SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS & DISABILITIES

Some children suffering with mental health problems can be considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010. All schools are under an obligation not to discriminate against pupils on the grounds of disability.

Under the Act disability includes a mental impairment. The mental impairment must have a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Long term means that the symptoms have lasted or are expected to last for 12 months but this need not be consecutive.

The following are examples of mental health symptoms that can be regarded as a mental impairment under the Act:

Anxiety; Low mood; Panic attacks; Phobias; Eating disorders; Bipolar affective disorders; Obsessive compulsive disorders; Personality disorders; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Some self-harming behavior; Depression; Schizophrenia; Autistic spectrum disorders; Dyslexia and dyspraxia; Learning disabilities.

REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS

If we accept mental health difficulties such as anxiety can be classed as SEND, a school needs to continue to support the education of a child, especially when there are possible delays in accessing medical support. If a child is unable to attend school they will need support so that they may be able to reintegrate at some point without the additional anxiety created by being behind with their work.

Schools are duty holders under the SEND Code of Practice 2015 and as such the school has the following duties:

o Provide high quality teaching that is differentiated and personalised to meet the individual needs of the majority of children and young people. Some children and young people need educational provision that is additional to or different from this.

o This is special educational provision under Section 21 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to ensure that such provision is made for those who need it.

o If a child or young person falls within the definition of disability above then the school has particular obligations. Schools are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments to put disabled students on a more equal footing with pupils without disabilities. If an adjustment is reasonable then it should be made and there can be no justification for why it is not made. An adjustment may be considered unreasonable if it is very expensive, and may be a reason for a school refusing to offer school-based counselling.

o The duty to make reasonable adjustments is also anticipatory. This means that schools should give thought in advance to what disabled children and young people might require and what adjustments might be needed to prevent disabled students from being disadvantaged.

o Where a school has identified that a pupil needs special educational provision due to their mental health problems, this will comprise educational or training provision that is additional to or different from that made generally for others of the same age. This means provision that goes beyond the differentiated approaches and learning arrangements normally provided as part of high quality, personalised teaching. It may take the form of additional support from within the setting or require the involvement of specialist staff or support services.

The SENCO should ensure all adults working in the school understand their responsibilities to children with SEND, including pupils whose persistent mental health difficulties mean they need special educational provision. Specifically, the SENCO will ensure colleagues understand how the school identifies and meets pupils’ needs, provide advice and support to colleagues as needed and liaise with external SEND professionals as necessary.

• Schools should identify and support children with neurological differences and/or a disability.
• Children may be supported from within the school’s own resources under SEND
• Support or they may have an EHC plan.
• Schools should record what SEND they have identified a child as having, what outcomes they expect the child to achieve with special educational provision, and what provision is being put in place to reach those outcomes in an SEND Support record.
• They should trigger an EHC needs assessment where they cannot meet a child’s needs. They should do so if they don’t have the expertise or funding to identify those needs fully or to identify the provision/support the child requires.
• They should also do so when they know what the child’s needs are and what provision should be put in place, but they cannot make that provision. In these circumstances, if the school has made them aware of the situation, the LA must agree to carry out an EHC needs assessment.