What is SEN Support, and how does the graduated approach work?

The short answer

SEN Support is the support an English school arranges when a pupil has special educational needs but does not require, or does not yet have, an education, health and care plan. The graduated approach is a continuing cycle: assess the child's needs using the pupil's, family's, teachers' and relevant professionals' information; plan the outcomes, provision, responsibilities and review date; do the plan through the child's teachers with appropriate support from the SENCO; then review both whether the provision happened and what difference it made. A diagnosis is not the entry test. The cycle should become more detailed when needs continue, drawing on specialist advice where appropriate. It should not become repeated meetings with the same vague plan. Reasonable adjustments for disability remain a separate duty and may operate alongside SEN Support.

• SEN Support is an England-specific term and does not require a prior diagnosis.
• Assessment should combine the pupil's view, family experience, teacher information and relevant advice.
• A plan should name the provision, intended outcomes, responsibility and review date.
• The class or subject teacher remains responsible for day-to-day teaching and delivery.
• Review whether support happened before judging whether it worked.
• Increase the precision and specialist input when repeated cycles do not resolve the difficulty.