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Early education settings and schools place great importance on identifying special educational needs early so that they can help children as quickly as possible. Once it has been decided that your child has special educational needs (SEN), your child's teachers should take account of the guidance in the SEN Code of Practice.

The graduated approach

The graduated approach recognises that children learn in different ways and can have different kinds or levels of SEN. Step by step, specialist expertise can be brought in to help the school with the difficulties that a child may have.

Extra help

The school must tell you when they first start giving extra or different help for your child because your child has special educational needs.

This help could be a different way of teaching certain things, some help from another adult, perhaps in a small group, or use of particular equipment.

In early education settings this help is called Early Years Action and in schools it is called School Action.

If your child does not make enough progress, the teacher or the SENCO should then talk to you about asking for advice from other people outside the school. They might want to ask for help from, for example, a specialist teacher, an educational psychologist, a speech and language therapist or other health professionals. This kind of help is called Early Years Action Plus or School Action Plus.

The SENCO should try to include you in any discussions, and should consider your views in making any decisions about how best to help your child. They should keep you informed about your child's progress.

If your child does not seem to be making enough progress or needs a lot more extra help, the local authority may decide to carry out a more detailed assessment of your child's needs.

Your child's school or early education setting can ask the local authority to carry out a statutory assessment. They should always talk to you before requesting this. However, you can personally request this assessment if you feel that your child is not making as much progress as other children.

Beyond statutory assessment

When a statutory assessment is requested the local authority must first decide whether or not a statutory assessment is needed. They will decide this by speaking to the school and parents.

If statutory assessment is agreed and has been completed your child will either be issued with a Statement of special educational needs or a Note in Lieu. If a Note in Lieu is issued this will mean that your child remains at Early Years Action Plus or School Action Plus.