The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years highlights that settings should take a graduated approach to identifying and supporting special educational needs and disability. Four stages of action are outlined: assess, plan, do and review. The ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycle should be followed, to identify needs and to ascertain when further support is needed.
Graduated Approach
Where a pupil is identified as having SEN, schools should take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place.
This SEN support should take the form of a four-part cycle through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined, and revised with a growing understanding of the pupil’s needs and of what supports the pupil in making good progress and securing good outcomes.
This is known as the graduated approach. It draws on more detailed approaches, more frequent review and more specialist expertise in successive cycles in order to match interventions to the SEN of children and young people/
The SEND Code of Practice makes it clear that the views of children and young people are paramount at every stage of the SEND graduated approach. School/setting staff need to use a range of tools and approaches to elicit the views of children and young people at every stage of the graduated approach and should take them into account when planning appropriate provision.
EHCP and The Person Centred Connection
The Targeted Education Support Service (TESS) and the Educational Psychology Service (EPS) can offer training to SENCOs, schools and settings and have a range of resources available.
Universal (For all children / young people)
Inclusive Quality First Teaching
All children and young people in Wigan settings have an entitlement to high-quality personalised teaching. This is teaching that is carefully planned and takes prior learning into account. Lessons have a clear structure and include objectives that are shared and revisited during the lesson. Teachers use lively, dynamic, interactive and differentiated teaching methods that ensure all learners make progress.
Therefore, all staff should:
- Implement inclusive whole school/setting approaches where all pupils are welcome
- Promote inclusive ‘Quality First Teaching’ where all teachers are responsible for all pupils
- Use an ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycle, to monitor progress and plan to meet needs.
Systemic work can be undertaken by EPS and TESS, working with other agencies when appropriate to do so, to support and develop inclusive practice in schools.
Services that can support and provide training:
- Early Learning and Childcare Team (ELCCT)
- Targeted Education Support Service (TESS) and Educational Psychology Service (EPS): Support can be discussed with the school’s EP or TESS teacher in the school’s Review, Development and Planning (RDP) meeting, and centralised training can also be booked through the Services for Schools (SFS) portal
- Professionals from other services such as CAMHS Link Service, Attendance, Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS), Specialist Sensory Education Team (SSET) and the Virtual School Team (VST) can also support with universal strategies.
Additional (For some children / young people)
Some children and young people will need additional support that is above and beyond the level of support that all pupils receive at the universal level.
Initially school/setting staff should:
- Undergo an ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycle, identifying additional needs and making changes to provision
- Seek support from appropriate agencies to identify need and make changes to provision.
The following services can support:
- Early Learning and Childcare Team (ELCCT)
- Targeted Education Support Service (TESS)
- Educational Psychology Service (EPS)
- Specialist Sensory Education Team (SSET)
- Virtual School Team (VST)
- Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS)
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Link Worker.
It is possible that the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycle will highlight that specific teaching/SEMH support is needed. This can be provided by the following agencies when appropriate:
- TESS Specialist teaching / Specialist SEMH support
- Specialist Sensory Education Team (SSET)
- Virtual School Team (VST)
- Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS)
- Outreach Service
- Engagement Centre.
It might also be appropriate to request support from alternative provisions when the ‘Plan, Do, Review’ cycle highlights the need, following support from the relevant agencies:
- TTAPA (Three Towers Alternative Provision Academy)
- Vocational courses/provision for certain age groups.
Severe and Complex/Specialist (for a few children / young people)
In following the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle and implementing the advice from specialist services, it is envisaged that very few children/young people will require an Education Health and Care Assessment and Plan. The referral for an EHC Assessment needs to demonstrate evidence that advice has been sought and acted on, following ongoing ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycles. This evidence should then be able to demonstrate why the child / young person requires this high level of intervention and provision.
The following steps will be followed:
- EHCP process initiated to identify all educational needs
- Advice sought from appropriate agencies
- Appropriate provision identified as part of the process
- Additional resources put into school to meet identified needs
- EHCP reviewed annually and additional advice sought when needed.
For a few children / young people going through this process the SEND team might consider making a referral to resourced or specialist provision if assessment has indicated that this is necessary, and criteria are met.