Barking and Dagenham SEND Local Offer

Accessibility & Language

SEND Local and National Support

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SEND Local and National Support

Page Content

  1. Communication and Interaction

    1. Autism (Autistic Spectrum Disorders/Conditions – ASD/ASC)
    2. Cognition and Learning
    3. Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
  2. Deafness and Visual Impairment
    1. Deafness
    2. Visual impairment
  3. Transition

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

  • have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age.
  • have a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

Communication and Interaction

Autism (Autistic Spectrum Disorders/Conditions – ASD/ASC)

Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them. There is no medical cure but developing and consistently implementing strategies improves educational and life outcomes.

It is a spectrum condition. This means that, while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them in different ways. Some people with autism are able to live relatively independent lives but others may have accompanying learning disabilities and need a lifetime of specialist support. People with autism may also experience over – or under sensitivity to sound, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours.

ASC is a neurological rather than psychological condition. People with ASC have a different brain structure from neuro-typical people. Their behaviours are the result of their neurological condition.

Cognition and Learning

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty which affects children’s ability to read and spell. A dyslexia diagnosis can only be made by a qualified specialist, who will say a child is dyslexia if they are still struggling with their reading and spelling in spite of receiving good teaching.

Many children struggle to read but this does not necessarily mean they are dyslexic. However, whether they are dyslexic or not, if they are having difficulty they need extra help.

Moderate learning difficulty (MLD)

This where children are working well below age expected norms whilst making at least age-expected rates of progress. Learning needs to be presented in manageable chunks, with additional time for processing new information and opportunity for over-learning. This will enable them to establish the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary for accessing the entire curriculum. The vast majority of children with MLD will be in mainstream schools with appropriate interventions and support in place.

Severe learning difficulty (SLD)

Typically, these children are working significantly below age-expected norms. Children with SLD may have access to specialised provision: which may be a learning ARP (additionally resourced provision) in a mainstream school or a special school. Often a multi-sensory curriculum is required with a very high ratio of additional adult support.

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties

Social, emotional and mental health needs is a term used to apply to a wide range of children and young people’s needs which can present in a number of ways. This term replaces ‘behaviour’ needs in the new SEN code.

Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder.

Deafness and Visual Impairment

Deafness

Visual impairment

Visual impairment is the functional limitation of the eye or eyes or the vision system.

Transition

When a child or young person with SEND approaches a change in their educational setting, or a new phase in their education, they may experience a range of emotions including excitement, anticipation and anxiety. This can affect both the child or young person and their parents/carers.

Starting in mid-February, children and young people with SEND will know their school for their next key phase of education. Your current school and your next school will start planning together with you to ensure you (children and young people) will be supported for a smooth transition. 

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