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Skip Navigation LinksHome : Useful Links : Education donate

Education

Direct.gov - Education Introduction - This is the government’s information on education for children and young people with a disability.
 
Direct.gov - Special Educational Needs - This section includes a step-by-step guide, downloadable documents, and links to other organisations eg IPSEA, parent partnerships.
 
DCSF Every Child Matters pages - Every Child Matters is a shared programme of change to improve outcomes for all children and young people. It takes forward the Government's vision of radical reform for children, young people and families.
 
Teachernet - Parent Carers - The parents & carers area of Teachernet has answers to common questions, provides useful information and lets you order SEN (special educational needs) publications online.
 
Teachernet - Publications - This part of the site has lots of downloadable documents eg government publications. Links to key documents can be found below.
 
Parent Partnership - Parent partnership services are statutory services that offer information, advice and support for parents of children and young people with special educational needs. There is a map on the home page giving local contact details.
 
Ofsted - The Office for Standards in Education – you can search for inspection reports for schools and pre-schools on their website.
 
Local Authorities - To find your Local Authority, visit www.dcsf.gov.uk then type ‘local authority address finder’ into the search box. You can then link through to their website to find the contact details you need (usually by looking at their Education and SEN sections to find the Inclusion and Access team).
 
SENDIST - The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal provides advice for parents of children with special educational needs around tribunals. They publish a booklet, available online called ‘How to Appeal an SEN Decision: A Guide for Parents’.
 

Choosing a school - This gives official advice on choosing a school plus links to school information on a database you can search by location.
 

Official Publications

 

Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings

DFES-1448-2005

This document sets out a clear framework within which local authorities, local health trusts, schools and early years settings can work together to develop policies to ensure that children requiring medicines receive appropriate support.

Follow this link for a series of documents you can use with your school, such as a format for a health care plan and forms to authorise medication.
 

Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (Nov 2001)

DfES 581/2001

The SEN Code of Practice provides practical advice to Local Authorities, maintained schools, early education settings and others on carrying out their statutory duties to identify, assess and make provision for children’s special educational needs.
 

Special Educational Needs (SEN): A guide for parents and carers DCSF-00639-2008

The parents guide sets out the main points of the Code of Practice, explaining procedures and informing parents of their rights.

It is also available in a number of community and European languages and alternative formats.
 

Access to Education for Children and Young People with Medical Needs (Nov 2001)
This guidance sets out minimum national standards for the education of children who are unable to attend school because of illness or injury. This document is not written for parents, but may be useful as it sets out the legal position regarding education for children with medical needs – publication DfES/0025/2002 is a summary, the full guidance is also available DfES 0732/2001.
 
Including Me: Managing complex health needs in schools and early years settings
by Jeanne Carlin
Published November 2005 by the Council for Disabled Children and Department for Education and Skills.
Available to buy for £12.50 or to download from http://www.ncb.org.uk/ then visit Resources, then NCB Publications, then browse online catalogue under Disability (beware, it’s a big download). This publication would be useful if your child has particularly complex needs eg tracheostomy or gastrostomy. It is a publication to refer your child’s school to as it includes examples of good practice.
 

Charities

 

Advisory Centre for Education (ACE)

Independent charity offering advice to parents about state education in England and Wales.

0808 800 5793

Visit their publications section to obtain booklets on a range of relevant topics for around £2 each (eg Choosing a School, Getting Extra Help, Asking for a Statutory Assessment).

They also have advice on the Disability Discrimination Act.

 
Independent Panel for Special Education Advice (IPSEA)

Free independent advice on all aspects of special education. Can help with appeals.

0800 018 4016
 
Nasen promotes the development of children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and supports those who work with them. It could be a useful organisation for your child’s teaching staff.