Early Intervention

What is SEND?

SEND is the wider term used for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Special educational needs and disabilities can affect a child or young person’s:

  • ability to learn
  • behaviour or ability to socialise and make friends
  • reading and writing
  • ability to understand things
  • concentration levels
  • physical ability

Most children and young people with SEND will attend a mainstream nursery, school or college.

The Equality Act 2010 and the Children and Families Act 2014 reinforce the right for all children to be educated in mainstream schools.

‘Wave 1’ offer or ‘Quality First Teaching’

In schools and colleges, there is an expectation that all children, including those with special educational needs, receive a universal offer of high-quality teaching. This is sometimes called ‘Wave 1’ offer or ‘Quality First Teaching’.

There is an expectation that teaching will be differentiated for pupils and carefully reviewed for all pupils. This includes those at risk of underachievement. View the SEND code of practice (section 6.37) on the GOV.UK website.

High-quality teaching will mean that most children will be able to learn and make progress. There is an expectation that when children are not making good progress, schools and educational settings will look at the quality of teaching first. This should be before they consider whether individual children have special educational needs.

Watch our video on Local Offer quality teaching and learning for all learners on YouTube.

Identifying special educational needs

Some children have a disability or health condition that is identified before or at birth.

When parents have concerns about their child’s development, and their child is not yet in an education setting, they should talk to their health visitor or family doctor (GP).

The GP or health visitor may make a referral to a range of health professionals for further assessment. This could include a speech and language therapist, occupational therapist or child development team.

Not all health issues or identified delays in development lead to a child having special educational needs once they are in education.

Raising concerns about my child's development or progress

If you are concerned about your child’s development or progress, speak to nursery or school staff about your concerns. The nursery or school should work closely with you to identify your child’s needs and create a support plan. That includes:

  • what goals your child will work towards
  • who will work with your child
  • exactly what support the school will offer

You should get a copy of the plan in writing.

If the school or education provider needs additional help to support your child, they can request support from specialist education and health services. For example, educational psychology or speech and language therapy.

You might hear this 'assess, plan, do, review' process referred to as the 'graduated approach'.

Parents and staff work together to make decisions about who to involve. Your consent will be sought in making the referral.

SEN information reports

All schools are required to publish their SEN information report on their website.

A SEN information report explains:

  • what a school does to identify special educational needs and disability
  • the support the school provides for children and young people who need additional help

Access a direct link to Camden's schools' SEN information reports.

Find out about schools in neighbouring boroughs and access their Local Offer's.