← 返回资讯屏轩教育 · 行业资讯

Legal Duties of School Governing Boards for Children with Special Educational Needs | 孩子有特殊教育需要，学校董事会负有哪些法定支持职责

2026-10-15 12:52 · 本文部分内容由AI辅助创作

📚 Legal Duties of School Governing Boards for Children with Special Educational Needs | 孩子有特殊教育需要，学校董事会负有哪些法定支持职责

When a child struggles at school, parents usually speak to the class teacher or the SENCO. Yet the body that is legally accountable for whether that child's needs are actually met is often invisible: the school governing board. In England, the governing body of a maintained school - and the board of trustees of an academy trust - carries direct statutory duties under the Children and Families Act 2014, the Equality Act 2010 and the SEND Code of Practice. This article explains in plain language what those duties are, how they are monitored, and what parents can do when they are not met.

当孩子在学校遇到困难时，家长通常先找班主任或特殊教育需要协调员（SENCO）。然而，法律上真正对"孩子的需求是否被满足"负责的机构，往往是看不见的：学校董事会（校董会／管理委员会）。在英格兰，公立学校的管理委员会与学院制学校的信托董事会，直接承担《2014年儿童与家庭法》《2010年平等法》以及《特殊教育需要与障碍实务守则》下的法定义务。本文用通俗语言说明这些义务究竟包括什么、如何被监督，以及在义务未被履行时，家长与校董可以采取哪些行动。

1. Who the Governing Board Is and Why It Matters | 谁是学校董事会，为什么它重要

In a maintained school the governing body is the corporate body that owns the statutory duties. In an academy or free school the equivalent is the board of trustees of the academy trust, usually exercised locally through a local governing body. In independent and international schools the equivalent may be a board of governors or a school management committee. Whatever the label, the board is the employer, the budget holder and the body that must ensure the school complies with SEN law. Individual governors have no personal legal liability; the duty sits with the corporate body as a whole.

在公立学校（maintained school）中，管理委员会（governing body）是承担法定义务的法团主体。在学院制学校（academy）与自由学校中，对应机构是学院信托的信托董事会，通常通过地方管理委员会在本地行使职权。在私立与国际学校中，对应机构可能是校董会或学校管理委员会。无论名称如何，董事会都是雇主、预算持有者，也是必须确保学校遵守特殊教育需要（SEN）法律的主体。个别校董个人并不承担法律责任；义务属于整个法团。

2. The Legal Framework at a Glance | 法律框架一览

Parents often ask which law applies. The answer is a small stack of statutes, regulations and statutory guidance. The table below maps the main instruments to the duty they place on the board.

家长常问：到底哪一条法律适用？答案是一组相互叠加的法律、法规与法定指引。下表把主要法律文件与其对董事会的义务对应起来。

Law / Guidance Duty on the governing board
Children and Families Act 2014, s.66 Use best endeavours to secure special educational provision for every pupil with SEN
Children and Families Act 2014, s.67 and s.68 Designate a qualified teacher as SENCO; inform parents when SEN provision is being made
SEND Regulations 2014, reg. 51 and Schedule 1 Publish a SEN Information Report and keep it up to date
Children and Families Act 2014, s.43 and s.28 Admit a pupil named in an EHC plan; co-operate with the local authority
Equality Act 2010, s.20, s.85 and Schedule 10 Make reasonable adjustments, avoid discrimination, publish an accessibility plan
SEND Code of Practice 0-25 (2015), paras 6.2, 6.3, 6.79 Appoint a governor with specific SEN oversight; report annually to parents

3. Duty One: Best Endeavours for Every Pupil with SEN | 职责一：为每位有特殊教育需要的学生尽最大努力

Section 66 of the Children and Families Act 2014 requires the governing body to use its "best endeavours" to secure the special educational provision called for by a pupil's learning difficulties or disabilities. This is a high standard. It means the board cannot simply say that a support was unavailable, unfunded or inconvenient. It must be able to show what it considered, what it tried, and what it will try next.

《2014年儿童与家庭法》第66条要求管理委员会"尽最大努力"（best endeavours）为有学习困难或障碍的学生提供特殊教育支持。这是一个很高的标准。它意味着董事会不能简单地说"没有资源""没有预算"或"不方便"；它必须能够说明自己考虑过什么、尝试过什么、接下来准备做什么。

rt = Early Identification + High-Quality Teaching + Targeted Intervention + Regular Review

4. Duty Two: Appoint and Resource a SENCO and a Designated Governor | 职责二：任命并支持SENCO与指定校董

The board must designate a member of staff as SENCO. In maintained schools the SENCO must be a qualified teacher, and a newly appointed SENCO must complete the National Award for SEN Co-ordination within three years. Crucially, the duty is not only to appoint but to resource: the SEND Code of Practice states that the SENCO must have sufficient time and administrative support to carry out the role. A SENCO with a full teaching timetable and no release time is evidence that the board has not discharged this duty.

董事会必须指定一名教职员担任SENCO。在公立学校中，SENCO必须持有合格教师资格，新上任的SENCO还须在三年内完成"特殊教育需要协调国家资格"（NASENCO）。关键在于，义务不仅是"任命"，还包括"提供资源"：《实务守则》明确规定SENCO必须拥有足够的时间与行政支持。若一名SENCO课时满负荷、没有任何减免时间，这本身就是董事会未履行义务的证据。

The Code also recommends that the board identifies a governor or a committee with specific oversight of SEN and disability. That governor should visit the school, meet the SENCO, and report back to the full board, not simply receive a paper once a year.

《实务守则》还建议董事会指定一名校董或设立一个委员会，专门监督SEN与残障事务。这名校董应当到校访问、与SENCO会面，并向全体董事会汇报，而不是每年只收一份文件了事。

5. Duty Three: Publish a SEN Information Report | 职责三：发布SEN信息报告

Regulation 51 of the SEND Regulations 2014 requires every school to publish a SEN Information Report on its website. Schedule 1 of the same regulations sets out the required content. The report is the board's public statement of what the school actually provides, and it must be reviewed at least annually.

《2014年特殊教育需要与障碍条例》第51条要求每所学校在学校网站上发布"特殊教育需要信息报告"（SEN Information Report）。同一条例的附表1列明了必备内容。这份报告是董事会向公众说明学校究竟提供什么的正式文件，且必须至少每年复查一次。

If a school's SEN Information Report is missing, out of date, or copied from another school, that is a straightforward breach of duty that parents can raise with the chair of governors and, if necessary, with Ofsted or the local authority.

如果学校的SEN信息报告缺失、过期，或直接照抄他校，即属明显的义务违反，家长可向校董会主席提出，必要时向Ofsted或地方当局反映。

6. Duty Four: Co-operate with the Local Authority and the EHC Process | 职责四：配合地方当局与EHC计划流程

Schools must co-operate with the local authority on matters relating to SEN. In practice this means responding promptly when the local authority asks whether a pupil needs an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment, providing evidence of the support already given, and attending multi-agency meetings. The board also has a role in ensuring that annual reviews of EHC plans actually happen and that reports reach the local authority within the statutory timescale.

学校必须就SEN相关事项配合地方当局。实务上，这意味着当地方当局询问某名学生是否需要"教育、健康与护理（EHC）需求评估"时，学校必须及时回应，提供已提供支持的证据，并参加多机构会议。董事会还有责任确保EHC计划的年度复查真正召开，并且报告在法定时限内送交地方当局。

7. Duty Five: Reasonable Adjustments and Non-Discrimination | 职责五：合理调整与不歧视

Under the Equality Act 2010, the board is the "responsible body" for the school. It must not discriminate against a disabled pupil in admissions or in the education and services it provides, and it must make reasonable adjustments where a provision, criterion or practice, or a lack of auxiliary aids, puts a disabled pupil at a substantial disadvantage. The duty is anticipatory: the school must plan ahead rather than wait for an individual crisis.

根据《2010年平等法》，董事会是学校的"责任主体"。它不得在招生或所提供的教育与服务中歧视残障学生；当某项规定、标准或做法，或辅助器材的缺失，使残障学生处于实质不利地位时，学校必须作出"合理调整"。这项义务是"预先性"的：学校必须提前规划，而不是等个别学生出事后再补救。

Schedule 10 of the Equality Act also requires schools to publish a written accessibility plan covering three areas: increasing participation in the curriculum, improving the physical environment, and improving the delivery of information to disabled pupils. Many schools have an accessibility plan that has not been updated for years - a common and easily evidenced failure.

《平等法》附表10还要求学校发布书面的"无障碍计划"，涵盖三方面：提高课程参与度、改善物理环境、改善向残障学生传递信息的方式。许多学校的无障碍计划多年未更新，这是常见且易于举证的一项失职。

8. Duty Six: Admissions, Exclusions and Mainstream Education | 职责六：招生、停学与开除

Admissions and exclusions are two areas where SEN failures become legally visible. A school named in an EHC plan must admit the pupil; refusing on the ground that the school is "full" or "cannot meet need" is not lawful. Admissions arrangements must not discriminate against disabled children, and the board is responsible for ensuring its admissions policy complies.

招生与开除是SEN失职最容易"浮出水面"的两个领域。被EHC计划指名的学校必须录取该生；以"学位已满"或"我们无法满足需求"为由拒绝是违法的。招生安排不得歧视残障儿童，董事会须确保招生政策合规。