Statement of Special Educational Needs: what does it mean for you and your child?
Children in care are nine times more likely to have a statement of special educational needs (SEN) than their peers, with approximately 60 per cent of children in the care system having a SEN 1. As a Trainee Educational Psychologist working in London, Karen Cooper has worked closely with many SEN pupils and their families. She explains what statements mean for children, and shares the experiences of some of the families she has encountered...
Children with SENs find it harder to learn or access schooling than others due to emotional, behavioural or learning difficulties. Types of SEN vary enormously and include difficulties such as learning to read or write, maintaining concentration, physical or sensory disabilities and trouble regulating emotions and behaviour. 
The often inconsistent and difficult early experiences of children in care may help to explain why they feature so heavily within the SEN statistics and why they are three times more likely to have statements for emotional, behavioural and social difficulties than other pupils with statements2.
Although SENs are commonly found amongst children in the care system, being fostered or adopted does not mean a child will automatically have a statement of SEN. Children will only have a statement if the local authority decides that the child’s needs cannot be met within a mainstream classroom using the resources typically available within the school.
A child will usually be referred for an assessment to determine if a statement of SEN is required via the school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO), Early Years workers, Portage and social care staff. Sometimes parents will choose to refer children themselves.
Parents may initially be anxious and unclear about what a statement is and how it might affect their child. This was the experience for Peter, who recalls his reaction after being advised by the SENCO that his son Lewis might benefit from a statement. “I was a little taken aback. When she said she thought we should consider applying for a statement I was really worried. We had adopted Lewis when he was just three years old. We knew from parents’ evening that he was struggling with reading and writing and that he could become angry at school, making his behaviour sometimes hard to manage. But he liked the school and we were concerned that, if he got a statement, he might be judged or they might try and send him to a different school. Lewis had already had lots of changes in his life; we didn’t want him to have to go through any more.”
Peter’s apprehensions mirror those many parents experience. However statements are an opportunity to ensure pupils get the right support, a chance to identify and outline the type of schooling that would best suit their needs, ensuring that they get the support that will enable them to make the best progress that they can.
Peter explained how the statement affected Lewis’s experiences at school. “After he had the statement a teaching assistant was employed. She works with Lewis to help him with his literacy. She also spends one afternoon a week working with Lewis and a small group of children focusing on things like turn taking, sharing and listening to others. The school has also given Lewis a mentor whom he sees a few times a week; they talk about how Lewis can deal with his frustration when things don’t go his way.”
The local authority has a legally binding duty to ensure the support outlined in the statement is provided. The support recommended will vary widely between children depending on the needs of individual pupils. For Lewis, this involved some additional adult support. For a child with a visual impairment, this could include specifying resources and staff training that the school would need to provide or, for a pupil with speech and language difficulties, this could mean a speech and language therapist training staff to deliver a programme of work. All support identified in the statement will be tailored to the specific needs of the child, enabling them to the make the most of the learning opportunities around them.
It is important to remember that a statement should be something that is a positive step for a child or young person. It should be an evolving document that is amended to recognise changes within the needs of your child and their circumstances. As a parent, it can provide you with an insight into areas of schooling that your child might find more challenging than their peers, as well as things that can be done to make schooling more manageable for them. A statement may stay with a child throughout their schooling, or it may be that their needs change and that the statement is only required for a shorter period of time.
Statements and SENs can be daunting for parents. If you have any queries or concerns in relation to your child’s needs you should contact their teacher or Early Years staff. You may also like to speak to your local Parents Partnership services who offer information and advice to parents of children with SENs.
Find out more about Parent Partnership within your area
For information on how to apply for a statement of special educational needs a useful guide by the Department for Families, Children and Schools can be downloaded here
Karen Cooper, Trainee Educational Psychologist
(previously a Special Needs Teacher for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties)
All names have been changed
1 Department for Children Schools and Families (2009) Guidance on Looked After Children with Special Educational Needs placed out-of-authority. Available to download here
2 Department for Education (2010) Special Educational Needs 2010: An analysis.
This article is published with the kind permission of the people involved. You may download it for your own reference but if you wish to use it for any other purpose, please contact Be My Parent for authorisation: Be My Parent, BAAF, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Telephone: 020 7421 2666/5/4.
Published February 2011
Last updated: 17 February 11
