Guides

The SEND register

What it is, who belongs on it, what to record, and how it reconciles with the census and your provision map.

What it is

A live list of pupils with identified SEN

The SEND register is the school's record of which pupils have been identified as having special educational needs and at what stage — SEN Support, or an EHCP. It exists so that the school can answer three questions quickly and consistently: who has identified need, what stage they are at, and when their support was last reviewed.

No single piece of legislation uses the phrase "SEND register". What the law and the SEND Code of Practice require is that schools identify need, make and record provision, tell parents, and return SEN status in the school census. A register is simply the practical way schools meet all four at once, which is why every school has one and why inspectors expect to see it.

Who goes on it

The threshold is provision, not concern

A pupil belongs on the register when the school is making special educational provision — support that is additional to or different from what is ordinarily available to everyone else. A pupil the SENCo is monitoring, or one who is behind but responding to ordinary quality-first teaching, is not on the register by virtue of that concern alone.

This distinction is where most registers drift. Registers grow when "cause for concern" quietly becomes an entry, and they become misleading when pupils stay on for years after the additional provision stopped. Both directions are worth auditing termly.

Keep the Equality Act separate in your head. A pupil with a medical condition or disability may be owed reasonable adjustments without having special educational provision, and so without belonging on the SEND register.

Structure

A register that survives scrutiny

The columns below are the minimum that lets a register answer a governor, an inspector, or a local authority funding query without a second spreadsheet. Copy them into whatever you currently use.

Column	Example	Why it earns its place
Pupil name	A. Pupil	Identification
UPN / MIS ID	X924000000001	Reconciles with census and MIS
Year group / class	Y5 — Oak	Cohort analysis
SEN status	SEN Support / EHCP	Census category (K / E)
Primary area of need	SLCN	One of the four broad areas
Secondary need (if any)	SEMH	Census records one; practice needs both
Date added to register	2026-09-12	Evidences timeliness of identification
Parent informed (date)	2026-09-13	Code of Practice requirement
Current provision reference	PM-Y5-03	Links register to provision map
Last review date	2026-04-22	Shows the cycle is live
Next review due	2026-07-10	Drives the termly cycle
Date removed / reason	—	Exit is as auditable as entry

Reconciliation

Census, register, provision map

Three records describe the same pupils and they should agree. The census returns SEN provision type (K for SEN Support, E for an EHCP). The register says who is at which stage and when they were last reviewed. The provision map says what is actually being delivered, by whom, and at what cost.

The most common mismatch is a pupil on the register with no corresponding row on the provision map — the school has recorded a need but cannot evidence the provision. The reverse, a costed intervention for a pupil who is not on the register, is usually a sign that identification is lagging behind practice.

Coming off

Exit should be as evidenced as entry

A pupil comes off the register when the additional or different provision is no longer needed — not when it simply stopped being delivered. Record the date, the reason, and the evidence, and tell parents. A register with no removals over several years is usually a register nobody reviews, and it distorts every SEN percentage the school reports.

A register that reconciles with provision automatically

OMNIA keeps the register, the provision map, and review dates on the same record. OMNIA drafts. You decide.

Read the provision mapping guide →

Common questions

Frequently asked

Is a SEND register a legal requirement?

There is no single statute that says "keep a register" in those words, but schools must identify pupils with SEN, record the support in place, and return SEN status in the school census. In practice that means every school keeps a register in some form, and inspectors will expect to see it.

Who goes on the SEND register?

Pupils receiving SEN Support and pupils with an EHCP. A pupil who only needs a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act — for example a medical condition managed with no additional educational provision — does not automatically belong on it.

Do parents have to be told?

Yes. The SEND Code of Practice is explicit that schools should tell parents when they are making special educational provision for a pupil. Adding a child quietly is a common source of complaints.

How often should it be reviewed?

At least termly. The register is a live record, not an annual snapshot — pupils come off it when provision is no longer additional to or different from what is ordinarily available.

What is the difference between the SEND register and the provision map?

The register says who has identified SEN and at what stage. The provision map says what is actually being delivered to whom, by whom, at what cost. You need both, and they should reconcile.