Special Needs Introduction
Sandra Hutchinson, Editor of The Good Schools Guide - Special Educational Needs, explains how to navigate this site, to find the answers you need to your SEN issues.
Some special needs are easy to spot, others are only determined once a child has experienced considerable difficulties, frustrations or social and emotional problems.
In the years since the first edition of our special needs guide diagnosis of, and provision for SEN have improved but both can still be a minefield. We have a lot of help and advice on this site but if you are unsure where to start, make this article your first port of call.
The child with specific learning difficulties can be hard to spot. Often, intelligent and articulate it is their own sense of frustration that is frequently the first clue.
'Specific...
Autism - a lifelong condition
With grateful thanks to the National Autistic Society for their help in compiling this article.
Autism is a lifelong developmental...
Sandra Hutchinson, Editor of The Good Schools Guide - Special Educational Needs, explains how to navigate this site, to find the answers you need to your SEN issues.
Some...
... or are their difficulties part of 'normal childhood'?
A child may be considered naughty, a fidget, a daydreamer - symptoms of everyday childhood, but also...
SENs and their associated problems are as wide-ranging and individual as the child. If you decide to visit a school, allow at least half a day, longer if your child will be boarding...
Few things cause so much angst for parents as finding the right school for their child. Once offspring have been through the system most parents wise up to what’s really on...
Educational Psychology is the art of diagnosing the reasons for a child's behaviour or learning difficulties.
A good educational psychologist will spend time getting to know your...
'When my child was diagnosed with physical difficulties I was told he'd need to see either a physiotherapist (PT) or an occupational therapist (OT). The referral came through...
The statutory guidance on inclusive schooling that exists for all state schools and nurseries for children with SEN in England doesn't apply to schools in other parts...
Formalising classroom help and target setting
What is an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and what will it mean for a child and their parents if an IEP is suggested?
An...
Statements explained
'My number one piece of advice would be to review every SINGLE word in a statement every year. I did not realise how important it was to quantify help and so...
Special needs and the law
Education law is a complex business and one that's easy to misquote or misunderstand, especially as each country of the UK has its own educational legislation....
There is great debate about where a child should be educated. I have been to both special and mainstream schools. I believe, regardless of disability, a school should explore...
Debate rages over the best educational route for children with SEN, even for seemingly similar children, with very similar conditions...
If a child is profoundly deaf, should...
The Child Law Advice Line offers advice on all areas of family, child and education law.
These include: child employment; school issues ranging from admissions...
ACE is an independent registered charity, which offers information about state education in England and Wales for parents of school-age children.
This is a service which, although...
Find a School...
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