Introduction to SEND

The SEND Code of Practice groups special educational needs into 4 broad areas:

Communication and interaction needs

Children and young people might: 

• struggle to talk or say what they want to
• find it hard to understand what other people are saying
• find conversations and play confusing or challenging

Cognition and learning difficulties

Children and young people might: 

• learn at a different rate to their peers
• find the curriculum difficult
• struggle with organisation and memory
• have a specific difficulty, for example, in literacy or numeracy

Social, emotional and mental health difficulties

Children and young people might: 

• find relationships difficult
• appear withdrawn or isolated
• behave in ways that affect their learning, for example, being disruptive
• do things that impact on their health and wellbeing

Sensory and/or physical needs

Children and young people might have a disability such as: 

• a visual and/or hearing impairment
• a physical difficulty 

They may find it hard to access a school because of their disability. This means they might need extra support or specialist equipment.  

Most children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) go to a mainstream early years setting or school. In some cases, schools or nurseries will ask for extra support for these children.

It is important to identify children who have SEND as early as possible. This is called ‘early intervention’ and makes sure they get all the help they need as soon as they need it.