If you think your child or young person may have additional needs that have not been identified, speak to their teacher, special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) or headteacher. You can also visit our New to SEND page for clear information about the support available and where to start.
If your child hasn't started school yet, you can find out more about the support available in the early years support pages.
Schools, colleges and other settings can help most children and young people to overcome the barriers that their difficulties present quickly and easily through extra support. This is known as SEN support and can include a wide range of provision and interventions. Schools, colleges, playgroups and nurseries will have information about their provision for children with special educational needs listed on their website.
Schools must follow a graduated approach to supporting children and young people with special educational needs. SENDIASS have produced this helpful video that explains the graduated response.
Herefordshire Council has created an all-age graduated approach flowchart and one page summary of the graduated approach which shows the steps educational settings should take when supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities.
There is also more detailed guidance for schools on the graduated approach and what the different levels of support should look like in an educational setting. It is used by mainstream settings to work with families and children to identify how best to meet each child's support needs.
If your child has additional needs but does not have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), their school may be able to apply for additional funding to help provide the support they need. Speak to your child's teacher or SENCO about the support already in place and whether an application for further funding may be appropriate. Find out more about funding to support children and young people with SEND.
What is a SENCO?
A SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) is the person in a school or setting who helps make sure children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) get the right support. In mainstream schools, the SENCO must be a qualified teacher.
The SENCO helps the school plan how it supports pupils with SEND. They also help staff understand a child's needs and choose the right support. The SENCO keeps an eye on how well support is working and helps make changes if needed.
Watch this video created by Herefordshire and Worcestershire SENDIASS to find out more about the role of a SENCO.
Education, health and care plans
If your child or young person has special educational needs (SEN), they may need extra support beyond what their education setting can usually provide through SEN Support.
If you feel they need more help, you or their education setting can ask the local authority to consider carrying out an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment. This assessment looks carefully at your child or young person's needs and the support they may require. It will help the local authority decide whether an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan is needed.
An EHC plan can also include health and social care needs and support where these affect your child or young person's education.
Find out how to request an Education, Health and Care needs assessment.
For a small number of children a mainstream setting might not be the most appropriate placement to meet their special educational needs, and a more specialist placement will be required.
You can find lots of information about special educational needs on the government website.
You can also find information on what help is available if you care for a disabled child on the government website.