What is SEN (Special Educational Needs) Support?
Special Educational Needs (SEN) support is the support that is additional to or different from that generally given to other children and young people of the same age.
SEN support helps children and young people identified as having special educational needs to make good progress.
Children who require SEN support may be given a SEN Support plan and be included in the nursery, school or college's 'Pupil SEN Register'.
The intention of the toolkits is to support Bexley mainstream settings with ensuring a consistent approach when identifying pupils’ barriers to learning and/or special educational needs (SEN).
There are 3 separate SEN toolkits - Early Years, Primary/Secondary (2nd Edition) and Post 16.
Hard copies are available from Bexley Voice, please contact admin@bexleyvoice.org.uk
What is an EHCP (Education Health and Care Plan)
An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) is a legal document which describes a child or young person’s special educational needs, the support they need, and the outcomes they would like to achieve.
An application for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan is known as an 'EHC Needs Assessment Request'.
Children and young people who are receiving support in school/college for their special educational needs (who do not have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan), may be being supported at ‘SEN Support’ level.
This is part of a Graduated Approach using an Assess, Do, Plan, Review process.
Before an EHC Needs Assessment Request is submitted, it is essential to ensure that every relevant reasonable adjustment, intervention and Quality First Teaching has already been put in place at SEN Support level and there is evidence to prove it is not working.
Find out how to apply for an EHCP
When the Bexley SEN Statutory Assessment Service has made a decision, you will be contacted in writing with details as to why the decision was made.
This must be within 6 weeks of the date the official request application was submitted.
If your application was rejected you can:
- Discuss this with your child/young person’s education setting about how their needs can be met on SEN Support level
- Appeal to First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) against the decision not to undertake an EHC Needs Assessment
When you received the decision letter from the LA, they must have included information of your rights to independent advice, mediation and appeals.
The annual review is the statutory process of looking at the needs, provision and outcomes specified in an EHC Plan, and deciding whether these need to change. This is to ensure it stays up-to-date and continues to provide the support the child or young person needs.
In Bexley, Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans are managed by SEN Case Officers as part of the Bexley Statutory Assessment Service.
Click here for allocations for children/young people with a FINAL EHC Plan and contact information for:
- SEN Case Officers and their Support Officers
- SEN line managers/Senior Case Officers
- Service Management, SEN Finance and SEN Admin
Find out more about the services provided by Bexley to support your child:
Find out more about Special Educational Needs and Disability Legislation & Guidance on the Bexley IASS website:
Transferring from primary school Year 6 to secondary school Year 7 is an important time for all children.
Find out more on the Bexley Local Offer
A definition
"Reduced or non-attendance at school by a child or young person. Rather than the term ‘school refusal’, the term EBSA recognises that this avoidance has its root in emotional, mental health or wellbeing issues. EBSA should not be thought of as a deliberate act of defiance, but instead as a complex issue inextricably linked with mental health and wellbeing."
(Anna Freud National Centre for children and families)
EBSA – what does it look like?
Rarely an overnight occurrence - typical needs reported over a long period of time and referred to as somatic symptoms of anxiety:
- Sickness/Diarrhoea
- Headaches/migraine
- Persistent worrying /sleep issues/ exhaustion
- ‘Masking’/stress behaviours at home or school
The final result can be non-attendance.
Find out more on:
Exclusion is the formal sending home of a pupil from school for disciplinary reasons. An exclusion can be fixed term (temporary) or permanent. A pupil is not allowed in school while they are excluded.
Find out more from:
Schools in Bexley
Find out about provisions available in Bexley including:
- Specialist Resource Provisions (within a mainstream school)
- Special schools in Bexley
- Admissions and the Bexley School Admissions Service
- Types of education settings and finding and choosing a new school
- Alternative Education Provision including Horizon's SEN and Medical Needs Provisions
Elective Home Education (EHE) is the term used to describe the education provided by parents at home, rather than providing education for their children by sending them to school.
This is different to home tuition arranged by a local authority, or remote education provided by a school, as the parents assume the full responsibility to arrange and/or provide education for their child.