When school feels difficult, find a clearer way forward.
Understand your child’s SEN Support, prepare for school conversations and decide what needs to happen next.
Whether you are raising concerns for the first time or reviewing support that is not working, we help you understand what is happening, what may be missing and what to ask for.
Guidance for families in England · Support based on needs, with or without a diagnosis.
Which situation sounds like yours?
You do not need to understand the whole SEND system before asking for help.
I am noticing difficulties
Your child may be struggling with learning, attention, communication, sensory needs, organisation, anxiety or participation.
Understand SEN Support →Support is in place, but it is unclear
You want to know what is provided, how often, who delivers it and how progress is reviewed.
Understand plans and APDR →Support is not working
Targets keep repeating, progress is limited, anxiety is growing or attendance is deteriorating.
Review what needs to change →No diagnosis yet? Raise the difficulties your child is experiencing and how they affect learning or participation. Support should respond to identified educational needs rather than wait for a particular diagnostic label.
What should good SEN Support make clear?
A useful plan connects your child’s needs to specific support and shows how its impact will be checked.
Needs
What difficulties and barriers have been identified? What does your child find helpful?
Outcomes
What are we trying to achieve, and how will progress be recognised?
Provision
What support and adjustments will happen, how often and who is responsible?
Review
When will the plan be reviewed, what evidence will be used and what happens next?
When support is not working, check: the needs identified, whether provision matches them, whether it is actually delivered and what difference it makes.
Turn concerns and paperwork into next steps.
Choose a written review you can take forward yourself, or continued help working with school.
SEND Action Plan
Bring together school paperwork, professional reports and parent observations to understand the situation more clearly.
Agreed evidence may include SEN Support plans, APDR records, interventions, assessments, attendance information and school correspondence.
- Main areas of need and current provision
- Potential gaps and reasonable adjustments
- Evidence priorities and questions for school
- Practical recommendations and next steps
£195
Explore the SEND Action PlanSupported SEND Casework
For parents who want support preparing for discussions and following through on agreed actions.
Depending on the agreed scope, support can include:
- SEND review and evidence planning
- Meeting preparation, questions and priorities
- Online meeting support
- Review of what was agreed
- Follow-up correspondence
From £425
View SEND support feesWant to talk first? A Parent SEN Support Session can help clarify your main concerns, questions for school and the most appropriate next step. We confirm any paid service’s scope and fee before work begins.
Assess, Plan, Do, Review.
Each cycle should improve understanding and help school decide what to change. It should do more than repeat the same targets term after term.
Assess
Understand your child’s strengths, needs, progress and barriers, including parent and pupil views.
Plan
Agree outcomes, provision, adjustments, responsibilities and a review date.
Do
Deliver the agreed support consistently and keep track of what happens.
Review
Evaluate progress and the impact of support, then agree what should continue or change.
Look at the barriers around your child.
Difficulties may relate to verbal instructions, sensory load, transitions, homework, processing time, communication or social demands.
Individual changes might include:
- Visual instructions and additional processing time
- Movement breaks and sensory adaptations
- Predictable routines and transition support
- Quiet working arrangements or a named adult
- Reduced copying, adapted homework or different ways to record work
The adjustment should address the specific barrier your child experiences.
Explore reasonable adjustments
Leave with answers and agreed actions.
Choose your priorities before the meeting. Useful questions include:
- Is my child receiving SEN Support, and what needs have been identified?
- What provision is delivered, how frequently and by whom?
- What outcomes are agreed, and what progress has been made?
- Are adjustments and professional recommendations being implemented?
- Is specialist advice or further assessment needed?
- When will we review the plan, and what happens if it does not work?
Ask for the agreed actions, responsibilities and review date to be recorded in writing.
Build a clear record of what happens.
Clear communication, agreed actions and realistic review dates help make discussions more productive.
Keep copies of emails, plans, meeting notes, reports, intervention information, attendance records and professional recommendations.
Record what was identified, what was agreed, what happened and what changed.
Working with your child’s school →When home and school see different things
Some children mask difficulties, avoid asking for help or hold distress in until they get home. Parents may see meltdowns, shutdowns, exhaustion, sleep difficulties or anxiety about returning.
Home and school observations should be considered together to build a fuller picture. Neither should automatically cancel out the other.
Ask why attending has become difficult.
When attendance deteriorates, explore the barriers alongside an attendance plan.
These might involve sensory overload, anxiety, learning or communication needs, social difficulties, bullying, transitions, masking and exhaustion, demand-related anxiety or placement concerns.
Support may involve changes to provision and adjustments, specialist advice, attendance planning and carefully agreed reintegration support.
If school remains inaccessible despite support, the wider questions about education, placement and provision need careful review. EOTAS is a specific route considered in appropriate EHCP circumstances; it is not the automatic outcome of attendance difficulties.
Could an EHC needs assessment be appropriate?
Many children receive support through school-based SEN Support. Others may need a statutory assessment to establish the provision required.
Look at the whole picture
- Significant or complex needs
- Limited progress despite support
- Substantial adult assistance or specialist provision
- Recommendations that are not being implemented
- Serious attendance difficulties or placement instability
- Provision needing clearer specification and coordination
These are reasons to review the situation, rather than a checklist that guarantees a plan.
You do not have to wait for everything to fail.
The assessment test considers whether a child has or may have special educational needs and whether provision through an EHCP may be necessary.
You do not need to demonstrate that every possible intervention has failed before asking the local authority to assess.
When to consider an EHCP → Explore EHCP support →Helpful SEN Support guides.
Explore the questions that matter to your family right now.
Parent Power Pack
Practical SEND guides to help you organise evidence and communicate more effectively with schools and professionals.
Topics include communication, meetings, evidence gathering, school support, behaviour, EHCP preparation and parent advocacy.
The checklist helps you organise concerns, current support, questions, agreed actions and next steps.
SEN Support: your questions answered.
What is SEN Support?
Additional or different educational provision for a child or young person with special educational needs. Schools use a graduated approach to understand needs, plan and deliver provision, and review its impact.
Does my child need a diagnosis?
No. Raise the educational difficulties and barriers your child is experiencing. SEN Support should be based on identified needs, rather than requiring a particular diagnosis first.
Who decides whether my child receives SEN Support?
Schools identify pupils who may have special educational needs and should involve parents in understanding needs and planning provision. Start by speaking to the class teacher and SENCo.
What should good support include?
Clear needs, intended outcomes, provision, adjustments, responsibilities, progress information and review arrangements. Ask how the agreed support will be delivered and evaluated.
How often should support be reviewed?
Agree a review date suited to your child’s needs and the support being tried. Review sooner if concerns increase. The SEND Code of Practice says schools should meet parents of pupils receiving SEN Support at least three times each year.
What if school says “wait and see”?
Ask what is being assessed, what support is happening now, what information will be gathered and when you will meet to review progress. Waiting should have a clear purpose and review point.
What if SEN Support is not working?
Check whether needs have been understood, provision matches those needs, support is delivered and progress is being measured. Consider changed adjustments, specialist advice or an EHC needs assessment where appropriate.
Read the guide →Can I ask for a SENCo meeting?
Yes. Explain your concerns and what you want to discuss, and ask for a meeting to review your child’s needs and provision.
Explore meeting support →Can I ask about specialist assessment?
Yes. Discuss whether further advice or assessment would help explain your child’s needs and guide provision. Ask what information is missing, who could advise and how a referral would be considered.
Does SEN Support have to fail before I request an assessment for an EHCP?
No. The question is whether your child has or may have special educational needs and whether special educational provision through an EHCP may be necessary. There is no requirement for every possible intervention to fail first.
What if attendance is deteriorating?
Explore why attendance has become difficult and whether unmet needs or environmental barriers are contributing. Bring home observations and attendance information to discussions about support.
Explore attendance guidance →Can School of Diversity review our current support?
Yes. Our SEND Action Plan reviews agreed school and professional evidence, identifies potential gaps and provides practical recommendations. Supported casework offers continued help within an agreed scope.
Explore the SEND Action Plan →Further reading: SEND Code of Practice for England and Children and Families Act 2014, section 36.
You do not have to make sense of it all alone.
Tell us what is happening for your child. We can help you understand the current position and choose an appropriate route.
Our practical parent support can help with reports, evidence, meeting preparation, communication, gaps in provision and planning what comes next.
Support shaped around your family.
Start with a conversation, a focused written review or continued school support. We explain the options and confirm the scope and fee before paid work begins.
office@schoolofdiversity.com
0333 577 1179