Page 24 - Issue 112 May-June 2021

SEN law What the law says about young people with SEN Douglas Silas looks at what the law says about young people with SEN. 24 As many young people with SEN over 16/19 years old are due to transfer into Post-16/Post-19 education in September and Local Authorities (LAs) should have recently amended Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) to name a placement for them from September, in this issue, I am going to provide an overview of what the law says about young people with SEN. What is the general law about young people with SEN? The SEND Code of Practice 2015 (CoP) states that a ‘young person’ is said to be a person who is over compulsory school age but who is under 25 (compulsory school age finishes on the last Friday in June in the academic year in which they become 16). Maintained schools, pupil referral units (PRUs) and academies/free schools have a duty to ensure pupils from Year 8 until Year 13 are provided with independent careers guidance. Schools and colleges use a wide range of imaginative approaches, such as taster opportunities, work experience, mentoring, exploring entrepreneurial options, role models and inspiring speakers. Discussions about longer-term goals should start early and ideally well before Year 9 (age 13-14) at school and should focus on the child or young person’s strengths and capabilities and the outcomes they want to achieve. This is called: ‘preparing for adulthood’ and, whilst some young people choose to stay on at school, others choose to move to a college or training provider. What are the duties in relation to higher education? Everyone working with children and young people with SEN across education (including early years, schools, colleges and 16-19 academies), health and social care, should support children and young people with SEN to prepare for adult life, and help them go on to achieve the best outcomes in “What the law says about young people with SEN” SEN112 senmagazine.co.uk