Special Educational Needs

Many children have some difficulties with their school work at some time during their school life. Often these difficulties will be related to a particular piece of work or new subject and with a little extra help or support they can be quickly overcome. In other cases a special programme of work is needed for a period of time so that the child can catch up with its peers. In a few cases the learning difficulties will be so severe that ongoing, specialist and long term support is needed.

The term 'special educational needs' has been defined legally. Children with special educational needs (SEN) all have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age. It can be difficult to identify children with SEN because all children develop at different rates. Children begin to talk at different ages and they learn to read at different ages. This is the same with any learning and you might feel that your child has a problem, but at a future date everything becomes clear to them.

If you feel that your child has a learning problem and you are concerned about their progress you should talk to their teacher. Tell them why you are concerned and if possible take examples of your child's work about which you are worried. Examples of your child's writing, mathematics, work or reading book are really helpful for the teacher. The teacher might be able to put your mind at rest or might decide to take further action. You might want to consider developing a portfolio of your child's work in order to have a history of their schooling and keep track on their progress. The ‘Moving Schools’ pack has more information about developing a portfolio. Click on the link opposite for more details.