A child or young person may have SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability that means they need educational support that is additional to, or different from, what is usually available for others of the same age.
SEND is not a clinical diagnosis. It is a legal and educational term. It is about whether a child or young person needs extra or different support to access education, participate, make progress and be included.
This might involve support with learning, communication, emotional wellbeing, independence, behaviour, sensory needs, physical access, health, or the way teaching and the environment are adapted.
A diagnosis can sometimes help people understand a child’s needs, but a child or young person does not need a diagnosis before their educational needs can be noticed, discussed or supported.
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A child may be bright but still unable to show what they know.
A young person may want to attend school or college but feel too anxious or overwhelmed to manage it.
A pupil may understand the lesson but struggle to organise themselves, remember instructions or complete tasks independently.
A child’s behaviour may look challenging when it is actually communicating distress, confusion, sensory overload or unmet need.
The key question is:
What is making education difficult, and what support may be needed that is additional to or different from ordinary provision?
The SEND Code of Practice describes four broad areas of need. These areas help schools, colleges, families and professionals think about the kinds of support a child or young person may require.
This area includes children and young people who find communication or social interaction difficult.
They may struggle to understand language, follow instructions, explain what they mean, join conversations, use social communication, understand social situations, or manage group work.
Communication needs can affect learning, friendships, confidence, behaviour and independence.
This area includes children and young people who find learning harder than expected, even with ordinary teaching and classroom support.
They may have difficulties with reading, writing, spelling, maths, memory, processing, problem-solving, retaining new learning or showing what they know.
Some children have broad learning needs, while others have specific learning difficulties affecting particular areas.
This area includes children and young people whose emotional wellbeing, regulation, relationships or behaviour affects their education.
They may appear anxious, withdrawn, overwhelmed, low in mood, distressed, avoidant, impulsive, oppositional or dysregulated.
These presentations should not be viewed only as “behaviour”. They may reflect unmet learning, communication, sensory, emotional, relational or environmental needs.
This area includes children and young people whose sensory, physical, health, motor or access needs affect their ability to participate in education.
This may include visual or hearing needs, sensory processing differences, physical disability, mobility needs, coordination difficulties, fatigue, pain, self-care needs, medical routines or the need for equipment and environmental adaptations.
The four broad areas of SEND are useful, but real children and young people do not always fit neatly into four boxes.
Needs often overlap. For example, a child who appears anxious may also have communication needs. A young person who seems unmotivated may actually be struggling with organisation, memory, fatigue or access to the curriculum. A pupil whose behaviour escalates may be communicating that the task, environment or demand is not manageable.
For that reason, the Navigate SEND Simple SEND Access Screener looks at six practical educational access domains.
These six areas are designed to help families and professionals have a clearer conversation about what might be making education difficult.
This area looks at understanding, expression, being understood, conversation, social communication and functional communication.We look at whether communication is affecting learning, relationships or participation.
This area looks at learning, retention, curriculum progress, memory, processing, problem-solving and the child or young person’s ability to show what they know.We look at whether ordinary teaching and classroom methods appear enough, or whether learning may need to be presented, repeated, adapted or recorded differently.
This area looks at emotional safety, anxiety, low mood, overwhelm, shutdown, stress, avoidance, attendance and readiness to learn.We look at whether emotional wellbeing is affecting access to education, participation or attendance.
This area looks at self-management, adaptive behaviour, organisation, independence, persistence, transitions and everyday routines.We use the term “adaptive agency” because some children and young people can understand what is expected but still struggle to start, organise, persist, shift between tasks or manage independently.
This area looks at behaviour as communication, regulation, social behaviour, routines, boundaries, co-regulation and safety for participation.We look at what behaviour may be telling us about unmet need, stress, communication, regulation or environmental fit.
This area looks at physical access, sensory access, motor skills, mobility, coordination, self-care, health, fatigue, pain, stamina and equipment.We look at whether the child or young person can access the learning environment and the school or college day in a way that is manageable and sustainable.
The screener is not:
It should not be used on its own to decide whether a child or young person has SEND, requires an EHCP, needs a particular placement, or requires a specific package of provision.
It is a first step to help organise concerns and identify what may need to be explored next.
The screener can help you think about:
The report may be useful when speaking with a SENCO, teacher, tutor, case manager, therapist or Navigate SEND adviser.
It should be interpreted alongside the child or young person’s views, family context, school or college evidence, and any relevant professional information.
This screener does not contain an urgent or crisis section.
If there are concerns about immediate safety, safeguarding, abuse, exploitation, self-harm, harm to others, serious eating or weight concerns, substance use, medical risk or crisis mental-health concerns, please follow the appropriate safeguarding, health, emergency or crisis route.
Do not wait for a SEND screener if urgent help is needed.
The Navigate SEND Simple SEND Access Screener is currently being tested in beta.
We are using this stage to check whether the questions, scoring and report are clear, useful and meaningful for families, young people and professionals.
During beta testing, the screener should be treated as indicative only. It is not validated, and the wording, scoring and report format may change as we improve it.
We welcome feedback on:
If you would like to try the screener, you can access it below.
