Finding a school in Wales for your child with special educational needs or a disability

Deciding on the right school for your child can be difficult for all parents and carers. If your child has special educational needs (SEN) or a disability it can be even harder to know where to begin without the right information and support.

This guide will help you work out which schools are best for your child. It explains how and when to apply for schools and what to do if your child is turned down for a place, and tells you where to go for more help.

This guide looks long, but don't be put off - you will only need to read a pages at each stage.

The application process is different depending on whether your child has a statement of special educational needs or not. (A statement is a legal document which sets out what help your child needs after the local authority has carried out a statutory assessment.) Both types of application are described in full in this guide. Where there are big differences, we have separated the information.

The information in this guide applies to Wales only. There is a guide that applies to England available here.

Written by Margaret McGowan
September 2010