SEND stands for special educational needs and disabilities, the umbrella term used across England’s schools, councils, and health services. SEN, on its own, means special educational needs: the learning difficulty or disability itself. SEND is the wider system built around it, covering education, health, and social care together.
If a letter just said your child “may have SEN,” or a teacher used the word SENCO for the first time this week, you’re about to meet a wall of acronyms nobody hands you a key for. This is that key: a plain-English glossary of the terms you’ll actually hear in your first term, what each one means, and why you’ll hear it.
What the label does and doesn’t mean
SEND isn’t a diagnosis. Under section 20 of the Children and Families Act 2014, a child has special educational needs if they have “a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.” That’s a description of what a child needs, not a label for who they are, and it doesn’t require a doctor’s letter to apply.
It’s also not permanent or all-or-nothing. Needs can be mild and short-lived, or lifelong and significant, and the support attached to the word “SEND” flexes to match. Some children get help for a term and move on. Others need it for years. Neither is more or less “really” SEND than the other.
You don’t need a formal diagnosis for a school to act. The legal definition in section 20 covers a learning difficulty or disability, not a named condition, so support can start before, during, or without one.
The people and services around your child
SENCO (or SENDCo)
Every mainstream school and maintained nursery in England must, by law, designate a member of staff as the Special Educational Needs Coordinator, or SENCO (section 67 of the Children and Families Act 2014). Some schools write it SENDCo. You’ll hear the title in your very first meeting, because the SENCO usually arranges it: they coordinate your child’s support, keep the records, and liaise with outside professionals on your behalf. Since September 2024, anyone newly appointed to the role must complete a National Professional Qualification for SENCOs within three years.
Educational psychologist (EP)
An educational psychologist assesses how a child learns, thinks, and copes at school, and their advice carries real weight in decisions about support. You’ll hear “EP” most often if your child is being assessed for an EHCP, because a council must gather “psychological advice and information from an educational psychologist” as part of that process, under the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014. An EP visit isn’t a clinical diagnosis. It’s an assessment of what would help your child at school.
SENDIASS
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service, a free, confidential, and impartial service every council in England must provide under section 32 of the Children and Families Act 2014. You’ll see it named on decision letters and council websites, and it’s worth calling early. An adviser can explain a confusing letter, sit with you in a meeting, or help you word a request. Our full guide to SENDIASS covers what it can and can’t do.
How support actually gets decided
SEN Support
The tier of help your child’s school provides from its own budget, before anyone talks about a council-issued plan. Around 14.2% of pupils in England are on SEN Support, far more than the 5.3% with an EHCP. You’ll hear it early, because it’s meant to be the first response to a concern, not the last resort, and it doesn’t need a diagnosis or the council’s involvement to start.
The graduated approach
The four-step cycle, assess, plan, do, review, that schools must work through whenever a child is on SEN Support. You’ll hear it shortened to APDR. Each cycle is meant to build on what worked and drop what didn’t, and the school should meet you to review progress at least three times a year. If the same targets keep reappearing cycle after cycle with nothing actually changing, that’s usually a sign the paperwork exists but the cycle itself isn’t happening.
EHCP
An Education, Health and Care Plan: a legal document, not just a school one, that sets out a child’s needs and the exact support a council must provide to meet them. Under section 36(8) of the Children and Families Act 2014, a council must assess for one if a child “has or may have” special educational needs and it “may be” necessary for provision through a plan. You’ll hear it as the destination many parents assume they need, though most children with SEND are supported through SEN Support instead.
Annual review
Once your child has an EHCP, the council must review it at least once every 12 months, checking whether the plan still matches their needs (section 44 of the Children and Families Act 2014). You’ll hear the date mentioned well in advance, because the school and council are required to gather fresh reports and give you notice before the meeting itself. Preparing properly before you walk in makes a real difference to what comes out of it.
Local Offer
Every council must publish a “Local Offer,” a directory of the SEND services, from speech therapy to short breaks, expected to be available in your area for children and young people aged 0 to 25 (section 30 of the Children and Families Act 2014). You’ll see it linked from school and council websites. It’s worth a look before you need anything specific, because it’s the quickest way to see what actually exists locally, rather than what you’ve been told exists.
Common misconceptions
“SEND means my child has a diagnosis.” Not necessarily. The legal test in section 20 is about a learning difficulty or disability calling for extra provision, not a named condition on a letter.
“SEN and SEND mean the same thing.” Close, but not quite. SEN is the need itself; SEND is the wider system, covering education, health, and social care, that responds to it.
“An EHCP is what everyone with SEND eventually gets.” Most don’t. SEN Support covers roughly three times as many children as an EHCP does, and plenty of children never need to move beyond it.
“The SENCO has to see a diagnosis before doing anything.” The best endeavours duty under section 66 of the Children and Families Act 2014 applies whether or not your child has been formally assessed by anyone outside school.
What to do next
You don’t need to learn this whole glossary today. Start with the term that matches where you actually are.
If you’re right at the beginning, our guide to the first three things to do walks through talking to the school, checking benefits, and finding your SENDIASS. If your child is already on SEN Support and it isn’t shifting anything, look at the graduated approach section above and ask the SENCO to show you the cycle in writing. If you’re wondering whether it’s time for an EHCP, our step-by-step guide to requesting an assessment sets out exactly what to send and when.
Whichever term brought you here, you don’t have to hold it all in your head at once. Bookmark this page and come back to it when the next acronym turns up, because it will.
Getting help
Your local SENDIASS is the free, impartial first call for almost any question in this glossary. Find yours through the Council for Disabled Children’s directory.
IPSEA gives free legal advice once a question turns into a dispute with the school or council.
Contact supports families of disabled children more broadly, with a helpline for anything the paperwork doesn’t cover.