The SEND Code of Practice 0 to 25 for post-16 and further education providers

The SEND Code of Practice 0 to 25 is the statutory guidance that sits under Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014. It is long (292 pages) and most of it is written with schools and local authorities in mind. For colleges and post-16 providers, a handful of chapters do most of the work. This guide explains what the Code requires of you, where to find it, and how to turn it into everyday practice.

It explains duties and good practice, not legal advice.

What is the SEND Code of Practice and is it law?

The Code is statutory guidance, not an Act, but bodies listed in section 77 of the Children and Families Act 2014 must have regard to it. “Have regard” means you must follow it unless you have a good reason not to, and be able to explain that reason. The First-tier Tribunal (SEND) must also have regard to it when deciding appeals.

The version in force is the January 2015 Code, which took effect on 1 April 2015. Where the Code says “must”, it is restating a legal duty. Where it says “should”, it is guidance you must have regard to.

Who must follow the SEND Code of Practice in further education and post-16?

Section 77 lists, among others:

• governing bodies of institutions within the further education sector (general FE and sixth form colleges)
• proprietors of Academies, which includes 16 to 19 Academies
• proprietors of institutions approved under section 41, which includes special post-16 institutions
• local authorities, youth offending teams and NHS bodies

Independent training providers are not listed in section 77. They are still bound by the Equality Act 2010, and many local authorities expect the Code’s approach when they commission places. Following it is good practice. See independent training providers.

What counts as SEN for a young person over 16?

Under section 20, a young person has special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty or disability that calls for special educational provision. A young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or a disability that prevents or hinders them from using facilities generally provided in mainstream post-16 institutions.

Special educational provision is education or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that generally made for others of the same age in mainstream settings (section 21). A “young person” in the Act is someone over compulsory school age and under 25.

Not every disabled learner has SEN, and not every learner with SEN has an EHC plan. Most learners with SEN in colleges are supported through SEN support without a plan. See SEND in the glossary.

What does chapter 7 say colleges must do?

Chapter 7 is the further education chapter. Its core legal duties for colleges are:

1. Best endeavours. Under section 66, the governing body must use its best endeavours to secure the special educational provision a student’s SEN calls for. This applies to every student with SEN, with or without an EHC plan.
2. Admit when named. Under section 43, a college named in an EHC plan must admit the young person.
3. Co-operate with the local authority on SEND arrangements, including the local offer and EHC needs assessments.
4. Have regard to the Code.
5. Meet Equality Act duties, including reasonable adjustments. See the Equality Act 2010 for FE providers.

Chapter 7 also sets clear expectations that colleges should:

• have a named person with oversight of SEN provision, similar to the role of a SENCO in schools, to co-ordinate support
• identify SEN early, using information from schools, the application and enrolment process, and the learner’s own account
• involve the young person in every decision about their support
• have access to specialist skills and expertise, inside or outside the college
• keep accurate records of the support provided and its impact

What is SEN support in a college?

SEN support is the support a college provides for a student with SEN who does not have an EHC plan. Chapter 7 describes it as a cycle of assessing what support is needed, planning it, putting it in place and keeping it under review. In schools this is called the graduated approach, often summarised as assess, plan, do, review.

If a learner is not making expected progress despite well-run SEN support, the college should consider involving specialists and whether to request an EHC needs assessment. Section 36 of the Act allows a post-16 institution to make that request. The local authority must decide within six weeks whether to carry out the assessment.

Practical help for each stage is in person-centred support planning, how to write a learner support plan and reviewing whether support worked.

How is SEN support funded in a college?

Colleges fund SEN support from their core 16 to 19 funding, which includes disadvantage funding. For students whose additional support costs more than £6,000, high needs funding applies: element 2 place funding of £6,000 per place and element 3 top-up funding from the commissioning local authority. The high needs funding guide explains this in detail.

What does chapter 8 add for post-16?

Chapter 8 covers preparing for adulthood from the earliest years, with most detail from year 9 onward. For colleges, the key messages are:

• Four outcomes. Support should help young people towards higher education and/or employment, independent living, participating in society, and being as healthy as possible in adult life. See preparing for adulthood outcomes.
• Study programmes for learners with SEN should be designed around these outcomes, including work experience, supported internships and apprenticeships.
• Transition planning from school to college should start early, through year 9 onward reviews of EHC plans. See school to college transition.
• 19 to 25. Colleges must continue to use best endeavours for 19 to 25-year-olds with SEN, and must not charge tuition fees to 19 to 25-year-olds with EHC plans.

Who makes decisions once a learner is 16 or older?

From the end of compulsory school age, the rights in Part 3 of the Act belong to the young person, not their parent. The young person can request an assessment, express a preference for an institution, appeal to the tribunal and agree or disagree with their plan. Where a young person lacks capacity for a particular decision, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 applies, and a parent or deputy may act for them. See Mental Capacity Act.

This shift is easy to miss in day-to-day practice. Letters addressed only to parents, review meetings arranged around parents’ availability, and plans written about rather than with the learner all cut against it. Many young people want their parents involved, and the Code supports that. The point is that the learner decides.

What records does the Code expect colleges to keep?

Chapter 7 expects colleges to keep accurate records of the support provided, its impact and the learner’s progress. Practical minimum records:

• what the learner said about their needs and aspirations
• agreed outcomes and the support to achieve them
• delivery of support, including missed support and how it was recovered
• review dates and outcomes, including the learner’s view
• information shared with the local authority, including for EHC plan reviews

Records about SEN are often special category data and should be protected accordingly. See recording support delivery evidence.

Where do colleges most often fall short of the Code?

The gaps are usually in process rather than intent. Common ones:

• Support only for learners with EHC plans. Best endeavours applies to every student with SEN. Learners on SEN support without a plan are the largest group and the easiest to lose track of.
• Plans written about the learner. If the learner cannot say what is in their plan, it was not agreed with them.
• No review cycle. Support agreed at enrolment and never revisited is not the cycle chapter 7 describes.
• Weak transition information. Information from school arrives late or is not passed to tutors. See the transition information summary template.
• No delivery record. When asked whether support happened, the only evidence is staff memory.
• Parents treated as the decision-maker. For young people over compulsory school age, the learner decides, subject to capacity.

The support process health check is a quick way to test your own process against these points. A written learning support policy is a practical way to set out how your college meets these expectations. The SENCO and local offer glossary entries explain two terms you will meet in the Code.

Is the SEND Code of Practice changing?

Reform has been proposed but the law has not changed. On 23 February 2026 the government published the schools white paper Every child achieving and thriving and opened the consultation SEND reform: putting children and young people first. The consultation closed on 18 May 2026 and, at the time of writing, DfE is analysing responses.

The DfE information sheet for post-16 describes proposals including individual support plans for young people with SEND, layered support, and EHC plans retained for the most complex needs. It says new legislation is expected to come into effect from September 2029, and that learners with existing EHC plans will see no changes before September 2030 at the earliest. These are proposals. Until Parliament changes the law, the Children and Families Act 2014 and the 2015 Code continue to apply.

How does Inclusion Studio fit with the Code?

Inclusion Studio is learner support software in development for England FE colleges and apprenticeship providers, at pre-pilot stage with a clickable prototype using fictional learners. Its planned journey (understand, agree, deliver, review) mirrors the cycle in chapter 7: learner voice captured in the learner’s own words, support plans the learner has seen, delivery tracking and reviews that ask whether support helped. It does not replace the local authority’s EHC process, and the provider remains responsible for meeting its duties. Read more for further education colleges.