A sumary explanation of the SEND support available on Wirral
“Wirral has High Aspirations and Expectations for All of our Children and Young People including those who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities”
There is a new SEND Code of Practice which has recently been updated as a consequence of the legislation contained within the “Children and Families Act”
This Code tells everybody involved in supporting children and young people with SEND, what the law says they have to do. It sets out clearly what local authorities and educational institutions should and must do. Should means they have to follow this guidance unless they have good reasons not to.
The full Code of Practice can be found using the following link;
Using this Code, Wirral Local Authority have worked with our Early Years Settings, schools and colleges to develop a robust system which aims to support children and young people from the earliest point to achieve their best, become confident individuals and make a successful transition into adulthood.
We aim for the vast majority of children to receive any support they need in their local mainstream schools. For those with the highest levels of need we offer a range of Special School and Specialist
Provision? Details of Wirral Specialist Provision are currently being updated and will be available here soon.
In order to access Specialist Provision, Children and Young People need to have had an Education,
Health and Care Assessment which results in an EHC Plan which names that school.
All settings are required by the Code of Practice to identify and address the SEN of the children/young people that they support. They must:
• use their best endeavours to make sure that a child/young person with SEN gets the support they need – this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people’s SEN
• ensure that children and young people with SEN engage in activities alongside pupils who do not have SEN
• designate a teacher to be responsible for co-ordinating SEN provision
• inform parents/young people when they are making special educational provision
 prepare a “SEN Information Report”
What is meant by special educational needs?
A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she: has a disability which prevents or hinders him or

her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions
SEND Support
On Wirral the vast majority of children who have Special Educational Needs and or disabilities will have their needs met in their local mainstream early year’s settings, schools or colleges. Only “some children/young people” will require an Educational, Health and Care Needs Assessment in order for the Local Authority to decide whether it is necessary for it to make provision in accordance with an
EHC Plan.
The support required to meet most children’s SEN needs will come from the setting, school or college’s own SEN budget (This is known as Element 1 and 2 funding). Previously this support was known as School Action or School Action Plus.
Under the New Code of Practice this is now referred to as SEN Support. It is the responsibility of each individual school to describe how, with their allocated SEN resource; they intend to meet the needs of children and young people who they have identified in their school. This will be outlined in the schools SEN Information Report. These SEN Reports can be found on the Schools individual
Websites. They should describe the full range of arrangements the school makes for children and young people who have SEND. Full details of this SEN Information Report can be found by clicking here.(COP 6.79)-Page 95
For a small amount of children and young people who do not make the progress expected of them, despite their setting having taken ” relevant and purposeful action to identify, assess and meet
their special educational needs” the Local Authority will consider whether an Education, Health and
Care Assessment is necessary.
Statutory Assessment processes and admissions to special schools are managed by the SEN team at
Hamilton Building. The team is primarily responsible for the completion of the Plans and work with parents, settings, and professionals in health and social care. Assessments are requested via the educational setting or directly from parents.
The service is for all children and young people aged 0-25.
This team can be contacted via the Children and Young People’s Department, SEN Section, Hamilton
Building, Conway Street, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 4FD. Tel: 0151 666 4224.
As the result of an EHC assessment most children or young people will receive an EHC Plan allowing them to access additional funding from the Councils High Needs Budget. (This is known as Element 3 funding). This can be used for support in a mainstream school or to access Specialist Provision.
The Local Authority can also provide this Element 3 Funding in certain circumstances without an EHC assessment. These enhanced funding arrangements are currently known as ” Individual Funding
Arrangements” for children who have social and communication difficulties and “Individual Health
Care Plans” for children with Physical Disabilities. For details of these systems click here

Disabled children and young people
Many children and young people who have SEN may have a disability that is ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. Long-term is defined as ‘a year or more’ and ‘substantial’ means ‘more than minor or trivial’.
The Equality Act 2010 sets out the legal obligations that schools, early years providers, post-16 institutions, local authorities and others have towards disabled children and young people:
The requirements of the Equality Act have NOT been changed by the Children And Families Act
Children with medical conditions
The Children & Families Act places a duty on maintained schools and academies to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions. A healthcare plan will set out the type and level of support required to meet these needs. Guidance on “Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions” can be found by clicking here.