Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND)
What is SEND?
Everyone, no matter their age, learns in different ways and at a different pace. Many young learners require some form of extra support at some stage of their education, and schools and colleges will help them to progress by tailoring work to their ability level. In pedagogy, this is called differentiation.
Where young people have a learning difficulty or disability requiring different or additional provision to other learners of their age, they may be identified as having special educational needs (SEN). The term SEND (Special educational needs and/or disability) incorporates those learners without special learning needs, but who will need extra provision due to a physical or sensory disability.
What additional needs do SEND learners have?
The Department for Education identifies four broad areas in which SEND learners may have additional needs. A learner’s needs may fall into one or several of these areas, and may change over time.
Communication and Interaction
Where young learners have speech, language and communication difficulties which make it difficult for them to make sense of language or to understand how to communicate effectively and appropriately with others. People with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder, including Asperger’s Syndrome, are likely to have particular difficulties in this area.
Cognition and learning
Where young people learn at a slower pace than others their age, they may:
• have difficulty in understanding parts of the curriculum
• have difficulties with organisation and memory skills
• have a specific difficulty affecting one particular part of their learning such as in literacy or numeracy
The term ‘learning difficulties’ covers a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD) and profound and multiple difficulties (PMLD).
Specific learning difficulties (SpLD) such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia come under this term.
Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
This broad area includes, but is not limited to, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or attachment disorder. Young learners may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which present themselves in many ways.
They may:
• have difficulty in managing their relationships with other people
• be withdrawn
• behave in ways that may hinder their and other learners’ learning or that have an impact on their health and wellbeing
It also includes behaviours that may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety, depression, self-harm and eating disorders, among others.
Sensory and/or physical needs
Where young learners have visual and/or hearing impairments, or a physical need that means they must have additional on-going support and equipment.
What is SEND support?
Every learner with special educational needs should have SEND support. This means help that is additional to or different from the support generally given to other children of the same age. The purpose of SEND support is to help children achieve the outcomes or learning objectives set for them by the school or college.
Yipiyap will provide additional training for those Yipiyaps working with SEND students. Please speak to your RD if you think this is necessary for your role.