SEND, ALN and ASN: Extra Support in Education

• Reasonable adjustments — changes a school or college must make so a disabled pupil is not put at a substantial disadvantage. This is equality law, not education law, and it applies whether or not there is a plan.
• Graduated approach / staged intervention — trying support, reviewing whether it worked, and changing it. Usually described as assess, plan, do, review.
• Provision — the actual help: adult support, small groups, therapy, equipment, adapted materials, changes to timetable or environment.
• Statutory plan — a legal document describing needs and the support that must be provided. Called different things in each nation.
• Transition — moving between nursery, primary, secondary, college or adult services. Planning early matters, especially at 14 to 16.
• Annual review / review meeting — the regular check that a plan is still right.

• SENCO (England and Northern Ireland) — the teacher who co-ordinates support in a school. In Wales the equivalent is the ALNCo.
• Educational psychologist — assesses learning, thinking and emotional needs and advises the school.
• Speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist — NHS or commissioned professionals who may assess and advise.
• Teaching assistant / learning support assistant / pupil support assistant — supports learning in class. Titles vary by nation and by school.
• Named person / lead professional — in Scotland, the person co-ordinating a Child’s Plan.

• Assessment can mean a professional assessment of need, or the formal statutory process that may lead to a plan. Ask which one is meant.
• “We don’t have funding” is not a lawful reason to refuse support that a statutory plan requires.
• “There’s a waiting list for diagnosis” does not stop a school putting support in place now.
• Special school and mainstream with support are both options; the right one depends on the child, and parents have a say in the process.

• Identify the need early and tell you if they think your child has SEN.
• Meet you at least three times a year to agree outcomes and review progress.
• Use the assess–plan–do–review cycle and record what is being tried.
• Seek advice from outside specialists where the school’s own support is not enough.
• Publish a SEN information report explaining what the school offers.

• A parent, a young person aged 16 to 25, or the school or college can ask the local authority for an EHC needs assessment. Health professionals can also bring a child to the council’s attention.
• The council must decide whether to assess and tell you its decision in writing.
• If it assesses, it gathers advice from education, health and care professionals and from you.
• It then decides whether to issue a plan. A draft is shared with you before it is finalised.
• The whole process has statutory time limits — the overall process should normally be completed within 20 weeks of the request, with shorter deadlines at each stage.
• You can name a school preference and the council must consider it.

A refusal to assess, a refusal to issue a plan, and the contents of sections B, F and I of a plan can all be appealed to the SEND Tribunal. Mediation is normally offered first.

• Ask for the decision and the reasons in writing.
• Contact your local SENDIASS service for free impartial support.
• Consider mediation — for most appeals you need a mediation certificate before you can appeal.
• Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND). There are strict deadlines, usually two months from the decision letter.
• Complaints about delay, poor process or failure to deliver provision can go to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman after the council’s own complaints process.

• Schools and further education institutions can prepare and maintain IDPs themselves.
• The local authority takes responsibility where needs are more complex or a school cannot meet them.
• Every learner with ALN should have an IDP — there is no separate two-tier system as in England.
• Each school has an ALNCo, and each authority has an Early Years ALN Lead Officer for under-fives.
• IDPs are reviewed at least annually, and sooner if things change.

• Ask the school or authority to reconsider, in writing.
• Use the local authority’s disagreement resolution and independent advocacy arrangements.
• Appeal to the Education Tribunal for Wales about ALN decisions and IDP contents.
• SNAP Cymru gives free, independent advice and can support you at meetings.

• Individualised Educational Programme (IEP) — a teaching plan with targets, used widely but not a statutory document.
• Child’s Plan — a co-ordinated plan where a child needs targeted support from more than one service.
• Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) — the statutory plan, for children whose needs arise from complex or multiple factors, are likely to last more than a year, and require significant support from outside education as well as within it.

You can ask the education authority to consider whether your child needs a CSP, and to assess your child’s additional support needs. Ask in writing and keep a copy.

• Start with the school, then the education authority’s complaints process.
• Free mediation and independent adjudication are available through the authority.
• References about CSPs, placing requests for children with ASN, and disability discrimination claims go to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Health and Education Chamber).
• Enquire is the national advice service and its helpline is free.

• The school’s SENCO co-ordinates support and should involve you at every stage.
• Schools must have a written SEN policy and produce a personal learning plan for pupils with SEN.
• If school-based support is not enough, you or the school can ask the EA for a statutory assessment.
• Where the EA issues a Statement, it must arrange the provision described in it.
• Statements are reviewed annually, with transition planning from Year 10 onwards.

• Raise concerns with the school, then the Education Authority.
• Independent advice is available from SENAC and the Children’s Law Centre.
• Appeals about assessments and Statements, and disability discrimination claims about schools, go to SENDIST NI.

• Extra time, rest breaks or a separate room for tests and exams (subject to exam board rules).
• Materials in large print, braille, coloured overlays or digital format.
• Ear defenders, a quiet space, or a different route between lessons.
• Changes to uniform rules for sensory or medical reasons.
• A pass to leave lessons early, or to use an accessible toilet without asking each time.
• Adjusted behaviour policies where behaviour is linked to disability.
• Support with school trips and after-school clubs, which are also covered.

Schools must also have arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, and accessibility plans covering the buildings, the curriculum and information.

“Dear [name], I am writing about my child [name, class]. I am concerned about [describe briefly, with two or three examples and dates]. Please could we meet to discuss what support is in place and what else could be tried? Please also confirm whether my child is on the school’s SEN/ALN/ASN register, and send me a copy of any current plan. Thank you.”

Keep a copy. If you do not get a reply within about ten school days, follow it up in writing.

• Is my child on the SEN, ALN or ASN register, and since when?
• Who co-ordinates support, and how do I contact them?
• What support is being given now, how often, and by whom?
• Is the support delivered by a teacher or an assistant?
• What outcomes are we working towards this term?
• How will we know it has worked?
• When will we review it?
• What outside advice has been sought, and what did it say?
• Can I have copies of any reports?
• How is my child coping socially and at break times?
• What happens on trips, in PE and at after-school clubs?
• What reasonable adjustments are in place?
• How are exams and tests being adjusted?
• How is behaviour being understood in light of my child’s needs?
• What happens when the usual staff member is absent?
• How is my child’s voice included?
• What can we do at home that supports the same approach?
• What would trigger a request for statutory assessment?
• How will transition to the next year or school be planned?
• Who do I go to if I am unhappy with the answer?