A child may be able to receive additional help at their school if they have special educational needs (SEN) due to a learning difficulty or disability. There are different schemes in each part of the UK .
Assistance for children or young people with special or additional educational needs is is not classed as a public fund for immigration purposes and can be accessed by a child regardless of their, or their parent's, immigration status, including a person who is subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) condition.
If a child with special educational needs (SEN) requires more support than their school can provide, an assessment can be requested for an education, health and care (EHC) plan. The plan will set out what extra support the child requires and may involve providing a personal budget (direct payment) to the child’s parents to enable them to pay for this support. Assistance may be available to a young person until they are 25 years old.
See the government information about support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
In Scotland, as part of the government’s Getting it Right For Every Child strategy, Additional support for learning (ASL) is available to any child who requires additional help to reach their educational potential. This need could arise because of a health problem or disability such as dyslexia or autism.
See the Scottish government website for more information about additional support for learning.
Children and young people with a disability or learning difficulty can get help with additional learning needs (ALN) from their local authority or school in Wales. Each child with ALN will be given an Individual Development Plan to support them to be able to get the most out of school.
All children who started receiving support through the previous scheme Special Educational Needs (SEN) prior to 2021 will be transferred over to ALN support by September 2025.
For more information on support with additional learning needs in Wales see the Welsh government website.
In Northern Ireland, if a child has special educational needs (SEN) because of a learning difficulty, they will be recorded on the SEN register. Schools will then work with parents to develop an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or Personal Learning Plan (PLP) to support the child with their school education.
See the Northern Ireland government website for more information on support for special educational needs.
