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Glossary of SEND Terms

Glossary

Term/Acronym Meaning/Explanation
AA Attachment aware

Annual Review

(AR)

 A mandatory yearly review of an EHCP to check the child's progress, ensure the provision is still appropriate, and make any necessary amendments
CAMHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: NHS services that assess and treat children and young people with emotional, behavioural, or mental health difficulties.
CoP SEND Code of Practice: The statutory guidance that schools and Local Authorities (LAs) must follow when supporting children with SEND.
EHCP Education, Health and Care Plan: A legal document for children and young people (up to age 25) with complex SEND. It sets out their educational, health, and social care needs and the provision required to meet those needs.
EHCNA Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment: A statutory process carried out by the Local Authority (LA) to determine a child's needs and decide whether an EHCP is required.
EP Educational Psychologist: A professional who works with schools and families to help children and young people overcome problems that are affecting their learning or well-being.
EYFS Early Years Foundation Stage: The stage of education for children from birth to the end of the Reception year (age 5).
FSW Family Support Worker
Graduated Approach The school's cycle of action for supporting pupils with SEND, often summarised as Assess, Plan, Do, Review (APDR).
Key Stage (KS)

The stages of education: KS1 is Year 1 and 2 (ages 5-7) and KS2 is Year 3 to 6 (ages 7-11), covering the primary school years.
LA Local Authority: The local government body responsible for providing education services, including carrying out EHC needs assessments and issuing EHCPs.

Local Offer (LO)

 Information published by the Local Authority about the support and services available in their area for children and young people with SEND aged 0-25 and their families.
OT Occupational Therapist/Therapy: Professionals who help children develop the skills needed for daily living and school activities, such as fine and gross motor skills, self-care, and sensory needs
SALT/SLT Speech and language therapy: professionals who helps with difficulties related to communication, understanding language, speaking clearly and social communication
SEND Support The support provided by the school for a child with identified SEND, which is additional to or different from that which is generally given to other children of the same age. It replaces the previous categories of School Action and School Action Plus.
SENCo or SENDCo Special Educational Needs/Disabilities Co-ordinator: A qualified teacher who is responsible for managing and coordinating the support for children with SEND in the school.
SENDIASS Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service: A free, confidential, and impartial service that provides information, advice, and support to children, young people, and parents on SEND matters.
TA or LSA Teaching Assistant or Learning Support Assistant: An assistant providing in-school support for pupils, often working closely with those who have SEND.
TI Trauma informed

 

The Four Broad Areas of Need

The SEND Code of Practice identifies four broad areas of need, which schools use to describe a pupil's primary difficulty:

Area of Need Acronym Description of Need
Communication and Interaction C&I Includes children with difficulties in speech, language, and communication (SLCN), or those on the Autism Spectrum (ASD/ASC).
Cognition and Learning C&L

Includes children who learn at a slower pace than their peers, which may be a general learning difficulty or specific learning difficulty.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health SEMH Includes children who have difficulty managing their emotions and behaviour, or may have mental health needs (e.g., anxiety, ADHD). (Formerly referred to as BESD).
Sensory and/or Physical Needs S&/or P Includes children with a physical disability (PD), or a sensory impairment such as a Visual Impairment (VI) or Hearing Impairment (HI).

 

Common Learning and Health Acronyms

Acronym Full Name Description
ADD/ADHD Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder A condition that affects behaviour, leading to inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
ASD/ASC Autistic Spectrum Disorder/Condition A developmental condition that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them. You may see ASD/ASC written in some literature, but now the preferred term is autism
DLDDLD Developmental Language Disorder Falls under the umbrella of neurodiversity. It is a condition that impacts a child’s ability to understanding use spoken language across all languages they speak
EBSNA Emotional Based School Non Attendance A term used to describe children or young people (CYP) who struggle to attend school for emotional reasons such as anxiety
MLD Moderate Learning Difficulties Children who have greater difficulty than their peers in acquiring basic skills.
SpLD Specific Learning Difficulty A difficulty in one or more specific areas, such as dyslexia (reading/writing), dyspraxia (coordination), or dyscalculia (maths).
SLCN or S&L Speech, Language and Communication Needs Difficulties with understanding or using spoken language.
PMLD Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties Children with severe and complex learning needs, usually a combination of learning difficulties and other significant disabilities.
VI Visual Impairment A degree of sight loss.
HI Hearing Impairment A degree of hearing loss.
DS  Down Syndrome

A genetic difference where a person is born with an extra chromosome.
DCD Developmental Coordination Disorder Can sometimes be referred to as dyspraxia. It is a condition affecting physical co-ordination.
PDA    Pathological Demand Avoidance Forms part of a formal diagnosis for autism - if observed during assessment, professionals may identify a "PDA profile" within that diagnosis. Not currently recognized in diagnostic manuals, which means it is not a clinical diagnosis.