What is a Statement of Special Educational Needs?

A statement of special educational needs (SEN) is a legal document.  It is set out i n 6 parts:

Part 1 - The introduction

This includes factual information about your child, such as name, address and date of birth.

Part 2 - Special Educational Needs

This gives details of your child’s special educational needs, which have been identified from the advice given during the assessment or subsequent Annual Reviews. (Only details identified by the statutory assessment or subsequent Annual Reviews would be written into this section.)

Part 3 - Special Educational Provision

This describes:

•  The long-term objectives for your child. This is what we hope your child will achieve with help and support.
• All the provision (help and support) that the Local Authority (LA) thinksyour child should have to meet the needs set out in Part 2 of thestatement and to reach the objectives
• The arrangements to be made for setting short-term targets and regularly monitoring and reviewing your child’s progress towards those targets and towards the long term objectives.

Part 4 - Placement

This tells you about the type of school or setting which is appropriate for your child. In most cases the name of the school/setting which your child will attend, is also included. In some cases alternative arrangements for education are made instead of a school placement.