SEN support in colleges

Where a student has a learning difficulty or disability that calls for special educational provision, the college must use its best endeavours to put appropriate support in place. Young people should be supported to participate in discussions about their aspirations, their needs, and the support that they think will help them best. Support should be aimed at promoting student independence and enabling the young person to make good progress towards employment and/or higher education, independent living, good health and participating in the community.

They should keep the needs of students with SEN or disabilities under regular review. Colleges should take a cyclical approach to assessing need, planning and providing support, and reviewing and evaluating that support so that it can be adjusted where necessary. They should involve the student and, particularly for those aged 16 to 18, their parents, closely at all stages of the cycle, planning around the individual, and they should ensure that staff have the skills to do this effectively.

This should be recorded within One page profiles/My support plan.

My Support Plan (MSP) document

MSP Guidance

Assessing what support is needed

Where a student is identified as having SEN and needing SEN support, colleges should bring together all the relevant information from the school, from the student, from those working with the student and from any screening test or assessment the college has carried out. This information should be discussed with the student. The student should be offered support at this meeting and might be accompanied by a parent, advocate or other supporter.

Planning the right support

Where the college decides a student needs SEN support, the college should discuss with the student their ambitions, the nature of the support to be put in place, the expected impact on progress and a date for reviewing the support. Plans should be developed with the student and consider preparing for adulthood outcomes. The support and intervention provided should be selected to meet the student’s aspirations and should be based on reliable evidence of effectiveness and provided by practitioners with the relevant skills and knowledge.

Putting the provision in place

Colleges should ensure that the agreed support is put in place, and that appropriately qualified staff provide the support needed. The college should, in discussion with the student, assess the impact and success of the intervention.

Keeping support under review

The effectiveness of the support and its impact on the student’s progress should be reviewed regularly, taking into account the student’s progress and any changes to the student’s own ambitions and aspirations, which may lead to changes in the type and level of their support. The college and the student together should plan any changes in support. Colleges should revisit this cycle of action, refining and revising their decisions about support as they gain a richer understanding of the student, and what is most effective in helping them secure good outcomes.