Graduated Approach

This section provides information on the expectation that all settings adopt a comprehensive and consistent approach to meeting the needs of children and young people.

On this page, you can find:

What is the Graduated Approach?
Principles
Key Areas of Support and Intervention
Resources
Graduated Approach Guide
Graduated Approach Process Map
Model Provision and Strategies

What is the Graduated Approach?

Uses assessment over time and provides a clear and structured approach for providing help at every level for children and young people.
Creates an expectation that all settings adopt a comprehensive and consistent approach to meeting the needs of children and young people.
Ensures that ‘high quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEND’ (SEND Code of Practice 2015paragraph 6.37).
Ensures that access to support is equitable and based upon a cycle of assess, plan, do, review, as set out in the SEND Code of Practice (2015).
Takes into account the child or young person’s voice throughout.
Is used to gather information from a range of individuals involved in supporting children and young people, including parent and child.
Forms part of the ‘Local Offer’ with support determined by the graduated intervention levels.

Graduated Approach Pyramid of how needs are met

1. UNIVERSAL - No formal SEND plan

High Quality Teaching for all children and young people including adaptive teaching, differentiation and reasonable adjustments. This includes universal support services to improve your whole setting approach to meeting all learner's needs. e.g., GP, Hearing Impairment Team, Visual Impairment Team.

2. UNIVERSAL + - Optional Informal SEND Plan

In addition to High Quality Teaching at Universal Level, some children and young people may require time-limited intervention programmes and additional support in order to secure effective learning and increase the rate of progress. This includes universal support services to improve your whole setting approach to meeting all SEND learner's needs. Any service would provide a record of involvement or note of visit if requested.

3. TARGETED - SEND Support plan

In addition to inclusive High Quality Teaching and provision at Universal + Level, some children and young people may require additional to and different from support in order to secure effective learning and increase the rate of progress. This includes targeted support services to improve individual outcomes. eg Educational Psychology Service, Speech and Language Therapy.

4. TARGETED + - SEND Support Plan

In addition to inclusive High Quality Teaching and provision at Targeted Level, some children and young people may require additional to and different from support which requires additional funding in order to secure effective learning and increase the rate of progress.

5. SPECIALIST / Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment

In addition to the above provision, a small number of children and young people may require significant amounts of additional to and different from provision across multiple areas of need in order to secure effective learning and increase the rate of progress. Educational Psychology Service (EPS) would be involved in the statutory assessment process by writing a formal report. Good practice would suggest continued involvement of specialist services to include attendance/ invite to interim review or annual review. As part of the changes to SEND across the local authority financial resources will be accessible at this level without an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment.

Principles

The below principles should be adopted at all stages of the graduated approach:

Assess, Plan, Do, Review

The graduated approach begins at whole setting level with regular cycles of assess, plan, do review for all children, young people and their families as part of the ordinarily available provision. Where there are concerns about a child or young person's development and learning this cycle becomes increasingly personalised to remove barriers and meet the needs of the individual. This cycle can identify when levels of support are successful, can be reduced or need to be increased in line with the child or young person's needs.

Person Centred Approach

9.22 The assessment and planning process should:
• focus on the child or young person as an individual
• enable children and young people and their families to express their views, wishes and feelings
• enable children and young people and their families to be part of the decision-making process
• be easy for children, young people and their families to understand, and use clear ordinary language and images rather than professional jargon
• highlight the child or young person’s strengths and capabilities
• enable the child or young person, and those that know them best to say what they have done, what they are interested in and what outcomes they are seeking in the future
• tailor support to the needs of the individual
• organise assessments to minimise demands on families
• bring together relevant professionals to discuss and agree together the overall approach, and
• deliver an outcomes-focused and co-ordinated plan for the child or young person and their parents

9.23 Using this approach within a family context, professionals and local authorities can ensure that children, young people and their families are involved in all aspects of planning and decision-making

Co-Production

4.8 Local authorities must involve children with SEN or disabilities and their parents and young people with SEN or disabilities in: planning the content of the Local Offer deciding how to publish the Local Offer reviewing the Local Offer, including by enabling them to make comments about it

4.9 Local authorities should do this in a way which ensures that children, young people and parents feel they have participated fully in the process and have a sense of co-ownership. This is often referred to as ‘co-production’. Local authorities should take steps to ensure that their arrangements for involving children, young people and parents include a broadly representative group of the children with SEN or disabilities and their parents and young people with SEN or disabilities in their area. Parent Carer Forums, young people’s forums and other local groups are useful ways to engage families.

4.10 Local authorities should publicise in their Local Offer the ways in which they will involve children, young people and parents in developing and reviewing it. Local authorities should ensure that they provide support that enables children, young people and parents to contribute to decision-making at this strategic level and the Local Offer should include details of this support, which should include Parent Carer Forums and local voluntary organisations

Improving Outcomes for Children and Young People

6.1 All children and young people are entitled to an appropriate education, one that is appropriate to their needs, promotes high standards and the fulfilment of potential. This should enable them to:
• achieve their best
• become confident individuals living fulfilling lives, and
• make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training

6.2 Every school is required to identify and address the SEN of the pupils that they support. Mainstream schools, which in this chapter includes maintained schools and academies that are not special schools, maintained nursery schools, 16 to19 academies, alternative provision academies and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), must:
• use their best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEN gets the support they need – this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people’s SEN
• ensure that children and young people with SEN engage in the activities of the school alongside pupils who do not have SEN
• designate a teacher to be responsible for co-ordinating SEN provision – the SEN co-ordinator, or SENCO (this does not apply to 16 to 19 academies)
• inform parents when they are making special educational provision for a child
• prepare an SEN information report (see ‘Publishing information: SEN information report’, paragraph 6.78 onwards) and their arrangements for the admission of disabled children, the steps being taken to prevent disabled children from being treated less favourably than others, the facilities provided to enable access to the school for disabled children and their accessibility plan showing how they plan to improve access progressively over time

6.3 There should be a member of the governing body or a sub-committee with specific oversight of the school’s arrangements for SEN and disability. School leaders should regularly review how expertise and resources used to address SEN can be used to build the quality of whole-school provision as part of their approach to school improvement.

6.4 The quality of teaching for pupils with SEN, and the progress made by pupils, should be a core part of the school’s performance management arrangements and its approach to professional development for all teaching and support staff. School leaders and teaching staff, including the SENCO, should identify any patterns in the identification of SEN, both within the school and in comparison with national data, and use these to reflect on and reinforce the quality of teaching. Many aspects of this whole school approach have been piloted by Achievement for All – for further details and links to other sources of training and support materials, see Annex 2: Improving practice and staff training in education settings.

6.5 The identification of SEN should be built into the overall approach to monitoring the progress and development of all pupils.

6.6 A mainstream school’s arrangements for assessing and identifying pupils as having SEN should be agreed and set out as part of the Local Offer. A school should publish its arrangements as part of the information it makes available on SEN (see the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014). 6.7 In fulfilling these duties schools should have regard to the principles set out in Chapter 1. In particular, they should ensure that children, parents and young people are actively involved in decision-making throughout the approaches set out in this chapter.

Training and Development of the Workforce

Joint delivery
3.40 At a strategic level, when commissioning training for professionals partners should consider whether combined service delivery, training or a common set of key skills would help professionals and providers adapt to meeting the needs of children and young people with SEN or disabilities in a more personalised way. This could include commissioning ‘key working’ roles to support children and young people with SEN and disabilities and their parents, particularly at key points such as diagnosis, EHC plan development and transition.

3.41 Partners should also consider whether and how specialist staff can train the wider workforce so they can better identify need and offer support earlier – for example, educational psychologists or speech and language therapists training professionals such as teachers or GPs to identify and support children and young people with mental health problems or speech and language difficulties, respectively. This may involve NHS Local Education and Training Boards. Some areas have involved parent carers in delivery of workforce development programme.

6.2 Every school is required to identify and address the SEN of the pupils that they support. Mainstream schools, which in this chapter includes maintained schools and academies that are not special schools, maintained nursery schools, 16 to19 academies, alternative provision academies and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), must: use their best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEN gets the support they need – this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people’s SEN ensure that children and young people with SEN engage in the activities of the school alongside pupils who do not have SEN
• designate a teacher to be responsible for co-ordinating SEN provision – the SEN co-ordinator, or SENCO (this does not apply to 16 to 19 academies)
• inform parents when they are making special educational provision for a child prepare an SEN information report (see ‘Publishing information: SEN information report’, paragraph 6.78 onwards) and their arrangements for the admission of disabled children, the steps being taken to prevent disabled children from being treated less favourably than others, the facilities provided to enable access to the school for disabled children and their accessibility plan showing how they plan to improve access progressively over time

Key Areas of Support and Intervention:

At all levels of the graduated approach, there are 4 key areas of support and intervention to consider, in order to best meet the needs of children and young people:

1. Learner Voice 

Giving children and young people a voice promotes self-esteem and self-worth. By giving children and young people a voice through choice, opinion, feelings and emotions, they can develop and learn that they are important and valued. Feeling valued plays a key role in how children and young people learn and develop. In order for them to actively learn and critically think they need to feel confident in their environment and have the knowledge that their voice and way of learning will be intrinsic to the provision provided.

2. Working with Families

Co production of support with families as equal partners recognises that they have important contributions to make to the design, planning, delivery and review of strategies. Families and learners with SEND, must be involved in discussions and decisions about the support and provision that is provided.

3. Setting Provision

Including curriculum provision, environment and whole setting culture and ethos.
A broad and balanced curriculum and a positive ethos to support and promote children and young people's mental health and wellbeing.

4. Partnership Team Working

Professionals across multiple specialist and outreach teams working together to support co-production.