Level B explains how legislation is the means by which the rights of children/young
people with SLD/PMLD/CLDD are secured and the duties of adults working with them.
Level C builds on this by exploring provision and evaluating how it responds to the
rights of children/young people.
Level D focuses on how to stay abreast of changes in the law and support and train
colleagues.
The materials in this level are intended to provide those working with children/young people with SLD/PMLD/CLDD with the tools to be able to:
- Analyse the legal framework for special educational needs and disability in England and its support for the child/young person and the family's voice; and
- Critically examine the duties and powers of key roles and their co-ordination with reference to current debate.
Details of the professional standards that apply to all teachers in England can
be obtained from the Department for Education website.
These standards apply
to all teachers regardless of their career stage, and all aspects of the standards
are relevant to teachers working with children/young people with special educational
needs and disabilities.
Teachers' Standards (Department for Education, 2011; updated, 2013)
As defined by the Department for Education's Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 - 25 years (2015), children/young people have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.
A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty if he or she has:
- A significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
- A disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
