We invite comments from statutory agencies and other organisations and interested parties in England on the attached draft revised Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Pupils with Special Educational Needs (in yellow). We intend that the current version of the Code, which has been in force since September 1994, will be replaced by the new edition in September 2001.

We also invite comments on the attached good practice guidance in decision making on the identification of and provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs (in green), which has been based on research conducted by the Special Needs Research Centre at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. We have therefore produced a questionnaire (covering both documents) focusing on key questions for each document, but extra space is provided for you to expand on the reasons for any negative responses you give. You will find this questionnaire at the rear of this document. Where possible, it would be helpful if organisations intending to send multiple responses could collate them into one response.

Completed questionnaires should reach the Consultation Unit, Department for Education and Employment, Area 2B, Castle View House, PO Box 12, East Lane, Runcorn, Cheshire WA7 2GJ by no later than Friday 13 October 2000. Under the Government's Open Government principles, the Department may make available, on public request, individual responses unless the respondent has asked for the response to be treated as confidential.

The Government's Action Programme for children with special educational needs, published in November 1998 - "Meeting Special Educational Needs: A Programme of Action" referred to the widespread agreement that the Code of Practice has led to improvements in teaching children with SEN, and also that the Code should be revised in the light of experience since 1994, to build on good practice.

A sub-group of the National Advisory Group on SEN (NAGSEN) was therefore set up last year to advise and assist the Department in producing a revised version of the Code of Practice. The sub-group and the full NAGSEN have had the opportunity to consider and comment upon this latest version of the Code at various stages during drafting. We have also sought to take into account as far as is practicable some 2,000 responses received to an earlier consultation document on the proposed revision of the Code, which we issued on 12 January last year.

We intend to explore design options for the final document in order to make it easier for readers to find their way around it. This is likely to result in the use of colour coding in the revised Code. We will also be including a glossary of terms, a comprehensive index and appendices, including revised Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations, and the inclusion statement. The current 1994 version of these Regulations is already included at the back of the existing Code, and we are separately consulting on our proposed amendments to these Regulations, and to the Education (Special Educational Needs) (Information) (England) Regulations 1999.

Some of the draft revised Code's contents relate to amendments to the law proposed in the consultation paper on the SEN and Disability Rights in Education Bill (this is indicated in the text), and in the revised Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations and the Education (Special Educational Needs) (Information) (England) Regulations, which are the subject of a separate consultation accompanying this one. As these changes have to be approved by Parliament, there may have to be consequential changes to the Code if amendments are made to the proposed Bill and Regulations. Subject to any significant alterations, however, we propose to publish the final version of the Code in the Spring 2001, to come into force on
1 September 2001.

With the introduction of the revised Code of Practice, we envisage that many teachers and other educational professionals will require further guidance to help them define appropriate criteria and reasonable forms of provision during intervention at School Action and School Action Plus, and through a Statement.

We are concerned to ensure that teachers and parents are confident that suitable intervention is being made through School Action and School Action Plus; and we believe that it is essential for LEAs to play an appropriate role. The 1998 SEN Action Programme therefore promised that guidance would be published on the placement of children under school-based elements of the Code. The Special Needs Research Centre at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne were subsequently commissioned to undertake research, which was carried out between April 1999 and March 2000, on which the attached SEN Thresholds guidance is based.

Any other questions on the draft Code and Thresholds guidance should be addressed to:

Andrew Taylor
Special Educational Needs Division
Department of Education and Employment
Area 2T6
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3BT
Tel: 020 7925 6363 Fax: 020 7925 6648
E. mail: andrew.taylor@dfes.gsi.gov.uk