Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

What do we mean by "disability"?

Children with special educational needs do not necessarily have a disability and some disabled children do not have special educational needs.
Hertfordshire has an agreed definition of Learning Difficulties
and/or Disabilities (LDD):

'A child or young person should be regarded as disabled if he or
she has special needs in the area of health, education or physical,
intellectual, emotional, social or behavioral development due to:

• multiple and complex health needs or chronic illness
• sensory impairment such as hearing loss, visual impairment or deafblindness
• a significant and long term learning difficulty
• a physical disability
• autistic spectrum disorder
• a severe communication disorder, or
• a significant pre-school developmental delay

The term "special educational needs" (SEN) has a legal definition which is set out in the Education Act 1996. It applies to children who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it significantly harder for them to learn or access education than most other children of their age.

Special educational needs can arise for a number of reasons and may involve, for instance:

• reading, writing, number work or understanding information
• expressing ideas or understanding what others are saying
• making friends or relating to adults
• behaving properly in school or other settings
• personal organisation
• sensory or physical needs.

Children learn at different rates and in different ways. About one in five children will have a learning difficulty at some stage in his or her school career. Many of these difficulties are temporary and that most can be effectively dealt with in mainstream settings.

Schools and other education settings have well established arrangements for identifying and responding to special educational needs. The formal procedures and specialist services provided by the County Council are therefore targeted at those children with the most significant and complex learning difficulties or disabilities. In delivering these services we aim to work closely with schools, parents, pre-school settings, health services and voluntary organisations in responding to individual needs.

For a copy of the Department of Education SEN code of practice and SEN guide please use the links on this page