The Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years states that:

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 significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
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

Under the currents statutory guidelines SEND is divided into four broad areas of need and it is important to note that a pupil’s needs may cross one or more of the following:

Communication and interaction
Cognition and learning
Social, emotional and mental health difficulties

Sensory and/or physical needs

Click on the link below for the SEN Code of Practice

SEN Code of Practice