Key takeaways
Speak to your child’s nursery, pre-school or school as early as possible if you have concerns
Your child can receive support without having a diagnosis or official plan in place
Keep records of conversations, assessments, support and your child’s progress
Each child’s needs should be considered individually
Free information and advice is available if you need help understanding your child’s rights
What are additional needs?
Additional needs is a broad term covering children and young people who need additional or different support with their education. In England and Northern Ireland you will hear this being referred to as Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEN or SEND), in Scotland and Wales it’s more commonly referred to as additional needs or support.
A child may have difficulties with areas including communication and interaction, learning, concentration, social and emotional development or physical and sensory needs.
Some children will have a diagnosis, while for others their needs may still be being explored. You do not need to wait until everything has a name before raising concerns with your child’s education setting and discussing what support could help them.
For parents of twins, triplets or more, it can sometimes be more difficult to identify when something needs further investigation. Children develop at different rates, including children born at the same time, so try to focus on each child’s individual development and needs rather than comparing them only with their siblings.
Where should I start if I think my child needs support?
If your child is at nursery, pre-school or school, a good first step is usually to speak to their class teacher, key worker or whoever is responsible for overseeing additional support needs (this might be a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator or Additional Learning Needs Co-Ordinator, depending on where you’re based).
Explain what you have noticed and ask what they are seeing in the education setting. Sometimes difficulties are more noticeable at home, while in other cases teachers may have noticed things that are less obvious elsewhere.
It can help to make a few notes beforehand. Think about:
- what your child finds difficult
- what they enjoy and do well
- when difficulties seem to happen
- anything that makes things easier or harder
- whether you have noticed changes over time
- what your child says about nursery or school
- any relevant information from health professionals or other services
You know your child well and your observations are an important part of building a fuller picture.
If your child is not attending nursery or school, speak to your health visitor, GP or local authority about the support available.
What is SEN support?
Most children with additional needs will initially be supported through their nursery, school or college without needing a specific plan in place (Referred to as an EHCP in England, Individual Development Plan in Wales, Co-ordinated Support Plan in Scotland and a Statement of Special Educational Needs in Northern Ireland). We have summarised the key differences in terminology below.
How support differs across the UK
The system for supporting children with special educational needs or additional needs is different across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The terminology, assessment process and type of support plan your child may have will depend on where you live.
Wherever you are in the UK, if you have concerns about your child’s learning, development or the support they are receiving, their nursery, school or education setting is usually a good place to start.
England
In England, the term Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is used. Most children who need extra help will receive SEN Support through their nursery, school or college. Children and young people who need more support than is available through SEN Support may have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), which sets out their needs and the support they should receive.
Where to go for help: Speak to your child’s teacher or Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO). If your child is not attending a school or nursery, you can contact your local council.
Every local area also has an Information, Advice and Support Service (IASS), often known as SENDIASS, which provides free, impartial information and advice to children and young people with SEND and their parents and carers.
Wales
Wales uses the term Additional Learning Needs (ALN). If a child or young person is identified as having ALN, an Individual Development Plan (IDP) is put in place. This is a legal plan describing their needs and the additional learning provision they need.
Where to go for help: Speak to your child’s class teacher, Additional Learning Needs Coordinator (ALNCo) or headteacher. You can also contact your local authority for information and support about ALN.
If your child is younger and not yet attending a maintained nursery or school, your local authority can advise you about the support available and how concerns about possible ALN can be raised.
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Scotland
In Scotland, the term Additional Support Needs (ASN) is used. Children can have additional support needs for many different reasons and these needs may be short or long term.
There are different ways of planning and recording the support a child receives. Some children with significant and complex needs who require support from different services may have a statutory Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP).
Where to go for help: Speak to your child’s school or early learning and childcare setting in the first instance. Parents and carers can also contact their local authority if they have concerns about their child’s additional support needs.
Enquire is Scotland’s national advice service for additional support for learning and provides free information and advice to parents and carers about children’s rights and the support available.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland uses the term Special Educational Needs (SEN). Schools follow a staged approach to identifying and supporting children with SEN. Children who need a higher level of support may go through a statutory assessment and, where appropriate, receive a Statement of Special Educational Needs, which sets out their needs and the provision required.
Where to go for help: Speak to your child’s teacher or the school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) in the first instance.
The Education Authority’s SEN Advice and Information Service can also provide information and advice to parents and carers about SEN, including support in school and the statutory assessment and statementing process.
Finding more information
The systems may use different terminology and processes, but you do not need to understand everything before asking for help. If you are worried about your child or feel they need more support, speaking to their nursery, school or education setting is a good first step. You can also seek advice from the relevant service in your part of the UK.
We've got you
If you need to talk things through, we're here to help. Our trained helpline volunteers are here to listen and everyone you speak to is a parent of twins, triplets or more, so they get it.
SEND when you have twins, triplets or more
Having more than one child of the same age can add another layer to navigating SEND.
One child may require significant additional support while their sibling does not. Two or more children may have additional needs but require completely different support. Their needs may also become apparent at different stages.
Try to make sure discussions remain focused on each child individually.
It may help to:
- keep separate records for each child
- ask for each child’s progress and support to be discussed individually
- avoid using one sibling’s development as the main benchmark for another
- tell professionals if one child’s needs are affecting their sibling or wider family
- ask education settings to consider each child’s views separately
If your children attend the same setting, it can sometimes feel easier for conversations about them to become combined. It is reasonable to bring the discussion back to what each individual child needs.
How can Twins Trust help?
We know that additional and developmental needs are part of life for many families with twins, triplets or more. Multiple birth children are more likely to be born prematurely, which can increase the chance of some developmental and learning needs, so navigating SEND is an important issue for many families in our community.
Our Additional needs online community is a supportive space where parents and carers can connect with others who understand some of the challenges they may be facing, ask questions and share experiences.
If your family needs more individual support, our Professional Advice Service (PAS) may also be able to help. Depending on your circumstances, this can include support from specialist professionals such as our educational psychologists, who can offer guidance around your children’s individual needs, education and some of the challenges you may be experiencing as a family.
Before contacting us about PAS support for SEND, we ask families to speak to their local Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS), or the equivalent service where they live. SEND support and processes differ across the UK and can also vary between local areas, so these services are usually the best first port of call for free, impartial advice that reflects the system where you live. If you have already accessed this support and still need additional help, you can then get in touch with Twins Trust to find out whether PAS may be able to support your family.
Connect with other parents
Our online communities are by you and for you. They're here to offer support and shared understanding for parents of twins, triplets or more.
SEND changes in England
The Government is currently reforming the SEND system in England. Proposals include changes to how support is provided in mainstream education and the future role of EHCPs.At the time of writing, the existing SEND system and legal processes continue to apply. EHCPs remain in place for children and young people who need more support than is routinely available, while further changes are developed and introduced.Because SEND policy is changing, check the latest GOV.UK SEND guidance or seek independent SEND advice if you are making an important decision about your child’s support.
Remember: you know your child
Navigating SEND can involve unfamiliar terminology, meetings and paperwork. You do not need to understand everything immediately.Take things one stage at a time, ask questions when something is unclear and keep bringing conversations back to your child: what they find difficult, what helps them and what they need to be able to learn and thrive.For families with twins, triplets or more, remember that children born together can still have very different strengths and support needs. Each child deserves to have those needs understood as an individual.
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