SEN College

SEN Colleges logo

SEN Colleges, also known as Special Specialism Colleges, are specialist special schools in the United Kingdom. They were introduced in 2006 as part of the specialist schools programme following a successful trial in 2004.^[1][2][3] The system enabled secondary and primary schools to specialise in certain fields.

Specialization

Specialist SEN Colleges were special needs schools that successfully applied to the Specialist Schools Trust, receiving extra funding from this joint private sector and government scheme.

The first non-trial SEN Colleges were introduced in September 2006^[4] after an announcement by Andrew Adonis in 2005^[5] and could specialise in four areas:^[6]

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Behaviour, emotional and social difficulties
• Sensory and/or physical needs

The specialist schools programme has been defunct since 2011. Therefore, if a special school wishes to become a SEN College, they must become an academy or manage a Dedicated Schools Grant.^[7][8]

References

1. "Specialist Schools Programme". 2005-12-13. Archived from the original on 13 December 2005. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
2. "Specialist Schools Programme". 2006-12-18. Archived from the original on 18 December 2006. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
3. "Special schools to be specialists". 2004-12-22. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
4. "Special Educational Needs (SEN) specialist schools: A BRIEF FOR SCHOOLS AND SPONSORS" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2006. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
5. "The Standards Site: Specialist Schools". 2006-08-03. Archived from the original on 2006-08-03. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
6. "Specialist Schools – what do we know?" (PDF). February 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
7. "Specialist Schools". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
8. "Specialist schools programme: Michael Gove announces changes". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2021-12-25.