Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND)

• Thank you to all our families who responded to our invite in March 2022 and gave us your thoughts on the changes the government intends to make on the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) system in England. The lived experiences you shared are invaluable and enabled us to champion your voices directly to government policy makers so that they can take your views into account. Visit our report page to read the key points you raised and learn what happens next.
• The Family and Childcare Trust has produced a guide to childcare for children with special educational needs and disabilities in England, click here. 
• The National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) was launched in 2011, and is funded by central government. The NNPCF is a network of local forums meeting in regional settings, working together to effect local and national service improvement through participation and co-production with parent carers, click here.

Capability Scotland campaigns with, and provides education, employment and care services for, disabled children and adults across Scotland. 

SNAP Cymru provides information, advice and support for parents, children and young people who have, or may have, SEND. It provides impartial, confidential and free advice through its helpline and specialist casework service. 

The Special Educational Needs Advice Centre (SENAC) is a charity providing confidential, independent advice and advocacy on behalf of children and young people with SEND attending schools in Northern Ireland up to the age of 19 years. 

A special educational need can be registered with the Service. Although it is not compulsory, it would also be beneficial to register with EAT (formerly CEAS), so that they can liaise with your Chain of Command to ensure that your child’s needs can be met on future postings. 

The Forces Additional Needs and Disability Forum (FANDF) is a tri-Service group for current Serving families or individuals who have a child or adult dependent with an additional need and/or disability. 

Family Fund is the UK’s largest charity providing grants for families raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people. 

• GOV.UK – the official government website for citizens with a comprehensive section on Money, Tax and Benefits. Visit the website to find out if you are entitled to any disability benefits. 
• Citizens Advice Bureau – Offer advice on many subjects, including welfare and disability benefits. 

Your local Royal Navy Family & People Support (RN FPS) Information Office is another excellent source of information regarding educational support agencies in your community. 

The department formerly known as CEAS is now part of Defence Children Services (DCS) and is divided into two parts – the UK Education Advisory Team (EAT) and the Overseas Education and Supportability Team (OEST). The EAT are a small team, who are experienced in advising Service parents on a wide range of issues regarding the education of Service children in the UK whereas the OEST are their counterpart that cover overseas education. EAT are also the first port of call for people considering an application for Continuity of Education Allowance. You can find their contact details and further information about the types of advice they offer here. 

The MOD regulations for the Special Educational Needs Addition to the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA (SENA)) and CEA (SENA)(Day) have been revised with effect from January 2017; important changes which parents and schools should be aware of have been listed below including a list of frequently asked questions. 

If you are considering boarding school for your child(ren), you can contact the Education Advisory Team (EAT) (UK) at RC-DCS-HQ-EAT@mod.gov.uk 

• The aim of Continuity of Education Allowance (Special Educational Needs Addition) (CEA (SENA)) is to contribute towards the additional costs associated with a specific support plan for an individual service child who has a level of SEND which cannot reasonably be met within the expected resources of a school. 
• School generated information is required to evidence the level of a child’s special needs. School staff have the experience and knowledge of individual children and should be the best source of detailed information, collected over time, as to an individual child. 
• State boarding schools work within the existing SEND Code of Practice and therefore SEND provision within those schools is easily understood as well as it being inspected by Ofsted. 

• Independent schools other than Independent Special Schools are not bound by the SEND Code of Practice but do work with the duties outlined by the 2010 Equality Act – which requires all schools to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ when working with a child with SEND. 
•  For further information, please refer to JSP 752.