What is SEN Support?
Understand what school-based support means, what should happen and how to ask the right questions.
Being told your child is “on SEN Support” can leave you unsure what comes next. This guide explains the basics so you can understand the provision agreed and how it should be reviewed.
This guide covers England. Education systems and terminology differ across the UK.
Additional or different educational provision.
SEN Support is the school-based approach used when a pupil’s special educational needs require provision additional to, or different from, what is generally provided for pupils of the same age.
Support should address the barriers
The aim is to help your child access education and make progress. Needs may involve learning, communication, attention, sensory or physical access, emotional regulation or other areas.
A diagnosis can provide useful information, but does not by itself determine the support required.
It should lead to practical action
Ask what school has identified, what it will provide and how you will know whether the support helps.
The term “SEN Support” should describe an approach to provision and review, rather than simply a name on a list.
Your child does not need a diagnosis before needs can be identified and supported. Describe the difficulties and educational impact, and ask school how it will assess and respond to them.
Who identifies the need for SEN Support?
Teachers and the SENCo work with parents and the pupil to understand needs, progress and the support required. Relevant professional advice can help inform that picture.
School observations
Classroom experience, attainment, participation, progress over time and the level of assistance required.
Parent information
What happens before and after school, difficulties at home, concerns about access and strategies that help.
Pupil views and advice
Your child’s experience, strengths and preferences, alongside relevant assessment or specialist information.
If you are unsure whether your child is receiving SEN Support, ask the class teacher or SENCo directly. Request an explanation of what has been agreed and how you will be involved.
Support should be shaped around the child.
Not every child needs the same intervention, an extra adult or the same timetable of support.
Targeted learning support
Suitable literacy or numeracy programmes, small-group teaching or individual work addressing an identified need.
Communication support
Visual prompts, timetables, clear instructions, vocabulary preparation or specialist communication strategies.
Organisation and attention
Task chunking, checklists, structured prompts and help planning or starting work.
Sensory and regulation support
Individual strategies, movement opportunities, predictable routines or agreed quieter working arrangements.
Social and emotional support
Appropriate communication work, mentoring, check-ins or help with particular social demands.
Access adjustments
Changes to instructions, recording work, workload or the environment where they address the child’s barriers.
What should you know about the support?
Schools use different recording formats. The important point is that you can understand the agreed needs, outcomes, provision and review arrangements.
The difficulty
What need or barrier is being addressed?
The provision
What teaching, intervention or adjustment will happen?
The responsibility
Who will arrange and deliver the agreed support?
The frequency
When, how often and for how long, where relevant?
The intended outcome
What difference should it make, and how will progress be checked?
The review date
When will you discuss delivery, impact and any changes?
“We will keep an eye on it” needs a clearer explanation. Ask what will be monitored, what support happens meanwhile, what information will be gathered and when the findings will be discussed.
Assess, Plan, Do, Review.
School uses what it learns from each cycle to refine its understanding and decide what should continue or change.
Assess
Understand strengths, needs, progress and barriers using school evidence, parent information, pupil views and advice where needed.
Plan
Agree outcomes, strategies, provision, responsibilities, progress measures and a review date.
Do
Deliver the agreed support consistently and keep track of implementation.
Review
Check what changed, what did not help and what should happen next.
How often? Agree a review date appropriate to the support being tried and review sooner if circumstances change. The SEND Code of Practice says schools should meet parents of pupils receiving SEN Support at least three times each year.
What does the SENCo do?
The Special Educational Needs Coordinator helps coordinate SEN provision, advise colleagues, connect relevant information and involve families and specialists where appropriate.
Speak to the teacher and SENCo
Raise your concerns, explain the educational impact and ask what school already knows and provides.
You can request a meeting rather than wait to be invited.
Prepare for a SENCo meeting →Keep the communication practical
Use examples, focused questions and a short written summary of actions, responsibilities and review dates.
Ask how teachers and other staff will know about the agreed support.
Working with your child’s school →What if support is not helping?
Limited progress, distress, worsening attendance, repeated sanctions or frequent early pickups may be reasons to review needs and provision. They do not, on their own, establish the cause.
Review the current approach
- Are the needs understood?
- Does support address those needs?
- Has it been delivered consistently?
- What does the evidence show?
- What needs to change?
Look beyond the behaviour description
Behaviour may reflect distress, communication difficulties, task demands or other barriers. Ask what happens before, during and after the difficulty, and what helps.
Consider home and school observations alongside your child’s views. Avoid assuming that all behaviour has one explanation.
Explore attendance and school avoidance →What can parents do next?
Request a discussion
Speak to the teacher and SENCo about the difficulties and your questions.
Ask for the records
Request information about needs, support, outcomes, responsibilities and review arrangements.
Keep relevant evidence
Retain emails, meeting notes, plans, reports and dated observations.
Agree what changes
Discuss practical provision or adjustments and how their impact will be checked.
Consider missing information
Ask whether specialist advice or further assessment would help explain the needs.
Explore wider support
If current provision appears insufficient, consider whether an EHC needs assessment may be appropriate.
Understand the difference.
SEN Support is the school-based graduated approach. An Education, Health and Care Plan is a statutory plan issued by the local authority after the relevant assessment and decision process.
Children with EHCPs still need suitable everyday teaching strategies and adjustments, but the special educational provision specified in their plan has its own legal status.
If needs or access to education suggest that school-based support may be insufficient, you can explore requesting an EHC needs assessment directly from the local authority. School does not have to apply on your behalf.
SEN Support: your questions answered.
Is SEN Support the same as being on the SEN register?
The register is the school’s record of pupils with SEN. It may include pupils receiving SEN Support and pupils with EHCPs. Ask which applies to your child and what provision is recorded.
Does SEN Support mean my child is behind academically?
Not necessarily. Educational needs may affect communication, access, independence or other areas as well as attainment. Discuss the actual barriers and support required.
Should school tell me about SEN Support?
Parents should be informed when special educational provision is being made and involved in discussing needs, outcomes, support and progress.
Can support be temporary?
Yes. Needs and provision can change. Any reduction or ending of support should be informed by the evidence, discussed with you and kept under review.
Does it always mean an extra adult?
No. Provision may involve targeted teaching, adapted approaches, resources, visual support or individual strategies. Adult assistance is one possible part of support.
Can I see the support records?
Ask school to share the relevant record of outcomes, actions and agreed support, together with progress information. Schools use different formats, so it may not be a document called a SEN Support Plan.
What if I disagree with the provision?
Ask how the decision was made, explain your concerns and request a review. Use examples and relevant reports, and ask what alternatives could address the identified need.
What changes if my child gets an EHCP?
The EHCP specifies provision within a statutory plan. School strategies and adjustments remain important, but the plan is distinct from the SEN Support category.
Does SEN Support decide secondary school placement?
SEN Support status does not itself name a school or determine placement. Ordinary admissions arrangements usually apply where there is no EHCP. Discuss needs and transition support with prospective schools.
What if school removes SEN Support?
Ask why, what evidence supports the decision, how needs will be met and how progress will be monitored. If concerns remain, request that the decision is reviewed.
Further reading: GOV.UK SEN Support guidance and SEND Code of Practice for England.
Need help understanding the current position?
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