Jargon Buster, Abbreviations and Glossary

Confused by all the jargon and acronyms around SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities)?

Want to know the difference between a TAF and a CAF?

To find out more, scroll down this page or click on the document in the Downloads box.  

For health related jargon, please click on the link in the Downloads box.

A

AA

Admissions Authority

AA

Attendance Allowance

AAC

Augmentative and Alternative Communication

ACE

Adverse Childhood Experience

ADD

Attention Deficit Disorder

ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder

ASB

Anti-Social Behaviour

ASD

Autistic Spectrum Disorder

ASC

Autistic Spectrum Condition

 

 

B

BSL

British Sign Language

BwD

Blackburn with Darwen

BSP

Behaviour Support Plan

 

 

C

C&YP

Children and Young People

CA

Carers Allowance

CA

Chronological Age

CAB

Citizen’s Advice Bureau

CADS

Children's Advice and Duty Service

CAF

Child and Family Assessment

CAF

Common Application Form (admissions)

CAMHS

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

CANW

Child Action North West

CCG

Clinical Commissioning Group

CCCT

Children’s Complex Care Team

CDC

Council for Disabled Children

CETR

Care, Education and Treatment Review

CHC

Continuing Health Care

CIN

Child In Need

CIOC

Child In Our Care

CITNS

Children’s Integrated Therapy and Nursing Service

CLC

City Learning Centre

CofE

Church of England

CoP

Code of Practice

CP

Child Protection

CSC

Children’s Social Care

CSO

Child Support Officer

CTR

Care and Treatment Review

 

 

D

DCO

Designated Clinical Officer

DDA

Disability Discrimination Act

DLA

Disability Living Allowance

DfE

Department For Education

DFG

Disabled Facilities Grant

DMO

Designated Medical Officer

DP

Direct Payments

DSA

Disabled Students Allowance

DWP

Department for Work and Pensions

 

 

E

EFA

Education Funding Agency

EHE

Elective Home Education

EHC

Education Health and Care

EHCP

Education, Health and Care Plan

ELCAS

East Lancs Child and Adolescent Support Service

ELHT

East Lancashire Hospitals Trust

EOTAS

Education Other Than At School

EP

Educational Psychologist

EWO

Education Welfare Officer – now known as IO

EYFS

Early Years Foundation Stage

 

 

F

FE

Further Education

FIS

Family Information Service

 

 

H

HI

Hearing Impaired

HNA

Health Needs Assessment

 

 

I

IBP

Individual Behaviour Plan

ICPC

Initial Child Protection Conference

IEP

Individual Education Plan

IO

Inclusion Officer (formerly known as EWO)

IS

Independent Supporter

IRO

Independent Reviewing Officer

IPRA

Individual Pupil Resourcing Agreement

L

LA

Local Authority

LAC

Looked After Child

LCFT

Lancashire Care Foundation Trust

LD

Learning Disabilities

LDD

Learning Difficulties and Disabilities

LO

Local Offer

LSA

Learning Support Assistant

 

 

M

MASH

Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub

MAT

Multi Academy Trust

MCA

Mental Capacity Act

MDT

Multi-Disciplinary Team

MLD

Moderate Learning Difficulty

 

 

N

NAS

National Autistic Society

NASEN

National Association for Special Educational Needs

NHS

National Health Service

 

 

O

OT

Occupational Therapy/Therapist

Ofsted

Office for standards in education

 

 

P

PEP

Personal Education Plan

PECS

Picture Exchange Communication System

PCP

Person Centred Planning

PCT

Primary Care Trust

PD

Physical Difficulty

PfA

Preparation for Adulthood

PHB

Personal Health Budget

PiP

Parents in Partnership

PIP

Personal Independence Payments

PIVATS

Performance Indicators for Value Added Target Setting

PMLD

Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties

PRSP

Primary Resourced Specialist Provision

PRU

Pupil Referral Unit

PX

Permanent Exclusion

 

 

R

RC

Roman Catholic

 

 

S         

SDQ

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

SEMH

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties

SEN/SEND

Special Educational Needs/ and Disability

SENCO

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator

SENDIASS

SEND Information and Advice Support Service

SENDIST

Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal

SENDSS

Special Educational Needs and Disability Support Service

SGO

Special Guardianship Order

SLCN

Speech, Language and Communication Needs

SLD

Severe Learning Difficulties

SLT

Speech and Language Therapy

SMART

Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-based

SpLD

Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia)

SSA

Special Support Assistant

SW

Social Worker

 

 

T

TA

Teaching Assistant

TAC

Team Around the Child

TAF

Team Around the Family

 

 

V

VCFS

Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector

VSH

Virtual School Headteacher

VI

Visual Impairment

 

 

Y

YOT

Youth Offending Team

YOI

Young Offenders Institute

YP

Young Person

 

Local Offer - Glossary

AAC - Augmentative and Alternative Communication

These are extra tools to help people to communicate, ranging from communication via eye pointing to the use of pictures and technology to communicate.

ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ADHD affects children and teens and can continue into adulthood. ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder of children. Children with ADHD may be hyperactive and unable control their impulses or they may have trouble paying attention.

Advices

Another name for a report written by a parent or professional which contributes to the EHC Needs assessment or the EHC Annual Review.

Advocate

An advocate is someone who supports you to speak for yourself or speaks for you. An advocate will help a service user or carer to have their say and ensure that their choices and needs are met.

ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Autistic Spectrum Disorder is the name for a range of similar conditions, including Asperger syndrome, that affect a person's social interaction, communication, interests and behaviour. It's estimated that about 1 in every 100 people in the UK has ASD. More boys are diagnosed with the condition than girls.

Assess, Plan, Do, Review

See Graduated Approach below.

Assistive Technology

Equipment that helps people to remain independent, healthy and safe in their own homes or in school and the community by helping them to manage risks and/or make day to day tasks easier.

CCG - Clinical Commissioning Group

Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) were created following the Health and Social Care Act in 2012, and replaced Primary Care Trusts on 1 April 2013. They are clinically-led statutory NHS bodies responsible for the planning and commissioning or ‘buying’ of health care and wellbeing services for their local area. NHS Blackburn with Darwen CCG is made up of 27 GP practices located within the borough boundaries.  The Chair of the CCG is Mr Graham Burgess. For more information, visit the NHS Blackburn with Darwen CCG website.

Centile

The division of information into 100 groups. For example, a score at the 5th centile means that on average, only 5 children out of every 100 could be expected to score lower (and 95 would score higher).

CITNS - Children’s Integrated Therapy and Nursing Service

Children’s Integrated Therapy and Nursing Services bring together Children’s Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy and Special School/Complex Needs Nursing services. They also deliver support to children who have individual packages of care due to their very complex health needs. The CITNS website contains detailed glossaries about all aspects of their work.

Co-production

Co-production happens when service providers recognise the benefits of working with service users and other providers. To be successful those taking part need to be involved from the beginning, right through to the end when reviewing, planning and developing services. Children and young people with SEND, and their families, are central to SEND coproduction activities and should be fully involved in developing services and important decision making.

Designated Medical Officer (DMO) or Designated Clinical Officer (DCO)

The “Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years” statutory guidance document places a requirement on local areas to have in place a Designated Medical Officer or Designated Clinical Officer. In Blackburn with Darwen arrangements have been put in place to implement a Lancashire wide service to deliver the functions of the DMO and DCO to ensure equity of service for all children, young people aged 0-25 and families in Lancashire. The service will provide expert advice and guidance to a range of stakeholders as well as strategic oversight and coordination.

Educational Pyschology

Educational Psychologists promote child development and learning mainly with children and young people, aged 0-25 years, through the application of psychology. They work closely with parents and teachers and where appropriate, with other staff within the Education, Social and Health Services. They apply psychology to help the development and emotional health and well-being of children and young people.

EHC Plan - Education, Health and Care Plan 

This details the education, health and social care support that is to be provided to a child or young person who has special educational needs and/or a disability.

It is drawn up by the Local Authority after an EHC needs assessment has been carried out which shows that the child or young person requires an EHC Plan to meet their needs. The EHC Panel makes decisions regarding EHC Plans.

Graduated approach or response

A model of action and intervention in early education settings, schools and colleges to help children and young people who have special educational needs.

The approach recognises that there is a continuum of special educational needs and that, where necessary, increasing specialist expertise should be brought to bear on the difficulties that a child or young person may be experiencing.

This is also known as Assess, Plan, Do, Review.

Local Offer

The Local Offer website is a website full of family friendly, information on education, health, social care and advice and guidance services that could be helpful for children and young people aged 0-25 with SEND and their families. The Local Offer also includes information on fun things to do and the help that’s available to children as they grow up.

Mainstream school

Any school that is not a special school or an independent school.

Maintained school

A school funded by the Local Authority.

Mediation

Mediation brings people together with an impartial third party to try and resolve disputes and disagreements. The mediator acts as facilitator but does not offer advice or solutions.

Non-maintained special school

A non-profit making special school, approved by the Secretary of State, usually run by a charity.

Person-centred planning

This approach is where the child or young person is placed at the centre of the planning or review meeting and where their views are considered the most important. The child/young person’s needs are the primary focus of the meeting ensuring that they are at the centre of any decisions made for now and the future. Person centred planning focuses on the outcomes for the child/young person and looks at how everyone can work together to help them achieve these. This involves looking at what works/doesn’t work for the child/young person and the best ways to support them.

Personal budget

A personal budget is an agreed amount of money that you can use to arrange and pay for aspects of a child/young person’s care and support, following an assessment of their needs. The Local Authority can manage the personal budget for you, or a third party can or you can receive it as a direct payment or a mixture of the two.

Portage

Portage is a home visiting educational service for pre-school children with significant complex needs or disability which works closely with families in the home.

Provision map

A way of identifying, organising and presenting information about the interventions and support provided for children with special educational needs. This can also be costed.

Respite care

Respite care provides short breaks for both the person being cared for and the carer. It can be delivered in a number of ways including a few hours to access an activity or in an overnight residential setting. However, some respite can only be accessed following a positive outcome of a social care assessment. Please refer to the Blackburn with Darwen Short Break Statement for more details.

SEND - Special Educational Needs and/or Disability

A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. They will have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or they may have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

The SEND Register

The list of children in a school who are receiving support for a special educational needs or disability because their 'learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision. Special educational provision is provision that is different from or in addition to that normally available to pupils of the same age (Code of Practice 2014).

SENCO - Special Educational Needs Coordinator

This is the person responsible for the day to day operation of the school/setting’s SEN policy and for coordinating the provision for children and young people with SEND in the school/setting. 

SENDSS - Special Educational Needs and Disability Support Service

A team of specialist teachers and teaching assistants who provide advice, assessment and training to schools and settings to help them meet the needs of children with SEND.

SEN Support

Where a child/young person has been identified as having SEN, then the support that they receive is classed as SEN Support. This may involve additional provision or interventions being put in place by the school/setting and/or specialist advice being sought about the child/young person’s needs from an outside agency such as an educational psychologist or SENDSS.

Special schools

Schools that specialise in working with children with particular disabilities.

Statutory assessment

This is sometimes referred to as an Education, Health and Care needs assessment and it is carried out in order for the local authority to decide whether it is necessary for it to make provision for the child/young person through an EHC plan. Evidence about the child/young person’s needs will be requested from a range of people including education, educational psychology, health and social care, and this will form part of the assessment along with parents and the child/young person’s views. 

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Page last reviewed: 26/02/2024

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