The SEN Code of Practice was brought into effect under the Education Act 1993 (now the 1996 Act), and gives practical guidance to LEAs and the governing bodies of all maintained schools on their responsibilities towards all children with SEN.
The Code seeks to help schools and LEAs obtain best value from the resources and expertise they devote to the education of children with special educational needs of various descriptions, from those who need a little extra help, to those with more serious learning difficulties.
One of the central themes of the Code is to promote the early identification and assessment of children with special educational needs, and in so doing try to prevent those difficulties escalating.
The Code is designed to help schools make effective decisions and offers guidance to LEAs as to the circumstances in which assessments and statements might be made. It does not tell them what to do in each individual case.
The guidance in the Code covers the following points in detail:
-
school-based stages of assessment and provision
- statutory assessments of special educational needs
- statements of special educational needs
- assessments and statements for under fives
- annual reviews
Adapted from DfEE summary of the Code -
a full downloadable copy is available on the DfEE
site
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