SEN support

When a child or young person is identified as having special educational needs, the SEN Code of Practice states that schools and educational settings are required to take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place (paragraph 6:44) through a graduated approach known as SEN support.

The Shropshire ‘ordinary available provision’ (SOAP) document sets out the type of SEN support children and young people and their families might expect from mainstream schools in Shropshire. It brings together best practice from Shropshire schools and provides guidance on universal support (prevention) and targeted support (intervention).

The term 'ordinarily available provision' refers to the types of support that all Shropshire schools should be able to provide for children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), from within their own resources.

The document is set out in four sections which align with the four broad areas of need outlined in the SEND Code of Practice:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, emotional and mental health
• Physical and sensory

For each area, there are suggestions for strategies, assessments and interventions at both the universal and targeted levels that can be used to support children and young people to make progress. Take a look at the document for more information.