Send one short, plain letter or email
Confirm in writing that the child is now on SEN Support, name the need, summarise the planned support and outcomes, and invite the parent to a review meeting. The SEND Code (2015) requires parents be formally informed. The duty is plain: once you decide a pupil has special educational needs, the decision goes in the school records and the parents must be formally informed that special educational provision is being made (SEND Code of Practice 2015, paragraph 6.43). A letter or an email is fine, whichever your school policy uses. You are also adding the child to the school's SEN record at this point.
No diagnosis is needed to start SEN Support. It is triggered by identified need and your own assessment, so the letter should never imply the family has to chase a diagnosis first.
What the letter should contain
Keep the tone warm and partnership-based, not bureaucratic. Cover four things:
- The specific need and the evidence behind it - what you have noticed, and the assessment or observations that prompted the decision.
- A plain statement that provision is now being made - this is the "formally informed" line the Code asks for.
- The planned support, the desired outcomes and a review date - framed as the assess, plan, do, review cycle of the graduated approach.
- An invitation to meet - making clear the parent's views and the pupil's views will shape the plan.
Write it as the start of a conversation, not the end
Most guidance stops at "parents must be informed", and that is where schools slip. The Code treats the Plan stage as a co-construction: where it is decided to provide a pupil with SEN Support, parents must be formally notified, and the support, expected impact and review date are agreed in consultation with the parent and pupil (paragraph 6.48). So invite input, do not present a finished plan and ask them to sign it off.
Your letter is also the front end of a statutory rhythm. Schools should meet parents at least three times each year to set outcomes and review progress for a pupil on SEN Support (paragraph 6.65). Naming the date of that first meeting in the letter turns a one-off notification into the first of those reviews, and signals partnership rather than a label.
One reform to keep an eye on: the 2026 Schools White Paper Every child achieving and thriving and the Education for All Bill propose a statutory Individual Support Plan duty for every child with SEND, which would formalise this planning. It is out for consultation, with no changes in force yet, so the SEND Code 2015 graduated approach and the duty to formally inform parents stand for now.
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.