Ability

This is what an individual is can do.

Academy

Academies are all-ability, state-funded schools established and managed by sponsors from a wide range of backgrounds, including high performing schools and colleges, universities, individual philanthropists, businesses, the voluntary sector, and the faith communities. Some are established educational providers, and all of them bring a record of success in other enterprises which they are able to apply to their Academies in partnership with experienced school managers.

Acquired

Difficulty that arises after birth as a results of an illness, accident or incident

Aptitude

This is a measure of what an individual is capable of achieving. It is a measure  of their potential.

Articulation

The production of sounds that make up speech

Assessment

Collecting information to make informed decisions. Can include formal assessment using standardised tests and informal assessment which uses knowledge of the child gained through observation, questionnaires and interviews. Diagnostic Assessment consists of collating information from a range of sources and making decisions at to why a child may be experiencing difficulties. Once the cause of the difficulties are diagnosed, adequate intervention can be applied.

Formative assessment is an evaluation of a students learning that aids the understanding and development of knowledge, skills and abilities.  It is a process of evaluating what the individual knows and can do, but may not achieve it within a formalised testing situation. Whereas summative assessment is the end result or grade and is used to track progress and determine how much information a student has retained.

Assessment for Learning

Process of sharing information about the learning to take place within the lesson in order for individual learners to have more responsibility for their learning. It enables the teacher and the learner to work together as a team. It involves sharing learning objectives, providing opportunities for discussion and feedback, time to reflect and self-evaluate in addition to peer evaluation and providing detailed feedback regarding ways to improve the quality and standard of the work.

Assessing Pupil Progress (APP)

A process of structured and periodic assessments for reading, writing and mathematics. Used to inform Teacher Assessment and to replace SATS.

Attainment

This is the final result or score obtained from a test or series of assessments.

Achievement

This is the act of obtaining something and is the process as opposed to the score (attainment). It is the ability to demonstrate accomplishment an may be through deeds in addition to learning. For example, an individual may achieve good progress.

Acute:                  

Short term crisis phase of an illness

Advocacy            

Support and advice for a service user to enable their point of view to be put across effectively to providers

Augmentative and alternative communication

Methods of communication that supplement or replce speech and handwriting with signs, symbols and/or voice output communication aids.

British Dyslexia Association (BDA)

A charity promoting early identification and support for individuals with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties.

Cognition

Term used to describe the process of thought for processing information, applying knowledge and changing preferences.

Cognitive Ability Test

A rest measuring understanding, memory, judgement and reasoning

Complex needs

When an individual presents with a range and variety of difficulties affecting a number of areas of functioning.

Comprehension

Understanding spoken words and their meaning(verbal Comprehension)or written words and their meaning (reading comprehension). It can also mean understanding non-verbal clues like gestures.

Connexions       

Support 13-19 year-olds into adulthood with personal advisers to achieve goals and guide them to appropriate services

Co-occurring Difficulties

More than one difficulty which occur together which are not necessarily associated.

Decoding

Decoding is the ability to apply your knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Understanding these relationships gives children the ability to recognize familiar words quickly and to figure out words they haven't seen before. Although children may sometimes figure out some of these relationships on their own, most children benefit from explicit instruction in this area.

Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (DCD)

Also known as dyspraxia,  is a severe motor co-ordination disorder which affects fine control in the form of handwriting, self-help skills, manual dexterity, and gross motor development in the form of cycling, kicking a ball, skipping and so on. Individuals may also experience poor balance and poor self-perception.

Diagnosis

This is the name used for a particular condition which an individual may have or it may apply to the process of gaining information to identify the reasons for a difficulty or condition occurring.

Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)

Sets minimum standards to ensure services are available to disabled people. Prevents discrimination against people due to their disability.

Disability Living Allowance

This is a benefit paid by the government for people including children with disabilities or long-term conditions.

Disability Rights Commission

Independent body set up to advance civil rights for disabled people

Disabled Student Allowance (DSA)

A government funded benefit for higher education student (Post 18) who are experiencing substantial difficulties which would affect their ability to access higher level qualifications. Difficulties such as slow processing, reading or writing speeds, language comprehension difficulties and difficulties associated with dyslexia may all qualify for DSA.

Disorder

This is a deviance or difference in development as opposed to developmental delay which is developing normally but a step behind the individual’s peer group.

Dysarthria

This is a speech disorder where the muscles that affect speech and breath control are weak and slow. The condition is a direct result of neurological impairment which control the muscles of the speech organs. It affects speech production through articulation as the speech sounds slurred and indistinct.

Dyscalculia

Difficulty in acquiring mathematical skills and knowledge including  the development of basic number sense and concepts development. Individuals often lack an intuitive grasp of number and have problems learning number facts and procedures.

Dysfluency

Usually applied to stammers or stutter. It is where speaking is impaired by involuntary repetitions or pauses.

Dysfunction

A disturbance or failure in the functioning of a body part or organ.

Dyslexia

A learning difficulty which primarily affects the skills involved in reading, writing and/or spelling due to neurological impairment.

Dysphasia (or aphasia)

This is a condition which results from impairment to the brain. It is an impaired ability to understand or use spoken word. It is a dysfunction of the link between thought and language and affects spoken, written and symbolic communication. It may also be referred to as acquired brain injury.

Dysphonia

This is a voice characterised by either a high pitch, volume or resonance or a voice quality which is inappropriate for the age or gender of the speaker.

Dyspraxia

A developmental disorder which affects the movement and co-ordination of the individual. It can affect the development of daily living skills such as dressing, writing and can affect speech as the individual has impaired fine motor control of the speech organs. This is often termed verbal dyspraxia.

Educational Psychologist

Professionals with specialist qualifications who advise schools and LAs on aspects relating to SEN and behavioural difficulties. They assess for statutory assessment for a statement of SEN.

Expressive difficulties

Difficulty conveying thoughts and messages through language.

Fluency

Being able to deliver information quickly, efficiently and accurately.

Fragile-X

The most common form of inheritable learning disability which is easily identifiable due to the chromosomal abnormality on the tip of chromosome X.

Global Developmental Delay

General developmental delay characterised by delayed milestones in many areas such as speech, movement and cognition.

Grammatical Structures

The system of rules governing a language.

Green Paper     

Consultation document issued by the government on a specific policy area inviting the views of interested parties. First step in the legislative process.

Inclusion

Where a child or young person is facilitated in being included within their mainstream or local setting. Effective inclusion requires the removal of individual barriers to learning and participation.

Inclusion Development Programme (IDP)

A series of on-line professional development activities for teachers and other staff in schools, in specific areas of SEN such as dyslexia, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Speech, Language and Communication, Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.

Inclusion Statement

In the National Curriculum is the Inclusion Statement which sets out the fundamental importance of every child having an equal opportunity to an education through accessing the curriculum, by setting suitable learning challenges, responding to pupils’ diverse learning needs and removing barriers to learning and assessment.

Individual Education Plan (IEP)

An individual document which is tailored to the specific needs of a child and is reviewed regularly. It sets out targets for specific areas of development and suggested intervention techniques to enable the successful achievement of these targets.

Individual Learning Plan (ILP)

An individual learning plan sets out a specific learning plan for an individual and may be within one particular area or many curricular areas. For instance, a child who needs motor skills development would have a ILP designed with a daily programme of work to develop their movement and co-ordination, which would be specific to their individual needs. It is more detailed than the IEP, which provides 3 or 4 general targets for one or more subject areas.

Intonation

The changing pitch, pace and volume of sound to convey meaning in spoken language.

Language Delay

Usually used to describe a situation where the child has specific difficulties in the development of language where all other skills are developing at the normal developmental rate.

Learning Difficulty

A general term used to describe a wide range of problems experienced by children who find it significantly harder to learn than other children the same age. It can be used to describe difficulties in learning, memory, concentration, behaviour, reading, number work or speech and language.

Learning Disability

Is a lifelong condition and is the most common form of childhood impairment with 1 in 20 having a learning disability of some kind. It encompasses any development which is significantly behind the expected level for their age.  LD may occur on its own or may co-occur with other difficulties or medical conditions such as epilepsy. For some children there is a genetic basis for the LD e.g. Down’s Syndrome. However, for a significant number of children the causes are never known.

Local Authority (LA)

Local government use devolved national budgets to provide local services such as education and social care. They devolve most of the education budget to schools’ but hold back a proportion for maintaining support services and providing for children with more complex needs and full statements of SEN.

Long-Term Memory

Indefinitely stores an unlimited amount of information.

Metacognition

This is the ability to evaluate and understand what the individual actually knows and understands. It is a knowledge of oneself, knowing what you know.

Modelling

A teaching approach where the teacher/TA provides an example of the ‘correct’ way of working/learning/speaking.

Moderate Learning Difficulties

General difficulties in learning demonstrated to be within the below average range (Below 70)

Multi-agency working

More than one agency (health, education or social care) working with a child and family at any time

Multi-disciplinary Assessment

This is the assessment carried out by a range of professionals of different disciplines to provide a holistic and complete overview of the individual’s areas of development, strengths and difficulties. It is an essential feature of the statementing process.

Multi-sensory impairments

This is the term used to describe individuals with impairments in both hearing and vision. Other difficulties or impairments may also be experienced in certain rare medical or genetic conditions.

Note in Lieu      

How the LA explains why it has decided not to issue a statement for a child

National Curriculum

All learning and development objectives and experiences required to enable a holistic curriculum to be planned for each individual child. It is currently under revierw.

National  Service Framework

The establishment of a set of minimum national standards of clinical quality and access to services in major care groups.

Non-Verbal Ability

This is the ability to interpret information which is presented in a non-verbal format such as through diagrams, patterns and so on. It is a useful measure for determining underlying ability in individuals with language and communication difficulties.

Occupational Therapist (OT)

A health professional specialising in difficulties children experience which affect their daily living skills. They help with therapy/intervention programmes, environmental adaptations and specialist equipment.

Oral Expression

Ability to express oneself through words.

Paediatrician

Doctor specialising in working with children.

Phonics

Is one approach to reading instruction that teaches students the principles of letter-sound relationships, how to sound out words, and provides exceptions to the principles.

Phonology

The range of sounds that are used for speech.

Phonological Awareness/Difficulties

Phonological awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate sounds in words. It is a foundation skill for reading and spelling development. Phonological Difficulty is a difficulty in selecting, creating, discriminating or using correct speech sounds when speaking. This may affect the development of Literacy skills such as reading and spelling.

Physiotherapist

A health professional who specialises in the physical and motor development of individuals.

Pragmatic Difficulties

Difficulty using language and difficulty in understanding meaning and context. An individual with a pragmatic difficulty may not understand other people’s language, may interpret it literally and may use inappropriate language within different situations, not understanding the contextualised nature of language.

Primary Difficulty

This is the most predominantly presenting feature or difficulty and may result in secondary difficulties or may be a result of a underlying or hidden difficulty.

Primary Framework

Provides overarching guidance and support for teachers in Literacy and Numeracy. There is the National Literacy Strategy and the National Numeracy Strategy, which set the detail of the curriculum to be delivered within schools.

Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties

General learning Difficulties below standard score 50

Prognosis

A prediction of what is likely to happen following an injury, disease or other diagnosed condition.

Provision Map

The SENCO within a setting is responsible for ensuring each child on the SEN register is adequately supported. In order to manage provision appropriately, many SENCOs make use of a Provision Map which lists the range of provision available and the children who are in receipt of it.

Personal, Social and Health Education.

 Part of the national curriculum focussing on emotional and social issues faced by children

P Scales

Used to measure the attainment of school-aged students who are achieving at a level BELOW level 1 of the National Curriculum. They provide a measure of the early developmental stages of a child and enable tracking of progress to be made.

Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of people, the mind and behaviour. It is both a thriving academic discipline and a vital professional practice. Psychologists and psychological research have a big impact on all aspects of public life, particularly in areas such as education, health, the economy, industry and social justice.

Psychometric assessment

A test which assesses hidden and behavioural traits such as knowledge, abilities, attitudes and personality, cognitive and emotional functioning.

Pupil Referral Unit (PRU)

PRUs are a type of school, set up and run by LAs to provide education for children who cannot attend school.
LAs have a duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to provide suitable education for children of compulsory school age who cannot attend school. Placing pupils in PRUs is just one of the ways in which LAs can ensure that they can comply with this duty. Although thought of as primarily for educating permanently excluded pupils or pupils at risk of exclusion, they may not be solely for this cause.

Reasoning

A cognitive process which looks for reasons, deductions, beliefs, conclusions and feelings. For the purposes of assessment, how individuals reason and their ability to be able to reason is assessed.

Receptive Language Difficulty

This is a difficulty in understanding spoken language.

Regressive

Tending to revert to an earlier stage of development.

School Action

Second level of entitlement to additional support through the SEN Code of Practice. SEN funding is devolved to schools and intervention may include support in the form of additional small group work.

School Action Plus

Third level of entitlement to additional support as identified through the SEN Code of Practice. Funding is usually held by the Local Authority and must be applied for by the school/setting requiring rigorous assessment.

Secondary Difficulty

This is where a Primary difficulty causes the effect of a consequential difficulty, particularly if unredressed. For instance, a student may experience Literacy difficulties (Primary difficulty) which causes them to become anxious (secondary difficulty). A secondary speech and language difficulty is associated with other conditions or learning difficulties that may be experienced.

Self-Perception

The position of knowledge of one’s own behaviour, which may differ from that of others perceptions of the individual.

Semantic-Pragmatic Disorder

A difficulty in understanding how new information fits in with what is already known, and in making sense of spoken language. Difficulty in understanding or using language makes it difficult to use previous experience to solve problems or to predict what might happen in different situations. Individuals may not understand non-verbal cue, innuendo and may take language very literally.

SEN Code of Practice

Government guidance issued in 2001 to all schools and Early years settings setting out the appropriate management of SEN within a setting.

Sensory Defensiveness

This is a is a condition defined as having "a tendency to react negatively or with alarm to sensory input which is generally considered harmless or non-irritating" to normally developing individual.

It is not uncommon for individuals to have a few mild sensory defensive traits. However, when multiple defensive traits impact the person's day-to-day life, that person is considered to be Sensory Defensive.

Sensory Integration Therapy

Sensory integration is the ability to organise sensory information for use by the brain. An individual with Sensory Integration Dysfunction will have a difficulty in organising and interpreting information as it is received by the brain from the individual senses. Sensory Integration Therapy is used by Occupational Therapists to stimulate and integrate more than one of the senses through special intervention programmes. Interventions include activities such as spinning, sensory stimulation or applying firm or deep pressure.

Sensorimotor Development

This is the development of the brain which leads to the integration and co-ordination of sensory information leading to an appropriate motor response. Sensorimotor development theory was pioneered by Jean Piaget who determined that sensorimotor development played a key role in the development of cognition.

SEN Tribunal

The board which parents can refer to if they are dissatisfied with their child’s provision or the statement of SEN. They have a right to appeal at an independent tribunal if they disagree with the decision of the LA not to issue a Statement of SEN.

Short-term Memory

Capacity for holding a small amount of information in an active and readily available state for a short period of time. The capacity of the short-term memory is said to be 7 units of information +/- 2 units and can be held for just a few seconds, and it can be easily diverted by external factors.

Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning

Set curriculum looking at social and emotional aspects including emotional literacy

Special Educational Needs

Term used to describe children and young people in need of additional or different support within an educational setting.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) 2002

Brought the DDA 1995 into education and linked it into the SEN Code of Practice (2001)

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO)

All schools and early years settings must employ a qualified teacher to work as the SENCO, co-ordinating the SEN provision within the setting.

Specific Language Impairment (SLI)

A term used to describe language difficulties with comprehension and/or expression. Usually used when a child’s language falls well behind children of the same age or when the language development is disordered or different.

Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)

A specific difficulty in a specific area such as Literacy or Numeracy. Dyslexia is often used interchangeably with SpLD. The difficulty is life-long and persists despite appropriate teaching and support.

Speech

The sounds and sound combinations produced to make spoken language.

Speech and Language Delay

A child with a speech and language delay develops speech and language normally, but at a slower rate than normal development. They tend to use language in a way that a younger child would use it.

Speech and Language Therapist

A professional specialising in communication development and difficulty, also specialises in eating difficulties and swallowing.

Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties

A general term used to describe a range of specific problems some children and young people experience when acquiring language.

Speech and Language Disorder

A term used to describe the development of speech and/or language that is developing in a different way to the normally expected pattern of development.

Standard Attainment Tasks

Set national tests which are delivered across England in the Spring term of year 6

Standardised Assessments

An assessment which is delivered in a consistent way, which has been tested on a large population sample to provide standard scores enabling comparative measures to be made. There are a number of categories of standardised assessments:

Norm-referenced:

Compares the base knowledge of an individual with a ‘normal’ standard population. The larger the sample-size the greater the accuracy of the norm-referencing.

Criterion-reference:

Assessment content and knowledge base in a specific criteria.

Curriculum-based:

Assesses pupil’s instructional needs based upon performance on the existing content of the curriculum. E.g. testing areas of the curriculum after a unit of work has been delivered.

Dynamic:

An approach to testing in which the assessor aims to generate a hypothesis about how the pupil learns, how responsive the pupil is to attempts to intervene and what might be interfering with the pupil’s capacity to benefit from existing attempts at instruction.

Statutory Assessment

Detailed assessment required for a Statement of SEN to be issued by the LA. This is a statutory requirement and involves a multidisciplinary approach to assessment and diagnosis. There is a right of appeal to any decision made by the Statutory Assessment. Parents can request a Statutory Assessment from the LA under 7.21 of the SEN Code of Practice. If the LA refuse, parents have a right of appeal to an independent Tribunal.

Statement of Special Educational Needs

The highest level of support provided through the Local Authority. It is a legally binding document which is reviewed annually. It is based upon detailed analysis and diagnosis of need and often enables children to access specialist provision and special schools. It outlines the difficulties in learning and the specialist provision required and places a statutory duty upon Local Authorities to provide it.

Sure Start

Government initiative to work in a multi-professional way within the community with parents and children within particularly socially deprived areas offer improved access to support and education.

Syndrome

A pattern of symptoms or set of characteristics that often occur together and are indicative of a disorder or disease.

Teaching Assistant

Assistant to a class teacher which may be employed to support an individual child on a one-to-one basis or may support the class teacher as directed by the teacher. HLTAs (Higher Level TAs) have a number of additional duties and responsibilities which may include planning and teaching whole classes.

Verbal Memory

This is the ability to retain an ordered sequence of verbal material for a short period of time.

Verbal Processing Speed

This is the time taken to process familiar verbal information such as letters and digits.

Visuospatial processing

Ability to understand visual representations and their spatial relationships. For instance, an individual may be able to match a 3D object with another 3D object, but may have difficulty in interpreting a 2D representation of a 3D object. They may also have difficulty in interpreting the 3D object from a different position or angle.

Visual Stress

This is a term used to describe the experience of eye strain, difficulty in focussing, headaches and illusions of colour or movement in written text.

Visually Impaired

Any disability associated with vision.

Visual-motor perceptual skills

Ability to process information visually and make an appropriate motor (movement) response.

Vulnerable children      

Disadvantaged children who would benefit from extra help from agencies to help them to make the most of opportunities available to them.

Wave One Teaching

Often referred to as Quality First Teaching. This is the universal education, which is delivered through whole class with differentiation to allow for individual differences in ability and learning styles. It can also involve in-class support through the form of a Teaching Assistant.

Wave Two

Children who are identified as in need of additional support, may be offered small group work. They may have gaps in their knowledge or may have missed a number of lessons and need opportunities to catch up with their peers, or they may take longer to assimilate information. They may be included on the SEN register at School Action Plus and are generally speaking one-two years behind their normally developing peers.

Wave Three

Wave Three intervention approaches refers to a higher level of support when children are still struggling to maintain the level of their peer group. They may be two or more years behind. They are usually entered onto the SEN register and receive specialist additional support in the form of small group or one-to-one support. This may be through a Specialist Teacher or a TA.

Working Memory

This is the memory used to hold temporarily, process, manipulate and retrieve information. It is the executive and attentional aspect of short-term memory.

Acronyms

AAC                       Alternative and Augmentative Communication

ACPC                     Area Child Protection Committee

ADD                       Attention Deficit Disorder

ADHD                    Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

AfL                         Assessment for Learning

AEN                       Additional Educational Needs

ALS                        Additional Learning Support

AMBDA                 Associate Member of British Dyslexia Association

APP                        Assessing Pupil Progress

AQA                       Assessment and Qualifications Alliance

ASD                        Autistic Spectrum Disorder

ASN                        Additional Support Needs

AST                        Advanced Skills Teacher

BEST                       Behaviour and Education Support Team

BIP                          Behaviour Improvement Programme

BSP                         Behaviour Support Plan

BSS                          Behaviour Support Service

BVPI                        Best Value Performance Indicator

CAF                         Common Assessment Framework

CAFTS                     Child and Family Therapy Service

CALDAT                  Children and Adolescent Learning Disability Team

CAMHS                   Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

CD                           Conduct Disorders

CDC                         Child Development Centre

Centre                    Setting authorised for delivering public exams

CF                            Cystic Fibrosis

CFS                         Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic                  Continuing for a long time

CFS                         Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

CMHT                     Community Mental Health Team

CoP                         Code of Practice

CP                           Cerebral Palsy

DAMP                     Deficit in Attention, Motor Control and Perception

DCD                         Developmental Co-ordination Disorder

DDA                         Disability Discrimination Act

DED                         Disability Equality Duty

DRC                         Disability Rights Commission

DS                           Downs Syndrome

ECM                         Every Child Matters

EHE                          Elective Home Education

GCSE                          General Certificate of Secondary Education

GTC                            General Teaching Council

HI                               Hearing Impairment

IEP                              Individual Education Plan

ILP                              Individual Learning Plan

KS2                             Key Stage 2         Years 3-6 (age 7-11)

KS3                             Key Stage 3         Years 7-9 (age 11-14)

KS4                             Key Stage 4 Years 10-11 (age 14-16) GCSE phase

LA                               Local Authority

LAC                             Looked After Children

LD                               Learning disability         

LSC                             Learning and Skills Council

MLD                           Moderate Learning Difficulties

MND                          Motor  Neurone Disease

MSI                            Multi-Sensory Impairment

NLS                            National Literacy Strategy

NSF                            National Service Framework

NQT                           Newly Qualified Teacher

NVQ                           National Vocational Qualification

OCD                           Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

ODD                           Oppositional Defiance Disorder

ODPM                       Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

OT                              Occupational Therapist

PCT                            Primary Care Trust

PD                              Physical Disabilities/Difficulties

PMD                          Physical and Medical Difficulties

PMLD                        Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties

PPS                            Parent partnership Service

PRU                           Pupil Referral Unit

PSHE                         Personal, Social and Health Education.

PT                               Physiotherapist

SA                               Spelling Age

SATs                          Standard Attainment Tasks

SEAL                          Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning

SEBD                          Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties

SEF                             Self Evaluation Form

SEN                            Special Educational Needs

SENSS                        SEN Support Services

SLCN                          Speech, Language and Communication Needs

SLD                             Severe Learning Difficulties

SLI                              Specific Language Impairment

SpLD                         Specific Learning Difficulties

SSEN                         Statement of Special Educational Need

TA                              Teaching Assistant

TLR                            Teaching and Learning Responsibility

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