SEND: getting support for your child at school
Ask for SEN support and an EHCP without being fobbed off.
Hi, can I have a meeting with the SENCO about Sam?
Computer voice · not a real clip
Start practising
About 4 min Free, no account
All 14 phrases
Talking to the school4
- Can I have a meeting with the SENCO?The SENCO is the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, the teacher who leads SEN support.
- Is he on SEN Support?Support the school gives from its own budget, with a plan that's reviewed regularly.
- What reasonable adjustments can you make?A phrase from the Equality Act.
- She's masking at schoolShe holds it together all day at school, then falls apart at home.
Assessments and plans4
- We're on the waiting list for an autism assessmentWaits can be very long.
- I'd like to request an EHC needs assessmentParents can ask the local council for this in writing.
- The plan needs to be specific and quantifiedAn EHCP should say what support, who gives it and how often, such as '3 x 30-minute sessions a week', not just 'access to support'.
- When's the annual review?EHCPs have to be reviewed every year.
Pushing back5
- Support should be based on need, not diagnosisThe line to use if the school says 'we'll wait for the diagnosis'.
- We're going to appeal to the tribunalThe SEND Tribunal hears appeals against council decisions.
- I feel like we're being fobbed offBeing brushed off with excuses.
- Could you put that in writing, please?Get every promise, refusal and decision by email.
- Why is he on a reduced timetable?Sending a child home early or having them in part-time should be short-term, agreed and reviewed.
Free advice1
Check yourself14 questions
Question 1 of 14
Who is the SENCO?
More packs
- How Brits say how they feelEveryday words for tired, happy, fed up and ill.
- Office small talkThe kitchen and lift chat you'll have every working day.
- Hello and goodbye, UK styleHow Brits greet people, reply, and take ages to leave.
About this pack
- Price
- Free
- Account
- Not needed, saved on this device
- Reviews
- 1, 3, 7, 14 and 30 days later
- Moments
- 0 of 14 phrases have a clip
- Sources
Picked by Talk, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Phrases
- Picked by Talk.
- How Talk picked them
- Part of Talk's themed British life packs. Talk wrote each phrase with what it really means, when to say it, what not to say instead and one quiz question. A phrase gets a moment only if Talk's spoken videos say it with the same meaning. One review picked each moment, and a second tried to reject it. This pack holds 14 phrases.
- Licence
- Talk shares this list under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Meanings and examples
- Written by Talk in plain English.
- Dictionary details
- From Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Princeton WordNet, used under the WordNet licence. WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Start practising
About 4 min Free, no account