Special Educational Needs & Disabilities
All Sunderland Local Authority (LA) maintained schools have a similar approach to meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and /or disabilities and are supported by the LA to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress in school.
All schools are supported to be as inclusive as possible, with the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) being met in a mainstream setting wherever possible.
The broad areas of SEND need are:
- Communication and Interaction
- Cognition and Learning
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
- Sensory and/or Physical.
What is the Local Offer?
The LA Local Offer
The Children and Families Bill was enacted in September 2014. From this date Local Authorities (LA) and schools are required to publish and keep under review information about services they expect to be available for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) aged 0-25. The LA refer to this as the ‘Local Offer’.
The intention of the Local Offer is to improve choice and transparency for families. It will also be an important resource for parents in understanding the range of services and provision in the local area.
Parents and families can obtain information about Sunderland SEN department local offer for SEND on the Sunderland website.