SEN provision: effective collaboration

Understand how teaching staff and the SENCO work together to deliver the graduated approach to SEN support. Be clear on their responsibilities so you can give your staff the confidence to support pupils with SEN.

Last reviewed on 21 April 2023
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 12730
Contents
  1. Make 'quality first teaching' and differentiation the foundation
  2. Follow the 'graduated approach'
  3. 1. Assess: identify pupils who need SEN support
  4. 2. Plan: agree a plan of support for the pupil
  5. 3. Do: put your plans into action
  6. 4. Review: evaluate current support arrangements 
  7. Repeat the cycle

Make 'quality first teaching' and differentiation the foundation

High quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN.

All teachers should offer quality first teaching that is differentiated to meet the individual needs of their pupils.

To do this, teachers need to:

  • Be aware of pupils' individual needs
  • Make appropriate adjustments, rather than teaching the same material to the whole class in the same way
  • Have the appropriate skills and resources available to them

Content: adapting what pupils are expected to learn or how they gain access to knowledge Time: allocating more time for some pupils to complete tasks Task: using different tasks to achieve the same goal Resources: ensuring that pupils have access to appropriate resources that will make work accessible to them Technology: for example, allowing some pupils to use ICT Feedback: setting individualised goals and targets Outcome: making sure that expectations are