Education · England
Help with learning and adult life
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This guide is about education in England.
SEND means special educational needs and disabilities.
Ask for learning support
Tell your school or college what makes learning difficult.
Ask who organises extra support.
Talk about what you enjoy and what you are good at.
Your wishes matter.
You can get help without an EHC plan.
An EHC plan is a legal plan for extra support.
Agree what helps
You may need pictures, equipment or different ways to communicate.
Tell staff what helps you understand.
Ask what support will happen.
Ask who will provide it and when.
Check whether the support is helping.
Ask for changes if it is not.
Ask about an EHC assessment
You or your parent may ask the council for an EHC assessment.
An assessment helps decide what support you need.
Tell someone if school feels unsafe or too difficult.
Ask for help with the reasons.
Schools should not use short days to manage behaviour.
Ask for advice if you are sent home without proper arrangements.
Travel and your next steps
Ask how you will get to school or college.
Travel support has its own rules.
Plan the learning, work and adult life you want.
Ask what support you will need.
You can ask SENDIASS or IPSEA for advice.
Ask quickly if you disagree with a decision.
What you can do next
Ask about its SEND Local Offer and SENDIASS service.
Ask someone you trust to help if you want.
Find your council Web pageFuller informationThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- Find local SEND advice Web page
Find a local impartial information, advice and support service.
- IPSEA information and advice Web page
Independent information about SEND law and routes to help.
- EHC assessment information Web page
Official information about requesting an assessment and a plan.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
SEND education: support with learning and preparing for adult life
Understand SEN support, reasonable adjustments, EHC plans, participation and help when education is not working.
Children and young people with SEND · England
What SEND means
SEND means special educational needs and disabilities. A child or young person may need teaching or support that is additional to, or different from, what is generally available to others of the same age. Disability and special educational needs overlap but are not identical. Learning disability, communication, sensory, physical and emotional needs can affect participation in different ways. Start with the individual rather than assumptions about a label.
Start with the education setting
Ask the nursery, school or college who coordinates additional support. In schools this is usually the special educational needs coordinator, or SENCO. Describe what is difficult, what helps and the child’s or young person’s strengths. Ask what support will start, who will provide it and how progress will be reviewed. Support should not depend on a parent knowing the name of a particular intervention.
Support without an EHC plan
Many learners receive SEN support without an education, health and care plan. Relevant schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to secure required special educational provision. The graduated approach uses assessment, planning, action and review to adapt support. Ask for an understandable record of arrangements and their effects. An EHC assessment may be needed where support requires a statutory plan; it is not the first permission needed to help someone.
Reasonable adjustments and communication
Disabled learners can have Equality Act rights to reasonable adjustments. Examples may include accessible instructions, assistive communication, extra processing time, changes to classroom routines or appropriate equipment. The precise duty depends on the setting and situation. Discuss access to lessons, trips, clubs, meals, toilets and emergency arrangements. Ask how staff will recognise distress or pain and how the learner can communicate a concern.
The learner’s own voice
Use communication methods that work for the child or young person. Offer pictures, objects, demonstrations, a trusted supporter, shorter meetings or time to prepare. Record their interests and wishes separately from other people’s views. Young people gain particular SEND decision-making rights after compulsory school age; families can remain involved with appropriate agreement and support. A learning disability does not automatically remove the young person’s rights.
When an EHC assessment may help
Parents, young people and education settings can ask the council for an EHC needs assessment. The council applies the statutory test, not a blanket rule requiring a particular diagnosis, school placement or number of failed interventions. An assessment explores education, health and care needs and whether an EHC plan is necessary. Read the dedicated EHC guide for the test, timescales and what a clear plan should contain.
If attending school becomes difficult
Ask what barriers are affecting attendance, including anxiety, unmet learning needs, bullying, sensory distress or illness. Seek a plan for support and suitable education. A reduced timetable should be exceptional, temporary and reviewed; it should not be used to manage behaviour. Informal or unofficial exclusions are unlawful. Do not feel pressured to deregister simply because support is difficult to arrange. Get SEND advice about the particular circumstances.
Practical access and transport
Education access includes personal care, health arrangements, communication equipment and getting to the setting safely. Ask who is responsible for each part and how education, health and care teams will work together. Transport has separate eligibility rules: an EHC plan does not automatically guarantee free travel, and some eligible children do not need a plan. Request a written transport decision and the council’s appeal process.
Plan for adult life early
Education should connect with the person’s aspirations, including work, relationships, community participation, health and daily living. For a learner with an EHC plan, preparation for adulthood must be included from the Year 9 review onwards. Explore college, supported internships, apprenticeships and other learning routes. An EHC plan does not automatically end at 18 or 19, or automatically continue until 25. Plan support beyond education too.
If support or decisions are wrong
Keep plans, reports, decisions and a dated record of missing support. SENDIASS offers free, impartial local information and advice; IPSEA provides SEND legal information. The route may be a setting’s complaint process, a council complaint, an EHC appeal or a disability discrimination claim. Different deadlines apply. Proposed national reforms do not remove current legal duties; use the separate reform guide to distinguish proposals from current rights.
Words you could use
“Please explain the support available now, who will provide it, and when we will review whether it helps.”
More useful links
- Find local SEND advice Web page
Find a local impartial information, advice and support service.
- IPSEA information and advice Web page
Independent information about SEND law and routes to help.
- EHC assessment information Web page
Official information about requesting an assessment and a plan.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 1 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 20 Web page
Meaning of special educational needs.
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 66 Web page
Best-endeavours duty to secure special educational provision.
- SEND Code of Practice Web page
Participation, SEN support and preparing for adulthood.
- DfE: schools and alternative provision SEND guide Web page
Roles and duties in education settings.
- DfE: school attendance guidance Web page
Support for attendance and limits on part-time timetables.
- DfE: children missing education Web page
Informal exclusion, off-rolling and suitable education responsibilities.
- GOV.UK: school disability discrimination guidance Web page
Reasonable adjustments and routes to challenge disability discrimination.
- DfE: school and college travel assistance Web page
Separate travel decisions and coordination with SEND planning.
- Information, Advice and Support Services Network Web page
Free, impartial local SEND information and support.
- GOV.UK: EHC assessment information Web page
Assessment requests, plans and decisions.