Some children may display symptoms or behaviours which may give you cause for concern. Examples of this could include speech and language delays, social and emotional issues, developmental delays and behavioural issues.

All children and young people learn at different rates and are better at some things than they are at others, but if you have any worries about your child there are lots of professionals you could talk to, many of whom you may already be in contact with. These professionals are trained to support you and can then you refer you onto a more suitable and appropriate service. If your child or young person is at nursery, school or college, the first step is to talk to their teacher or key worker. The 'Related Information' section, on this page, contains a presentation with ideas about preparing for a meeting with your child's setting, and the type of questions to ask and a local offer leaflet.

Where a child or young person is identified as having Special Educational Needs and DisabilitiesDisabilitiesA physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on an individual’s ability to do normal daily activities. (SEND), schools and settings should take action to remove barriers to child or young persons learning and put effective special educational provision in place.

The SEND SupportSEND SupportUniversal Plus level: if quality first teaching approaches have not been enough to meet a child/young person’s needs and they need more focused, targeted support, they will be identified as having SEND. At Partnership Plus level more specialist advice is sought, put into place and reviewed. Quality first teaching, including evidenced, robust use of the ‘assess-plan-do-review’ cycle, rigorous teacher oversight, and close liaison between the setting and family will continue. SEN support includes help for children and young people with SEN that is additional or different from the universal support available for other children and young people of the same age. The purpose of SEN support is to help children and young people achieve the outcomes and learning objectives that have been set for them. Education settings should involve parents and carers in the SEND support process. should take the form of a four-part cycle to Assess, Plan, Do, Review. The SEND support will involve the parent and carers and the child or young person. By taking this approach earlier decisions and actions are revisited and refined with a growing understanding of the child or young person needs and of what support will help to secure good progress and good outcomes for them. This approach is known as the Graduated Response.

For any aged child or young person, you could try your GP, if you have specific concerns, it may be useful to write them down before you go with examples of what you mean. Your GP can make referrals to a number of health services who may be able to help.

0-5 years

Across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole there are seven family hubs and three outreach centre, and an online hub. The hubs support all families that need early help services, ensuring that families get the right help at the right time. Any family can use the Hub, and they will signpost to the appropriate support.

Where a baby or toddler appears to be behind expected levels, or where progress is causing you concern, then parents should access support and advice from their health visitor. Health visitors can be accessed through the baby or toddler’s GP surgery, or by phoning or dropping in at the baby or toddler’s health centre or clinic, or by contacting your local health visiting team.

School age children and post 16

If you are still concerned after talking to your child's teacher, you may also like to talk to the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCOSENCOThe SENCO is responsible for coordinating provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Those are children or young people who need more help than is normally available to pupils of the same age. ), who is the person responsible in a school or setting for helping to make sure that the needs of children and young people with SEND are met. Sometimes a SENCOSENCOThe SENCO is responsible for coordinating provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Those are children or young people who need more help than is normally available to pupils of the same age.  is called a SENDCO or Inclusion Lead. They are not responsible for teaching your child, but will discuss any concerns with you about your child and what support is already in place and advise what should happen next. Most children can get the help they need at the ‘universal level’ of support, through high quality teaching and by making ‘reasonable adjustments’. This is sometimes called ordinarily available provision.

If you wish to view SEND local offer information for your child's school please visit the individual school record.

If your child is 14 years and above you can find further information on the preparing for adulthood pages.

Children not in a setting, or school environment.

If your child is not in a setting you may wish to talk to SENDisass4BCP, or one of our local parent carer groups.

For further areas of support please  see 'Where can I go for further information'

If your child is home educated (EHE) and you have concerns about their learning and development please email: ehe@bcpcouncil.gov.uk. They will advise on what the next steps might be and can offer a home visit to discuss your individual circumstances, working with you to identify the best route forward for your child's specific educational needs. While the team are very experienced in working with EHE families, they are not specialists in each type and manifestation of special educational need so it is  recommended that you seek appropriate medical, or paediatric advice and guidance.

To help you with any terminology or abbreviation please see our SEND abbreviations and terms page.

Feedback

We have working hard to improve information about the Graduated Response on the SEND Local OfferLocal OfferA local authority website resource that holds information on services and provision for children and young people with SEN and disabilities across education, health and social care and leisure.. Since the summer of 2022 we have conducted surveys on the Graduated Response, to better understand the experiences of our local families, and we have used the results to carry out positive changes. If you would like to provide feedback on the information or participate in future surveys, let us know by emailing localoffer@bcpcouncil.gov.uk