Supporting Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) as part of the graduated approach

Early Years SEND provision and funding guidance

• Early Years SEND Provision and Funding Guidance - Information for early years education providers and other agencies (PDF, 607 KB)
• Early Years SEND Funding Band Value (PDF, 92 KB)

Mainstream school provision descriptors and funding bands

• Top Up provision descriptors and funding bands (PDF, 1 MB)
• Mainstream Banding Top Up Amounts 2023/24 (PDF, 161 KB)
• Top Up Funding - Frequently Asked Questions (pre-16) (PDF, 209 KB)

Quality First Teaching (QFT)

QFT aims to engage and support the learning of all children and young people. It places a strong focus on pupil participation in learning.

Pupil profiles

Outlines information about a child/young person's needs that can be shared with staff.

• All about me (PDF, 579 KB) (younger child)

Short note

Early identification is the key to supporting a pupil's needs. A 'short note' of early discussions with parents/carers should be added to the pupil's record and monitored on a regular basis in partnership with parents/carers. These templates can be adapted by settings.

Mainstream banding descriptors documents coming soon.

• Quality First Teaching - early identification short note (Word version) (Word doc, 51 KB)
• Quality First Teaching - early identification short note (PDF version) (PDF, 115 KB)
• Short note about a child's emerging needs in early years (Word version) (Word doc, 52 KB)
• Short note about a child's emerging needs in early years (PDF version) (PDF, 216 KB)

Planning tools

These tools describe the type of support that early years providers, schools and colleges should be making for pupils.

Early years planning tools

• SEN planning tool for early years (PDF, 641 KB)

Practical approaches to support inclusion

• Practical Approaches to Support Inclusion – Deaf Hearing Support (PDF, 390 KB)
• Practical Approaches to Support Inclusion - Multi-Sensory Impairment (PDF, 234 KB)
• Practical Approaches to Support Inclusion - Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs (PDF, 296 KB)
• Practical Approaches to Support Inclusion - Speech Language Communication (PDF, 183 KB)
• Practical Approaches to Support Inclusion – Pupils with a Visual Impairment (PDF, 272 KB)
• Practical Approaches to Support Inclusion for Pupils with Cognition and Learning Needs (PDF, 231 KB)
• Practical Approaches to Support Inclusion Autism and Social Communication (PDF, 137 KB)
• Anxious about school guidance (PDF, 1 MB) (please note that this document is not accessible and is intended for print purposes only by practitioners - if you need an accessible version, please contact us)

Further education and post 16 planning tools

• Post 16 Quality First Teaching (PDF, 629 KB)
• Further education (post 16) SEN planning tool - young people with speech language and communication needs (PDF, 750 KB)
• Further education (post 16) SEN planning tool - young people with Autism (PDF, 532 KB)
• Further education (post 16) SEN planning tool - young people with a hearing impairment (PDF, 520 KB)
• Further education (post 16) SEN planning tool - young people with a visual impairment (PDF, 502 KB)
• Further education (post 16) SEN planning tool - young people with learning difficulties (PDF, 425 KB)
• Further education (post 16) SEN planning tool - young people with physical difficulties (PDF, 424 KB)
• Further education (post 16) SEN planning tool - young people with social, emotional and mental health difficulties (PDF, 352 KB)

My Story

This can be used by a child/young person and parent/carers to record background information, so that they do not have to repeat this information to different professionals.

• My Story (monochrome version) (PDF, 2 MB)
• My Story (PDF, 2 MB)
• My Story for younger children (PDF, 1 MB)

SEND support

Within this section you will find documentation, guidance and templates to help support a child/young person with special educational needs and disabilities:

• Individual learning plan for EHCP reviews (Word version) (Word doc, 38 KB)
• Individual learning plan for EHCP reviews (PDF version) (PDF, 1 MB)
• Early Years SEN Support Plan template (Word doc, 46 KB)
• Early Years SEN Support Plan template (PDF, 120 KB)
• Early Years SEN Support Plan template example (Word doc, 51 KB)
• Early Years SEN Support Plan template example (PDF, 183 KB)