Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) JSNA

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) JSNA was completed in October 2024. It will be used to strengthen the evidence base we have in this area, to drive our commissioning, priority-setting and ultimately the SEND Local Offer.

According to the SEND Code of Practice (January 2015), a child or young person has special educational needs (SEN) if they have a learning difficulty or disability that means they need special educational provision to be made for them. This means that they may have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than most of their peers, or they are not able to use the universal provision available within their school or other educational setting because of their needs. This includes long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and cancer as well as sensory and physical impairments.

Where a child or young person has a disability, they do not necessarily have SEN, but there is a significant overlap. In line with the SEND Code of Practice, this needs assessment covers children and young people up to and including the age of 25.