Please select a letter to move directly to that point in the glossary.
A
A.D.D. – Attention Deficit Disorder.
A.D.H.D. – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
A.S.D – Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
Advices – A set of reports written by professionals and parents, which assist the local authority when making a decision whether to issue a proposed statement.
Annual Review – A yearly meeting (the first being 12 months after the issue of the statement) where the needs of the child are reviewed, and the statement amended if necessary.
Appeal – Parents can appeal to the independent S.E.N. Tribunal if they cannot reach agreement with the L.A. over decisions on their child’s special educational needs.
Assessment – A check of progress made on a child by a professional.
Assessment (statutory or formal) – A detailed examination of a child’s special educational needs. It may lead to a statement of special educational needs.
B
B.E.S.D. – Behavioural Emotional and Social Difficulties.
B.S.P. – Behaviour Support Plan.
C
C.A.F. – Common Assessment Framework.
C.A.M.H.S. – The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service provides support to those young people who are experiencing mental health difficulties.
C.D.C. – The Child Development Centre is a multi-disciplinary assessment and therapy centre for children under 5.
C.D.T. – Child Development Team.
C.L.D. – Complex Learning Difficulties (includes autism and Asperger’s Syndrome).
C.M.O. – Clinical Medical Officer.
Centile – The division of information into 100 groups. For example, a score at the 5th centile means that, on average, only 5 children out of every 100 could be expected to score lower (and 95 would score higher).
Child in need – Defined under Section 10 of the Children Act 1989 as a child who is “unlikely to achieve or maintain … a reasonable standard of health and development, without the provision of services by a Local Authority… ” or who is “disabled”. Every authority has a general duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their area who are in need.
Children’s Network – A confidential database of disabled children in Durham which provides an information service and activities for parents and children.
Chronological Age – The time in years since birth (i.e. life age).
Clinical Psychologist – Specialist trained in the treatment of emotional and behavioural problems.
Code of Practice (C.O.P.) – A guide to schools and L.A.s about the help they can give to children with special educational needs. Schools and L.A.s must ‘have regard’ to the Code in anything concerning children with special educational needs.
Cognitive Development – Development of a child’s ability to understand and to explain relationships; usually the same as intellectual growth.
CoL – Community of Learning.
Conciliation – Conciliation involves a third party to help people negotiate with each other. The conciliator offers advice and possible solutions to problems.
Connexions Service – A service providing support to all 13-19 year olds to help them move from school to work, further education and adult life.
Curriculum – All the courses and learning opportunities a school offers or a course of study being followed by a child.
D
D.C.S.F. – Department for Children, Schools and Families.
D.D.A. – Disability Discrimination Act.
D.F.E.S. – Department for Education and Skills.
Day Special School – A specialist school.
Differentiation – The way in which the school’s curriculum and teaching methods are adapted to meet the needs of children.
Disagreement resolution – A service which informally brings together all the parties in a dispute over SEN issues and seeks to resolve disagreement through discussion.
Disapplication – The lifting or varying of the requirements of the National Curriculum to meet the needs of the pupil e.g. disapplied from SATS or modern foreign language.
Dyscalculia (Specific Learning Difficulty (Sp.L.D) – People with dyscalculia have difficulty with mathematical skills and concepts.
Dyslexia (Specific Learning Difficulty (Sp.L.D) – People with dyslexia have difficulty in learning to read, write and spell.
Dyspraxia (Specific Learning Difficulty (Sp.L.D) – People with dyspraxia are affected by an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement, often appearing clumsy. Gross and fine motor skills are hard to learn and difficult to retain and may have poor balance and co-ordination.
E
E.B.D. – Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.
E.C.M. – Every Child Matters.
E.D.C.M. – Every Disabled Child Matters.
E.D.P. – Education Development Plan.
E.O.T.A.S. – Education otherwise than at school e.g. home schooled.
E.Y.D.C.P. – Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.
Early education settings – Educational provision for children under compulsory school age, for example nurseries, pre-schools and registered child-minders.
Education Welfare Officer (E.W.O.) – A person employed by the L.A. to make sure that children are getting the education they need. They deal mainly with school attendance.
Educational Psychologist (E.P.) (sometimes called ‘ed. psych’!) – An Educational Psychologist is asked to help when a child is finding it difficult to learn at school. S/he may do tests to decide what the problem is.
Exclusion – A child who is excluded from school is not allowed to go to school from the time the exclusion is made. Exclusion can be for a fixed time or permanent. A child cannot be excluded simply because they have a special educational need.
F
F.A.S – Funding agency for schools.
F.E. – Further Education.
Fine Motor Skills – Complex movements of hands and fingers which require practice to accomplish (e.g. fastening buttons, holding pencils etc).
Formal Assessment – see Assessment (Statutory or Formal).
G
G.C.S.E – General Certificate of Secondary Education.
Governors – A school’s governing body oversees the workings of the school. It includes a Parent Governor and a S.E.N. Governor.
Gross Motor Skills – Skills which involve large muscle activity (e.g. rolling, walking, crawling, jumping, running).
H
H.I. – Hearing Impaired.
H.M.I. – Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Schools.
I
I.B.P – Individual Behaviour Plan.
I.C.T – Information Communication Technology, e.g. computers and methods of communication using technology.
I.E.P. – An Individual Education Plan is drawn up by a school’s S.E.N.C.O. It sets targets for a child to achieve and a date for a review of progress.
I.P.S – Independent Parental Supporter. Someone, independent of the L.A., who can support parents through the SEN process. (previously referred to as named person).
I.Q. – Intelligence Quotient – a measure of intellectual ability, where a score of 100 indicates average.
I.T. – Information Technology, e.g. computers.
Inclusion – A process by which schools, local authorities and others develop their cultures, policies and practices to include all pupils.
Independent school – A school which is funded independently of local or central government.
Integration – educating children with special educational needs in mainstream schools wherever possible, so they are fully involved in school life.
K
Key Stages – The National Curriculum uses the term key stages to describe the age band in which the child falls. Key stage 1 is infant, key stage 2 is junior, key stage 3 is 11-14 years and key stage 4 is 14+.
L
L.A. – Local Authority.
L.S.A. – Learning Support Assistant. A non-teaching member of staff who helps to meet the educational needs of children.
L.S.C. – Learning and Skills Council
Learning Difficulty – If a child has a learning difficulty s/he finds it much harder to learn than most children of the same age do.
Learning Support Service – Education staff working outside their normal setting, usually support teachers and LSA’s with experience and expertise in teaching pupils with special educational needs.
Looked-After Child (L.A.C.) – A child who is ‘cared for’ by the local authority, either in a long-term placement or for short periods.
M
M.L.D. – Moderate Learning Difficulties.
Mainstream school – Any school that is not a special school or an independent school.
Maintained school – A school funded by the L.A.
Mediation – Mediation brings people together with an impartial third party to try to resolve disputes and disagreements. The mediator helps people talk but does not offer advice or solutions.
Multi-disciplinary – A team drawn from more than one profession e.g. health, education, social services.
Multi-Sensory Impairment (MSI) – Pupils with multi-sensory impairment have a combination of visual and hearing difficulties.
N
Named Officer – A person employed by the L.A. in the SEN department who deals with the case of a particular child.
National Curriculum – Subjects which must be studied in all schools.
Non-Maintained Special School – A non-profit making special school, approved by the Secretary of State, usually run by a charity.
Note in Lieu – A note, written by the L.A., after carrying out an assessment, when they have decided NOT to issue a Statement. It should explain their decision and offer guidelines to school on supporting the child’s special educational needs.
Nursery Nurse – Individuals who work in nurseries and schools with responsibility for the care and well being of young children.
O
O.D.D. – Oppositional Defiance Disorder.
O.T – Occupational Therapy/Therapist.
Objectives – The overall, long-term aims to be achieved by the provision for the child. These should be written into a Statement of S.E.N.
OFSTED – Office for Standards in Education – a government department responsible for the inspection of all schools.
P
P.D. – Physical disability/difficulty.
P.M.L.D – Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties.
P.R.U – A Pupil Referral Unit is a centre that can provide part-time or full-time support for children who are currently not attending school or who need additional help with their behaviour or learning.
P.S.A – Parent Support Advisor.
P.T.A.(P.T.F.A) – Parent Teacher (and Friends) Association.
Paediatrician – Specialist children’s doctor.
Parent Partnership Services – The services funded by the County Council to give advice, information and support to parents of children with S.E.N.
Pastoral Support Team – In secondary schools includes form tutors, heads of year and senior teachers. Often the first point of contact for parents.
Portage – A home visiting service which offers support, help and advice to families with a child under 5 who has special needs.
Provision – The special support and extra help that children with S.E.N. receive in school to meet their needs.
Psychiatrist – A qualified doctor who specialises in mental health.
Psychometric Tests – Used to assess the child’s ability and attainment levels.
R
R.O.A – Record of Achievement.
Re-assessment – Your child can have another assessment if the L.A. decides it is necessary.
Residential school – A school where pupils live, during the school term.
Resource base – A unit which caters for children with particular needs or disabilities, which is part of a mainstream school.
Responsible Person – The head teacher or the appropriate governor.
Review – Your child’s statement must be looked at (reviewed) at least once a year to check on his/her progress.
S
S.A.T.S – Standard Assessment Tests which check children’s progress.
S.C.M.O – Senior Clinical Medical Officer.
S.E.N – Special Educational Needs. All children who need special help will be described as ‘children with special educational needs.’ One in five children may have some sort of learning difficulty during their school life.
S.E.N.CO. – Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator. The teacher in a school who is responsible for arranging the extra help for children with special educational needs.
S.E.N.D.A. – Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Act.
S.E.N.D.I.S.P. – Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Panel.
S.E.N.D.I.S.T. – Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.
S.L.D. – Severe Learning Difficulties.
S.M.O – School Medical Officer.
SaLT – Speech and Language Therapy.
School Action – Extra support for a child who has been identified as having SEN. The S.E.N.C.O. will draw up an I.E.P. for the child.
School Action Plus – External support services will be consulted about provision for the child’s SEN.
School Improvement Partners (SIPs) – School inspectors and advisors work with schools to look at ways in which they can improve.
Special Educational Provision – The special help given to children with SEN.
Special Schools – These are schools that specialise in working with children with particular disabilities.
Specific Learning Difficulty (Sp.L.D) – A child has a Specific Learning Difficulty if s/he has a problem with one or more areas of the curriculum, usually reading, writing, spelling and/or number work e.g. Dyslexia.
Speech Therapist – Specialist in diagnosing and treating speech and language disorders who work in schools, hospitals and clinics.
Speech Therapy – The diagnosis and treatment of speech and language disorders. Children are normally referred for speech therapy by a doctor.
Statement – A document that sets out a child’s needs and all the extra help (provision) s/he should get.
Statutory Assessment – See Assessment (Statutory or Formal).
T
Targets – The individual goals set for a child. Targets are a way of checking the child’s progress. They should be written into the I.E.P. and reviewed regularly.
Transition plan – A plan drawn up following the Year 9 Annual Review of the statement. Information is gathered from parents, professionals, including the Connexions Service and school. A structured plan of action is drawn up to ensure that the transfer from school to adult life is well planned.
Tribunal – An independent body that hears appeals against decisions made by the L.A.
V
V.I. – Visually Impaired.
Voluntary Organisations – Non-profit making organisations which often involve volunteers as well as paid staff. They range from large national to small local organisations and usually aim to help specific groups of people in society.
W
Work Experience – Non-profit making organisations which often involve volunteers as well as paid staff. They range from large national to small local organisations and usually aim to help specific groups of people in society.