Some commonly found abbreviations used when reading SEND information:

DfE  

Department for Education.

SEND

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

SENDCO

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator

Assessment  

This is a process over time that identifies strengths, weaknesses and needs across all areas of a child’s or young person’s life and involves both parent carers and practitioners. 

ARP

Additionally Resourced Provision (ARPs) are provisions provided by Newcastle Local Authority to enable children who have additional educational needs to be educated inclusively in mainstream school. The ARPs are run under the same guidelines set out in the school SEND policy.  

ASD

Autistic Spectrum Disorder is a condition that affects social interaction, communication, interests and behaviour.  

CYPS

Children’s and Young Peoples Service (Previously known as CAMHS) which provide assessment, treatment and care when a child or young person experiences continued emotional or behavioural difficulties which impact on their mental health and wellbeing.

EAL

English as an Additional Language

ICT

Information Communication Technology

MLD

Moderate Learning Difficulties

SLCN

Speech Language Communication Needs

SPLD

Specific Learning Difficulties E.g. Dyslexia, Dyscalculia

Dyslexia  

Pupils with dyslexia have a marked and persistent difficulty in learning to read, write and spell, despite progress in other areas. Pupils may have poor reading comprehension, handwriting and punctuation. They may also have difficulties in concentration and organisation, and in remembering sequences of words. They may mispronounce common words or reverse letters and sounds in words.  

Dyscalculia  

Pupils with dyscalculia have difficulty in acquiring mathematical skills. Pupils may have difficulty understanding simple number concepts, lack an intuitive grasp of numbers and have problems learning number facts and procedures.  

Dyspraxia  

Pupils with dyspraxia are affected by an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement, often appearing clumsy. Gross and fine motor skills are hard to learn and difficult to retain and generalise. Pupils may have poor balance and coordination and may be hesitant in many actions (running, skipping, hopping, holding a pencil, doing jigsaws, etc). Their articulation may also be immature and their language late to develop. They may also have poor awareness of body position and poor social skills. Early Intervention This is the process of intervening when a child or young person first shows signs of having difficulties. The aim is to ensure that help is received as soon as possible, to prevent any difficulties escalating.  

SENTASS

The Special Educational Needs Teaching and Support Service (SENTASS)

PSA

Parent Support Advisor

A Carer  

For the purpose of the SEND Code of Practice, a carer is a person named by a local authority to care for a child for whom the social services department has a parental responsibility.

Educational Psychologists (EPs)  

Educational Psychologists bring a specialized perspective to working with children. They are concerned with children's learning and development and they aim to bring about positive change for children. They have skills in a range of psychological and educational assessment techniques and in different methods of helping children and young people who are experiencing difficulties in learning, behaviour or social adjustment.

Clinical Psychologist  

A clinical psychologist can offer advice on the psychological wellbeing of the person. They use psychological methods and research to make positive changes to lives and offer various forms of treatment. They work with clients of all ages who have a variety of different mental or physical health issues, such as: depression and anxiety; mental illness; adjustment to physical illness; neurological disorders; challenging behaviours; eating disorders; personal and family relationship problems; learning disabilities.    

Centiles  

Educational Psychologists and Speech & Language Therapists may refer to centiles. These describe how your child functions compared to 100 children. If they are on the 75th centile, 74 children out of a hundred would have more difficulties than them, and 25 children would have fewer difficulties than them. It is a benchmark from which progress can be measured.  

EHC Plan  

A single Education, Health and Care Plan, to be used from birth to 25 years of age. EHCP is a Statutory Assessment. This is the formal process whereby the Local Authority assesses a child's Special Educational Needs and / or Disabilities (SEND) and may result in a Statement of SEND being drawn up. This is a legal document which details a pupil’s Special Educational Needs and the provision required to meet those needs.