What documents every school needs to have available to describe the support they have in place for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Requirements
As part of the Children and Families Bill 2014 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice all education settings must make available their Core SEND offer to families. This must detail how they support children and young people with SEND. These documents must be available on the setting's website.
They reflect the requirements of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice.
SEND Information Report
The SEND Information Report is a document produced by the school and is reviewed annually by the SENCO with parents. It's co-produced with staff, including the head teacher, the SEND governor and children's views are also taken into account.
This document tells parents how support is organised and managed in the school. It must set out:
- your admission arrangements for disabled children
- the steps you're taking to treated disabled children equally
- the facilities you provide to enable access to the school or disabled children
You should make sure that the information is set out in clear, straightforward language.
What to include in your report
You might find it useful to complete a SEND Inclusion Audit to help identify the key points to include in your information report.
The requirements are detailed in the Children and Families Act 2014 Go to http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/section/69 (opens new window) and regulation 51 Go to http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1530/regulation/51/made (opens new window) and schedule 1 Go to http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1530/schedule/1/made (opens new window) of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.
The Key for School Leaders website describes what must be included in a SEN information report Go to https://schoolleaders.thekeysupport.com/policy-expert/equality-inclusion/sen-policy-information-report-requirements-template/ (opens new window).
Download a pdf guide about staff training and development in your SEND Information Report (233 KB) including:
- a checklist to help review and improve this part of your report
- examples from other education settings in Bristol
SEN Policy
SEN policies contain technical information and detail.
They're not compulsory, but often there is too much information to make SEN information reports easy to read. By writing a SEN policy you can make reference to the policy in your SEN information report. This will make it easier to read.
You will need to update it regularly and review it with your SEN Information Report.
Accessibility plans
Schools and settings must have their own accessibility plan.
It should aim to:
- increase the extent to which disabled children and young people can participate in the curriculum
- improve the physical environment of the school or setting so that disabled children and young people can access the same education, facilities or services as others
- improve the way information is given to disabled children and young people that children who aren't disabled have access to
You must review it every three years.
How to write an accessibility plan
You can use the document Accessiblity Plan template (32 KB) to write your accessibility plan.
Paragraph 3 of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 Go to http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/schedule/10 (opens new window) has more information about accessibility plans.
pdf Bristol City Council's Accessibility Strategy 2017-19. (1.12 MB)
There are other documents you should have available. GOV.UK has information about what council maintained schools must publish online Go to https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-maintained-schools-must-publish-online (opens new window).
