Help to review and update your SEN Information Report (SIR)

SEN Information Reports (SIRs) must be reviewed and updated at least annually. SIRs provide key information for parent carers about how a setting implements their SEND policy. As such SIRs should be written in plain English with this audience in mind whilst ensuring that all the information required in the Regulations is included. 

To help schools and other settings review and develop their SIRs, we updated the SIR Best Practice Guide.  

There is also an online SIR audit tool which is used when the LA reviews a SIR. Once the online SIR audit form is submitted, the SENDCo receives a report which outlines the strengths and areas for development of the SIR. 

The online SIR audit tool can also be used in the following ways: 

• Individual SENDCo auditing their setting's SIR  
• Peer to peer (SENDCo to SENDCo) review of their SIRs 
• SENDCo and SEN Governor review of their setting's SIR 
• SENDCo and parents/carers review the SIR 

During the second part of this autumn term there will be an audit to check that all Norfolk settings have published an up-to-date SEN Information Report on their website. This audit involves a search of all setting's websites to find their published SEN Information Report and check the date when it was last reviewed and updated. 

In January 2025 there will be a quality audit of a small sample of SEN Information Reports. Here a random selection of approximately 20 SEN Information Reports from a range of educational settings will be audited in detail by SEND professionals are co-ordinated by the SEND Local Offer team and completed with the help of representatives from the Inclusion and SEND team, School and Community Teams and Family Voice Norfolk. We hope these audits will continue to evidence the continued improvement of SEN Information Reports. 

We are grateful to all educational settings for their work to make sure that information that is easy to read and understand is published for parents/carers who have a child with special educational needs and/or disability (SEND). 

• What is a SEN information report?
• Writing information that is clear and easy to understand
• SEND terms explained simply