Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) all have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age.  These children may need extra or different help, or different ways of teaching.

If your child is having difficulties with learning at school, the school has funding to provide extra levels of support.  The class teacher and the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) will assess your child and decide what action is needed to help your child make progress.  This extra level of support is called School Action and should be recorded in an Individual Education Plan (IEP) which should be reviewed regularly.  You as parent/carer should be involved at all times in discussing the best way to meet your child's needs and you can ask for this extra help if you beliebe that your child is having difficulties by talking to your child's teacher, SENCo or the Headteacher.

If after these levels of support have been put in place your child still continues to have difficulties the school can request the Local Education Authority (LEA) to make a Statutory Assessment, but if you feel that your child's needs are not being met you can also request an assessment by contacting the Parent Partnership Service within the Special Needs Department.

If your child has additional needs that cannot be met by your child's placement, ie in a nursery or school, the decision may be made to undertake a Satutory Assessment.  This is a way of finding out whether a child needs extra help with their learning and what that help should be.  The Assessment must follow the stages laid down by law in the Education Act 1996.

The Local Education Authority will also ask for information and advice from your child's school, the Educational Psychologist and the Child Health Department (plus any other medical specialists who may be involved with your child).  The Social Worker Team will also be asked, if your child is know to them.

Under the Education Act 1996 a strict timetable is attached to the Assessment procedures, giving you, the parents, time to think, ask questions, seek independent advice and make your contribution to the process.  The timetable for this part of the process is usually as follows:

• To receive all the reports and consider whether or not an Assessment is necessary - 6 weeks

• For carrying out the Assessment - 10 weeks

At this point, an Education Officer will decide if a Statement of Educational Needs will be made.  This statement is a LEGAL DOCUMENT that states what your child's needs are and the kind of support he/she will receive, and how this help will be given.  The timetable for this part of the process is usually as follows:

• For drafting the proposed Statement of Special Educational Needs or a Note in Lieu, or for deciding not to issue a Statement - 2 weeks

• For making a final Statement - 8 weeks

Parents or carers will be involved at all stages of the Assessment.  In Doncaster it is felt that the best results are achieved if parents, teachers and others involved work together in partnership.  when a child has Special Educational Needs it is especially important that parents are encouraged and, when necessary, helped to contribute information and views.  The Parent Partnership Service can, if you want, help you to do this.

 After considering all the advice received during your child's Statutory Assessment the local education authority may decide to issue a Note In Lieu.  This will recommend the kind of help to be given to your child by school and may recommend the need for additional advice, support and teaching from specialist staff.  During the time that your child is identified as having special educational needs his/her progress will continue to be monitores and reviewed regularly.

If you disagree with the decision made at the end of your child's Assessment you can make on appeal to the Special Education Needs and Disability Tribunal.  Details about how you can appeal will be sent to you at the time the Local Education Authority inform you of their decision not to issue a Statement.  The Parent Partnership Service will be able to offer further help and advice about this.  They also provide leaflets about all stages of the Special Educational Needs Assessment process.  Alternatively, information about tribunals and any stage of the Assessment/Statementing procedure can be found in a number of the publications that are listed on the Other Useful Publications section.

For information about the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice (IPSEA), who offer advice and advocacy for parents and carers of children with special educational needs and representation at Special Educational Needs Tribunal Appeals.

When a child has been the subject of a Statement of Special Educational Needs the law requires that this should be reviewed every 12 months.  This is know as your child's Annual Review.

When your child is in year 9 his/her Annual Review will include the drawing up of a Transition Plan.  The Transition Plan brings together information to plan for a move into adult life.  This should include post-school arrangements and on-going help in school, as identified in the Statement of Special Educational Needs.  The Transition Plan will be updated at each Annual Review meeting after the year 9 Review until your child leaves school.

For most children, their additional needs can be met from within their local mainstream school.  doncaster supports inclusive education.  The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 places emphasis on the inclusion of children with special educational needs in mainstream education.

There is also an outreach service available offering help to parents/carers of children with more severe disabilities placed in mainstream schools.  This is based at Fernbank Special School.  For further details of this please contact:

At present in Doncaster there are 7 special schools; this is currently under review.  There are also 2 private schools: Doncaster School for the Deaf and Fullerton House School.  The 7 special schools are:

3 schools for children aged 5-16 years with moderate learning difficulties (MLD):

• Anchorage (no longer has a diagnostic unit)
• Athelstane (no longer has a diagnostic unit)
• Rossington Hall (includes provision for children with autism) 

3 schools for children aged 3-19 years, with severe learning difficulties (SLD):

• Cedar (includes provision for children with profound and mulitple difficulties)
• Chase (includes provision for children with autism and profound and mulitple difficulties)
• Fernbank (includes provision for children with profound and multiple difficulties)

1 school for children aged 3-19 years, with physical difficulties:

• Sandall Wood (includes provision for children with profound and multiple difficulties)

All current special schools will close at August 2008 and 5 new special schools will open in September 2008.  The planned new school (which are not yet named) will provide:

• A new school on the site of the existing Sandall Wood School, Leger Way, Intake, suitably extended and refurbished, for children aged 3-19 years with severe learning difficulties and complex physical and medical needs.

• A new school on the site of the existing Chase School, Ash Hill, Hatfield, suitably refurbished for children 3-19 years with severe learning difficulties and Autism/challenging behaviour.

• A new build school sharing a site with North Doncaster Technology College at Woodlands for children 3-19 years with severe learning difficulties.

• A new school on the site of the existing Athelstane School, Conisbrough, suitably extended and refurbished for children aged 7-16 years with moderate learning difficulties and additional needs, including Autism.

• A new build school sharing a site with Ridgewood School (Specialist in Engineering and Related Technologies) at Scawsby for children aged 7-16 years with moderat learning difficulties and additional needs, including Autism.

There are also 6 Pupil Referral Units.  These units are maintained by the Local Education Authority to provide education for pupils who are unable to access school due to exclusion, medical need or parenthood.

The Pre-school Inclusion Service provides 'Portage' which is a home teaching service for pre-school children who have a significant degree of delayed development.  Parents enjoy seeing their child progress with their help learn important skills themselves.  Parents are given frequent home support and the child's progress is regularly reviewed.

Children are referred to the 'Portage' service by consultant paediatricians and community paediatricians.

The Pre-school Inclusion Service provides 'Portage', which is a home teaching service for pre-school children who have a significant degree of delayed development.  Parents enjoy seeing their child progress with their help and also learn important skills themselves.  Parents are given frequent home support and the child's progress is regularly reviewed.

Children are referred to the 'Portage' service by consultant paediatricians and community paediatricians.

The Parent Partnership Service provides independent advice, support and information to parents and carers whose children have special needs

The service can also put you in touch with a trained volunteer to offer you support.  This person is know as an Independent Parental Supporter (IPS).  Independent Parental Supporters are there to:

• Help you to prepare for meetings and /or attend meetings with you

• Listen to your concerns and help you to express your views

• Help you to understand what is happening during any assessment of your child's needs

• Help you to fill in forms, write letters or make telephone calls

• Help to get information or make contact with other people who can help you or come with you on visits to schools

• Offer general support to do with the education of your child

• Parents can, if they wish, nominate their own Independent Parental Supporter, who may be a friend or relative

This service aims to develop places in existing pre-school schemes for children with special needs.

The service offers:

• training for pre-school workers
• toy and equipment loans to pre-school groups
• one-to-one support, if appropriate
• home visits to discuss needs and priorities
• support, information and practical help to pre-school groups
• help to children with special needs so that they can attend local pre-school groups.
• Area SENCos (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators), experienced teachers who work with voluntary, independent and private settings to ensure that children with special educational needs are supported and resourced.   

Enquires are welcome from parents or carers of children with special needs, or from pre-school groups.

   The Specialist Educational & Development Team (SpED Team) is made up od teams which work directly with pupils.

ICT for pupils with SEN provides advice and support to schools and pupils on the use of computers and specialist equipment.

Service for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) offers specialist teaching, schooling and parental support for pupils with ASD, and for pre-school pupils.

Service for children with a Hearing Impairment offers specialist teaching, school and parental support for pupils with hearing impairments and for pre-school pupils.  Also provides technical support for uses of hearing and radio aids as well as developing resources for hearing impaired pupils.

Services for children with Visual Impairment offers specialist teaching, school and parental support for pupils with visual impairments and for pre-school pupils, as well as offering Braille support, developing resources for visually impaired pupils and offering mobility advice.

This offers guidance to parents, teachers and others on the identification and assessment of Special Educational Needs.  It is available at the Local Education Department, at libraries or the Child Health Information Centre at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

Other guides include:

A Parent's Guide - this gives information on the stages of assessment and statementing

Inclusive Schooling

Special Educational Needs Tribunal - How To Appeal

All of the above publications are available form DfES.

Many support groups publish booklets/information on education and statementing procedures, for example: