The Graduated Response

The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice outlines the requirement for educational settings to have arrangements in place to support children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN). This includes a clear approach to identifying and responding to SEN Code of Practice, Chapter 6.

The importance of early identification of the needs of children and young people so that appropriate provision can be put in place at the earliest opportunity is central to the Code of Practice.

Educational settings should offer an inclusive approach to learning and teaching, with high-quality teaching which is differentiated for individual children and young people. This approach should be embedded in their provision in all subject areas, and at all levels, and support the teaching of all children and young people, including those with SEN as per the Teacher Standards 2021.

A pupil identified as having Special Educational Needs

Where a pupil is identified as having SEN, schools should take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place. This support should take the form of a four part cycle where earlier decision and actions are revisited, revised and refined with a growing understanding of the pupil’s needs and what supports them to make good progress and secure good outcomes. This is known as the graduated response – Code of Practice 6.44.

Continued less than expected progress

Where a pupil continues to make less than expected progress, despite evidence based support and interventions that are matched to the pupil’s needs, the school should consider involving specialists, which they can do at any point to advise them on identification of SEN and effective support and interventions. A school should always involve a specialist when a pupil continues to make little or no progress or where they continue to work at levels substantially below those expected of pupils of a similar age despite evidence based SEN support delivered by appropriately trained staff. The pupil’s parents should always be involved in the decision to involve specialists – Code of Practice 6.59.

Code of Practice

For most children or young people where there is a concern, the school should work through a graduated response

to ensure the relevant and purposeful action to identify, assess and meet the special educational needs of the child or young person has been taken – Code of Practice 9.14

and as per the Code of Practice 6.44.

In a very small minority of cases of children or young people may demonstrate such significant difficulties that a school or other provider may consider it impossible or inappropriate to carry out its full chosen assessment procedure – Code of Practice 9.3.

The graduated response is

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 – Code of Practice 6.44.

Progress should be monitored at every stage of the graduated response process.