A SEND Plan should be considered by school when a child is needing more support than is needed by most of the children within the classroom despite quality first teaching being delivered. This should be a working document that is created by the Class Teacher (with the support of the SENDCo) and developed alongside parent/carers and the child or young person. The aim of a SEND Support Plan is to remove barriers to learning and to put effective educational provision in place.
Many schools use a SEND Support Plan in Redcar and Cleveland. Some may call it an Independent Learning Plan (ILP), an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or Personal Learning Plan (PLP). They may also have a different format. The local authority has a version that they can send to schools and adapt to make it their own (please see link below)
The plan should contain:
Child’s Profile: A brief description of the child, including strengths, needs and what works and does not work well. This will have information given by teachers. This covers the requirements to assess the child demanded in the Code of Practice.
Desired Outcomes/Targets: The outcomes that the child, their teacher, and parents aim to achieve in the delivery of SEND support. The outcomes should match the needs identified in the child’s profile. Most schools usually have three desired outcomes, but this can be dependent on need but should be achievable. They should be discussed together and agreed by all involved. It is a partnership agreement between school, parent/carers, and child that they will all work together to achieve by the end of the term.
The desired outcomes should be SMART and agreed with parents and learner. SMART targets should be:
- Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
- Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
- Achievable (agreed, attainable).
- Relevant (reasonable, realistic, and resourced, results-based).
- Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).
Provision: The SEND Support Plan should describe what provision will be put in place to help the learner meet their targets and achieve the outcomes. This could be the type of adult support provided, the interventions to be implemented or how the curriculum is adapted. It could include small group or personalised interventions. It could also be details of interventions led by other professionals such as speech and language therapists.
Once the plan has been created, agreed, and signed by all who have developed it, it should be put in place and reviewed at either the end of term or the beginning of the new one and new outcomes decided upon. If the outcomes, have not been met then new strategies can be considered a new intervention or different support in the classroom. Each term the plan should be revisited and updated. A SEND Support Plan can be used throughout a child/young person’s education and should be viewed as a working document by all involved. In some schools, the SENDCo may carry out the SEND Support Plan review meetings whereas in others it is likely to be the class teacher as they are the one who should know what the child/young person’s targets should be for the term ahead. They are also the person that should be assessing throughout the term to consider whether the support/intervention is being successful or whether it needs to be adapted, revisited, or continued. The SENDCo will oversee the SEND Support Plans for all the pupils.
If a SEN Support Plan is needed, the learner may need to be placed on the school’s SEN Register. School should invite parent/carers into school to give their consent for their child to be added onto the register. This will involve completing a SEND Registration form. Each school has their own version. Once a child is on the SEND register, the school will be able to access SEND Notional Funding. This funding is not ring fenced and can be used by school to buy resources, deliver interventions, or access support. The High Needs Funding can be applied for via the Resource and Support Panel. The request for funding should be accompanied by completed costed provision map and RCBC (Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council) SEND ranges document (highlighted to show specific need). School should also send in any documentation that may show the range of need such as reports from other professional services.
School may find that the child’s needs are costing more than SEND Notional Funding. If this is the case, and school feel that the range of need is above range 3 in any of the broad areas of need (Cognition & Learning, Communication, and Interaction, Social Emotional and Mental Health or Physical and Sensory) they can apply to Resource and Support Panel (RSP) for High Needs Funding. Children with SEND needs do not necessarily need an EHC Plan to access high needs funding. If school decide to make a referral into RSP they would need to ensure that they have gathered evidence of a graduated approach, completed a costed provision map to give evidence of provision already in place, and highlight the range of need using RCBC SEND ranges. Panel also request any other additional information such as professional reports from other services if available. This will enable panel to get a full picture of the needs of the child and what support school has already offered. If agreed, High Needs Funding may be allocated to support the child in their current setting.
If a child or young person who has had a SEND Support Plan in place but continues to find it difficult to make appropriate progress despite this high level of support and funding, school should consider whether to make a referral for Statutory Assessment for an Education, Health, and Care