Graduated support

The 'graduated pathway'

Where concerns are raised that a child may not be making expected progress in their learning, schools are expected to intervene early to implement appropriate and effective support to overcome the barriers to learning. This SEN support should take the form of a four-part cycle: assess, plan, do, review (APDR), to develop a growing understanding of the child's needs, and identify what support is required to ensure they secure good outcomes and make good progress. This is known as the ‘graduated approach’.

The SEND Code of Practice specifies that it's for schools to provide high quality appropriate support from the resources they have available to them, including the amount identified in the notional SEN budget. If a SEN-supported child requires additional targeted intervention that exceeds this amount, Shropshire schools can request additional funding through the graduated support pathway.

Prior to submitting a request for GSP funding, schools should demonstrate that they've implemented the expectations for SEN support as detailed in chapter 6 of the SEND Code of Practice. This will be evidenced through the completion of successive cycles of the graduated approach (APDR). Schools will be recording this through their person-centred plans (which may be known by another name, eg ILP, IEP etc).