An IEP, or individual education plan, is not a term the SEND Code of Practice uses. England's statutory framework for helping a child with a learning difficulty or disability is called SEN support, and it is for each school to decide how it records that support, so the written plan a parent receives might be called an IEP, an SEN support plan, a pupil passport or a provision map depending on the school. The name is simply a matter of the school's own record-keeping; whatever it is called, it should set out the pupil's needs, the outcomes sought, the provision arranged and a review date.
Wales uses an equivalent statutory plan called an Individual Development Plan, and Northern Ireland uses a Statement of special educational needs, but neither term applies in England. In England the process behind the plan, SEN support, is set out in the SEND Code of Practice, which places duties on schools and gives parents involvement, information and review meetings, whatever the school calls the paperwork.
What does SEN mean in law?
A pupil has special educational needs, or SEN, where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision: provision different from or additional to what is normally available to pupils of the same age, under the SEND Code of Practice. Slow progress or low attainment on its own does not necessarily mean a child has SEN, and should not automatically lead to a pupil being recorded as such. Equally, a pupil attaining in line with their age can still have a learning difficulty or disability that calls for extra provision.
The Code groups need into four broad areas, though many pupils' needs cut across more than one; identifying need is meant to establish what action the school should take, not to fit a pupil into a fixed category, since the same difficulty can show up differently from one child to the next.
- Communication and interaction
- Cognition and learning
- Social, emotional and mental health
- Sensory and/or physical needs
What is SEN support, and how does the assess, plan, do, review cycle work?
SEN support is the special educational provision a mainstream school puts in place for a pupil with SEN, delivered through a four-part cycle set out in the SEND Code of Practice: assess, plan, do, review. Known as the graduated approach, each turn of the cycle should bring more detailed strategies, more frequent review and, where needed, more specialist expertise than the last.
- Assess: the class or subject teacher, working with the SENCO, analyses the pupil's needs using the teacher's own assessment, the pupil's progress and attainment, the parents' views and experience, the pupil's own views and, where relevant, advice from external services; any concerns a parent raises should be taken seriously, recorded and checked against the school's own assessment.
- Plan: the school sets out the adjustments, interventions and support to be provided, the outcome expected in the pupil's progress, development or behaviour, and a date to review the plan; all staff working with the pupil are told what strategies to use, and any intervention should be backed by reliable evidence and delivered by staff with the right skills.
- Do: the class or subject teacher stays responsible for the pupil day to day, even where support is delivered away from the main class, while the SENCO supports further assessment and advises on how the plan is put into practice.
- Review: on the agreed date, the school reviews how effective the support has been and its impact on progress, taking into account the views of the pupil and parents; this feeds back into a fresh analysis of need, and the teacher and SENCO revise the support in consultation with the parent and pupil.
What is a parent entitled to under SEN support?
A parent whose child is receiving SEN support has four specific entitlements under the SEND Code of Practice: formal notification, involvement in planning, regular review meetings and a written record. The school must formally notify parents once it decides a pupil needs SEN support, and the SENCO and teacher should then agree the plan's adjustments, interventions and review date together with the parent and, where appropriate, the pupil.
Schools should meet parents at least three times a year to talk through progress, usually led by the class teacher or form tutor and supported by the SENCO, with the pupil's own views included; this sits alongside the separate annual written report on progress that all schools must provide. A record of the outcomes, actions and support agreed at each meeting should be kept and given to the parents.
Who is responsible for a child's SEN support at school?
The class or subject teacher and the SENCO share responsibility for a pupil's SEN support, though in different ways. The class or subject teacher remains responsible for working with the pupil daily and for their progress, whatever support is arranged, while the SENCO works with the teacher on assessment and advises on how support is implemented. Maintained schools and academies must publish an SEN information report on their websites, updated annually, giving the SENCO's name and contact details, along with how the school identifies, assesses and supports pupils with SEN and how it involves parents.
Schools must do everything that could reasonably be expected to meet a pupil's SEN, sometimes described as the best endeavours duty. How they record that provision, whether in an individual plan or a whole-school provision map, is for the school itself to decide, provided the record stays accurate and up to date.
When will the school involve specialists?
The school should consider bringing in specialist help where a pupil continues to make less than expected progress despite evidence-based support matched to their needs, and should always do so where a pupil continues to make little or no progress, or is working substantially below the level expected for their age, despite SEN support from appropriately trained staff. Schools may involve a specialist at any earlier point too, to advise on early identification and effective support. Parents should always be involved in any decision to bring in a specialist, and what is discussed or agreed should be recorded and shared with them.
Specialist services include educational psychologists, CAMHS, specialist teachers and therapists such as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists, and a school can commission these services directly. The local authority's Local Offer sets out what specialist support is available locally and how to access it.
How does SEN support differ from an EHC plan?
SEN support is arranged by the school itself through the graduated approach, while an EHC plan is a statutory plan issued by the local authority after a formal needs assessment, which the local authority must then review at least every twelve months. A parent or the school should consider requesting an EHC needs assessment where, despite the school taking relevant and purposeful action through SEN support, the child is still not making expected progress; the local authority will expect to see evidence of the SEN support already tried before it agrees to assess.
What should a parent ask the school?
A parent can act on three things before and during a review.
- Ask the SENCO for the written record of the plan, whatever it is called locally, covering the outcomes being worked towards, the support and interventions in place, and the date set for review.
- Read the school's SEN information report on its website beforehand; it should explain how the school identifies and assesses SEN, how it involves parents, and it gives the SENCO's contact details directly.
- Keep a short note of what is agreed at each review meeting, including any changes to support and the next review date, so progress can be checked against what was promised.
Related guides
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Frequently asked questions
- Does SEN support apply in nurseries and colleges as well as schools?
- Yes. SEN support is not limited to schools: mainstream nurseries, schools and colleges must all support a child or young person with SEN, doing everything that could reasonably be expected to meet their needs.
- What happens if my child doesn't make progress with SEN support?
- If a pupil continues to make little or no progress, or remains substantially behind the level expected for their age despite evidence-based SEN support from trained staff, the school should always involve a specialist, with parents involved in that decision. If progress still does not improve despite the school taking relevant and purposeful action, the school or parents can consider requesting an EHC needs assessment from the local authority.
- How often should my child's SEN support plan be reviewed?
- There is no single fixed frequency written into the SEND Code of Practice: each cycle of SEN support ends with a review on the date agreed when the plan was drawn up, and schools should also meet parents to discuss progress at least three times a year. Ask the SENCO what review date applies to your child's current plan.
- Is a provision map the same as an IEP?
- Not quite. A plan such as an IEP or SEN support plan usually sets out one pupil's needs and provision, while a provision map is a whole-school record showing all the provision a school makes that is additional to or different from its usual curriculum, across many pupils.
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