Once you realise your child has a special educational need or disability it can feel that you are immediately faced with lots of phrases and acronyms that you haven’t heard before. This can make it all feel even more complicated and overwhelming especially when you receive reports about your child, leaving you even more confused.
Scroll down to download our SEND jargon buster at the bottom of the page.
Here are a few terms you may have already heard:
BESD – Behavioural, Emotional & Social Difficulties,
A type of special educational needs in which children/young people have severe difficulties in managing their emotions and behaviour and may show inappropriate responses and feelings to situations.
CAMHS – Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service
NHS services that assess and treat young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties.
EHC(P) – Education & Health Care Plan
This plan outlines the educational needs a child has and the provision that the local authority must put in place to help them.
EP – Educational Psychologist
Lewisham Council’s Educational Psychology (EP) Team is a dynamic and innovative service which applies psychology and evidence-based practice to bring about change in the lives of children and young people in Lewisham. They will often visit and observe your child at school to decide how the school can help and may feed into the evidence needed to apply for an EHCP
Neurodiversity
The Neurodiversity movement challenges the idea that those who are different have deficits that need changing or fixing by society and professionals. The idea that Neurodiversity is an essential form of human diversity. The idea that there is one “normal” or “healthy” type of brain or mind or one “right” style of neurocognitive functioning, is no more valid than the idea that there is one
“normal” or “right” gender, race or culture.
SALT – Speech & Language Therapy(ist)
Speech and Language Therapists ( SALT) work with parents/carers and others to assess if a child has speech and/or language difficulties, communication or eating and drinking difficulties. The therapist will consider the difficulties the child has and the impact these will have on his/her life.
SENDIASS – Special Educational Needs and Disability Independent Advice and Support Service
Every local authority must have one. They provide independent advice and support to parents about SEN.
In Lewisham this is known as KIDS. www.kids.org.uk/lewisham-sendiass
SEMH – Social Emotional & Mental Health
Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs are a type of special educational needs in which children/young people have severe difficulties in managing their emotions and behaviour. They often show inappropriate responses and feelings to situations.
SENCo – Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator
All schools and nurseries must have a qualified teacher designated as SEN Coordinator (SENCo). The SENCo will be in charge of the analysis and assessment of children’s needs, by monitoring the quality of teaching and standards of pupils’ achievements, and by setting targets for improvement.
SEND Code of Practice
This is the statutory guidance that supports Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014. It tells local authorities, early years settings, schools, colleges, health and social care providers and others what they must and should do to identify, assess and provide for children and young people with SEN or disabilities.
