All children and young people should have their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities correctly identified. It is important to ensure that schools and settings have correctly identified the primary area of need because:
- It leads to better outcomes
- It ensures that the right provision is put in place at the right time
- It ensures that resources are used effectively for every child.
It is important that the focus is placed upon identifying the primary area of need, and distinction should be made between this and the presenting area of need.
An example of this could be a child/young person initially presenting with Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs, where there is a different underlying primary area of need (for example Communication and Interaction Needs).
Some children and young people might have needs in several areas, so any assessment and subsequent planning that is completed needs to take this into account.
Code of Practice
There are four main areas of need, each area provides an overview of the category of SEND, how this may present and how you may assess this need: