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What are Special Educational Needs?

All children and young people may experience learning difficulties at some point. This is not unusual. For most children the difficulties are temporary and are soon overcome with help and encouragement from home and school. The term ‘Special Educational Needs’ is used to describe learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for children to learn than most children of the same age. Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) are likely to need extra or different help from that given to other children their age. This help is known as special educational provision.

What do we mean by "SEND"?

The term Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) has a legal definition which is set out in the Education Act 1996. 'SEND' can cover lots of different types of need. Below is a quick guide that lists some of the most common categories of SEND. The term SEN covers a wide range of types of need including:

Learning & Cognition 
Support for learning difficulties may be required for children and young people that learn at a slower pace than their peers. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including, but not exclusive to:

• moderate learning difficulties (MLD)
• severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication
• profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment.

Specific learning difficulties (SpLD) affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. A child with a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) is as able as any other child, except in one or two areas of their learning. For instance, they may find it difficult to recognise letters, or to cope with numbers or reading. There are many different types of specific learning difficulty, but the most commonly-known is dyslexia: difficulty spelling and/or reading.

Social, Emotional and Mental Health 
Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which can manifest in many different ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or distressing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties like:

• anxiety
• depression
• self-harming
• substance misuse
• eating disorders

These behaviours may also lead to physical symptoms. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder.

Speech, Language and Communication
Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty:

• saying what they want to
• understanding what is being said to them
• understanding or following conventional social norms

Every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives.

Children and young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are likely to have difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.

Physical or Sensory Impairment
Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from using some facilities.

These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require habilitation support, specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning.

Children and young people with an MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties.

What do we mean by "Disability"?

The Equality Act, 2010, defines a child with a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial or a long term (over 12months) effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day tasks.

Due to their disability they will require support in areas of education, health, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development.  Such disabilities include:

• a physical disability
• a significant and long term learning difficulty
• a severe communication disorder
• autism spectrum disorder
• multiple and complex health needs or chronic illness