Teachers are continually monitoring all children’s learning and progress. If they observe that a child, as recommended by the 2015 Code of Practice, is making less than expected progress, given their age and individual circumstances and despite Quality First Teaching, they will seek to identify a cause.

This can be characterised by progress which

• is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline

• fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress

• fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers

• widens the attainment gap

In this instance the teacher will meet informally with the child and also with the parent/carer to gather views and complete an Initial Concerns Checklist. The completed checklist will then be shared with the SENCo in order to consider a potential Special Educational Need.

A GRADUATED APPROACH TO SEN SUPPORT

PLAN: 

Once a child  has been identified as having SEN, the class teacher, in consultation with the parent, pupil and SENCo, will agree the desired outcomes, adjustments, interventions and support to be put in place, as well as the expected impact on progress, development or behaviour. This information will be recorded on a one page profile or the class Provision Map and a review date will be set.

DO: 

The class teacher remains responsible for the child’s provision on a daily basis. Where the interventions involve group or one-to-one teaching away from the main class or teacher, they still retain responsibility for the pupil. It is the class teacher’s responsibility to work closely with any teaching assistants or specialist staff involved, to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and to link them to classroom teaching. The SENCo is responsible for supporting the teacher in the further assessment of the child’s particular strengths and weaknesses, in problem solving and advising on the effective implementation of support.

REVIEW:

The effectiveness of the support and interventions and their impact on the pupil’s progress must be reviewed in line with the agreed date. The impact and quality of the support and interventions must be evaluated and recorded on an individual SEN Review Plan. This is done on a termly basis, along with the views of the pupil and their parents. This information will feed back into the analysis of the pupil’s needs; enabling the class teacher, with the support of the SENCo where necessary, to revise the support in light of the pupil’s progress and development, deciding on any changes to the support or outcomes in consultation with the parent and pupil. Parents will be given clear information about the impact of the support and intervention provided. They will be invited to review progress against the agreed outcomes and contribute to planning next steps at least termly.