SEN Glossary
- Graduated pathway: The Graduated Pathway of Early Help and Targeted Support is Gloucester’s early help assessment and planning process, which applies to the whole range of needs including:
- learning and development;
- social, emotional, health (physical and mental) and / or disability; and
- wider family and environment.
A child can move up or down the graduated pathway in their lives depending on how their needs change over time. Find more information linked to the graduated pathway here: https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/graduated-pathway-practice-guidance/
· My plan: This will detail what additional support your child receives for the term ahead. It will be reviewed and shared with families 3x a year.
- · My plan+: for pupils with more complex SEN which require multi agency assessment of need. This then follows the same process as a my plan but with additional agency input.
- My Assessment : designed as a document where a holistic approach is taken to understand the strengths and barriers for a child from birth to the current picture. This document then determine if a child will remain at my plan level or escalate up to my plan+.
- A Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting should take place when a concern identifies the need for a multi-agency response. It provides the opportunity to discuss how additional needs can be met.
· EHCP: stands for Education, Health and Care Plan. It outlines any special educational needs a child has, and the provision a local authority must put in place to help them. Most children and young people with additional needs don't need an EHCP. EHC plans are for children whose special educational needs require more help than would normally be provided in a mainstream education setting. An EHCP is a legal document, written by the Local Authority that describes a child’s special educational needs (SEN) and the help (special educational provision) they will get to meet them.
· SENCO: A SENCO is a qualified teacher who has responsibility for co-ordinating whole school SEN provision. The SENCO will also support colleagues and parents/guardians through providing professional guidance.
· SEN Special Educational Needs is a legal term. It describes the needs of a child who has a difficulty or disability which makes learning harder for them than for other children their age. Around one in five children has SEN at some point during their school years.
FAQ's
· What is the SEN register?
Some children may have difficulty in different areas of their learning/interactions and usually intervention can overcome these barriers. These children will be considered to have ‘additional needs’ that are classified as SEN.
When this is the case a child will be put on the ‘SEN register’. This does not necessarily mean that they have ‘special educational needs’, but that they have been identified as needing additional support and will be monitored closely to ensure that their needs are met and that any gaps in learning are closing.
· What are interventions/SEN adaptions?
Interventions are delivered 1:1 or in small groups depending on the needs of the child and cohort. They will focus on helping children within their area of need with the aim to build up key skills. SEN adaptions can include access to sensory resources, adjusting the classroom environment and adapting learning tasks to enable access to the hidden curriculum and their academic learning.
