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

Learning difficulty or disability 

A learning difficulty or disability is where a child or a young person has: 

  • a significantly greater difficulty in learning than most others of the same age, or 
  • a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or colleges 

Special educational provision 

Special educational provision is any educational or training provision that is different from or additional to that normally provide to other children of the same age.  

SEN is a legal term which is set out in the Children and Families Act 2014. 

Often, children and young people with SEN also have a disability.  

What disability means 

A child or young person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. 

This is the legal definition of disability which is set out in the Equality Act 2010. 

Some children and young people who are disabled might not have SEN. But they are still protected by the Equality Act. You can read more about what a school should do if a student has a disability.  

Different types of SEND 

The SEND Code of Practice groups special educational needs into 4 broad areas: 

Communication and interaction needs 

Children and young people might: 

  • struggle to talk or say what they want to  
  • find it hard to understand what other people are saying 
  • find conversations and play confusing or challenging 

Cognition and learning difficulties 

Children and young people might: 

  • learn at a slower pace than others 
  • find the curriculum difficult 
  • struggle with organisation and memory 
  • have a specific difficulty, for example, in literacy or numeracy 

Social, emotional and mental health difficulties 

Children and young people might: 

  • find relationships difficult 
  • appear withdrawn or isolated 
  • behave in ways that affect their learning, for example, being disruptive 
  • do things that impact on their health and wellbeing 

Sensory and/or physical needs 

Children and young people might have a disability such as: 

  • a visual and/or hearing impairment 
  • a physical difficulty 

They may find it hard to access a school because of their disability. This means they might need extra support or specialist equipment.