder agencies and their registered providers in supporting children with SEND.

The role of the SENCo in schools

Governing bodies of maintained mainstream schools and the proprietors of mainstream academy schools (including free schools) must ensure that there is a qualified teacher designated as SENCo for the school.

The SENCo must be a qualified teacher working at the school. A newly appointed SENCo must be a qualified teacher and, where they have not previously been the SENCo at that or any other relevant school for a total period of more than twelve months, they must achieve a National Award in Special Educational Needs Co-ordination within three years of appointment.

A National Award must be a postgraduate course accredited by a recognised higher education provider. The National College for Teaching and Leadership has worked with providers to develop a set of learning outcomes. When appointing staff or arranging for them to study for a National Award schools should satisfy themselves that the chosen course will meet these outcomes and equip the SENCo to fulfil the duties outlined in this Code. Any selected course should be at least equivalent to 60 credits at postgraduate study.

The SENCo has an important role to play with the head teacher and governing body, in determining the strategic development of SEN policy and provision in the school. They will be most effective in that role if they are part of the school leadership team.

The SENCo has day-to-day responsibility for the operation of SEN policy and co-ordination of specific provision made to support individual pupils with SEND, including those who have EHC plans.

The SENCo provides professional guidance to colleagues and will work closely with staff, parents and other agencies. The SENCo should be aware of the provision in the Local Offer and be able to work with professionals providing a support role to families to ensure that pupils with SEN receive appropriate support and high quality teaching.

The key responsibilities of the SENCo may include:

  • overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school's SEN policy
  • coordinating provision for children with SEND
  • liaising with the relevant Designated Teacher where a looked after pupil has SEN
  • advising on the graduated approach to providing SEN support
  • advising on the deployment of the school's delegated budget and other resources to meet pupils' needs effectively
  • liaising with parents of pupils with SEND
  • liaising with early years providers, other schools, educational psychologists, health and social care professionals, and independent or voluntary bodies
  • being a key point of contact with external agencies, especially the local authority and its support services
  • liaising with potential next providers of education to ensure a pupil and their parents are informed about options and a smooth transition is planned
  • working with the head teacher and school governors to ensure that the school meets its responsibilities under the Equality Act (2010) with regard to reasonable adjustments and access arrangements
  • ensuring that the school keeps the records of all pupils with SEN up to date.

The school should ensure that the SENCo has sufficient time and resources to carry out these functions. This should include providing the SENCo with sufficient administrative support and time away from teaching to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities in a similar way to other important strategic roles within a school.

It may be appropriate for a number of smaller primary schools to share a SENCo employed to work across the individual schools, where they meet the other requirements set out in this chapter of the Code. Schools can consider this arrangement where it secures sufficient time away from teaching and sufficient administrative support to enable the SENCo to fulfil the role effectively for the total registered pupil population across all of the schools involved.

Where such a shared approach is taken the SENCo should not normally have a significant class teaching commitment. Such a shared SENCo role should not be carried out by a head teacher at one of the schools.

Schools should review the effectiveness of such a shared SENCo role regularly and should not persist with it where there is evidence of a negative impact on the quality of SEN provision, or the progress of pupils with SEND.

What kind of information should be provided to parents

Complaints procedure

The majority of concerns can be resolved informally by discussing the matter with the relevant member of school/academy staff. If you are not satisfied with the response you can ask the school or the academy for a copy of their complaints policy, which will outline how to make a complaint and the steps that they will take to respond and resolve the issue.

Schools complaints policy should be on the website for you to access. We also have some guidance on compliment, concerns and complaints on our website.

Feedback at parents' evenings and consultations

Parents' evenings or consultations provide an opportunity to look at your child's work and to discuss progress with the teacher or teachers. However, you may be limited to a 5 or 10 minute session and if you have a lot to discuss you might find it helpful to:

  • write to the teacher before the meeting to let them know the issues you want to raise or
  • ask for an alternative appointment to allow more time for discussion.

Home school agreements

All schools must have a home-school agreement which explains the aims and values of the school and spells out the responsibilities of pupils, parents and the school on such things as:

  • maintaining discipline and positive behaviour
  • regular attendance
  • homework
  • maintaining a positive and happy learning environment
  • the school's commitment to its pupils
  • what is expected of parents and pupils. This maybe within a policy.

Individual Education Plan (IEP) or Individual Provision Map (IPM) Pupils with special educational needs (SEN) who require additional support from the school may have an individual provision map (IPM) or individual education plan (IEP). This is sometimes called an action plan because it should describe:

  • what the child's special needs are
  • how the school aims to meet those needs and the type of help that is to be provided
  • targets for the child to work toward and
  • how the school will measure success and how often the plan will be reviewed.

It is considered good practice for parents to be consulted about the plan and for the plan to contain information about what parents can do at home to reinforce what is happening at school. Schools should invite parents to attend the review of the plan.

Your child's school records

As a parent, you have a right to access your child's educational record. This covers information such as the records of the pupil's academic achievements as well as correspondence from teachers, local education authority employees and educational psychologists engaged by the school's governing body. It may also include information from the child and from you, as a parent.

In England you should make the request in writing to the Board of Governors. A request for an educational record must receive a response within 15 school days.

There are certain circumstances where the school can withhold an educational record, for example, where the information might cause serious harm to the physical or mental health of the pupil or if the information you want involves information about another person. You can find out more at Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Freedom of Information requests

Since 1 January 2005 there has been a legal right for any person to make a request to a school for access to information held by that school. Schools must respond within 20 working days of receipt (not including school holidays).

The request must be in writing, which includes fax or email. The enquirer is entitled to be told whether the school holds the information and if so, to have access to it. However, the school is sometimes entitled to refuse a request, for example if the information is sensitive or confidential.

More detailed guidance is available from the Information Commissioner's Office.

Newsletters

Most schools send regular newsletters to parents giving information about school life, for example events and activities, school in service closures, staff changes, important dates for example.

Policies

Schools must have written policy statements and procedures on matters relating to the effective running of the school. These policies must be made available to parents on request.

Since September 2012, schools must publish online details of the school's policies on behaviour, charging and SEND provision. For those parents who cannot access the internet or who find hard copies of materials more accessible, the new regulations require schools to continue to provide a hard copy where parents request it, this can be simply met by printing a hard copy of the online information.

A list of Statutory policies for schools and academy trusts (GOV.UK).

Prospectus

Since September 2012, schools no longer have to publish a prospectus. However, most schools still maintain a prospectus for new or prospective parents. The prospectus normally contains useful information about the school, for example, which subjects are studied, the length of the school day, details of the school uniform, out of school activities, health matters for example.

SEND Information Report

Under the special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) reforms each school is required to provide information for parents on how they support children and young people with SEND.

There are two main sources of SEND information that parents can access from a schools website:

  • SEND Polices
  • SEND Information reports

A schools SEND Information Report and SEND Policy are intended to be two distinct documents.

What's the difference between a SEND policy and a SEND information report?

SEND policies and procedures contain technical information and detail. The law says all schools must have policies that say what they do. SEND policies are just one of the policies a school will have.

They should be based on a shared understanding of the schools mission, values, vision and aims. They should include information about the laws and rules that shape the day to day processes of the school.

A policy should include:

  • A brief statement referring to relevant local guidelines, national regulations.
  • A list of groups, individuals and documents consulted when making the policy.
  • Cross-references to other documents, links to other policies where helpful
  • Roles and responsibilities of staff.
  • Monitoring and evaluation arrangements, what evidence is used to show progress has been achieved.
  • Date the policy was established by the governing body and a date for review.
  • Signature of Chair of Governors or Chair of Committee.

SEND information reports are intended to tell you how the school's SEND policy is used:

  • How help and support for pupils with SEND works in that setting.
  • What happens and how, not what they aspire to.

The SEN information report should be written in a way that makes the information clear and meaningful for parents.

Help in exams

The Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (IPSEA) provide information on help in exams.

School trips

This information is for parents when a School refuses to take children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and/or an EHCP on a School trip.

6.2 Every school is required to identify and address the SEN of the pupils that they support. Mainstream schools, which in this chapter includes maintained schools and academies that are not special schools, maintained nursery schools, 16 to19 academies, alternative provision academies and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), must:

  • use their best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEN gets the support they need – this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people's 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 – 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 (see 'Publishing information: SEN information report', paragraph 6.78 onwards) 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.

The SEN Code of Practice

The Equality Act 2010

Under the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful for schools and local authorities (LA) to discriminate against disabled pupils. The Act includes duties to make sure disabled pupils are not treated less favourably than other pupils. Schools have to make reasonable adjustments where they are needed. Schools generally have to make sure that disabled pupils can play as full a part in school life as possible which includes going on school trips.

A school's duty to make reasonable adjustments is an anticipatory one. This means because in most cases disabled pupils will be known to the school or LA the need to arrange suitable support should be part of the longer-term planning for the pupil.

Reasonable adjustments

Where a School states that they are unable to include a disabled pupil on a trip, you as parents can make it clear that this is discrimination. The Act does not require a school to cancel a trip (or any other activities) but the Act does require a school to look at all the ways in which they can ensure that all pupils are given the same opportunities to participate.

Schools should work with yourselves as parents to learn what experiences you have had with regard to going on trips, e.g., strategies the school could use. Schools should also learn from other schools in these situations to come up with solutions that means that everyone is able to benefit from a trip or an activity.

Reasonable adjustments may include thinking about alternative trips to the ones previously arranged by the school, providing additional assistance, such as asking a learning assistant who supports the child in school to go with the child on the visit to enable the pupil to attend.

As parents you could offer to attend the trip if you are able, to be an extra person in ratios.

The Act does not override health and safety legislation. Schools may still need to undertake risk assessments to ensure all pupils attending the trip are safe.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission have produced guidance for schools detailing the duties of schools under the Act and there is guidance about reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils.