Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

A child has special educational needs (SEN) if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made. Special educational provision is when a child needs extra help over and above what is usual. SEN can be in 4 different areas:

Cognition and learning e.g. dyslexia
Communication and interaction e.g. autism
Sensory impairment and/or physical
Social, emotional and mental health problems

Every school in Nottinghamshire has a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator or SENCO who can support you if you have concerns about your child in school which the class teacher is unable to help with. The SENCO will work with you and the teacher to plan what provisions needs to be put in place to support your child and could mean any number of things including:

A special programme of work
Particular equipment
Time with a teaching assistant individually or in a group

Nottinghamshire has systems of funding for its schools so that the additional needs of children with SEN can be met quickly.