Graduated Response to SEN

Information, Support and Training for Parents and Carers

of Children with Special Educational Needs in Cornwall

Cornwall Parent Partnership Service

Independent Impartial Confidential Free

What is the graduated approach?

Early education settings and schools place great importance on identifying special educational needs 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. This includes information about the local Parent Partnership Service.

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

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

You should be consulted at each step. Different schools will take account of the Code of Practice in different ways. However, no matter how the school chooses to take account of the Code, if your child has SEN, you should be consulted at each step. The school will also consider your child’s own views. Schools should tell parents about their children’s progress. You have a right to see the school’s SEN policy and receive a copy of the school’s annual report which will include a report on that policy.

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 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.

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 and 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, perhaps 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 and IEP.

Graduated Response to SEN