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.
The Education Act 1996 says that a child has special educational needs if he or she has learning difficulties and needs special help (known as special educational provision).
A child may have special educational needs as a consequence of:
Physical disability
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
If your concerns continue contact the Special Educational Needs Team
More detailed information, including a glossary of terms used within Special Educational Needs, can be found at the Teachernet website.
www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/senglossary/
Special Educational Provision
All schools have a special needs policy which sets out how children might be supported in school, copies are available in the school.
The majority of children with special educational needs are supported within their own schools. Exceptionally a child may require specialist teaching and/or equipment and resources which are not available in local schools. To meet these exceptional needs the Local Authority maintains seven special schools at present. Five new special schools, which opened in September 2008, have replaced these.
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 7 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.
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 Development and and Childcare Service, telephone (01302) 862103.
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, Safeguarding & Standards:
This guide can also be viewed online at the Teachernet website:
www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=3755
Other information booklets about the various stages of assessing a child's special educational needs are also available from Doncaster's Parent Partnership Service.
