Legislation

Your rights and our duties

Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities affect many aspects of a families life. There are lots of pieces of legislation and guidance that shape the way we work, and they all interact.

The golden thread running throughout these is that:

• Anyone who works with children and young people (aged 0-18) and those with SEND (aged 0-25) should know about the local area’s SEND system and their role and responsibilities within them. SEND is everyone’s business.
• A  joined up approach should be used to improve the outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
• The child, young person or their parent carer should be at the centre of decisions about them and take into account the aspirations for adulthood.
• Information, advice and support should be readily available on all services that support SEND, and they should be accessible.
• Children, young people and their families should be encouraged to engage and participate in decisions that shape services.
• The local authority and the ICB should be reviewing the services provided to drive improvements.

Find out more about each law or regulation below:

• Young person’s guide to the Children and Families Act 2014 – requires services across education, health and care to work together to identify and support children and young people with SEND and to plan services that continue to the age of 25 where necessary. It increases the importance of paying attention to the wishes and feelings of those being worked with and prioritises the identifying and monitoring old children and young people with SEND, including assessments for, actioning and reviewing Education Health and Care Plans.
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities: a guide for parents and carers
• Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2014 and 2015 – Statutory guidance for organisations which work with and support children and young people who have SEND.
• Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 – underpins the Children and Families Act and details the requirements for assessing children and young people’s education, health and care needs and putting in place provision to meet needs and resolve disagreements. And providing information and raising awareness about all of this provision to families.
• Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014 – Use of personal budgets and direct payments to provide special educational provisions specified in an Education Health and Care Plan.
• Children and Families Act 2014 – Part 3 covers children and young people with SEND.
• Care Act 2014 – Local authorities have a duty to assess and provide support for publicly funded care needs. This includes conducting transition assessments for children, children’s carers and young carers when there is a likely need for care and support as the child is preparing for adulthood and after they turn 18.
• Equality Act 2010 – Protects individuals from discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Reasonable adjustments must be made, and public authorities must actively promote disability equality.
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005 – Making it unlawful to discriminate against disabled persons in the provision of services.
• The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 – Requires local authorities to provide welfare services for people with disabilities.
• Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice 2007 guidance for decisions supporting care and treatment of over 16 year olds who lack capacity (please note there is an overlap for 16 to 18 year olds with the Children Act 1989).