A Graduated Approach

Information about the graduated approach.

In Leeds, settings will ensure that support is offered at the earliest possible point to children and young people when there is a view that children and young people are not making progress in line with expectations.  

We work to ensure that parents are fully involved in decisions about their child's support and what they want to achieve.  This will help lead to better outcomes and more efficient ways of working. This support should be provided through a graduated approach.

The graduated approach is not specific to SEND. Needs can be the result of difficulties and challenges a child and family are experiencing. 

The graduated approach is a way to understand and meet need.

It starts with having the right conversations, with the right people, at the right time.

The graduated approach

What is the graduated approach to SEND support?

The Graduated Approach refers to the system of SEN support within mainstream settings. It is the approach which schools use when CYP are not making expected progress. It allows parents and the setting to get a better understanding of the CYP needs and what support they need to make progress. It is a way of meeting needs through effective implementation of support before moving a CYP onto higher levels of support – identified support may include family and/or community-based support as well as in the setting. 

The graduated approach is underpinned by a number of central principles:

  • All children and young people can learn and make progress;
  • A differentiated curriculum is not SEND provision - differentiated learning opportunities (also called quality first teaching) should be given to all learners;
  • Every teacher is a teacher of SEND
  • Provision for a child or young person with SEND should match the nature of their needs;
  • There should be regular recording of a child’s or young person’s SEND, of the planned outcomes, of the action that the setting is taking, and of impact of those actions and the outcomes achieved.

A graduated approach allows decisions and actions to be reviewed, and refined, as the understanding of the learner's needs and what supports them in making good progress and securing good outcomes grow.

The system should follow four stages, often referred to as a 'cycle': Assess, Plan, Do, Review


Assess, Plan, Do, Review Approach

                                                                              

The graduated approach is not a mechanical process. The graduated approach is a way to understand the CYP and how we can best meet their needs. A graduated approach moves through provisions at universal, targeted and specialist levels.

Clear person-centred outcomes are important to the graduated approach. Outcomes show us if the actions (what needs to happen) makes a difference to the CYP and family. One way to identify person centred outcomes is to adopt a person centred planning approach 

SEND Support and the SEND Register

When, through the graduated approach it becomes clear that a CYP has a Special Educational Need (SEN), the support they receive becomes more targeted. The SENCo will add the CYP to the SEND Register and record the needs of CYP on the local database.

CYP on the SEND Register receive provision that is additional to and different from that which is ordinarily available. CYP may move on and off the register as they move through the Graduated Approach.

The setting must work with the CYP and their parents and carers to plan the support (special education) that will be provided. This must be written in a plan that details the needs of the child, the support available and the outcomes that are being worked on. There is no requirement to use a specific plan template, most settings have their own planning tools.