Jargon Buster - Terms
A glossary terms used on this site and by professional agencies:
Absolute Discharge
A young person is given an Absolute Discharge when they admit guilt or are found guilty, but no further action is taken against them.
Acceptable Behaviour Contract - ABC
This is given when a Local Authority and Youth Offending Team identify a young person who is behaving anti-socially at a low level. The young person enters into a contract with them where they agree to stop the patterns of behaviour that are causing nuisance to the local community and undertake activities to address their offending behaviour.
Annual Review
Every year a child's Statement of Special Educational Needs is reviewed at the child's school. This review looks at how your child is getting on and makes sure that the education and support they are receiving is meeting their needs.
Anti-Social Behaviour Order - ASBO
This can be given to anyone who is 10 years of age or over and has behaved in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to someone or some people who do not live in their own household.
Attention Span
The amount of time a child can remain working on the same task without being distracted or losing interest.
Code of Practice
The guide for schools and local education authorities that sets out how they should identify and provide for children with special educational needs.
Cognitive Ability
The term used to describe a child's ability to know, think and reason.
Conditional Discharge
A young person receiving a Conditional Discharge receives no immediate punishment. A period of time is set and as long as the young person does not commit a further offence during this period no punishment is imposed.
Department of Education and Skills
This is the Government Department responsible for education.
Educational Psychologist
Educational Psychologists are qualified teachers who are also qualified in psychology. Their training and experience helps them to understand how children develop and learn.
Final Warning
This is a formal verbal warning give by a police officer to a young person who admits their guilt for a first or second offence.
Fine Motor Skills
Skills that use the smaller muscles in the body for precise tasks, eg. writing and drawing.
Foundation Stage
Children aged between 3-5 years in pre-schools, nurseries and reception classes are in the foundation stage.
Gross motor Skills
These are the skills that use the larger muscles in the body for activities that require strength, co-ordination and balance, eg running, climbing and jumping.
Individual Education Plan
These give details of how the curriculum is to be delivered to a child with special educational needs. It will set out the individual targets for your child to achieve and a date for the progress to be reviewed.
Independent Parental Supporter
This is a trained volunteer who can support you throughout your child's assessment. You can find a supporter through the Parent Partnership Service.
Individual Support Orders
This is a court order given to 10-17 year olds which can be attached to ASBO's and impose positive conditions on the young person to address the underlying causes of the behaviour that led to the ASBO.
Local Child Curfew
A Local Authority or a local Police Force can ban children under 16 from being in a public place during specified hours unless under the control of a responsible adult.
Local Education Authority - LEA
The Local Education Authority is responsible for making statutory assessments and maintaining statements of special educational needs.
Learning Support Assistant
This person works under the class teacher to support children with special educational needs.
Mainstream School
An ordinary school maintained by the Local Education Authority
Named LEA Officer
Also known as Assessment Officers. The Local Education Authority must tell you your Named Officer when they issue a proposal to make a Statutory Assessment of your child. This is the person who you liaise with about your child's assessment.
National Curriculum
The range of subjects that schools must offer pupils. It describes what should be taught and sets attainment targets for learning. All children have an entitlement to the National Curriculum.
Occupational Therapy
This is a medical service provided by the health authority to help children improve their physical skills and fine motor control. Occupational therapists work with the children, the parents and teachers to advise on equipment and ways of working that will improve the child's access to the curriculum.
Office for Standards in Education - OFSTED
Office for Standards in Education are responsible for the inspection of all schools and Local Education Authorities in England.
Parent Partnership Service
This is a Local Education Authority funded service which provides information and support to parents of children with special educational needs.
Portage Service
This is an educational home visiting service for pre-school children, whose development is significantly delayed.
Referral Order
This is give to a young person who pleads guilty to an offence when it is their first time in court, unless the court decides on a custodial sentence or the offence is relatively minor. The young person enters into a contract which aim is to repair the harm caused by the offence and addres the causes of the offending behaviour.
Reprimand
This is a formal verbal warning given by a Police Officer to a young person who admits they are guilty of a minor first offence.
School Action
This is a stage in the identification and assessment process for children with special educational needs. Provisions for children on School Action will be made from resources and expertise available within the school. This provision is additional to, or different from that made for the majority of children of the same age. These children will be given an Individual Educational Plan.
School Action Plus
If a child fails to make progress at the School Action stage, the school will seek advice, support and help from specialists and other services outside of the school. These children will continue to receive help from within the school and have an Individual Educational Plan.
Section 90/91
If a young person is convicted of an offence for which an adult could receive at least 14 years in custody, they may be sentenced under Section 09/91. This sentence can only be given in the Crown Court. If the conviction is for murder, the sentance falls under Section 90, otherwise the sentence will be under Section 91. The length of the sentence can be anywhere up to the adult maximum for the same offence, which for certain offences may be life.
Special Educational Needs - SEN
A child has Special Educational Needs if they have a learning difficulty that requires extra help to be given.
Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator - SENCO
Every school and early years setting has a Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator. This person is responsible for helping other teachers to identify children with Special Educational Needs and to plan the help they need. They will ensure the children have an Individual Education Plan and arrange for these to be reviewed.
Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal - SENDIST
This is an independent body where parents can appeal if they disagree with a decision made by the Local Education Authority about their child's special educational needs. This body also deal with allegations of disability discrimination of children in schools.
Special School
A special school will have a high level of expertise in providing for one or more types of special educational needs, such as severe learning difficulties or moderate learning difficulties. Children can only attend a special school if the Local Education Authority names it on their Statement of Special Educational Needs.
Specific Learning Difficulties - SpLD
A child is said to have a specific learning difficulty if they have a difficulty in one particular area of learning, eg. Dyslexia or Dyspraxia.
Statement of Special Educational Needs
This is a legal document that sets out a child's needs and all the extra help they will get from within the school and/or from specialist support services. The Local Education Authority will need to conduct a statutory assessment before deciding whether to issue a statement and once issued they have a duty to maintain it and ensure the child receives the help described in it.
Statutory Assessment
If a child has a long term or complex learning difficulty the Local Education Authority will consider whether to make a statutory assessment. This is a detailed investigation of a child's special educational needs. They will consider evidence from a range of professionals as to what the child's needs are and the provision necessary to meet those needs. A statutory assessment does not always result in a Statement of Special Educational Needs. Parents have the right to request an assessment from the Authority themselves.
Supervision Order
These can last up to three years and have a range of conditions attached to them such as drug treatment, curfews or residence requirements.
Transition Plan
This is a plan drawn up at the child's Annual Review in year 9 and it sets out the steps needed for them to mover from school to adult life.
Have we missed any? Is there something you think we should add? Please let us know so that we can fix it.
