Getting the Support You Need

Schools, colleges, and training providers have a responsibility to support you to get the most out of your education.

They will be able to provide some additional SEN support but if you need a lot of support then you may need to have an EHC Plan. The support that a college will provide without an EHC plan is called their ‘Local Offer’, you can find out about it on the local offer website

When you visit a college it is useful to write a list of questions about the support that you will need so that you can know how the college can support you. They may say that you need to apply for an EHC plan but they will still have to support you even if it takes a little while for the plan to be written.

Services like 'SENDIASS' can help you with writing a list of questions. Their young persons worker can also attend college visits with you if this is something that you would find useful.

If you are at college and feel that you are not getting the support that you need in college then may also be able to help you to get that support.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some questions we are asked a lot...

The support that I need at college has been taken away, what can I do?

Colleges have a legal responsibility to do their best to make sure that all young people are supported to get the most out of their education. If support that you need to get the most of your education has been taken away then we can work with you to contact your college and if necessary arrange a meeting and support you in explaining why this support is necessary and why you need it.

I am going to a new college and am worried that I won’t get the support that I need?

All colleges have a legal responsibility to support young people with special educational needs and disabilities. When you go to college you can ask to have a meeting to discuss your support at college. there are services like SENDIASS who can help you to prepare for that meeting and can support you in that meeting to make sure that your voice is heard and that you get the support that you need.

How do I know what support is available at my college?

The Local Offer website will tell you all of the provision (support) available at every college. You can look at Portsmouth’s local offer website at www.portsmouthlocaloffer.org
If you think that you will need more support than what the college has listed on the Local Offer then you may need an EHC Plan.

I'm not sure what support I need in college as someone else has always taken care of this?

The education setting (school, college etc) that you attended before your new college will have information about how they supported you in the past. All schools will have someone called a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (shortened to SENCO). They will be the best person to contact to find out how you were supported in school, this doesn't necessarily mean that you should be getting the same support in college but it should help to give you an idea of the sorts of things that your college might be doing to support you.

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