Step 3 of 8
SEN Support at school
The school-based cycle that starts building the evidence you'll want later, and why it doesn't need to "finish" first.
SEN Support is the school's own process for helping a child with additional needs, run through a repeating cycle: Assess, Plan, Do, Review. Every mainstream school in England must offer it. The class/subject teacher stays responsible for progress; the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) supports the cycle, informed by your input and any specialist advice.
This is worth starting even if you're also about to contact the council (step 4) -- it's not a legal precondition for requesting an EHC needs assessment, but the record it creates (what's been tried, how your child responded) is exactly the evidence an assessment request draws on.