How does support at school work, and what can I ask for?

The short answer

Begin with the part of school your child cannot reliably access, rather than a diagnosis or a list of popular interventions. Ask the teacher what they see, what support is already part of ordinary teaching and what happens in the difficult situation. Add your child's account and relevant information from home. Agree one or two changes precisely: where they apply, who will arrange them, what difference you are looking for and when you will review them. The name and legal route vary across the UK. In England, a child may receive SEN Support through an assess, plan, do, review cycle, while reasonable adjustments for a disabled pupil are a separate duty. Wales uses additional learning needs, additional learning provision and individual development plans. Scotland uses additional support for learning. Northern Ireland currently uses SEN support and statements. A child does not have to wait for a diagnostic assessment before a school starts identifying barriers, adapting teaching or considering support.

• Describe the inaccessible lesson, routine or part of the day before naming a solution.
• Bring together the child's view, school observations and relevant information from home.
• Ask what ordinary teaching and existing support have already been tried.
• Write each agreed change with an owner, intended effect and review date.
• Treat SEN support, disability adjustments and statutory plans as related but distinct routes.
• Use the terminology and process for the nation where the child is educated.