SEN Colleges, also known as Special Specialism Colleges, are specialist special schools in the United Kingdom. They were introduced in 2006 as part of the

specialist schools programme The specialist schools programme (SSP), first launched as the Technology Colleges programme and also known as the specialist schools initiative, specialist schools policy and specialist schools scheme, was a government programme in the United ...

following a successful trial in 2004. The system enabled secondary and primary schools to specialise in certain fields.

Specialization

Specialist SEN Colleges were special needs schools that successfully applied to the Specialist Schools Trust, receiving extra funding from this joint private sector and government scheme. The first non-trial SEN Colleges were introduced in September 2006 after an announcement by

Andrew Adonis Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis, (born Andreas Adonis; 22 February 1963) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and journalist who served in HM Government for five years in the Third Blair ministry, Blair ministry and the Brown mi ...

in 2005 and could specialise in four areas: * Communication and interaction * Cognition and learning * Behaviour, emotional and social difficulties * Sensory and/or physical needs The specialist schools programme has been defunct since 2011. Therefore, if a special school wishes to become a SEN College, they must become an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

or manage a Dedicated Schools Grant.

References

{{Specialist schools Specialist schools programme