A pupil has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.
They have a learning difficulty or disability if they have:
- A significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
- A disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools
Special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for other children or young people of the same age by mainstream schools.
A child with SEN may have a diagnosed specific need that can be met by the interventions that have been set up by the school, without requiring additionally funded resources.
A Statement/ Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) can be requested for students who have a need that requires additional resources that are above and beyond what the school can fund. An EHCP is funded by the local authority where the child is living.