Listen to you and your child. Look at learning, behaviour and attendance together, and identify where extra help may be needed.
What should school do?
School should take your child’s needs seriously, work with you and check whether the support is helping.
Explain the support, who will provide it and what it aims to improve. Share the plan with the staff who need to use it.
Use the agreed help in school. Where a child is disabled, consider reasonable changes that help them take part.
Tell you how things are going. Agree when to review the support and what to change if it is not working.
Your child does not need an education, health and care plan (EHCP) to receive SEN support. Ask about support based on their needs.
What might support look like?
Depending on your child’s needs, you could discuss clearer instructions, breaking tasks into smaller steps, reading or writing support, a quieter place to work, planned breaks or a trusted adult to check in with.
These are examples to discuss, not a list every child is automatically entitled to. Ask why a particular approach is suitable and how you will know whether it helps.
Behaviour or absence can be a reason to review support. Ask what happened beforehand, what help was available and what could make the situation easier next time.
My child has an EHCP. What does that mean?
An EHCP is a formal plan describing a child’s needs and the help they must receive. Section B describes special educational needs. Section F sets out the special educational support.
Ask the school to explain how each part of Section F is being delivered. If something is missing, tell the council that maintains the plan as well as the school. The council is responsible for securing this support, subject to the exceptions in the law.
If needs have changed, ask whether the plan should be reviewed.
Read the council’s duty ↗Where does this guidance come from?
The SEND Code of Practice describes the cycle of understanding needs, planning support, providing it and reviewing it. Schools covered by section 66 must use their best endeavours to secure the special educational support a pupil needs. Disability law also requires reasonable adjustments where the duty applies.
SEND Code of Practice ↗School support duty ↗
Reasonable adjustments ↗
Ask these five questions
1. What does my child find difficult at school?
2. What help are they getting, and how often?
3. Who makes sure that help happens?
4. How will we know whether it is working?
5. When will we review it together?
Start with the teacher or the SENCO — the person who coordinates support for children with special educational needs. Ask the school office who to contact if you are unsure.
Subject: Help and support for [child’s name] Hello [name], I am concerned that [child’s name] is finding [task / lesson / part of school life] difficult. For example, [briefly explain what happened and when]. Please could you explain what support is in place, who provides it and how you check that it is helping? I would like to discuss what else might help and agree a date to review how things are going. Please let me know when we can talk. Thank you, [Your name]
What should I keep a note of?
Keep emails and letters in one private folder. Make a short note of dates, what happened, what help was expected and what the school said. Include your child’s account, making clear which parts they told you.
After a meeting, send a brief message listing the agreed actions, who will do them and when. Ask the school to correct anything you have misunderstood.
You do not need a large evidence file to start a conversation. A clear example and a specific request can help.
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