Resources
Below you can access Birmingham Parent Carer Forum policies and procedures, forum flyers and promotional material and a glossary of common SEND Acronyms and Phrases.
| Acronym/phrases | Definition |
|---|---|
| Academy School | A School that is run by an Academy Trust |
| Access Arrangements | Access arrangements are special arrangements or reasonable adjustments which some children and young people with SEND are entitled to in their public exams (eg GCSE’s, SATs) this is so students can demonstrate their ability in an area without their disability being a barrier. |
| ADOS | Autism Diagnistic Observation Schedule- a standardised diagnostic test for autism. |
| Annual Health Checks | A health check that takes place annually for those aged 14+ with a learning disability. |
| Annual Review | Review of an EHCP that MUST occur at least annually |
| AP | Alternative Provision |
| APDR | Assess, Plan, Do, Review- this is a cycle that forms that graduated approach schools should follow (as per the SEND Code of Practice) to support children and young people with SEND. |
| Area of Need | This is the name for the 4 main categories used to describe a child/young person’s SEND. They are: cognition and learning, communication and interaction, social emotional and mental health, sensory and physical. |
| Care Plan | A record of the health and/or social care services that are being provided to a child or young person to help them manage a disability or health condition. Care Plans are also maintained by local authorities for looked after children, in this instance the Care Plan will contain a Personal Education Plan in addition to the health and social care elements. |
| CAT Team | Communication And Autism Team |
| CEPS | Community Educational Psychology Service |
| CFA | Children and Families Act 2014- the legal framework. |
| Child in Need | A Child in Need is defined under the Children Act 1989 as a child who is unlikely to reach or maintain a satisfactory level of health or development, or their health or development will be significantly impaired without the provision of childrens social care services, or the child is disabled. |
| Childrens Disability Team | Childrens Social Care (Birmingham Children's Trust) |
| Children’s Services, Education and Skills Scrutiny Board | A board of elected Councillors across all political parties. Their role is to provide overview and scrutiny of the responsibilities carried out by the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Children, Education and Skills. |
| CME | Children Missing Education |
| Compulsory School Age | A child is of compulsory school age from the beginning of the term following their 5th birthday, until the last Friday of June of the year in which they become 16 provided that their 16th birthday falls before the start of the next school year. |
| CoP | SEND Code of Practice 2015- guidance on how to identify, assess and provide for children with SEN |
| Co-production | an equal relationship between people who use services and the people who are responsible for the delivery of services, working together. |
| Councillors | Councillors are elected in each area to the local council to represent the local community. |
| CP | Child Protection |
| CPP | Child Protection Plan |
| CQC | Care Quality Commission- regulate and inspect health and social care services. |
| CYP | Children and Young People |
| DBS | Disclosure and Barring Service (used to check criminal records and check for suitability to work with vulnerable people) |
| DDA | Disability Discrimination Act- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/13/contents |
| DfE | Department for Education |
| Differentiation | Adapting materials and teaching methods to suit a child/young person’s learning. |
| Direct Payment | A payment made directly to a parent or young person to purchase specific services. Under the Children and Families Act 2014 a direct payment may be made as part of a Personal Budget so that the parent or young person can buy certain services that are specified in their EHC plan |
| Disabled Students Allowance | An allowance for undergraduate or postgraduate students who have a disability or long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia or dyspraxia which affects their ability to study. It can pay for things such as special equipment, a note-taker or transport costs. |
| Disagreement Resolution. | LA’s must provide independent disagreement resolution to help parents and young people resolve disputes with local authorities, schools and other settings about SEND duties and provision. |
| DLA | Disability Living Allowance- a disability benefit for under 16 year olds |
| EAL | English as an Additional Language |
| EBSN | Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance |
| EHCNA | Education , Health and Care Needs Assessment |
| EHCP | Education, Health and Care Plan- this is a plan for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs support. EHC plans identify educational, health and social care needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs. It is a legal document written by the local authority |
| EHCP Mediation | A confidential process that aims to help resolve disputes/disagreements within the EHCP process by a neutral, trained mediator. |
| EHE | Elective Home Education, is a term used to describe a choice by parents to provide education for their child/children at home. A child who is EHE will not be on the role of any school. |
| EOTAS | Education Other Than At School |
| EP | Educational Psychology |
| EqA | Equality Act 2010- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents |
| EY Team | Early Years Team |
| EYFS | Early Years Foundation Stage, covers children from birth to age 5. The foundation stage continues until the end of the reception year. |
| FE | Further Education (College- 16-18 typically) |
| Free school | A type of academy which is free to attend but is not controlled by the local authority. |
| Front door | Single access point to childrens social care services |
| FTB | Forward Thinking Birmingham - Work with children, young people and young adults who are struggling with their mental health |
| GDD | Global Developmental Delay |
| Governing Body | The governors who have overall responsibility for the school |
| Graduated Approach | The SEND Code of Practice states that schools should follow a graduated approach when providing SEND Support, this is based on a cycle of: Assess, Plan, Do, Review |
| Green Paper | The SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper, sets out the governments vision. It analyses the challenges within the current SEND system and proposes measures that will help create a more inclusive one |
| HAF | Holiday Activities and Food |
| HE | Higher Education- University |
| Healthwatch | An independent consumer champion, gathering and representing the views of the public about health and social care services. |
| High Needs Funding and High Needs Top up Funding. | High Needs funding is the funding that the LA use to pay for special school places. High needs top-up funding is additional funding paid directly by the LA for some high needs pupils. |
| ICB | Integrated Care Board- an organisation responsible for developing a plan for meeting the health needs of the population, managing the NHS budget and arranging for the provision of health services in the ICS area. |
| ICP | Integrated Care Partnership- a committee jointly formed between the ICB and the upper-tier local authorities that fall within the ICS area. The ICP brings together a wide alliance of partners concerned with improving the care, health and wellbeing of the population. |
| ICS | Integrated Care System-partnerships of organisations that come together to deliver joined up health and care services and to improve lives of people who live and work in their area. |
| IEP | Individual Education Plan |
| Independent School | A school that is not maintained by a local authority and is registered under part 4 of the Education and Skills Act 2008. Section 347 of the Act sets out the conditions under which an independent school may be approved by the Secretary of State for Education as being suitable for the admission of children with EHCPs. |
| IPSEA | Independent Provider of Special Education Advice |
| JSNA | Joint Strategic Needs Assessment- these analyse the health needs of populations to inform and guide the commissioning of services in local authority areas. The JSNA acts as the overarching primary evidence base for health and wellbeing boards to decide on key local health priorities. |
| KS1 | Years 1 and 2 at school |
| KS2 | Years 3 to 6 at school |
| KS3 | Years 7 to 9 at school |
| KS4 | Years 10 and 11 |
| LA | Local Authority |
| LAC | Looked After Children |
| LDA | Learning Disability and Autism |
| Local Offer | An information directory where individuals with SEND as well as their parent carers can find out what support or provision they can expect to be available in their local area. |
| LSA | Learning Support Assistant |
| Mainstream | A schools that provides education for all children, whether or not they have special educational needs or disabilities. |
| Maintained School | Schools in England that are funded by a local authority, including community, foundation or voluntary schools, community special schools or foundation special schools. |
| Managed Move | changing to a different school, arranged by the school. This should ONLY be done if the parent and the LA agree that it is in the best interest of the child/young person |
| MAT | Multi-Academy Trust |
| MLD | Moderate Learning Difficulty |
| MSI | Multi-Sensory Impairment |
| NASEN | National Association for Special Educational Needs |
| National Curriculum | Programmes of study that must be followed by maintained schools |
| NEET | Young people aged 16-25 Not in Education, Employment or Training |
| NHS Continuing Care | NHS Continuing Care is support provided for children and young people under 18 who need a tailored package of care because of their disability, and accident or illness |
| NHS Continuing Healthcare | NHS Continuing Healthcare is the package of care that is arranged and funded solely by the NHS for individuals aged 18 and over who are not in hospital but have complex ongoing healthcare needs. |
| OFSTED | Office for Standards in Education -inspects and advises on schools and colleges. |
| OT | Occupational Therapy |
| Outcome | Outcomes describe the difference that will be made to a child or young person as a result of special educational and other provision. Outcomes must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. |
| PA | Personal Assistant |
| Panel | A multi-disciplinary group that meet to advise on decisions regarding EHCP’s |
| Parent Carer Forum | A PCF is a representative local group of parents and carers of children and young people with SEND, who work with local authorities, education, health and other providers who make sure that the services they plan and deliver meet the needs of children and young people with SEND and their families. Birmingham Parent Carer Forum is the recognised body. |
| Parental Responsibility | Parental responsibility is defined under Section 3 (1) of the Children Act 1989 as meaning the duties, rights, powers, responsibilities and authority which parents have with respect to their children and children’s property. |
| PECS | Picture Exchange Communication System, an approach to developing communication skills using pictures. |
| Performance levels | P Levels are used to assess the progress of children between the ages of 5-14 who have SEND and whose abilities do not yet reach Key Stage level 1 of the National Curriculum. |
| Person-centred planning | Aims to put children and young people at the centre of planning and decisions that affect them. |
| PfA | Preparation for Adulthood. |
| PIP | Personal Independence Payment- a disability benefit for those over the age of 16. |
| Place-based partnerships | Within each ICS, place-based partnerships will lead the detailed design and delivery of integrated services across localities. |
| PLP | Personal Learning Plan |
| Post-16 | Generally refers to provision for young people aged 16+, often refers to colleges. |
| PRU | Pupil Referral Unit, a school which is specially organised to provide education for pupils who would otherwise not receive suitable education because of illness, exclusion or any other reason. |
| Quality First Teaching | The SEND Code of Practice, recognises high-quality teaching as being personalised and says that special educational provision is underpinned by quality first teaching. |
| Reasonable Adjustments | Schools and education authorities have a duty to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils since 2002 (originally under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) and since October 2010 under the Equality Act 2010. |
| Regional Department for Education Directors | Regional Directors work locally across children’s social care, SEND, schools and area-based programmes to improve outcomes for children, families and learners. |
| SALT | Speech and Language Therapists |
| Section 41 schools | These are independent special schools and colleges who are approved under section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014 as schools which a parent or young person can request to be named in an EHC plan, in the same way that they can request a maintained school. |
| SEMH | Social, Emotional and Mental Health |
| SEN Support | The support schools must provide for children and young people with SEND. |
| SENCO | Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator- must be a teacher in a school who coordinates SEN provision. |
| SEN/D | Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities- definition of SEN/D can be found in law in the Children and Families Act 2014, Part 3 section 20. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/part/3/enacted |
| SEND Information Report | All schools must publish on their websites information about their policy and arrangements for supporting children with SEN. This must be kept up to date. |
| SEND Regs | Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1530/contents/made |
| Sendias | Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service (independent advice for parent carers) |
| SENDIST | SEND Tribunal service- an independent body that determines appeals by parents against LA decisions on EHCP’s |
| SLCN | Speech, Language and Communication Needs |
| SLD | Severe Learning Difficulties |
| Specialist | A school that provides an education for children with a special educational need of disability. There are many different types of special school, focusing on different types of need, however they all educate children whose needs cannot be met within a mainstream setting. |
| SpLD | Specific Learning Disability |
| TA | Teaching Assistant |
| Transition | This can be any change for a child/young person but is commonly talked about when preparing to move from one school year to another, from one school to another (eg primary to secondary) or from school to college |
| Under-represented families | Refugee and asylum-seeking families, Homeless families, Minority ethnic families, Traveller families, Parents of disabled children, Parents with disabilities and Parents with learning difficulties |