Glossary and references (UK/US/CA/AU/IE)
This page is informational. It maps common language schools and families encounter; it does not replace statutory SEND practice, clinician assessment, tribunals, or legal advice. Always check your jurisdiction and local guidance for exact processes.
Across countries, phrases like SEND, EHCP, IEP or reasonable adjustments overlap in spirit but differ in thresholds, naming, paperwork, budgets, and timelines. Below you will find expanded definitions, school roles, and neurodiversity terms, then a long-form Common questions section with answers and links to primary sources.
Jump to: Support plans & entitlements · School roles · Needs & neurodiversity · Common questions
Support plans, entitlements and access
Governments and schools organise support differently, but recurring ideas are documented needs, progressively adjusted provision, safeguards against disadvantage, named plans where thresholds are met, and (in many regimes) proactive duty to remove predictable barriers ahead of crises.
UK: SEND / SEN
SEND means Special Educational Needs and Disabilities—the overarching language in statutory guidance covering children and young people whose learning differs enough that additional or different arrangements may be appropriate. Colloquially SEN can mean the identification and support strand before an EHCP, as well as the wider duty on schools regardless of paperwork.
Cross-read: in North America schools often emphasise disability rights language and federally defined categories; in Australian settings you will equally hear about reasonable adjustments tracked through the annual NCCD and state systems.
UK: SEN Support (graduated response)
SEN Support is the cycle of assess–plan–do–review for pupils without an EHCP. Class teachers remain responsible with the SENCO coordinating evidence, differentiation, therapies and outside agency input. Intervention should be timely; lack of statutory assessment does not mean lack of lawful duty.
For the graduated response and EHCP thresholds, rely on official English guidance bundled with the SEND Code of Practice.
UK: Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
An EHCP is a single legal document (0–25 in principle) outlining special educational needs, outcomes, provision across education and linked health/care commitments, placing duties on bodies named in Sections B–F-style structure. Obtaining one follows local authority decision-making routes (including tribunal appeal rights). Provision must be reasonably likely to secure outcomes and be specific enough to be enforced—this is materially different from an informal pupil passport.
Worth repeating: an EHCP is not ‘stronger’ than US special education in every respect; it is the English mechanism for the highest level of joined-up planning once statutory tests are met.
UK: reasonable adjustments (Equality Act 2010)
Reasonable adjustments are changes to policy, practice, physical environment, auxiliary aids or services that avoid substantial disadvantage for disabled pupils. In schools the duty is anticipatory and individual; what is reasonable depends on effectiveness, practicality, cost, safety, and impact on others—so not every idea is automatically required, but blanket refusal without consideration is risky.
EHRC technical guidance for schools in England (and linked material) remains the clearest free starting point for how these duties interact with SEND processes.
Australia: reasonable adjustments (Disability Standards for Education 2005)
Australia’s Disability Standards for Education 2005 sit under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Education providers must make reasonable adjustments so students with disability participate on the same basis as others, consult the student and associates, and prevent harassment. Adjustments can touch enrolment, curriculum, assessment, support services, and buildings.
The federal legislation site hosts the full instrument; the Department of Education publishes educator-facing notes and fact sheets.
Australia: NCCD
The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) is the annual evidence process through which schools record students receiving reasonable adjustments for disability, their broad category, and level of adjustment (supported, substantial, extensive). It supports national reporting and—since 2018—Commonwealth funding loadings. It is not a diagnosis register; professional judgement about adjustment need drives classification.
Guidelines and FAQs are published on the official NCCD portal.
United States: IDEA and FAPE
IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) is the federal special education law guaranteeing eligible students a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment through an IEP with measurable goals and related services. FAPE is not ‘the best’ education money can buy; courts describe it as meaningful progress appropriate to the child’s circumstances.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act can cover students who need accommodations but do not require IDEA services—see below.
United States / Canada: Individualized Education Program (IEP)
An IEP under IDEA documents present levels, annual goals, services, participation in general education, accommodations, and transition when applicable. In Canada, provinces and territories run separate legislative schemes; many use individual education or learning plans with different appeal routes and funding. Treat US and Canadian documents as related in spirit, not interchangeable.
United States: Section 504 plans
Section 504 prohibits disability discrimination in federally funded programs. A 504 plan typically lists accommodations ensuring equal access (extended time, breaks, assistive tech, environmental tweaks) without necessarily opening the full IDEA service grid. Eligibility rests on a physical or mental impairment substantially limiting a major life activity—not identical to IDEA disability categories.
The US Department of Education OCR publishes parent-facing Section 504 FAQs worth bookmarking.
Accommodations vs modifications (US and general English usage)
In US IEP discourse, accommodations change how a learner accesses instruction or shows knowledge without altering grade-level expectations; modifications alter what is taught or graded. Loose UK language sometimes blurs both—safest practice is to spell out precisely what differs for teaching, scaffolding, deadlines, exams, homework, behaviour support, or assistive technology.
Canada: provincial frameworks
Canada lacks a national duplicate of IDEA. Each province or territory sets identification, Individual Education Plan equivalents, parental dispute routes, funding, and transport rules. Visiting families should pull the provincial ministry special-education guide rather than extrapolating from US terminology.
Federal summaries from Employment and Social Development Canada provide orientation but defer to provinces for operational detail.
Republic of Ireland: high-level framing
Ireland historically used resource teaching and learning-support language; statutory assessment routes, NCSE policy, Tusla safeguarding and developing inclusive school guidance differ from England’s EHCP apparatus. Readers should prioritise Circulars, DES/NCSE documents, and the NCSE—not this glossary—for operational accuracy.
School roles
UK: SENCO
The Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), usually qualified, oversees the SEND register, advises teachers, oversees graduated response cycles, engages specialists, oversees statutory assessment evidence, publishes the SEND Information Report with leaders, monitors progress data, champions universal quality-first teaching tweaks, arranges EHCP reviews, liaises across health transitions, escalates safeguarding when dual needs collide, trains staff about hidden disabilities.
They are coordinators—not sole owners—of every SEND decision; substantive teaching adjustments remain mainstream staff duties under headteacher governance.
United States: IEP team
IDEA mandates a multidisciplinary IEP Team (parent/guardian, general educator, special educator, LEA representative, interpreter of evaluation, sometimes the student) meeting at least annually and when re-evaluating eligibility. Comparable named roles elsewhere—learning support coordinators, resource teachers—vary.
Australia: staffing around adjustments
States employ learning support coordinators, guidance officers and therapists under different titles. The lawful anchor remains provider obligations under Disability Standards irrespective of staffing labels.
Needs & neurodiversity
Neurodiversity names natural variation in human brains—no single ‘normal’ neurology. Schools still must translate respect for neurodiversity into concrete access strategies, evidence of impact, and proportionate resource use.
Dyslexia and specific learning difficulties
Dyslexia typically involves difficulty with accurate and fluent word reading and spelling despite adequate teaching. Colleagues may use broader SpLD language. Pedagogically, structured literacy, overlearning, assistive reading tech, reduced copying load, pre-teaching vocabulary, and exam access arrangements (where permitted) are common evidence-based levers—always matched to individual profile, not stereotypes.
ADHD and attention executive-function differences
ADHD profiles can include regulation of attention, inhibition, working memory, and energy. Classroom supports often blend movement breaks, chunking, visual schedules, preferential seating, timers, fidget agreements, feedback cadence changes, and social-emotional coaching. Medication conversations belong with clinicians; schools focus on environment and teaching.
Autism
Autistic learners may differ in sensory processing, communication, social prediction, monotropic focus, and anxiety. Reasonable adjustments can include predictable routines, explicit instruction, reduced ambiguous language, sensory-friendly spaces, alternative communication, flexible grouping, and careful transition planning.
Masking—suppressing visible difference to fit in—can hide need until burnout or crisis. Staff should triangulate parent insight, pattern data, and multiple contexts, not only surface compliance.
Qwixl pages discuss support and learning access; they do not armchair-diagnose. Many pupils receive adjustments while formal assessment queues grow.
Support now — you do not have to wait
If you are a parent or student looking for help, practical structure can start before every formal process finishes. Milo offers calmer, guided steps for writing and learning tasks while schools and families pursue agreed plans.
Common questions
Each answer is a summary for orientation. Open the linked official guidance for definitive wording, thresholds, and forms. For Qwixl-specific background reading you can also open our articles on teacher workload and marking, reasonable adjustments in UK schools, and undiagnosed SEN—these expand evidence without replacing law or policy.
What do SEND and SEN usually mean when an English school uses them?
SEND is the statutory umbrella (special educational needs and disabilities) used from early years through colleges for young people whose learning calls for provision different from or additional to peers. SEN is everyday shorthand overlapping with both school-based SEN Support cycles and EHCP-backed provision.
Definitions, graduated response cycles, and safeguarding intersections are spelled out in the SEND Code of Practice and linked Department for Education summaries.
Sources: SEND Code of Practice hub (England)
How is ordinary SEN Support different from having an EHCP?
SEN Support is the sustained assess–plan–do–review pathway led by classroom staff with SENCO coordination—before (or sometimes alongside) statutory assessment outcomes. EHCP thresholds require evidence that adequate progress is unlikely without specific, statutory provision or that outcomes warrant a coordinated plan across agencies.
An EHCP adds enforceable specificity and commissioning duties; schools must still uphold equality duties irrespective of EHCP possession.
Sources: SEND Code of Practice hub (England)
What legally sits inside an EHCP and who must deliver those parts?
An EHCP records needs, aspirations, outcomes, special educational provision quantified/specific enough to audit, placement type, sometimes personal budget detail, linked health/care clauses where agreed, transition stages, annual review timelines, disagreement routes, mediation information, tribunal rights, safeguarding cross-references.
Named accountable bodies vary by section—the local authority remains overall responsible holder for education unless independent placement agreements shift funding differently under regulations.
Can mainstream English schools postpone support until a medical diagnosis arrives?
Government guidance insists schools must not assume a diagnosis is prerequisite for recognizing SEN nor for putting support in motion. Lack of ADHD or autism wording on paperwork does not postpone reasonable teaching adjustments when need is evidenced through attainment, behaviour mapping, safeguarding, attendance, parental insight, allied health tips, moderation across subjects.
Operational nuance rests on lawful steps (graduated cycles, exclusions rules, tribunal evidence), hence reading the SEND Code—not social media shorthand.
Sources: SEND Code of Practice hub
What counts as reasonable adjustment in England and does every parental request bind the school?
Broad categories include auxiliary aids/services, differentiated teaching sequences, scaffolded assessments, timetable flexibility, behavioural support frameworks, evacuation planning, auxiliary communication, mentorship, restorative handling instead of escalating sanctions when disability-related behaviour surfaces subject to safeguarding limits.
Reasonable is fact-specific balancing effectiveness versus burden—not automatic agreement to every bespoke ask, but procedural fairness documenting consideration, rationale, escalation options when disputes persist.
Sources: EHRC technical guidance: SEND and schools (England) PDF
What should families expect when coordinating with the SENCO?
Expect timely meetings, anonymised safeguarding boundaries when parallel concerns exist, data sharing compliant with UK GDPR/education exemptions, SMART targets refreshed termly-ish, escalation to multi-agency when stagnation persists, impartial information about mediation and tribunal—even when opinions differ—as well candid discussion of resource limits anchored in equitable whole-school rationing—not arbitrary whim.
Warm collaboration reduces adversarial escalation; contemporaneous notes aid everyone.
Sources: SEND Code of Practice hub
What does IDEA accomplish in US schools and why do people mention FAPE?
IDEA entitles qualifying students aged 3–21 (states vary preschool rules) whose disability fits categories to individualized special education—including related services like speech pathology or counselling—provided without charge through public mechanisms save limited fee rules in narrow scenarios.
FAPE frames whether offered services are sufficiently ambitious for the individual child—not perfection, but appropriately ambitious according to precedent summarised in IDEA guidance and US Supreme Court rulings echoed in OCR documentation.
Sources: US Department of Education IDEA hub
What must an IEP include and how often is it revised?
IEP contents include present educational performance, parental concerns, measurable annual goals tied to baseline data, services/frequency/providers, accommodations for instruction and statewide tests when applicable, explanations if removed from mainstream, transition planning commencing by age stipulated under IDEA amendments, procedural safeguards summaries.
Annual reviews minimally adjust trajectory; interim amendment meetings triggered by lack of anticipated progress should happen sooner—not deferred until convenience.
Sources: IDEA hub
How does a 504 plan differ from an IEP and when might OCR get involved?
An IEP opens when IDEA eligibility met; Section 504 can cover impairment substantially limiting learning even absent IDEA categorical fit. Typical 504 accommodations echo exam access tweaks, pacing, behavioural supports, auxiliary tech—often lighter documentation load but still entitlement to nondiscriminatory education.
OCR enforces federally funded discrimination claims when internal grievances fail equitable resolution timelines.
Sources: OCR: Protecting Students with Disabilities (504 FAQ)
What examples illustrate IDEA versus 504 pupil profiles?
An autistic student needing discrete trial applied behaviour analytic minutes plus speech probably rides IDEA pathways; dyslexia profile primarily needing text-to-speech, extra time without specialized instruction might fall under robust 504 scaffolding—edge cases abound when dual labeling occurs.
Formal evaluations—not guesswork—should chart where needs cross statutory thresholds versus accommodation-only suffice.
Sources: IDEA hub; Section 504 FAQ
How should families navigate Canadian provinces for special education plans?
Begin ministry portals: identification criteria, psycho-educational assessment procurement, bilingual rights in Quebec/New Brunswick distinctions, FNMI partnership obligations, appeals tribunals, transportation law, diploma pathway modifications differing from honours tracks.
Transfers across provinces invalidate assumptions inherited from EHCP lore or IDEA buzzwords unless explicitly mirrored.
Sources: Government of Canada: Education (orienting; provincial ministry pages prevail)
What is Australia's NCCD and does level of adjustment equal diagnosis severity?
School teams identify students who are receiving reasonable adjustments because of disability, record the broad area of disability using the official categories, and record the level of adjustment provided in the classroom. The level describes how much additional support is being provided—not how ‘severe’ a diagnosis is.
The NCCD supports national reporting and Commonwealth funding loadings. Schools are expected to apply the rules carefully: inflating numbers undermines public confidence, while under-recording can distort system-level planning.
Sources: NCCD FAQ; Australian Government: School students with disability data
Under Australian Disability Standards, what must educators avoid beyond adjustments?
Beyond personalised adjustments, the Standards spell out systemic duties: enrolling students fairly, preventing harassment and victimisation, avoiding unlawful indirect discrimination, and consulting students and associates when planning support. Providers must assess whether refusing an adjustment would amount to ‘unjustifiable hardship’ rather than casually declining.
Compliance runs through everyday teaching—including excursions, assessments, attendance expectations, camps, discipline processes, and confidentiality. Serious failures can escalate to discrimination complaints handled by commissions and regulators.
Sources: Federal Register of Legislation: Disability Standards for Education 2005; Department of Education: Disability Standards educator resources
What practical signs hint at masking autistic presentation in classrooms?
Observed inconsistencies between home distress meltdown cycles versus compliant school persona, camouflaging stimming covert sensory overload until shutdowns, academically strong verbal masking with hidden executive fatigue after school homework battles, disproportionate masking costs—anxiety spikes post-term.
Staff widen evidence beyond single snapshot behaviours consult caregivers avoid punishing autistic exhaustion as wilful refusal.
Reading: General clinical literature and NCSE Autism Good Practice—not statutory law—guides nuance alongside UK autism educational guidance.
Sources: SEND Code of Practice hub for duties; clinician-led resources for phenotype discussion
Are dyslexia or ADHD labelled consistently between UK EHCP tribunal practice and North American DSM framing?
Clinical wording (such as DSM or ICD diagnoses) sits in a different domain from education law categories. Countries and even local panels can therefore treat labels differently when deciding statutory support, funding, exam access arrangements, medication policies, or tribunals.
What stays constant is pragmatic: educators should anchor decisions in observed barriers, attainment and attendance data, work samples, and agreed strategies—not in arguments about whose acronym is ‘correct.’ Families moving between countries should expect to rebuild evidence under the new rules rather than rely on prior paperwork alone.
Sources: SEND Code of Practice hub (England); clinical guidance sites such as the NHS where health and education pathways meet
Can schools refuse adjustments until fee-funded independent reports arrive?
English guidance stresses putting support in place through the graduated response while evidence is gathered. Requiring costly private assessments before acknowledging need can discriminate against disadvantaged families, especially where the school already holds plenty of attainment, behaviour and engagement data.
Public bodies often commission their own assessments when specialist questions remain disputed. Timing, proportionality, and transparent reasoning matter more than who paid for the first report.
Sources: SEND Code of Practice hub; EHRC SEND and schools guidance (PDF)
Do Ofsted inspectors tell teachers exactly how frequently to mark books?
No—inspection handbook language emphasises curriculum implementation feedback loops proportionate workload—not prescriptive stamping schedules. Inspectors probe whether assessment informs teaching sustainability without implying numeric tick-box marking quotas mythical deep dive colour coding mandates.
Teachers citing mythic inspection demands during SEND accommodation conversations should escalate to informed union/SENCO dialogue referencing actual framework text.
Sources: Ofsted EIF collection; plus article Teacher workload: marking & feedback — what inspectors do not require