All children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) should be able to reach their full potential in school. They should also be supported to make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training – Department for Education

What does SEN reform mean for you and your child?

The NCDS leaflets are aimed at deaf children but are extremely useful and can be found here

The Children and Families Act 2014

Part 3: Children and young people with
special educational needs and disabilities

A briefing from the Council for Disabled Children

About this guide
This is an overview of Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014: children and young
people with special educational needs and disabilities. It is not intended to provide a
complete description of every section in the Act, but to highlight and explain the most
significant requirements of the new legislation. More of the detail of exactly how the Act
should be interpreted will be set out in the SEN and disability Code of Practice, subject to
its approval by Parliament, and this briefing cannot substitute for statutory guidance.

PDF link here

A guide on the support system for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), for parents and carers

Statutory guidance applies to England
SEND: guide for parents and carers, published 15 August 2014

Link here

The statutory special educational needs and disability (SEND) system for children and young people aged 0 to 25 from 1 September 2014.

Statutory guidance applies to England
SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years, Updated 15 August 2014

Link here

Links with more information

Five things schools need to know about the SEN reforms - Monday 10 February 2014

Amy Cook is a senior researcher specialising in SEN at The Key, a support service for school leaders.
Link here

SEN Reform in Wales and Northern Ireland
Changes will also be taking place in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Find out more about SEN reform in Wales here
Find out more about SEN reform in Northern Ireland here
Scotland already has a different system of support, called Additional Support for Learning. Link here