SEN Schools Advice

Struggling to find the right school for your child with special educational needs or to get independent advice on educational issues or the law?

We highlight some of the professional organisations that can help you with choosing the right school for your child with SEN, or advise on educational issues and legal rights. 


Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)
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...

ASD - Asperger's Syndrome And Autism
Autism - a lifelong condition   With grateful thanks to the National Autistic Society for their help in compiling this article. Autism is a lifelong developmental...


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...

Does My Child Have Special Educational Needs?
    ... or are their difficulties part of 'normal childhood'? A child may be considered naughty, a fidget, a daydreamer - symptoms of everyday childhood, but  also...


Choosing A School For SEN - On A Visit
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...

Choosing A School: First Steps for SEN
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...


SEN Schools Advice
Struggling to find the right school for your child with special educational needs or to get independent advice on educational issues or the law? We highlight some of the professional...

The Educational Psychologist
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...


SEN - How A School Should Help
    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...

Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
  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...


Statutory Assessments And Statements Of SEN
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 Educational Needs And The Law
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....


Living With Cerebral Palsy
  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...

Schools For The Hearing Impaired
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
  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...

The Advisory Centre for Education (ACE)
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...