This chapter considers the needs of children and young people, aged 0 to 25 years with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) also often referred to as (SEN) who live in Nottingham City. The SEND code of practice[1] highlights the importance of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) for informing local authority and Integrated Care Board (ICB) joint commissioning for children and young people with SEND. The code of practice defines SEN as:
“A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.
A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
Children and young people who have SEND may also have a disability under the Equality Act 2010[2]. The Equality Act 2010 defines disability as “a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.” All children and young people with disabilities do not necessarily have SEN but there is significant overlap. The Nottingham City vision is “A city where every child and young person can enjoy their childhood in a warm and supporting environment, free from poverty and safe from harm; a city where every child grows up to achieve their full potential”[3].
There are a number of factors which may make a child more at risk of requiring SEND support or an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) such as smoking and alcohol or drug use during pregnancy and poverty is “both a cause and effect of SEND”[4]
| Data collation and reporting | |
1 | Improved data capture, sharing and reporting for SEND indicators in all CYP and adult health services. Continue to develop a multiagency data dashboard to robustly capture and monitor outcome-based data (with a focus on health inequalities) | ICB, health providers, LA |
2 | Routinely collate and analyse data about SEND children and young people transitioning to adult services to inform service development and joint commissioning. | ICB, health providers, LA, PH |
3 | Routinely collate and analyse data about children and young people with SEND in the Youth Justice Services. | ICB, health providers, LA, |
| Service delivery | |
4 | Review the feedback from the annual SEND parent carer forum survey and use information to inform improvements in service provision. | ICB, health providers, LA, |
5 | Ensure that Nottingham City can respond to the increasing children and young people with SEN needs which will lead to an increasing demand on services | LA, ICB, health providers |
6 | Continue to develop a continuum of specialist provision across the City to ensure that there is adequate capacity. Ensure developments are shared with partners at an early stage of development | LA |
7 | Review and refresh the Transitions Strategy and: · Ensure that this is embedded across the workforce · Ensure that young people and families have a clear pathway and information available at the right time to support a smooth transition | LA and ICB |
8 | Undertake a full commissioning review of Alternative Provision to ensure there is sufficient high quality provision available for young people unable to attend school | LA |
9 | Review and implement improvements to health pathways for children with SEND to reduce waiting times and ensure ease of access for children and families. | Nottingham City and Notts County LA, ICB |
| SEND Local Offer | |
10 | Continue to co-produce and refresh the current Local Offer website so that it is more easily navigated by parents and carers following earlier feedback that this was previously a challenge. | ICB, health providers, LA, |
11 | Develop a new communications plan for the SEND Local Offer to promote the site to members of the public and professionals | ICB, health providers, LA, |
12 | Ensure the SEND Local Offer information is reviewed and kept up to date through the agreed review process and engage with service providers to ensure they keep their records as up to date as possible | ICB, health providers, LA, |
13 | Work with the local provider market to develop and provide a range of short breaks including those delivered through internal provision, the community, commissioned services and those purchased through personal budgets. | ICB, health providers, LA, |
14 | Develop local overnight short breaks provision for children with complex and profound physical disabilities. | LA, ICB |
15 | Continue to embed the Routes to Inclusion programme including domains Speech, Language & Communication, Cognition & Learning and Family & Community. Further development of the links between special provision and mainstream schools will extend the good practice, knowledge and expertise available across all settings, as part of ongoing CPD opportunities for teachers and support staff. | LA |
| National Guidance | |
16 | Implement the National SEND and AP improvement plan published in 2023 | SEND Partnership Assurance and Improvement Group |
17 | Identifying and delivering the support needed by schools and families to keep children engaged in education who are unable to attend school due to health needs (as outlined in the DfE Guidance 2023) | LA, ICB, health providers |
FAQs
DESCRIPTION OF EDUCATIONAL NEEDS: Provide a list of what the child needs to improve upon. For example: Jean needs to increase her reading fluency skills to 150 WPM. intervention and monitor the progress to ensure maximum benefits are obtained.
What is the most common disability in special education? ›
1. Dyslexia. Dyslexia is the number one learning disability that affects people of all ages. It affects a person's reading and language processing skills.
What is the difference between special needs and disability? ›
Disability is a legal term referring to a physical or mental impairment substantially limiting one or more major life activities. Special needs is a more general term referring to any need that is not typical for most people.
What are the most common special educational needs? ›
Types of special educational needs
- Autism (ASC) support. ...
- Speech, language and communication needs. ...
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) ...
- Specific learning difficulties. ...
- Physical disabilities. ...
- Social and emotional mental health needs. ...
- Sensory services. ...
- What is special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)?
A child has special educational needs if they have a learning problem or disability that make it more difficult for them to learn than most children their age. They may have problems with schoolwork, communication or behaviour.
How do we define our educational needs? ›
Educational needs is the gap between the learner's current level of knowledge, skills, and attitudes and the desired one, in order to adapt to a new situation which can be acquired through education.
What is the number 1 disability? ›
The most common type of disability in the U.S. are ambulatory disabilities, which affects a person's mobility.
What are the four major types of special needs children? ›
Physical – muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, chronic asthma, epilepsy, etc. Developmental – down syndrome, autism, dyslexia, processing disorders. Behavioral/Emotional – ADD, bi-polar, oppositional defiance disorder, etc. Sensory Impaired – Blind, visually impaired, deaf, limited hearing.
What is the number 1 learning disability? ›
Reading disability (dyslexia) - is the most common LD, representing at least 80% of all LDs, and results from deficits in phonologic processing.
Is ADHD a disability or special needs? ›
Under both the ADA and another law known as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, ADHD is considered a disability in the United States, but with strict stipulations. For instance, ADHD is considered a protected disability if it is severe and interferes with a person's ability to work or participate in the public sector.
Regardless of how it makes sense or not to people, we ask that people “spread the word to end the word”—quit saying the “r-word. Adults with disabilities ask that you say “disability” and not “special needs” when you are talking about disability.
Should you say disability or special needs? ›
While the phrase "special needs" has no legal meaning, the word "disability" does. "Disabled" is a straightforward word with a clear-cut meaning, which is why many disabled people prefer it to the phrase "special needs."
What are the 5 big ideas in special education? ›
Big Ideas in Special Education: Specially Designed Instruction, High-Leverage Practices, Explicit Instruction, and Intensive Instruction. Author(s): Riccomini, Paul J.; Morano, Stephanie; Hughes, Charles A.
What is classified as special needs? ›
Having a disabling condition or an established medical disability, such as autism, deaf- blindness, deafness, hearing impairment, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, serious emotional disturbance, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, ...
Which state has the most special needs students? ›
The percentage of students receiving special education services varies widely across states. New York serves the largest share of disabled students in the country at 20.5% of its overall public school enrollment. Pennsylvania (20.2%), Maine (20.1%) and Massachusetts (19.3%) serve the next-largest shares.
What are examples of educational needs? ›
Examples of educational needs are communication, speech, language needs, behavioral, social, emotional difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties.
What is the description of learning needs? ›
Learning needs are the gaps or challenges that students face in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for a specific learning outcome. Learning needs can vary depending on the student's prior knowledge, learning style, motivation, interests, strengths, weaknesses, and background.
What are examples of student needs? ›
Basic needs refer to the most essential resources required to thrive as a student including safety, food, housing, financial health and overall wellness (physical, psychological, and spiritual).
What are special education needs in the classroom? ›
Many students with special needs have challenges with independent learning. They often need specialized instruction and more scaffolded support, such as having tasks broken down for them into more manageable chunks, visual aids, and frequent check-ins to ensure they are on the right track.
