SEND Graduated Response Toolkit
Meeting needs in Cognition and Learning
The video materials below explore some of the issues around meeting the needs of children and young people with specific learning difficulties.
The following pathway will help you to plan a graduated response to meet the needs of children and young people with cognition and learning difficulties.
High quality teaching and differentiation that meets the needs of all children
Teachers are able to identify specific difficulties and make suitable adjustments e.g.
- Teach to child’s learning style/build on strengths
- Demonstration, prompts, visual support and opportunities for practice.
- Concrete, practical-based learning activities
- Teaching uses multisensory methods (VAK) and ‘hand’s on’ practical activities
- Tasks /lioken down into manageable steps
- Differentiation in presentation, pace and outcome
- Mixed-ability groups (good role models / working to each other’s strengths)
- Supportive resources available in class e.g. coloured overlays, word mats, table square, writing scaffolds, graphic organisers/ task planners / sand timers
- Mind mapping techniques
- Make links with previous learning.
- Social and emotional factors are taken into account
- Incorporate pupil interests to improve motivation
- Pre + Post teaching
- Specific/Precision teaching
- Promoting growth mind set
- Regular monitoring of progress
- Realistic expectations and agreed targets
- Develop metacognition and pupils awareness of what works for them
- Additional support - staff aware of implications of child’s learning need and how to respond.
- Work buddy / peer support / sensitive groupings
- Extra thinking time to process information
- Regular ‘check ins’ with specific positive praise (language of success)
- Differentiated homework
- Modify language to reduce memory / processing demand
- visual timetable / word banks/ word walls/ ABC charts/ phonic sheets
Use alternatives to written recording
- Cloze procedure
- Word processing
- Drama /role play
- Talking tins
Use of ICT to support learning. E.g.
- Communication in print (CIP) Widgets
- Staff familiar with a range of apps /software to support areas of learning. (Wheel of Apps)
- www.callscotland.org.uk
Staff refer to and incorporate strategies outlined in the IDP for pupils with dyslexia
Further resources
The Dyslexia-SPLD Trust has a wide range of resources, including a free Professional Development Framework to help a SENCO support staff knowledge and training. The Dyslexia-SpLD and Literacy Professional Development Framework offers an evidence-based framework to support professional knowledge development:
http://framework.thedyslexia-spldtrust.org.uk/
The Dyslexia-SpLD Trust also has a useful online guide to help implement the Code of Practice. This is also available as a free download:
http://www.thedyslexia-spldtrust.org.uk/
The Education Endowment Foundation has a Teaching and Learning Toolkit which summarises research to help schools make decisions about teaching practice to help close the attainment gap between children:
Desired outcomes:
- Increased access to mainstream curriculum
- Increased retention of key instructions and information
- Able to work more independently
- Improved listening and attention
- Able to record information in a variety of ways
- Increase in confidence and self-esteem, and reduced anxiety.
- Improved social inclusion
Preventative Services you may request
- Advisory Teaching Team (QEST)
- Educational Psychology Team
- Health Visitors
- SaLT
SEN Support
When would you move to SEN support?
Where a pupil is identified has having SEN, schools should take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place. This SEN support should take the form of a four-part cycle; Assess, Plan, Do, Review
Code of Practice 6.44
Where there is a lack of adequate progress despite identified and targeted differentiation.
Schools should seek to identify pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individuals circumstances.
This can be characterised by progress which;
- Is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
- Fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
- Fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
- Widens the attainment gap
Further resources for targeted interventions
Specific, extra, time-limited support in-school for children with additional needs
nasen hosts the SEN Support Research Evidence’ resource which provides leaders, teachers and practitioners with access to information about evidence-based practice that can be effective for all types of SEN support. It brings together in one place evidence from academic research papers, a survey of schools and post-16 institutions and a set of commissioned case studies in order to allow practitioners to look at the detail of interventions and approaches and consider what would be most beneficial in their setting and for their learners
Dyslexia-SpLD Trust specific resources for Targeted interventions:
Greg Brooks' compilation ‘What works – effective strategies for literacy intervention' was commissioned by the Dyslexia-SpLD Trust and is available on the Dyslexia-SpLD Trust website
Interventions for Literacy hosts a searchable database for ‘What Works’ in respect of literacy interventions:
How might you put in place an SEN support plan?
The teacher and SENCO should agree in consultation with the parent and the pupil, the adjustments, interventions and support to be put in place, as well as the expected impact on progress, development or behaviour, along with a clear date for review
Code of Practice 6.48
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What has the assessment identified as particular areas of need?
- What has the assessment told you about strengths and needs, barriers to and gaps in progress?
- What is the child’s view?
- What is the parent/carer view?
- What outcomes are you looking for?
- What are the identified changes and additional interventions?
- What are the adaptations needed to achieve the identified outcomes?
- How will these will be evaluated?
What does an SEN support plan look like and how can it be implemented?
Code of Practice 6.52
If a child or young person is behaving in a manner which is unsafe, the school has a responsibility to address the safety risk by using a care and support plan. You can download examples of care and support plans below.
A good SEN Support Plan should include the following;
- Outcomes
- Actions
- Who is responsible
- By when
A good SEN Support plan may include a provision map or personalised timetable for the pupil showing frequency and duration of specific interventions
Interventions should be well founded and evidenced based.
Interventions should last a minimum of 6 weeks
Information on researched interventions can be found at:-
Reviewing outcomes using a person-centred approach
Refer to Person Centred Toolkit for further guidance on choosing appropriate person-centred tools to help gather the information needed.)
Code of Practice 6.54
The SEND Code of Practice suggests that the progress towards meeting planned outcomes should be tracked and reviewed regularly, at least termly.
What does good support look like?
What is ‘reasonable’ in terms of a balance between individual/small group and whole class access?
Take each outcome:
- What has specifically been done in relation to the outcome? i.e. smaller hopefully SMARTER outcome
- Baseline - this could be a behaviour, a feeling or a skill
- Intervention
- Evaluation
- Next outcome
The plan below is a good example of how interventions have been reviews with outcomes in mind.
Requesting an EHCP assessment
Where, despite the school having taken relevant and purposeful action to identify, assess and meet the SEN of the child or young, the child or young person has not made expected progress, the school or parents should consider requesting an Education, Health and Care needs assessment.
Code of Practice 6.63
The code of practice says that SEN support should be adapted or replaced depending on how effective it has been in achieving the agreed outcomes.
Have there been regular reviews showing how the teacher, working with the SENCO, has revised the SEN Support plan in light of the child /young person’s progress and development- agreeing on any changes to support and outcomes in consultation with the parent /carer and pupil on what is working well, as well as what needs to be changed?
Are difficulties severe and persistent despite high-quality teaching, regular attendance and specific targeted intervention over time?
Refer to Oldham guidelines for requesting an EHCP assessment