SEND Glossary of terms
Academy: A state-funded independent school. Academies have more control over how they run themselves than maintained schools – for example, they can set their own term times and don’t have to follow the national curriculum.
Attention Deficit Disorder/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD): A neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that interfere with daily functioning
Alternative provision: Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 states that, if a child cannot go to a mainstream school for reasons including illness, behavioural difficulties or exclusion, the local authority must provide full-time alternative education. This is what the term ‘alternative provision’ refers to. See also Pupil referral unit (PRU).
Area of need: The SEND Code of Practice sets out four categories that must be considered when supporting and educating children with SEND:
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Communication and interaction
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Cognition and learning
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Social, emotional and mental health
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Sensory and/or physical needs
Assistive technology: A broad description for technology or equipment designed to help those with disabilities or impairments carry out tasks that might otherwise be difficult or impossible.
CAMHS: This stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. CAMHS is a service provided by the NHS that supports and treats children and young people with behavioural, emotional, and mental health difficulties.
Code of practice: Government guidelines covering the duties of anyone who supports children and young people with SEND, including local authorities, schools, colleges and health services.
Department for Education (DfE): The government body responsible for children's services, education, and skills, overseeing everything from early years and schools to further/higher education, apprenticeships, and childcare
Designated safeguarding lead (DSL): The person responsible for child protection issues in any organisation that works with children, such as schools, nurseries and GP surgeries.
Early help assessment: Assesses a family’s needs and the support that can help early on, before needs intensify.
Early intervention: The support offered to a child when a need is first identified by an Early help assessment (see above).
Early years foundation stage (EYFS): This begins when a child turns three. Many children go to an early education setting (for example a nursery, pre-school or playgroup). The foundation stage continues until the end of reception year, and prepares children for year one, when key stage 1 begins (see also Key stage below).
Educational psychologist (EP): A specialist in how children learn, who is involved in assessing and supporting children with developmental or learning difficulties.
Education, health and care needs assessment (EHCNA): The local authority uses this to decide if a child or young person needs an Education, health and care plan (see below). The child or young person can contribute to this, along with anyone who supports them.
Education, health and care plan (EHCP): A legally binding document the local authority creates after carrying out an Education, health and care needs assessment (see above). It outlines a child or young person’s education, health and social care needs.
Education other than at school (EOTAS): If going to school full-time isn’t in the best interests of a child, for physical or mental health reasons, and you aren’t home schooling, the local authority may provide an alternative. This will be set out in an EHCP (see above) and continuing to provide this is the LA’s responsibility.
Elective home education (EHE): Also known as home schooling, this is where a parent chooses to educate their child at home instead of having them go to school.
Emotional literacy support assistant (ELSA): Trained and supervised by educational psychologists, ELSAs work with children and young people in school to support their emotional wellbeing either individually or in small groups.
English as an additional language (EAL): This term describes children who are learning English in addition to their native language. They may have no difficulties with understanding or learning, but they may need additional support while they learn English.
Educational Welfare Officer (EWO): A local authority professional who improves school attendance by working with schools and families to remove barriers to learning.
Exclusion: Temporarily or permanently removing a child from school.
Further education (FE): This refers to education that’s above compulsory school level but below degree level. There are lots of different FE courses – use the National Careers Service course finder to find out more.
Graduated approach: This is an ongoing four-stage cycle used in education settings to identify a child’s needs and ensure the support offered meets those needs. The steps are:
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Assess: Assess the child’s needs.
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Plan: Plan the support that will be put in place to meet those needs.
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Do: Carry out the plan and monitor the child’s progress.
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Review: Review the effectiveness of the support and identify any adjustments that might be necessary.
High needs funding: This refers to additional funding the local authority pays directly to the school to support pupils with Education, health and care plans (see above).
Hypersensitive: ‘Hyper’ means above or over, so hypersensitive individuals experience sensory over stimulation very easily. Places where there is a lot going on (for example, a shopping centre with lots of people, conversations, music, food smells or scented candles and perfumes) can be too much.
Hypo sensitive: ‘Hypo’ means below or under, so hypo sensitive individuals have a reduced response to what they experience through their senses. They may be drawn to bright lights, loud sounds and music, and they may punch and push to get the sensory stimulation they need.
Individual Behaviour Plan (IBP): A tailored, school-based document designed to support students with behavioral difficulties that hinder their learning.
Individual education plan (IEP): This is a document that schools may use to plan and review how children and young people with SEND are educated. It may also be known as a SEND Support Plan, Pupil Passport or One Page Profile.
Independent school: This is a school that isn’t run by a local authority and is either:
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mainstream (also called non-maintained, fee-paying or private schools); or
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specialist (also called non-maintained specialist schools). Specialist schools are funded through an EHC plan.
Inclusion: This refers to educating children with SEND in mainstream schools alongside others in their age group, instead of in special schools.
Information, advice and support service (IASS): Provides free information, guidance and support to children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities from birth to the age of 25, and their families. Every local authority has one. See also SENDIASS.
Key stage (KS): A stage of education. Key stages are divided up as follows:
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Key stage 1: age 5-7 (school years 1-2)
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Key stage 2: age 7-11(school years 3-6)
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Key stage 3: age 11-14 (school years 7-9
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Key stage 4: age 14-16 (school years 10-11)
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Key stage 5: age 16-18 (school years 12-13)
Local authority (LA): The body responsible for services in its local area, including providing education and SEND support.
Local offer (LO): This document, often published on a local authority’s website, explains the support that’s available for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and their families. In some areas you might see this called the SEND Information Hub.
Looked after children (LAC): This refers to children under the age of 18 who were cared for by children’s services.
Mainstream school: A school for all children, with or without special educational needs or disabilities. This could be a Maintained school (see below) or Academy (see above).
Maintained school: Any school that’s funded and controlled by a local authority.
Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD): Refers to a, cognitive, and learning profile where students exhibit attainments significantly below age-related expectations in most curriculum areas.
Neurodiverse: This refers to a group of individuals who represent the spectrum of neurodiversity, including neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals. An individual cannot be neurodiverse – individuals who aren’t neurotypical are neurodivergent. See also Neurodivergent and Neurotypical.
Neurodiversity: The natural diversity of human minds. Neurodiversity covers every individual, from neurodivergent to neurotypical. See also Neurodivergent and Neurotypical.
Neurotypical: Neurotypical people have a mind that functions within what society considers the norm. Neurotypical is the opposite of Neurodivergent (see above).
Ordinarily available provision: This refers to the support mainstream education settings should provide for children and young people, including those with SEND, using their agreed funding.
Occupational therapy (OT): A type of therapy that helps children carry out everyday tasks such as getting dressed or writing.
Parent carer forum: A group of local parents and carers who work with organisations like education and health providers, and local authorities, to help make their services appropriate and useful for disabled children and their families.
Parental contribution: The involvement of parents in planning and making decisions about a child’s education.
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA): PDA is now widely considered a profile on the autism spectrum, is characterized by an overwhelming need to control and avoid everyday demands due to high anxiety
PR EHCNA: This means ‘parental request for an education, health and care needs assessment’. See also Education, health and care needs assessment (EHCNA) above.
Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD): refers to a combination of severe, complex learning disabilities with other disabilities—such as physical, sensory, or health impairments—that significantly limit communication and independence.
Pupil Premium (PP): Pupil Premium is additional UK government funding provided to schools to improve educational outcomes and close the achievement gap for disadvantaged pupils.
Physiotherapist (PT): Physiotherapists are registered healthcare professionals who restore, maintain, and maximize movement, function, and independence for people affected by injury, illness, or disability.
Pupil referral unit (PRU): Alternative education provided by the local authority according to Section 19 of the Education Act 1996. This is provided for children who cannot go to a mainstream school, generally after permanent exclusion. See also Alternative provision (see above).
Reasonable adjustments: Changes schools make to ensure all pupils are able to learn there. Examples might include installing a ramp or offering extra support.
Speech & Language Therapist/Therapy (SALT/SLT): SALT stands for Speech and Language Therapy (or Therapist/Therapists). It is a specialized service designed to assess, diagnose, and treat children and young people with speech, language, communication, or eating and swallowing difficulties.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH): SEMH stands for Social, Emotional, and Mental Health difficulties, a category of Special Educational Needs (SEN). Children with SEMH often struggle to manage their emotions, behaviors, and relationships
SEN/SEND: This stands for special educational needs/special educational needs and disabilities, and both terms are commonly used. Children with SEND/SEN have a disability or learning difficulty that means they need different or additional educational support than that provided as standard for other pupils of their age.
SEN support: A broad term for a wide range of possible additional support for a child with special educational needs. This will vary depending on the individual child’s needs.
SEND information report: The up-to-date information schools are required to publish on their websites explaining their policy for supporting children with SEND.
SENDIASS: This stands for special educational needs and disabilities information, advice and support service. You might also see it written as ‘SENDIAS service’. See also Information, advice and support service (IASS).
Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST): The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) is an independent judicial body in the UK that hears appeals against local authority decisions regarding children’s special educational needs (SEN) and claims of disability discrimination in schools.
Speech, Language & Communication Needs (SLCN): SLCN stands for Speech, Language, and Communication Needs, an umbrella term for difficulties in understanding or using language, producing speech sounds, stammering, or voice problems, affecting an estimated 10% of children and impacting learning, social skills, and emotional well-being.
Social care provision: Support that helps people live in their own home or be able to get out in the community.
Special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO): A teacher who manages the support offered by the school for children with SEND.
Special school or specialist setting: A school that’s set up to educate children or young people with an EHCP.
Speech and language therapy: Therapy for a child or young person who needs support with speech, language or communication. This is provided by a speech and language therapist, which is sometimes shortened to SALT.
Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD): SpLD stands for Specific Learning Difficulty (or sometimes Difference). It is an umbrella term for neurological, often genetic, conditions that affect how individuals learn, process, and retain information. SpLDs do not indicate low intelligence but rather that a person learns differently, usually impacting specific areas like reading, writing, spelling, or numeracy e.g dyslexia
Teaching Assistant/Learning Support Assistant (TA/LSA): TA’s and LSA’s are educational professionals in UK schools supporting teaching and learning, often used interchangeably.
Team Around the Family (TAF): A TAF meeting brings together children, families, and professionals (education, health, social care) to identify needs, build on strengths, and coordinate support
Teaching assistant (TA): A member of school staff who supports children in the classroom.
Team around the child (TAC): A group of professionals who work together to develop and deliver support to a child or young person that fits their individual needs.
Transition plan: This covers the needs of a child or young person and the support that will be provided to help make their transition to a new class, year group or education setting as smooth as possible.
Visual Impairment (VI): Visual impairment is a significant, non-correctable reduction in vision—ranging from partial sight to total blindness—that hinders daily functioning
Young Person (YP): This stands for young person, and in SEN law this refers to anyone who has finished compulsory school (at the end of the school year they turn 16 – most commonly this is year 11) but is under 25.