We know that it is important for parents/carers to feel listened to and to have any concerns acknowledged by school or college staff. Having good home-school/college communication is key, especially as children and young people may present very differently at school or college to how they do at home.

• Have a key person at school or college who is your main point of contact, and who knows and understands your child.

• Know what is happening in school or college, so you can talk to your child about this at home (e.g. sharing photographs of work or projects, or topics being covered).

• Have consistency and continuity – warning, where possible, if things need to change so that you can support your child with this at home.

• For staff to understand how your child's needs in one area may impact them in another. You can find further information on the different areas of need by clicking here.

It is important to share any worries or concerns you may have so that school or college staff can try to support you. This might involve having an informal chat with your child's teacher/tutor or the SENCo, and/or sharing concerns during a meeting.

To help you feel more confident to discuss SEND with staff, we have created a jargon-buster, which explains key terms and job roles in SEND. You can access the jargon-buster here. We have also developed a resource that includes question prompts about SEND support and provision: Questions to support conversations with SENCOs, which can be accessed here.