What are my child’s rights to support at school in England?

Several kinds of school support are often discussed as though they were one ladder: first a diagnosis, then SEN support, then an EHC plan. That is not how the routes fit together in England. SEN support, reasonable adjustments and an Education, Health and Care needs assessment answer different questions. A child may be covered by more than one route at the same time.

SEN support is based on educational need

A child has special educational needs when a learning difficulty or disability calls for educational provision that is additional to or different from what is normally available to pupils of the same age ^[1]. A diagnostic report is not part of that definition.

Mainstream schools must use their best endeavours to make sure pupils with SEN receive the support they need ^[1]. This does not promise one particular intervention. It does mean that an identified need should lead to active consideration and provision rather than being left until an assessment is completed elsewhere.

Ask the school:

• Which need or barrier has been identified?
• Is my child receiving SEN support?
• What provision is additional to or different from the school’s usual teaching?
• Who is responsible for it day to day?
• What is the intended effect and how will it be checked?
• When will the plan be reviewed with my child and me?

SEN support should be a continuing cycle

The SEND Code describes the graduated approach as assess, plan, do, review ^[1]. The school builds a clearer account of need, agrees support and its expected effect, puts it into practice, then reviews what happened.

The class or subject teacher works with the SENCO. The assessment should include school information, the pupil’s view, the parent’s experience and relevant advice from other services. The Code says parental concerns should be taken seriously, recorded and compared with the school’s own information ^[1].

Where SEN support is put in place, parents must be formally notified. The plan should identify the adjustments, interventions or support, the expected effect and a clear review date. At review, the school should consider the pupil’s and parent’s views and revise the support in light of what has happened.

If the school says it is “monitoring”, ask what is being monitored, by whom, for how long and what decision will follow.

Reasonable adjustments are a separate disability duty

The Equality Act protects disabled pupils from discrimination. Education providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments so disabled pupils are not put at a disadvantage ^[2]. A child does not need an EHC plan or to be recorded as receiving SEN support before this duty can apply.

Not every child with SEN is disabled under the Equality Act, and not every disabled child has SEN. The practical question is whether disability creates a disadvantage and what reasonable step could prevent or reduce it.

An adjustment might involve the way information is given, access to an aid, the use of a quieter place, a change to a routine or another part of school practice. The appropriate adjustment depends on the individual child and situation. Ask the school to record the barrier, the adjustment considered, its decision and how any agreed change will work in practice.

An EHC needs assessment is not the first step for every child

An EHC plan is for a child or young person who needs more support than is available through SEN support ^[3]. It identifies education, health and social care needs and specifies provision.

A parent can ask the local authority to carry out an EHC needs assessment. A young person aged 16 to 25 can make their own request, and the school or another person can also request one ^[3]. A request does not guarantee that the local authority will assess or issue a plan. The local authority must apply the statutory test and give its decision through the formal process.

School support should not stop while an assessment request is being considered. Keep asking what is being provided and reviewed now.

Put each question with the right decision-maker

Use the school for questions about classroom teaching, SEN support, school records and adjustments in school. Use the local authority for a decision on an EHC needs assessment or plan. Exam access arrangements follow the relevant awarding-organisation and JCQ processes, which are separate again.

When a response is unclear, ask:

Please could you confirm which process this decision belongs to, who made it, the main reason, and what the next step is if we disagree or the current support is not enough?

The answer helps you avoid arguing about three different routes in one conversation.

Where to get individual information

This article explains the current framework in England; it cannot determine what provision or legal route applies to one child. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different systems.

Every English local authority must provide an impartial information, advice and support service for children and young people with SEND and their parents. Search your council’s Local Offer for SENDIASS. You can also use the four-nation rights guide to identify the right terms and service where you live.

Sources

1. Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care, SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years
2. GOV.UK, Disability rights: education
3. GOV.UK, Children with SEND: extra help

Sources and further reading

1. [1] Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care. SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years (accessed 4 August 2026).
2. [2] GOV.UK. Disability rights: education (accessed 4 August 2026).
3. [3] GOV.UK. Children with SEND: extra help (accessed 4 August 2026).