What is the Graduated Approach?
The Graduated Approach starts at the whole-school level. Through Quality First Teaching, teachers are continually assessing, planning, implementing and reviewing their approach to teaching all children and young people.
When a concern is identified, a Graduated Approach is implemented to identify and meet the Special Educational Needs of the individual.
A Graduated approach has four stages:
Assess
Teachers use their day-to-day knowledge and records to help them assess progress. This helps them consider any barriers that are getting in the way of a child’s progress. The SENCO may request advice from other professionals to support a child’s needs. They will seek permission from you before any professional assessments take place. All information resulting from assessments will be shared with you.
Plan
Discussing, planning and agreeing what support will be put in place. This should involve the child, their parents/carers, and staff from the educational setting who know the child well. Other specialists or professionals working with the child should also be involved.
Do
Class/subject teachers will implement the plan daily.
Review
A set period is agreed to allow time to embed the plan of support within the child’s day-to-day learning. This is usually a term. Everyone involved will then meet again to consider how well the plan is meeting the child’s needs. This will be adjusted where necessary.
The ‘assess, plan, do, review’ stages of a Graduated Approach are a continual cycle to ensure that SEND support meets the needs of the child and enables them to make progress. The individualised assessment leads to a growing understanding of the barriers to, and gaps in your child’s or young person’s learning and development and allows for earlier decisions and actions to be revisited, refined and revised.
Any additional support will be reviewed regularly and will be adapted or stepped down to ensure its effective and relevant.
Sometimes the assess, plan, do, review cycles of support following the Graduated Approach provide evidence that further support may be required. This is usually when a request for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) is made in consultation with the family.