Special Educational Needs

About the Special Educational Needs Service

The Special Educational Needs Service aims to meet the Local Authority's statutory duties under the Education Act 1996 in relation to pupils with special educational needs. The Council has a duty to identify, assess and make provision to meet the special educational needs of children within its area.

The Service aims to provide a range of educational opportunities and additional resources for children with special educational needs to enable the child's needs to be met in an inclusive setting.

Special Educational Needs: A Brief Explanation 

Many children have some degree of special educational needs at some stage in their lives. Most of these additional needs are met by the school the child attends.

A child may have special educational needs as a consequence of:

• Physical disability or significant medical condition

• A problem with sight, hearing or speech

• Behavioural, emotional or social difficulties

• An Autistic Spectrum Disorder

• Difficulties with reading, writing or numbers

Parents know their children better than anyone, and have a right to take part in decisions about their child's education. The closer a parent works with their child's teachers and school, the more successful any special help will be.

If you think that your child may have special educational needs you should:

• Arrange to discuss this with the staff at your child's school, especially the member of staff designated as the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO)

• If your concerns continue contact the Special Educational Needs Team using the details at the top of this page.

More detailed information, including a glossary of terms used within Special Educational Needs, can be found at the Teachernet website.

Special Educational Needs Provision

All schools have a special needs policy which sets out how children might be supported in school, copies are available in the school.

It is estimated that approximately 20% of pupils will have some kind of Special Educational Need at some time during their school life. It is expected that the majority of these Special Needs are such that they will be met in local mainstream schools without the additional involvement of the Council.

However, some pupils' Special Educational Needs may be such that the Council may consider that some additional or special provision is needed. This will be done in consultation with parents and professionals, and following a full formal assessment. 

This provision would be made at the local mainstream school, or at a school or unit which has additional resourcing to meet particular needs. As far as possible, the Council seeks to meet pupils' Special Educational Needs in a mainstream setting. 

In some exceptional cases it may be necessary for placement to be determined at one of the specialist schools within Doncaster, or at specialist schools outside this Council's catchment area. 

To meet these exceptional needs the Local Authority maintains five special schools.

• Coppice School (for Severe Learning Difficulties and autism/challenging behaviour - ages 3 to 19) based at Hatfield.

• Heatherwood School (for Severe Learning Difficulties and complex needs - ages 3 to 19) based on Leger Way, Doncaster.

• North Ridge Community School (for Severe Learning Difficulties - ages 3 to 19) based at Adwick.

• Pennine View School (for Moderate Learning Difficulties and additional needs - ages 7 to 16) based at Conisbrough.

• Stone Hill School (for Moderate Learning Difficulties and additional needs - ages 5 to 16) based at Scawsby.

Placement at these schools can only be made by the Local Authority and is usually following the provision of a Statement of Special Educational Needs.

More details of SEN provision in Doncaster can be found here.

Pre-School Inclusion Service

The Local Authority provides support for children with special needs through its Pre-School Service, and, if appropriate, Portage. These services are managed through the Early Years and Childcare Service, whose contact details can be found here.

Further Information and Contact Telephone Numbers

'Special Educational Needs, A Guide for Parents', is produced by the Department for Education and Skills and is available from the Parent Partnership Service whose details can be found here.

This guide can also be viewed online at the Teachernet website here

Other information booklets about the various stages of assessing a child's special educational needs are also available from Doncaster's Parent Partnership Service.

Useful Links

The Advisory Centre for Education  is an independent advice centre for parents, offering information about state education in England and Wales for 5-16 year olds. They offer free advice on many topics like exclusion from school, bullying, special educational needs and school admission appeals.

The British Dyslexia Association is the voice of dyslexic people. Their vision is that of a dyslexia-friendly society that enables dyslexic people to reach their potential.

Connexions offers advice and information for 13-19 year olds living in England.

Dyspraxia Foundation is a UK charity which exists to help people to understand and cope with dyspraxia. It's a resource for parents, teenagers and adults who have the condition, and for professionals who help them.

Epilepsy Action provides advice and information about epilepsy.

The Hyperactive Children's Support Group provides advice and information about hyperactivity.

The National Association for Gifted Children provides information on provision for Gifted and Talented Children.

The National Autistic Society  includes information about autism and Asperger syndrome and about the support and services available in the UK for people with an autistic spectrum disorder.

The National Blind Children's Society  is now recognised as a leading charity for supporting children and young people with a visual impairment, their families and those professionals who support them.

The National Deaf Children's Society  is the only UK charity solely dedicated to providing support, information and advice for deaf children and young people, their families and professionals working with them.

The Parents Centre  provides information and support for parents on how to help with your child's learning.