SEND Glossary

Plain-English definitions for families and settings. Terms drawn from Pass Me the Magic Wand, Please and current SEND practice.

The SEND system can feel like it is written in a language you were never taught. This glossary covers the terms that come up most often — in meetings, in documents, and in conversations with professionals. Whether you are a family member or a practitioner, every term here is here for everyone. It sits in both the AISK for families and the AISK for settings.

A

AAC — Augmentative and Alternative Communication

An umbrella term for any tool or method that supports or replaces spoken language — from picture symbols and objects of reference through to signing systems and high-tech communication devices. Not a sign that a child won’t speak; often a bridge that helps them get there.

ABCC Record — Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence, Communication

A structured observation record that looks at what happened before a behaviour, the behaviour itself (described factually, not interpreted), what happened after, and what the behaviour might have been trying to communicate. More useful across several observations than after a single incident.

ACEs — Adverse Childhood Experiences

Ten recognised categories of early-life hardship — including abuse, neglect, domestic violence, a parent’s imprisonment, or household substance use — shown to have a cumulative relationship with later health and life outcomes. Common, rarely arriving alone, and relevant to how a child behaves and learns.

ADHD — Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

A neurodevelopmental condition characterised by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that affect functioning. ADHD looks different in different children — some are predominantly inattentive (easily distracted, forgetful), some predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and many a combination of both.

Annual Review

A statutory meeting held at least once a year for children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), to review whether the plan still reflects the child’s needs and whether the support in place is working. Families must be involved.

APDR — Assess, Plan, Do, Review

The cycle the SEND Code of Practice sets out for identifying and supporting a child with SEND: assess what the child needs, plan how to meet it, put the plan in place, and review whether it is working. Then start again.

ASD — Autism Spectrum Disorder

A neurodevelopmental condition defined around two core areas: persistent differences in social communication and social interaction, and restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities. “Spectrum” reflects the wide range of ways autism presents — no two autistic people are the same.

ASQ — Ages and Stages Questionnaire

A parent-completed developmental screening tool covering communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal-social skills. The companion ASQ:SE-2 focuses on social-emotional development. Both can be requested outside statutory review points if there are concerns.

B

Birth to 5 Matters

Non-statutory guidance published by the Early Years Coalition (2021) that breaks down the EYFS into helpful age bands, describing what children might typically be doing at different points and what adults can do to support them. A useful complement to the EYFS statutory framework.

Blank’s Levels of Questioning

A four-level model grading how abstract or complex a question or instruction really is. Level 1 is the simplest (name this, point to that). Level 4 is the most abstract (why did that happen? what might she be thinking?). Helps explain why “come and join group time” is harder than it sounds.

C

Cohort of Need

When several children in a group are struggling with the same moment, transition, or expectation — suggesting the issue lies with the situation itself rather than with any individual child. Calls for a change to the environment or approach, not five individual behaviour plans.

Co-production

Working together in genuine partnership — families, children, and professionals — from the very start of planning, not after decisions are already made. The Four Cornerstones (Welcome and Care, Value and Include, Communicate, Work in Partnership) set out what this looks like in practice. Trust sits at the centre of all four.

Cortisol

The body’s primary stress hormone, released during fight-or-flight moments. It narrows access to language and reasoning, and can take twenty minutes or more to clear — which is why a child who has just been dysregulated cannot simply “listen better” immediately afterwards.

D

DLD — Developmental Language Disorder

A condition where a child has persistent difficulties with spoken language that cannot be explained by hearing loss, autism, or other known conditions. DLD affects around two children in every classroom and is often missed. A speech and language therapy assessment is the appropriate route for identification.

DSM-5

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (2013). The clinical manual used to define and diagnose conditions including ASD and ADHD.

Dysregulation

When a child (or adult) is pushed outside their Window of Tolerance — either into hyperarousal (fight or flight: shouting, hitting, bolting) or hypoarousal (shutdown: freezing, withdrawing, going very still and quiet). Neither is defiance. Both are the nervous system responding to overwhelm.

E

EAL — English as an Additional Language

A child who is learning English alongside another language spoken at home. EAL is not a special educational need, though children with EAL may also have SEND. Distinguishing between language acquisition and a learning difficulty requires careful assessment and family knowledge.

Education Advice

A written report from the setting, requested as part of an EHC Needs Assessment, describing the child’s needs and the support already in place. It forms part of the evidence the local authority uses to decide whether to issue an EHCP.

EHCP — Education, Health and Care Plan

A statutory, legally binding plan for a child or young person with more complex SEND, setting out their education, health, and social care needs, the outcomes the plan aims for, and the provision that must be made. Reviewed at least annually. EHCPs sit above SEN Support — not all children with SEND have or need one.

EHC Needs Assessment

The process by which a local authority decides whether to issue an EHCP. Families and settings can both request one. The local authority has twenty weeks from the request to either issue an EHCP or explain why they will not.

ELGs — Early Learning Goals

The 17 end-point goals across the seven areas of the EYFS that form the basis of the EYFS Profile assessment at the end of Reception. A measure of development, not a taught curriculum.

EOTAS — Educated Other Than At School

When a local authority arranges education for a child outside a school setting — for example, because of medical needs, a breakdown in placement, or while waiting for an appropriate setting. Families can also choose to educate at home.

EP — Educational Psychologist

A professional who assesses and advises on a child’s learning, development, and emotional wellbeing. Often involved in EHC Needs Assessments and can support settings with advice around specific children and whole-setting practice.

EYFS — Early Years Foundation Stage

The statutory framework governing the care and education of children from birth to the end of Reception in England. Sets out the seven areas of learning and development, the Early Learning Goals, and requirements for safeguarding, welfare, and learning and development.

F

Fight / Flight / Freeze

The three instinctive survival responses triggered when the brain perceives threat. Fight: shouting, hitting, biting, resisting. Flight: running, bolting, hiding. Freeze: going very still, shutting down, becoming unresponsive. All three are automatic responses, not choices — and none of them is defiance.

Four Cornerstones of Co-production

Welcome and Care. Value and Include. Communicate. Work in Partnership. Developed from the Rotherham Charter (2011). Trust sits at the centre of all four.

G

GLD — Good Level of Development

A child achieves GLD when they reach the expected level across the five prime and specific areas that count toward the EYFS Profile: Communication and Language, Personal Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Literacy, and Mathematics. Around 19.7% of children with SEND currently achieve GLD nationally.

Graduated Approach

The cycle of Assess, Plan, Do, Review through which settings identify and support children with SEND, adjusting what is in place based on what is and is not working. Applies to all children receiving SEN Support, not only those with an EHCP.

H

Hyperarousal / Hypoarousal

The two states outside the Window of Tolerance. Hyperarousal is the activated state — fight or flight, high energy, dysregulated upward. Hypoarousal is the shutdown state — freeze, withdrawal, very still or unresponsive. Both are the nervous system’s response to feeling unsafe or overwhelmed.

I

ITERS / ECERS

The Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale and Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale — observational tools used to assess the quality of the physical and relational environment in early years settings. Used in self-evaluation and improvement planning.

Intensive Interaction

An approach built on mirroring and responding to a child’s own sounds, movements, and rhythms rather than asking them to follow ours. Developed by Dave Hewett and Melanie Nind. Supports the earliest, most fundamental levels of communication.

ISP — Individual Support Plan

A plan setting out a specific child’s targets, the strategies for meeting them, the provision the setting will put in place, and how the family can support the same targets at home. Reviewed at least half-termly with the family. Uses the APDR cycle.

K

Key Person Approach

A named, consistent adult who builds a close, trusted relationship with a child, acting as their secure base within the setting. A statutory requirement in the EYFS. Particularly important for children with SEND, who may need more time and consistency to build trust.

L

Leuven Scale

A five-point scale measuring a child’s wellbeing and involvement, developed by Professor Ferre Laevers at Leuven University. A quick, in-the-moment check on how a child is really doing — not just whether they’re present, but whether they’re genuinely engaged.

Local Offer

Every local authority must publish a Local Offer — a description of the education, health, and social care support available to children and young people with SEND in that area, and how to access it. A useful starting point for understanding what help might be available locally.

M

Makaton

A communication system combining key word signs, symbols, and speech. First developed in the early 1970s by Margaret Walker. Not a replacement for speech; often used alongside it to support understanding and expression.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

A model showing that higher-level needs (learning, achievement, belonging) can only be met once more basic needs are secure — safety, warmth, hunger, rest. A reminder that we cannot expect a child to engage at the “top of the pyramid” without first checking the foundations at the bottom are secure.

N

Neurodiversity / Neurodivergent

Neurodiversity is the idea that variation in human brains and nervous systems is natural and normal. Neurodivergent describes a person whose brain works differently from what is considered typical — including autistic people, those with ADHD, dyslexia, DLD, and others. Not a deficit; a different profile of strengths and challenges.

NICE

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Sets guidance for recognising, referring, diagnosing, and supporting autism in England (CG128 covers recognition and referral; CG170 covers ongoing support).

Notional SEN Budget

The portion of a mainstream school’s core funding intended to cover the first £6,000 of a pupil’s additional SEND support costs. Training, advisory support, and consultancy are recognised uses of this budget.

O

Objects of Reference / Pictures of Reference

A real object (or an image) used to represent an activity or item — giving a child something concrete to anticipate what is coming next. Objects of Reference are used when a child cannot yet interpret pictures. Both are forms of AAC. See the full guide to Objects of Reference.

P

PECS — Picture Exchange Communication System

A communication system where a child exchanges a picture for a desired item or activity, building initiated, two-way communication. Developed by Dr Andy Bondy and Lori Frost (1985).

Provision Mapping

A whole-setting record of the additional support in place for children with SEND — who receives what, from whom, how often, and at what cost. Helps settings evaluate the impact of their provision and plan resources.

Pupil Premium

Additional funding given to schools for disadvantaged pupils, including those eligible for free school meals. Can be used for CPD and SEND-related training, provided there is a clear, evidenced link to outcomes for eligible pupils.

R

Reasonable Adjustments

Changes a setting must make under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure a disabled child is not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared with their peers. The duty is anticipatory — settings should think ahead about what a child might need before they arrive, not only after a difficulty has already arisen.

Receptive / Expressive Language

Receptive language is a child’s ability to understand language directed at them. Expressive language is their ability to use language to communicate. A child can have very different levels in each — understanding far more than they can yet say, or vice versa.

Regulate, Relate, Reason — the Three Rs

Bruce Perry’s sequence for responding to a dysregulated child: calm the body first (regulate), build connection second (relate), and only then attempt reasoning or instruction (reason). Skipping the first two is why a well-meant instruction often doesn’t land in the moment it is needed.

S

SALT / SaLT — Speech and Language Therapy

Assessment and support for a child’s communication and, where relevant, eating and drinking. Speech and language therapists advise on AAC, language levels, specific communication strategies, and SEND-related feeding concerns.

SEND — Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

A child has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability that makes it significantly harder for them to learn than most children of the same age, or if they have a disability that prevents or hinders them from using educational facilities generally provided.

SENCO — Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator

The named professional in a school or setting responsible for co-ordinating SEND provision. In maintained schools the SENCO must be a qualified teacher, and anyone new to the role since September 2024 has three years to gain the NPQ for SENCOs — the qualification that replaced the National Award for SEN Co-ordination. Your SENCO is your first point of contact for concerns about a child’s SEND.

SENDIASS — Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service

A free, impartial, and confidential service offering information, advice, and support to children and young people with SEND, and their parents and carers. Every local authority in England must provide one. A good first call if you are unsure about your rights or how to navigate the system.

SEN Support

The level of additional support provided within a mainstream setting, using the graduated approach (APDR cycle). Most children with SEND are supported at SEN Support level — an EHCP is for those with more complex needs that cannot be met through SEN Support alone.

Serve and Return

The back-and-forth interaction between a child and a responsive adult — the child “serves” (a sound, a look, a gesture) and the adult “returns” (mirrors, responds, builds on it). The foundation of early communication and connection, long before words exist. The basis of Intensive Interaction.

T

TAC / TAF — Team Around the Child / Team Around the Family

A multi-agency meeting bringing together the professionals working with a child or family, alongside the family themselves, to co-ordinate support and agree shared goals. Not the same as an EHCP Annual Review, though they may overlap.

TEACCH

An approach using visual structure — schedules, labelled spaces, clear physical organisation — to help children understand what is expected without relying on spoken language alone. Designed to answer four questions visually: what is there to do? how much? how will I know when I’m finished? what happens next?

Transition Plan

A plan to support a child through a significant change — moving rooms, changing settings, starting school, or moving from primary to secondary. Should involve the family, the receiving setting, and where possible the child’s own voice about what will help.

Trauma-informed Practice

An approach grounded in asking “what has happened to you?” rather than “what’s wrong with you?” — recognising that behaviour is shaped by a person’s whole history of experience, not just the immediate moment.

Tribunal — SEND Tribunal (SENDIST)

A legal process families can use to appeal against local authority decisions about an EHCP. Free to apply. Getting early independent advice is strongly recommended.

W

Window of Tolerance

The zone of arousal within which a person can think clearly, engage socially, and manage their emotions. Above the window: hyperarousal (fight/flight). Below: hypoarousal (shutdown/freeze). Repeated stress narrows the window over time.