Where a student has a learning difficulty or disability that calls for special educational provision, the college must use it best endeavours to put appropriate support in place. Young people will be supported to participate in discussions about aspirations, their needs and the support that they think will help them best. Support should be aimed at promoting student independence and enabling the young person to make good progress towards employment and/or higher education, independent living, good health and participating in the community.

Colleges should bring together all the relevant information from the school, from the student, from those working with the student and from any screening test or assessment that the college has carried out. This information should be discussed with the student. The student should be offered support at this meeting and might be accompanied by a parent, advocate or other supporter. This discussion may identify a need for a more specialist assessment from within the college or beyond.

Where the college decides a student needs SEN support, the college should discuss with the student their ambitions, the nature of the support put in place, the expected impact on progress and a date for reviewing support. Plans should be developed with the student. The support and intervention provided should be selected to meet the student’s aspirations, and should be based on reliable evidence of effectiveness and provided by practitioners with relevant skills and knowledge. The effectiveness of the support and it impact on the students progress should be reviewed regularly, this may lead to changes in the type and level of their support. This review will take into account the student’s progress and any changes to the student’s own ambitions and aspirations, which may lead to changes in their support. The college and the student together will plan any changes in support.

Where a student has an EHC plan, the local authority must review that plan as a minimum every twelve months, including a review of the student’s support. The college must co-operate with the local authority in the review process. As part of the review, the local authority can ask the college to hold the annual review meeting on its behalf.

Specialist help should be involved where the student’s needs are not being met despite the support provided by the college. Where despite the college having taken relevant and purposeful action to identify, assess and meet the needs of the student, the student is still not making the expected progress, the college or young person should consider requesting an EHC needs assessment. Please see Education Health and Care Plans for further information.

Statutory duties on post-16 institutions

FE colleges, sixth form college, 16-19 academies and independent specialist colleges have the following specific statutory duties:

• The duty to co-operate with the local authority on arrangements for children and young people with SEN
• The duty to accept the young person into the institution if the institution is named in an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. Young people have the right to request that an institution is named in their EHC plan, and local authorities have a duty to name that institution in the EHC plan unless, following consultation with the institution, the local authority determines that it is unsuitable for the young person’s age, ability, aptitude or SEN.
• The duty to use their best endeavours to secure the special educational provision that the young person needs. This does not apply to independent specialist colleges or special school, as their principal purpose is to provide for young people with SEN.

Last updated: 12 June 2020