The Principles and Processes of the graduated approach explain how, why and when we go through the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle.

The Graduated Approach Intervention Guidance documents give examples of the journey from Tier 1 universal support through to Tier 2 early support and Tier 3 targeted continuing support via the Assess, Plan, Do, review cycle.

These are split into sections of working examples for different special education need, For example, physical impairment, hearing impairment, and also give examples of how to evaluate and review progress.

Ordinarily Available Provision’ promotes a consistent ethos to supporting children receiving SEND Support. This approach has been created by schools, professionals and parents and is a fantastic user-friendly, accessible resource for all.  It outlines the special educational needs that children may have across the four broad areas, with easy to use provision suggestions for all members of school staff and families alike, as well as strategies for whole school and quality first teaching. 

> Information for professionals and parents/carers (PDF/A 635KB)

SEN Support is the category of support for children/young people with SEN but without EHC Plans. It focuses the system on the result of the support provided to that individual child/young person, rather than how children/young people access support according to the category they fit into. It places emphasis on a graduated approach (assess, plan, do and review).

• Assess – the child/young person’s difficulties must be assessed so that the right provision can be made. This should include asking parents/carers and/or the child/young person their views, talking to any professionals involved and looking at records and other information.

• Plan – the education setting needs to agree, with your involvement, the outcomes that SEN Support is intended to achieve – in other words, how they will benefit for any support they receive. Everyone involved will have a say in deciding what support will be provided and when it should be reviewed. 

• Do – the education setting will put the planned support in place.  The class teacher (or equivalent) remains responsible for working with the child/young person on a daily basis, but the SENCO and any other supporting staff will work closely to monitor the effectiveness of the support.

• Review – At the agreed time the support should be reviewed to see if it having a positive effect, whether the outcomes have been, or are being, achieved and if or how any changes should be made.

SEN Support will be implemented and after a period the effectiveness of the provision/strategies will be reviewed. If adequate progress is made changes may be required to enable continued progress. If adequate progress is not made different provision/strategies will be planned, implemented and reviewed again (see the Assess Plan, Do, Review cycle pdf on the right).

If you and the professionals who support your child believe s/he requires support which is over and above that ordinarily available from mainstream resources, a request may be made for an EHC Needs Assessment. The request will usually be made by your child’s education setting, but parents can make the request themselves.

The legal test for an EHC Needs Assessment is from section 36 of the Children and Families Act 2014:

The local authority must secure an EHC needs assessment for the child or young person if, after having regard to any views expressed and evidence submitted under subsection (7), the authority is of the opinion that:

(a) the child or young person has or may have special educational needs, and

(b) it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made for the child or young person in accordance with an EHC Plan.

An EHC Plan will set out the child/young person’s needs and provision required (over and above that ordinarily available within a mainstream school/setting).

In Buckinghamshire we have developed an SEN Support Plan document for the purpose of identifying the SEN of children/young people, monitoring their progress towards desired outcomes and tracking resources utilised within the educational setting. 

Many people will be familiar with IEPs (Individual Education Plans) or Provision Maps – this document contains the same type of information, but much more in addition.  In Buckinghamshire we recommend that schools and other educational settings use this document for children/young people who have SEN which require targeted support over an extended period and/or require support from external specialists for example, specialist teacher, educational psychologist etcetera.

Download the Buckinghamshire SEN Support Plan form.

Download the SEND Support Plan for children in the EYFS.

A toolkit of guidance, resources and links to support children and young people’s transition/transfer between educational settings. 

Transitions Toolkit

Specialist Teacher Support

A tiered approach to supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

The Integrated SEND Service is part of Buckinghamshire Council’s local offer for children and young people with SEND.  The service consists of a range of specialists including Specialist Teachers, Educational Psychologists and Education, Health and Care who carry out statutory services for education, health and care needs assessments, planning and monitoring.

The service is organised across the county in area hubs, which are located in Aylesbury, Wycombe and Chiltern and South Buckinghamshire. The Sensory, Physical and Down syndrome teams are countywide teams which work across the hubs.

The Integrated SEND Service works in partnership with schools, settings and post 16 providers to promote inclusion, achievement and participation, towards securing better outcomes for children and young people with SEND across Buckinghamshire. 

This is done by enabling the development of skills for staff in schools and settings, typically around an individual child or young person.  There is a focus on promoting an understanding of learning, development and emotional wellbeing for all. 

The Integrated SEND Service works with individual schools (both maintained and non-maintained), clusters, alliances and multi-academy trusts, within Buckinghamshire.  Wherever appropriate, involvement is carried out in partnership with other agencies across health and social care.

The purpose of the service is to support and facilitate effective SEND provision, ensuring that children and young people are enabled to reach their full potential and secure positive outcomes for now and for their futures. 

The Integrated SEND Service supports this vision with the aims of:

• Schools/settings being supported to more ably meet the needs of children and young people with SEND.
• Schools/settings increasing in confidence so that children and young people with SEND are included and can achieve to their highest potential.
• Parents/carers gaining a better understanding of the needs of their child and will have confidence that their needs are being met within schools/settings.

Schools/settings building their own expertise through wider workforce development leading to a highly skilled system of support.

The tiered approach

The Integrated SEND Service is aimed at supporting settings when their own resources have been utilised, but where difficulties remain so that they can successfully include children and young people who have SEND.  This includes those who may or may not have or require an education, health and care plan (EHCP). 

The tiered approach encompasses work around the most vulnerable children and young people, based on their individual needs. 

When considering involvement through the tiered approach, the needs of the child or young person will be assessed, with consideration of their individual needs and the wider context, for example, family situation, the experience of the setting, and involvement of other agencies.

The tiered approach is provided via the local authority and is free at the point of delivery, where children and young people meet the eligibility criteria. 

The tiered approach includes the whole SEND system of the local area, encompassing the responsibilities that schools and settings have in relation to the SEND Code of Practice, for example, that they are expected to do the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle (APDR).

This includes where a pupil is identified as having SEN, schools should take action to remove barriers to learning and put an 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 and it draws on more frequent review and more specialist expertise in successive cycles in order to match interventions to the SEN of children and young people (chapter six of the SEND Code of Practice).