This Quick-Guide provides information on the law and practice of Special Educaitonal Needs and Disabilities ("SEND") and how they relate to exclusions challenges.
This guide will cover:
- What does SEND mean?
- What other forms of need exist?
- What responsibilities do schools have to address SEND before exclusion?
- What powers does a school have to help someone with SEND access their education?
Not all children with special educational needs and disabilities (“SEND”) will be at risk of exclusion. However, statistically speaking, children with SEND are much more likely than one of their peers to be excluded. As a result, a large proportion of exclusion challenges will involve a discussion of SEND issues.
1. What does SEND mean?
The government includes much of its guidance to schools on all matters relating to SEND in the Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years (“the Code of Practice”).
A definition of SEND appears in statute at section 20 of the Children and Families Act 2014 . It says that:
A child or young person has SEN Special Educational Needs, a requirement a child has in school without which they will be disadvantaged when compared to their peers. if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her
This is a very broad definition that will encompass a lot of different needs. This definition is further broken down into 4 categories. These are:
Communication and interaction
From paragraph 6.28, the Code of Practice defines communication and interaction needs as:
difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because [young people] have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile for every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives. Children and young people with ASD, including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism, are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.
Cognition and learning
At paragraph 6.30, the Code of Practice defines cognition and learning needs as:
When children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment. Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
Social, emotional and mental health
At paragraph 6.32, the Code of Practice defines social, emotional and mental health needs as:
difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder. Schools and colleges should have clear processes to support children and young people, including how they will manage the effect of any disruptive behaviour so it does not adversely affect other pupils.
Sensory and/or physical need
At paragraph 6.34, the Code of Practice defines sensory and/or physical needs as:
a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or habilitation support. Children and young people with an MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties. Some children and young people with a physical disability (PD) require additional ongoing support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.
2. What other forms of need exist?
In addition to the clinical and strictly educational needs outlined above, a young person’s behaviour can be influenced by factors in their personal life and their home life.
The Exclusions Guidance Statutory guidance to schools, governors and local authorities on the law and process for excluding, and reviewing exclusions. The 2017 edition of the guidance is the current version. specifies that headteachers should consider whether such factors have been a factor in a young person’s education before deciding to exclude them. It states at paragraph 18 that:
Whilst an exclusion may still be an appropriate sanction, the head teacher should take account of any contributing factors that are identified after an incident of poor behaviour has occurred. For example, where it comes to light that the pupil has suffered bereavement, has mental health issues or has been subject to bullying.
There are some life events that will, on a common-sense understanding, cause upheaval to a young person’s personal life. These include bereavement, bullying, homelessness, domestic violence and problems with immigration status.
However, there are a range of factors, known as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) traumatic events that occur during childhood. (“ACE”), which are well researched and shown to influence a young person, sometimes to exhibit disruptive behaviour.
The Scottish Government highlight 10 widely recognised ACEs as:
Abuse:
- physical;
- sexual;
- verbal;
Neglect:
- emotional;
- physical;
Growing up in a household where:
- there are adults with alcohol and drug use problems;
- there are adults with mental health problems;
- there is domestic violence;
- there are adults who have spent time in prison;
- parents have separated.
NHS Health Scotland have published accessible guidance on ACEs.
3. What responsibilities do schools have to address SEND before exclusion?
The Exclusions Guidance Statutory guidance to schools, governors and local authorities on the law and process for excluding, and reviewing exclusions. The 2017 edition of the guidance is the current version. addresses the issue of unmet need in the key points at the beginning of the document. It states that:
Disruptive behaviour can be an indication of unmet needs. Where a school has concerns about a pupil’s behaviour, it should try to identify whether there are any causal factors and intervene early in order to reduce the need for a subsequent exclusion. In this situation, schools should consider whether a multi-agency assessment that goes beyond the pupil’s educational needs is required. Schools should have a strategy for reintegrating a pupil who returns to school following a fixed-period exclusion and for managing their future behaviour.
Schools must therefore act where they have concerns about a young person’s behaviour. This is particularly important considering that the Department for Educaiton's own published statistics consistently show that persistent disruptive behaviour is the most common cause of all exclusions, both fixed term and permanent. In practice, this means that schools will often have indicators that a young person is at risk of exclusion by their pattern of behaviour.
This duty extends to seeking support outside of the school environment, asking for support from the local authority A borough, county or city council that has responsibility for providing education to children in their area. and specialist services if necessary. Paragraph 19 of the Exclusions Guidence states that:
At paragraph 19 the Guidance states that:
Early intervention to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour should include an assessment of whether appropriate provision is in place to support any SEN Special Educational Needs, a requirement a child has in school without which they will be disadvantaged when compared to their peers. or disability that a pupil may have. The head teacher should also consider the use of a multi-agency assessment for a pupil who demonstrates persistent disruptive behaviour. Such assessments may pick up unidentified SEN Special Educational Needs, a requirement a child has in school without which they will be disadvantaged when compared to their peers. but the scope of the assessment could go further, for example, by seeking to identify mental health or family problems.
School records should show that the school has taken steps to identify needs and, where needs are identified, address them effectively.
Schools have seperate duties under the SEND Code of Practice. Schools are required to ensure that the process of implementing, reviewing and amending support is a considered and evidence-based process. This is mandated by the SEND 0-25 Years Code of Practice which states at paragraph 6.62 that:
The SENCO and class teacher, together with the specialists, and involving the pupil’s parents, should consider a range of evidence-based and effective teaching approaches, appropriate equipment, strategies and interventions in order to support the child’s progress. They should agree the outcomes to be achieved through the support, including a date by which progress will be reviewed.
Where the school has exhausted other options, they should consider requesting an EHCP in accordance with Paragraph 6.63 of the Code of Practice.
Critically, an exclusion can never be because the school feels unable to meet additional needs. This is made clear by Paragraph 13 of the Exclusions Guidance Statutory guidance to schools, governors and local authorities on the law and process for excluding, and reviewing exclusions. The 2017 edition of the guidance is the current version. . And, of course, the school has a duty not to discriminate against people because of their SEND. This is covered in more detail in the Quick-Guide: A Headteacher's Power to Exclude.
4. What powers does a school have to help someone with SEND access their education?
Schools have a range of options available to them to support someone within their own resources.
A school receives a grant per pupil. In addition, they have a discretionary amount of money to top up this money to provide for young people with registered SEND.
Within this discretionary amount the school can provide programs and support using the staff already onsite, for example through teachers, SENCOs and pastoral workers. However, they can also commission services, assessments and programs.
Common programs to investigate whether unmet needs are a factor in a young person’s behaviour include:
- An assessment by an educational psychologist A professional based in a clinical team, in a school or in the local authority A borough, county or city council that has responsibility for providing education to children in their area. who works to support young people by identifying additional needs then planning for and providing tailored support.
An educational psychologist A professional based in a clinical team, in a school or in the local authority A borough, county or city council that has responsibility for providing education to children in their area. who works to support young people by identifying additional needs then planning for and providing tailored support. is a professional who can be based in a school, or with the NHS or a local authority A borough, county or city council that has responsibility for providing education to children in their area. . They assess a young person through a range of means, including speaking with them, observing them in their day to day routine, speaking to the adults around them and analysing their work. They can then make recommendations to the school about their needs.
- Speech and language assessment
Where concerns exist around a young person’s communication, a speech and language therapist can assess them and recommend a package of support to support them with their communication.
- A mental health assessment
Where concerns exist around a young person’s mental health, often, young people will be referred to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (“CAMHS”) are NHS services that assess and treat young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health needs. , a component of the NHS providing mental health support to children and young people. A referral to CAMHS " Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (“CAMHS”) are NHS services that assess and treat young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health needs. ": NHS services that assess and treat young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health needs. should lead to assessment and can result in a formal diagnosis, referral to specialists or a recommendation for support within the school setting.
Common programs to address additional need include:
- A course of mentoring
Mentoring can take a range of forms. Generally speaking, it is about a young person receiving support from someone in the school community in the form of talking sessions, which can either be scheduled and routine and ad hoc. Sometimes the mentor is an older student, and sometimes it is a member of staff.
- One to one classroom support
Some young people benefit from one to one support in the classroom, even if just for a small part of the school day. This is often provided by a teaching assistant.
- Counselling
Counselling can be of help in supporting young people with their mental health, dealing with the impact of trauma and ACEs. Counselling can be made available in school or through external provision.
