Level B explains how legislation is the means by which the rights of children
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.
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 with SLD/PMLD/CLDD the tools to be able to:
- Analyse the legal framework for SEN and disability in England and its support for the child 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 with special educational needs.
As defined by the Department for Education Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2001), children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.
Children have a learning difficulty if they have:
- A significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age, or
- A disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the local education authority.
