People and roles
SENCO — Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator. The member of school staff responsible for SEND. Usually your most important contact.
DSL — Designated Safeguarding Lead. The person in a setting responsible for child protection.
EP — Educational Psychologist. Assesses learning, development and needs; their report often carries significant weight.
SALT / SLT — Speech and Language Therapist.
OT — Occupational Therapist. Sensory needs, motor skills, daily living.
CAMHS — Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. NHS mental health support for under-18s.
LA — Local Authority. Your council. Responsible for EHCPs and the Local Offer.
TA / LSA — Teaching Assistant / Learning Support Assistant.
PP — Pupil Premium. Extra funding for certain groups; not the same as SEND funding.
The system
SEND — Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
SEN Support — the level of help provided by the school from its own resources. Most children with SEND are at this level and never have an EHCP.
EHCP — Education, Health and Care Plan. A legal document setting out a child's needs and the provision the local authority must arrange. Legally enforceable.
EHC needs assessment — the process of deciding whether to issue an EHCP. You can request one yourself; you don't need the school to do it.
Graduated approach — the required cycle of assess, plan, do, review. If someone says support is in place, ask when it will be reviewed.
SEND Code of Practice — the statutory guidance schools and local authorities must follow.
Local Offer — the council's published list of SEND services in your area. Every LA must have one.
Annual review — the yearly review of an EHCP. Parents and the young person must be involved.
Reasonable adjustments — changes settings are required to make under the Equality Act 2010. No diagnosis needed.
Section 41 / specialist provision — approved independent and specialist settings that can be named in an EHCP.
Personal budget — money you can request to arrange some EHCP provision yourself.
SEND Tribunal — the independent body that hears appeals against LA decisions on assessment, EHCP content and placement.
Conditions and terms
ASD / ASC — Autism Spectrum Disorder / Condition. Many autistic people prefer simply "autism" or "autistic".
ADHD — Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
PDA — Pathological Demand Avoidance. A described profile, not a formal diagnosis.
DCD — Developmental Coordination Disorder, also called dyspraxia.
DLD — Developmental Language Disorder. Persistent difficulty with understanding or using language.
SLCN — Speech, Language and Communication Needs.
SpLD — Specific Learning Difficulty. The umbrella covering dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
MLD / SLD / PMLD — Moderate / Severe / Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties.
SEMH — Social, Emotional and Mental Health. One of the four SEND categories.
ARFID — Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. Restricted eating, often sensory-driven.
EBSA — Emotionally Based School Avoidance. Not attending because of distress, as distinct from truancy.
Co-occurring / comorbid — having more than one condition at once. Common.
Masking — hiding traits to fit in.
Executive function — the brain's planning, starting, organising, self-monitoring system.
Interoception — the sense of what's happening inside your own body.
Proprioception — the sense of where your body is in space.
Stimming — repetitive movement or sound used to regulate.
Paperwork and process
IEP / ILP / SSP — Individual Education Plan, Individual Learning Plan, Student Support Plan. Names vary; all mean a written plan of support. Not legally binding.
Pupil passport / One-page profile — a short document about the child, shared with staff.
PEP — Personal Education Plan, for children in care.
CIN / CP — Child in Need / Child Protection. Social care plans.
TAF / TAC — Team Around the Family / Child. Multi-agency meeting.
Early Help — LA support before things reach social care thresholds.
Access arrangements — exam adjustments: extra time, a reader, a scribe, a separate room. Applied for by school, evidence of "normal way of working" needed, so raise it early.
Elective Home Education (EHE) — parents choosing to educate at home. Different from EOTAS.
EOTAS — Education Otherwise Than At School. Provision arranged and funded by the LA, named in an EHCP.
Reduced / part-time timetable — should be temporary, with a plan and review dates.
Off-rolling — unlawfully removing a pupil from the register in the school's interests. Not the same as a lawful exclusion.
Where to get advice
- SENDIASS — free, impartial, statutory advice in every local authority area
- IPSEA — legal advice on rights, EHCPs and tribunal appeals
- Council for Disabled Children — information on the SEND system
- Your LA's Local Offer website
Plain-English summaries, not legal advice. Terms and processes differ across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and change over time.