SEN Support Plans and Assess, Plan, Do, Review
What Parents Should Expect From a Clear, Effective SEN Support Plan
A SEN Support plan should do more than simply record that a child has special educational needs.
It should help everyone understand:
- what the child’s needs are;
- what barriers are affecting their education;
- what outcomes the school is working towards;
- what support or adjustments will be provided;
- who will provide that support;
- how progress will be measured;
- and when the plan will be reviewed.
Schools commonly use the Assess, Plan, Do, Review approach to structure SEN Support.
The purpose is to create an ongoing cycle where the school develops a better understanding of the child’s needs, puts appropriate support in place and then evaluates whether it is actually working.
What Is a SEN Support Plan?
A SEN Support plan is a written record of the additional or different support being provided for a child with special educational needs.
Schools may use different names, including:
- SEN Support Plan;
- SEND Support Plan;
- Individual Education Plan;
- Individual Learning Plan;
- Pupil Passport;
- One Page Profile;
- provision plan;
- or another school-specific format.
The title is less important than the content.
A useful plan should clearly connect:
Need → Outcome → Provision → Review
If those links are missing, it can become difficult for parents or school staff to establish whether the support is effective.
What Should Be Included in a SEN Support Plan?
There is no single national template that every school must use.
However, a useful SEN Support plan should normally contain enough information to make the support clear and reviewable.
1. Identified Needs
The plan should explain the areas in which the child needs additional support.
This might include:
- communication and interaction;
- cognition and learning;
- literacy;
- mathematics;
- attention and concentration;
- executive functioning;
- working memory;
- sensory processing;
- emotional regulation;
- social interaction;
- independence;
- organisation;
- transitions;
- attendance;
- physical or medical needs;
- or other barriers affecting education.
The wording should be specific enough to explain how the difficulty affects the child in school.
For example:
“Has ADHD.”
is much less useful than:
“Experiences significant difficulty retaining multi-step verbal instructions and requires instructions to be broken into smaller steps with visual reinforcement.”
2. Strengths
A good plan should also recognise the child’s strengths.
This can help school understand:
- what motivates the child;
- which teaching approaches work well;
- where confidence is strongest;
- how interests can support engagement;
- and what conditions allow the child to succeed.
SEND planning should not become a list of deficits.
The purpose is to identify the support required to help the child access education successfully.
3. Baseline Information
Before setting an outcome, there should ideally be some understanding of the current position.
A baseline might record:
- current reading level;
- spelling attainment;
- mathematics attainment;
- frequency of dysregulation;
- ability to remain engaged;
- independence with tasks;
- frequency of adult prompting;
- attendance;
- number of lessons successfully accessed;
- or another relevant measure.
Without a baseline, it may be difficult to establish whether progress has actually been made.
4. Outcomes
The plan should identify what the support is intended to achieve.
Outcomes should be sufficiently clear that progress can be reviewed.
For example:
Vague outcome
Improve concentration.
More useful outcome
During an appropriately pitched independent task, X will remain engaged for 10 minutes using agreed visual prompts and no more than two adult reminders in four out of five observed sessions.
Not every outcome needs to be highly numerical, but there should be a clear way of judging whether progress has occurred.
5. Provision and Support
This is one of the most important parts of the plan.
The plan should explain what will actually be done.
Examples might include:
- targeted literacy intervention;
- small-group mathematics teaching;
- visual instructions;
- pre-teaching of vocabulary;
- movement breaks;
- sensory regulation support;
- structured check-ins;
- support with organisation;
- social communication intervention;
- emotional-regulation support;
- reduced copying;
- alternative methods of recording work;
- transition support;
- access to a quiet space;
- or specialist programmes.
A plan which simply says:
“Support as required”
may make it difficult to understand what provision has actually been agreed.
How Specific Should SEN Support Be?
Where possible, parents should be able to understand:
- what support will be provided;
- how often it will happen;
- how long it will last;
- who will deliver it;
- what outcome it is intended to achieve;
- and how its impact will be reviewed.
For example:
Less clear
Small-group literacy support.
Clearer
Three 20-minute targeted literacy sessions each week in a group of no more than four pupils, delivered by a trained teaching assistant using the agreed structured literacy programme.
The exact level of detail required will depend on the intervention and the child.
But clarity makes review much easier.
What Is Assess, Plan, Do, Review?
The graduated approach is commonly described as:
Assess
Develop a clear understanding of the child’s needs, strengths, progress and barriers to learning. Assessment might draw on: teacher observations; parent information; pupil views; attainment data; classroom work; intervention records; attendance information; professional assessments; previous support plans; and evidence of how the child performs with and without support. Assessment should not be a one-off event. As more information becomes available, understanding of the child’s needs should become increasingly detailed
Plan
Once the needs have been identified, the school should plan: the outcomes being sought; the provision required; reasonable adjustments; interventions; who will be responsible; how progress will be measured; and when the support will be reviewed. Parents should understand what has been agreed. Where appropriate, the child or young person should also be involved.
Do
The agreed support then needs to be delivered. This sounds obvious, but it is an important part of SEND review. Parents sometimes discover that: interventions have been cancelled; staffing changes have affected delivery; support has been inconsistent; some teachers know about adjustments while others do not; or provision appears on the plan but is not happening in practice. The effectiveness of SEN Support cannot be properly evaluated unless the planned provision was actually delivered.
Review
The school should then consider: what progress has been made; whether outcomes have been achieved; which support was effective; which support was ineffective; whether needs have changed; whether more assessment is required; whether provision should be altered; and what the next APDR cycle should focus on. The purpose of review is not simply to produce another version of the same plan. It should lead to a decision.
What Should a Good Review Meeting Establish?
At the end of a review, parents should ideally understand:
What worked?
What did not work?
What progress occurred?
What difficulties remain?
Does the school understand the needs differently now?
Is provision changing?
Are new reasonable adjustments required?
Is further professional assessment needed?
When will the revised plan be reviewed?
If the answers remain unclear after repeated reviews, it may be time to look more closely at whether the SEN Support process is functioning effectively.
Warning Signs That a SEN Support Plan May Need Reviewing
A plan may warrant closer scrutiny where:
- the needs section is extremely brief;
- the same generic targets appear term after term;
- outcomes cannot be measured;
- provision is described as “when needed” or “as available”;
- interventions are listed without frequency;
- recommendations from professional reports are missing;
- reasonable adjustments are not recorded;
- parents do not know who is responsible for provision;
- progress is discussed but not evidenced;
- support changes frequently according to staffing;
- the child continues to struggle despite repeated APDR cycles;
- attendance is deteriorating;
- anxiety or dysregulation is increasing;
- or the child requires increasing adult support to access learning.
These issues do not automatically mean the school is failing.
But they are useful prompts for further discussion.
Supported Performance Versus Independent Performance
This is an important point that is often missed.
A child may appear to be achieving because they receive substantial adult support.
For example, they may complete work when:
- instructions are repeated;
- an adult sits beside them;
- tasks are broken into smaller steps;
- they receive frequent prompts;
- someone organises their materials;
- or they work in a small group.
That support may be entirely appropriate.
But the plan should still recognise the level of support required to achieve the outcome.
A useful review therefore asks not only:
Can the child do this?
but also:
What support do they require in order to do it?
Reasonable Adjustments Should Be Part of the Plan
SEN Support is not only about interventions.
Some children need changes to ordinary classroom arrangements.
These might include:
- visual instructions;
- extra processing time;
- movement breaks;
- sensory adaptations;
- advance warning of changes;
- reduced copying;
- alternative methods of recording work;
- adjusted seating;
- predictable routines;
- support with transitions;
- a named adult;
- quiet working arrangements;
- changes to homework;
- or other individual adjustments.
Where an adjustment is important to the child’s access to education, it is useful for it to be recorded clearl
Professional Recommendations
Where the child has been assessed by another professional, the SEN Support plan should be considered alongside that evidence.
This might include recommendations from:
- an educational psychologist;
- speech and language therapist;
- occupational therapist;
- specialist teacher;
- ADHD assessment;
- autism assessment;
- dyslexia assessment;
- CAMHS;
- or another relevant professional.
Parents can ask:
Which recommendations has the school accepted?
Where are they recorded?
How are they being implemented?
How often?
How will their impact be reviewed?
A professional report sitting in a school file does not necessarily mean the recommendations are being implemented.
What If My Child Does Not Have a Formal SEN Support Plan?
Schools use different recording systems.
Your child may still be receiving SEN Support even if the school does not use a document called a SEN Support Plan.
Ask the SENCO:
- Is my child formally recorded as receiving SEN Support?
- Where are their needs recorded?
- Where is provision recorded?
- What outcomes have been agreed?
- How is progress reviewed?
- When is the next review?
- How can I receive a copy of the relevant records?
How Often Should SEN Support Be Reviewed?
There is no single review interval that is appropriate for every child.
However, support should be reviewed often enough to establish whether it is working and to respond when circumstances change.
A review should not become a procedural exercise.
Its purpose is to answer:
Has this support made a sufficient difference?
If not:
What needs to change?
What If the Same Support Keeps Being Repeated?
Repeated APDR cycles can provide valuable evidence.
But if the process repeatedly records:
same need → same provision → limited progress → same provision
parents should ask whether something different is required.
Possible next steps might include:
- changing the intervention;
- increasing or altering support;
- introducing different reasonable adjustments;
- gathering stronger baseline information;
- obtaining specialist advice;
- further assessment;
- changing outcomes;
- addressing environmental barriers;
- or considering whether school-based SEN Support remains sufficient.
When SEN Support May No Longer Be Enough
Many children can have their needs met through SEN Support.
However, there are circumstances where parents may need to explore whether an EHC needs assessment should be considered.
This may be relevant where:
- needs are significant or complex;
- progress remains limited despite sustained support;
- repeated APDR cycles have not resolved the difficulties;
- substantial adult assistance is required;
- specialist provision is needed;
- several professionals are involved;
- attendance or access to education is deteriorating;
- placement is becoming difficult to sustain;
- or provision may need to be specified and coordinated through an EHCP.
Records from SEN Support and APDR can become particularly important evidence in demonstrating what has already been tried and what difficulties remain. Your existing EHCP guidance already uses SEN Support plans and APDR records as important evidence when considering an EHC needs assessment.
Need Your Child's SEN Support Plan Reviewed?
It is not always easy to identify what is missing when you are close to the situation.
Our SEND Action Plan service can include review of:
- your child’s SEN Support plan;
- APDR records;
- targets;
- interventions;
- current reasonable adjustments;
- relevant school evidence;
- and agreed professional reports.
We can identify:
- unclear needs;
- vague provision;
- missing recommendations;
- weak outcomes;
- evidence gaps;
- questions for the SENCO;
- and practical next steps.
Your existing service package already specifically includes review of SEN Support and APDR records, identification of provision gaps, written recommendations and a structured action plan.
SEND Review & Action Plan — £195
Preparing for a SENCO Review Meeting?
If you have a review meeting approaching, we can also help you prepare:
- the most important questions;
- areas requiring clarification;
- evidence to raise;
- reasonable adjustments to discuss;
- outcomes you want agreed;
- and the next steps if support remains insufficient.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every child on SEN Support need a written plan?
Schools use different systems for recording SEN Support.
The important issue is whether the child’s needs, provision, outcomes and review arrangements are clearly recorded and understood.
What does APDR stand for?
APDR stands for:
Assess, Plan, Do, Review.
It is the graduated cycle commonly used to understand needs, plan support, deliver it and review its impact.
Does my child need a diagnosis to have a SEN Support plan?
No.
Support should be based on identified educational needs and barriers rather than requiring a particular diagnostic label.
Should parents be involved in SEN Support reviews?
Parents should be involved in discussions about their child’s needs, outcomes and support.
Their observations can provide important evidence, particularly where home and school presentation differ.
What if the support on the plan is not actually being delivered?
Raise this with the SENCO and ask what provision was delivered, when and by whom.
It is difficult to judge whether an intervention was effective if it was not delivered consistently.
What if the SEN Support plan is not working?
Ask the school to review:
- whether needs have been properly identified;
- whether the provision matches those needs;
- whether it has been delivered consistently;
- and whether further assessment, different provision or escalation is required.