Special Educational Needs Statement

A statement of special educational needs is a legal document, which sets out details of the special needs that your child is considered to have. In addition the statement also outlines the special education provision that your child will receive to meet these needs.

Eligibility

Children from 3 - 5 years who have not responded to Early Years Action or Early Years Action Plus. Pupils 5 - 16 who have not responded to School Action and School Action Plus. Students post-16 in further education who have not responded to School Action and School Action Plus.

What is a statement of special educational needs?

The statement is divided into six parts:

Part 1: Introduction, date of birth and contact details

Part 2: Special educational needs
This gives a clear and detailed description of the child's current difficulties. The information is taken from specialists' reports written for the statutory assessment.

Part 3: Special educational provision
Part 3 must detail all the provision to be made by the Local Authority (LA) and the school to meet the child's special educational needs. It is split into 3 sections:

Objectives - These are long-term targets for the child to achieve during the time (s)he has a statement.

Provision - This is all the necessary support the child needs to meet the long-term targets.

Monitoring - These are the arrangements made to set and review short-term targets, which work towards the long-term targets set out for your child.

Part 4: Placement
Before the final statement is issued, parents receive a proposed statement, so they can check that they agree with the LA. Part 4 will be left blank for parents to state their choice of school for their child. Part 4 of the final statement must state the name of a school. Sometimes the final statement will give alternative arrangements for education other than in a school placement.

Part 5: Non-educational needs
These are needs agreed between the Health Services, Social Services, other organisations and the LA.

Part 6: Non-educational provision
This provision describes how the child will get the help in Part 5. It could also include details about home to school transport.

Please note that Parts 3 and 4 of the Statement are legally binding on the LA, but parts 5 and 6 are not. A statement can continue until the pupil leaves school after Year 11. If the pupil continues to attend specialist provision (usually in school), the statement could continue until (s)he is 19.

Helplines

For further help, please contact:

Parent Partnership on (01226) 732156 or by email at parent.partners@barnsley.gov.uk   or
the local authority on (01226) 773562 or by email at cypf@barnsley.gov.uk

Opening Times/Locations

Monday to Friday
8.30 - 5.00

Barnsley Parent Partnership Service
The Old Infant Block
Worsbrough Common Primary School
Bruce Avenue
Worsbrough Common
Barnsley
S70 4EB

Leaflets

• Special Educational Needs (SEN): A Guide for Parents and carers (DFES publication)
• The Assessment of Special Educational Needs in Barnsley:
• A Guide for those with Parental Responsibility

The following Parent Partnership information leaflets are available for parents and carers of children with special educational needs:

• A Statement of SEN
• Enabling Pupil Participation Transition Planning - Y9 to post-16
• Working in Partnership to put Children First
• Statutory Assessment
• The Role of Parents
• Independent Parental Supporters
• Parent Partnership Service

Legislation

Education Act 1996
SEN and Disability Act 2001
SEN Code of Practice Nov 2001

Websites

Education Policies, Plans and Service Information

Additional Notes

Words you may see in reports:

SEN Code of Practice - this guide, issued by the Department for Education and Skills, tells LEAs and schools how to organise help for children and young people with SEN.

Individual Education Plan (IEP) - this specifies what your child's targets are for the next period (usually six months), and what will be done by the school, you and your child to meet those targets.