Assistive | Special Needs

What are special educational needs?

 

The term ‘special educational needs’ refers to children who require additional assistance at school. Children with special educational needs (commonly known as SEN) may need additional hep with activities such as:

1. Reading
2. Writing
3. Making friends and building relationships with teachers and other students
4. Understanding and retaining information
5. Managing time and organisation
6. Behaving properly at school
7. Concentrating for long periods of time
8. Physical activities

 

Government initiatives for special educational needs

The aim of special needs education is to encourage children to enjoy their time at school and provide children with all the assistance, support and advice they need to fulfil their potential at school. However, the government has highlighted areas of concern in the current system and is proposing dramatic reforms to improve the system and iron out existing issues. Problems that have been highlighted include:

1. Parents have difficulty getting the support they need for their child
2. There is a lack of cohesion between education and healthcare
3. There are too many children falling through the net and not getting the help they need
4. There is too much paperwork and this is preventing quick action and intervention
5. The assessment process is too confusing and this has contributed to parents having a poor opinion of the system
6. Ofsted has suggested that too many children are being categorised as SEN and this may be leading to teachers having lower expectations of them; this prevents the child from realising their full potential

 

As a result of the issues listed above, the new coalition government has proposed plats to create the biggest shake-up of educational support and healthcare for children with special educational needs and disabilities in thirty years. The new proposals include:

1. Involving parents in the assessment process and giving them the legal right to control funding for their child (by 2014)
2. The introduction of a combined healthcare and education package; the new package would include social services, health and education
3. A simpler assessment process, which involves a single process, rather than statements
4. Shake-up the teacher training and professional development systems to ensure that teachers are better able to work with special needs students
5. Introduce greater independence for local authorities
6. Give parents a greater choice of schools
7. Introduce assessments and plans from birth to 25 years

 

The main aim of the new proposals is to increase the efficiency and efficacy of the special needs education system so that children can be given the additional support and help they need as early as possible.