The Graduated Approach
Your child's teacher or the school's SENDCo will discuss all options with you and put a plan in place. It will follow a four-stage cycle, known as the Graduated Approach.
1. Assess
To assess a child's needs, your early years practitioner or teacher will work with:
- parents or carers
- the educational setting's SENDCo
They will assess a child to make sure the proper support is in place.
If a child makes little or no development, the SENDCo will review how they can change and develop their support. They may suggest a specialist assessment from other professionals. They must involve you as parents in this decision.
2. Plan
The parents and SENDCo will agree:
- the results they are expecting
- interventions and support to put in place
- how they expect the interventions to help development
- a review date
Interventions should be strategies that:
- provide support from practitioners with the relevant skills
- include learning activities to help achieve the expected results
The SENDCo will document all interventions.
3. Do
The person who supports the child each day must put the agreed interventions in place. The educational setting's SENDCo should:
- support them in assessing the child's response
- provide advice on how to put the interventions in place
4. Review
The educational setting works with parents and carers to:
- review a child's development in line with the agreed date
- check the effect and quality of support
- decide on changes to the expected results, depending on your child's development
If outside professionals are involved, the SENDCo will invite them to attend regular reviews.
