Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Who are children with SEND?

From Clause 20, Children and Families Act 2014:-

"A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:-

a) has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or

b) has a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream school or mainstream post-16 institutions.

A child under compulsory school age has special educational needs if they fall within definition at a) or b) above or would do so if special educational provision was not made for them."

Statutory guidance is set out in a SEND Code of Practice 0-25 years (January 2015). The Code introduced new classifications of SEN Support and Education, Health and Care (EHC). 2014/15 was the start of a transitionary period leading to the national phasing out of School Action, School Action Plus and Statements of SEND. Please also note the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.

A new SEND Strategy for Somerset, covering the period 2016-2019, is available here to read and download. 

Current Demand in Somerset

In summary:

• In January 2016, Somerset had just over 12,000 children and young people with identified Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This proportion is in line with regional (15.2%) and national (14.4%) averages.
• 15.4% of all children in schools, including free and independent schools have identified SEND.
• In state-funded schools, the January 2016 School Census identified 9,820 pupils with SEND, representing 14% of all pupils (69,200). This proportion is in line with regional and national averages (14.9% and 14.3%, respectively)
• In total, 1,271 Somerset pupils had a Statement of SEND or an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, representing 1.8% of all pupils (England 2.7%).
• The total number of young people with Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans/Statements and/or high needs funding 0-25 years is 4,487 (3.7% of the under 19 population approximation). 
• Male learners are almost twice as likely as females to have special educational needs.
• Pupils with SEND are almost three times as likely as those without SEND to be eligible for free school meals.
• In 2015/16, 1 in 5 young people aged 16-17 in Somerset with SEND did not remain in education or training, but this proportion is falling.
• Somerset shows a higher level of need for social, emotional and mental health than other South West authorities and England.
• Compared to the nation as a whole, speech, language and communication needs in Somerset are rising in the high needs group .
• Somerset has a relatively low level of identified need for autistic spectrum disorder and moderate learning difficulties.
• The county experiences a lower statement/EHC Plan rate, with a high number of children/young people receiving high needs funding without a statement/EHC Plan.
• Preparation for adulthood is a key concern: the percentage of young people qualified at level 2 or 3 at 19 years is showing a decreasing trend for learners with a statement/EHC plan.

Note: numbers of pupils are based on where the child attends school.

Table 1 Number of Pupils in Somerset with Special Educational Needs

Source: School Census January 2016

• There were just over 12,000 pupils with any SEND in Somerset, including those in free schools and independent schools (see Table 1).
• Somerset has a range of such schools, including a number of specialist SEND independent schools which draw in pupils from outside the county.
• In the state-funded sector, there were 9,607 pupils with any SEND, including almost 1,000 with higher needs.
• Most state school learners with Statements or EHC Plans are in Special schools whilst the majority of those with SEN Support and high needs but without Statements or EHCP are in Primary schools.
• In line with the national picture, learners with SEND are more likely to be eligible for free school meals (23%) than those without SEND (8.3%).

Table 2 SEND Comparisons between Somerset, South West and England (% of all pupils, 2016)

Source: Department for Education, School Census January 2016

• 15.4% of all Somerset school pupils have Special Educational Needs (SEND), slightly above the national average (Table 2).
• In state-funded schools, the proportion is 14%, in line with the England figure.
• Overall, 1.8% have an EHC Plan or Statement, below the regional and national averages.
• There has been little change in this proportion in the last five years, locally or nationally 

Table 3 Breakdown of higher needs SEN for 0-25 age group in Somerset (2016)

Table 4 % of Boys and Girls with any SEN, Somerset v England (state schools 2016)

Table 5 % Eligible for Free School Meals, Somerset v England (state schools 2016)

• The total number of young people with Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans/Statements and/or high needs funding 0-25 years is 4,487 (3.7% of the under 19 population approximation). 
• 1 in 3 of these have either an EHC Plan or Statement of educational need, while 2 in 3 receive higher needs funding but don't have ECHP or Statements (Table 3)
• In Somerset, boys are twice as likely than girls to receive any SEN (Table 4)
• Pupils with SEN in Somerset are almost three times as likely as those without SEN to be eligible for free school meals (Table 5)

Primary Needs

In this section, the different types of primary needs are referred to using the following notation:-

Chart 1 Breakdown of SEN Primary Needs by type of School, Somerset (2016) 

Source: Department for Education, School Census January 2016

• Across all state-funded schools in Somerset, the two most common primary needs for any SEN are Social, Emotional & Mental Health and Speech, Language & Communications Need (chart 1).
• Speech, Language and Communications need is the most common primary need in Primary schools
• Specific Learning Difficulty is the most common primary need in Secondary schools
• Severe Learning Difficulty is the most common primary need in Special schools
• Of those with high needs, Social, emotional and mental health is the most common primary need in Somerset and has shown the largest increase in the past eight years.

Chart 2 Comparison of Primary Need Prevalence,  All Schools, Somerset v England (2016)

Source: Department for Education, School Census January 2016

• Somerset has a relatively high level of identification for Social, emotional & mental health and Specific learning difficulties relative to England
• Speech, language and communications needs are rising in the higher needs group
• Somerset has a relatively low level of identification for Autistic spectrum disorder and Moderate learning difficulties

Parental Needs

• Many children with SEND in Somerset are educated in independent and other schools outside the local community.
• This results in considerable travelling time for the child and transport costs for the Council
• In consultation, many parents have requested more SEN support in mainstream schools to enable education nearer home.

Inequalities

• Many children are excluded from social activities in some 'universal' services in their local community.
• At 16, many children with special educational needs and disabilities don't have the same opportunities as other young people to continue learning or training or accessing employment
• 79% of Somerset's young people aged 16-17 with SEND remain in education in training, down from 85% in 2014/15.
• The proportion of 19 year-olds with SEND qualified at level 3 has also decreased.
• While level 2 qualifications amongst those without special needs has increased above the national rate, the proportion of those with a Statement or EHC Plan has decreased from 15% in 2012 to 8% in 2015. Note that figures fluctuate from year to year.

Further Information:

• Detailed figures on SEN by Local Authority in 2016 are available on the Department for Education website
• For information about the attainment and achievement of pupils with special educational needs see our School Attainment section.
• For maps showing rates of SEND by Ward, including trends since 2011, please see our Dashboard.
• For other information relating to children and young people, including the Somerset Children and Young People Plan, please go here.