There are four broad areas of need within SEND:

• Communication and Interaction Needs
• Cognition and Learning Needs
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs
• Sensory  and/ or  Physical Needs

We should not ‘fit’ a pupil into a category, but rather provide support based on their particular area/s of need.

Please see information below regarding these four areas, taken from the Code of Practice 2015

As stated in the Code of Practice:

“These four broad areas give an overview of the range of needs that should be planned for. The purpose of identification is to work out what action the school needs to take, not to fit a pupil into a category. In practice, individual children or young people often have needs that cut across all these areas and their needs may change over time. For instance speech, language and communication needs can also be a feature of a number of other areas of SEN, and children and young people with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may have needs across all areas, including particular sensory requirements. The support provided to an individual should always be based on a full understanding of their particular strengths and needs and seek to address them all using well-evidenced interventions targeted at their areas of difficulty and where necessary specialist equipment or software."

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