SEN support

SEN information report: what the law requires and a structure that works

The 13 things Schedule 1 of the SEND Regulations requires, a practical structure, and how the report links to the proposed inclusion strategy.

Reading time: 3 min read
Last reviewed: 10 October 2026

Who must publish one, and when

The governing bodies of maintained schools and maintained nursery schools, and the proprietors of academies, must publish information on their website about how they implement their policy for pupils with SEN (Children and Families Act 2014, section 69; SEND Regulations 2014, regulation 51). The SEND Code of Practice describes this as the SEN information report and expects it to be updated annually, with any changes during the year reflected as soon as possible (Code of Practice 6.79 to 6.83).

The report is not the same as the school’s SEND policy, though the two should agree. The policy says what the school intends; the report says what it actually does, for which needs, through whom, and how families can get involved or complain.

The 13 things Schedule 1 requires

The kinds of special educational needs the school makes provision for.
Policies for identifying children with SEN and assessing their needs (mainstream schools and maintained nurseries).
Policies for making provision for pupils with SEN, with or without an EHC plan, including how the school evaluates provision, assesses and reviews progress, teaches and adapts the curriculum, provides additional support, includes pupils in activities, and supports emotional, mental and social development.
The name and contact details of the SENCO (mainstream schools and maintained nurseries).
Staff expertise and training, and how specialist expertise is secured.
How equipment and facilities are secured.
How parents are consulted and involved in their child’s education.
How pupils are consulted and involved in their education.
Arrangements for parents’ complaints about SEN provision.
How the governing body involves health, social care, local authority support services and voluntary organisations.
Contact details of support services for parents, including SEND information, advice and support services.
Arrangements for supporting pupils moving between phases of education or preparing for adulthood.
Where the local authority’s local offer is published.

A structure parents can actually use

Most reports are written for compliance and read by nobody. Parents arrive with one of three questions: does this school support needs like my child’s, who do I talk to, and what happens if it is not working. Put the answers to those near the top, in plain English, and keep the statutory detail below.

Section	Covers Schedule 1 items	Tip
Needs we support and how we spot them	1, 2	Name the four broad areas of need and give a real example of each.
How support works here	3	Describe the graduated approach in a paragraph, then list typical interventions with how often they run.
Who to contact	4, 11	SENCO name, email and the best time to reach them; the local SENDIASS.
Our staff and training	5	Training completed this year, with dates: a training log makes this a five-minute job.
Working with you and your child	7, 8	How often you meet, how views are recorded, how plans are shared.
Other services we work with	6, 10	Speech and language, educational psychology, CAMHS, occupational therapy.
Moving on	12	Transition arrangements at each phase.
If you are not happy	9	The complaints route, step by step.
The local offer	13	A direct link.

Keeping it current without rewriting it

The report goes out of date because the facts in it live elsewhere: the register, the provision map, the training log. Update those through the year and the report becomes a once-a-year edit rather than a rewrite. The proposed school inclusion strategy asks for many of the same facts, so it is worth structuring both from the same records; a costed provision map covers item 3 in a way governors can scrutinise.

Sendiphany’s Inclusion strategy builder inserts your own figures (numbers on SEN support and with EHC plans, provision and spend, staff trained) from the records you already keep, which also gives you the factual core of the SEN information report.

Sources

Last reviewed 10 October 2026. This guide summarises legislation and guidance for school staff in England. It is not legal advice; check the current text of the regulations before relying on a date in correspondence.