Path to this page:Home
>> Children and Families
>> Schools and Education
>> Special Educational Needs
>> SEN Graduated Approach

SEN Graduated Approach

Early education settings and schools place great importance on identifying special educational needs (SEN) early so that they can help children as quickly as possible.

Once it has been decided that your child has SEN, your child’s teachers should take account of the guidance in the SEN Code of Practice (see the attached files section below).

This includes giving you information about the local parent partnership service.

The graduated approach recognises that children learn in different ways and can have different kinds or levels of SEN.

So increasingly, step by step, specialist expertise can be brought in to help the school with the difficulties that a child may have.

|Back to top

The school must tell you when they first start giving extra or different help for your child because your child has SEN.

The extra or different help could be a different way of teaching certain things, some help from an extra adult, perhaps in a small group, or use of particular equipment like a computer or a desk with a sloping top.

In early education settings this help is called Early Years Action and in schools this is called School Action.

Your child might need help through the graduated approach for only a short time or for many years, perhaps even for the whole of their education.

|Back to top

Your child’s teacher is responsible for working with your child on a day-to-day basis but may decide to write down the actions or help for your child in an Individual Education Plan (IEP).

The IEP should say:

what special help is being given
how often your child will receive the help
who will provide the help
what the targets for your child are
how and when your child’s progress will be checked
what help you can give your child at home.

|Back to top

Your child’s teacher should discuss the IEP with you and your child if possible.

IEPs will usually be linked to the main areas of:

language
literacy
mathematics
behaviour and social skills.

Sometimes the school or early education setting will not write an IEP but will record how they are meeting your child’s needs in a different way.

They will perhaps do this as part of the lesson plans, and will record your child’s progress in the same way as they do for all the other children.

But the school should always be able to tell you how they are helping your child and what progress they are making, and explain why they have not written an IEP.

Remember – it is how your child is helped that is important and not the way in which the school writes it down.

|Back to top

If your child does not make enough progress, the teacher or the SEN Co-ordinator (SENCO) should then talk to you about asking for advice from other people outside the school.

They might want to ask for help from:

a specialist teacher
an educational psychologist
a speech and language therapist
or other health professionals.

This kind of help is called Early Years Action Plus or School Action Plus.

|Back to top

The SENCO should try to include you in any discussions, and should consider your views in making any decisions about how best to help your child.

They should keep you informed about your child’s progress.

The SEN Code of Practice (see the attached files section below) is very clear about the importance of early education settings, schools, Local Authorities and parents working together.

Parents should have plenty of opportunities to find out what is happening.

Your views are very important at all times.

Talking through any worries or concerns you might have with the people at the early education setting, the class teacher, the SENCO or the head teacher should sort out any concerns or misunderstandings.

|Back to top