If a school decides that a child does have SEND, they will talk to parents/carers and the child about this and come up with a plan of what they are going to do. They will write this plan down and share it with all the child’s teachers and the parents/carers. There is no set way for schools to write these plans, most Kirklees schools use Individual Education Plans (IEPs), Additional Needs Plans (ANPs), provision maps, I-APDR's and My Support Plans (MSPs)
IEP's, ANP's and provision maps generally are used when a child or young person has lower level SEND which can be supported by the teacher in the classroom, if there are more concerns or the SEND is more complex an I-APDR or MSP could be used.
Non of the plans mentioned on this page are legal documents and it is NOT a legal requirement to have one in place. It is also not a requirement to have one in place in order to access support, educational settings do however need to be able to evidence the support they have put in place (such as when applying for additional support or for an EHCP). Settings can use any document they like to demonstrate this, but Kirklees has produced documents such as the I-APDR and My Support Plan to help with this.
When a plan is written it also needs to be agreed when it needs to be reviewed. Any of the plans mentioned on this page will be reviewed regularly, so that progress can be discussed along with any changes that need to be made.
The review and the changes will be written into the plan.
The Local Offer has a service called the Inclusion Support Offer (ISO) which provides support for all educational settings from 0-25 to help to make sure they are doing everything they can to support children with SEND, without necessarily looking at additional funding or making referrals to assessed services.
You can find more information about this service on our ISO information page. This service is for schools use only, they do not take calls from parents or carers, but you can mention it to your child's educational setting and ask them to get in touch.
IEPs and ANPs (Individual Education Plan and Additional Needs Plan)
These plans are used for low level SEND and the whether schools use IEP's or ANP's is up to each school. Schools often will produce their own layout, but they should simply explain what the child's strengths and needs are, what the child's targets are and what help the teacher can give them to help reach these targets.
Provision maps
Provision maps are a clear way for schools to show all they do that is additional to or different from that which is offered through the school's curriculum. SENDCOs can highlight sections of a provision map so that parents/carers can see the support that has been given to their child. Alongside this schools will also keep notes of discussions with parents/carers including agreed outcomes and tracking data and information about progress.
From September 2023, educational settings have access to the new Individual-Assess, Plan Do, Review (I-APDR) paperwork to record their SEND process for individual children and young people.
This does not replace the My Support Plan (MSP) but can be used instead of it if schools prefer.
Both the I-APDR and the MSP are non-statutory, schools can use equivalent in-school processes if these clearly exemplify a need that is beyond the scope of Quality First Teaching to meet, and which requires additional and/or different provision. In-school documentation must also show evidence of embedded provision and review.
Schools will find it helpful to refer to the LA’s Inclusive High Quality Teaching Audit Tool and Graduated Approach Toolkits to support this:
Inclusive High Quality Teaching toolkit
We believe that many schools will find the I-APDR easier to use than the MSP. Detailed I-APDRs can be used to support requests for statutory assessment, the SENDACT team are familiar with the new paperwork and are confident that it supports the EHCP process.
The Regulation Plan is provided to support schools, only when it is needed. Similarly, the Making Action Plans Personal (MAPP) can support schools with person-centred planning but is not mandatory.
My Support Plans
Most children will have their needs met and make progress with schools using their own approach to planning and recording as described above, i.e. provision maps, IEPs/ANPs. However, some children will need a more coordinated and personalised planning approach to meeting their SEND. In these cases the school will decide whether a My Support Plan is necessary, particularly if:
A My Support plan should be reviewed three times a year to see if a child or young person is making progress towards their outcomes. Sometimes schools will use parents’ evenings to review the plan and parents/carers should think about asking for extra time at a parents’ evening to discuss the plan if this would help.
The review is a parent’s/carer’s opportunity to ask any questions or raise any concerns they have. If a parent feels unsure about doing this, they should consider taking another person to the review who can support them. If the date of the review is difficult for the parent/carer to attend, they should contact school and ask for it to be changed.
It is important for the parent/carer and the child or young person to prepare for the review so that they are confident about what they want from it, and what they need to ask. Parents/carers should read through the My Support Plan and make sure that they can understand it and they agree with what it says. During the review, parents/carers can ask for changes to be made to the plan, for other professionals to be involved or for a request for an EHCP to be done.
Kirklees has developed the My Support Plan in partnership with the parent carer forum (PCAN (Parents of Children with Additional Needs), schools, early years practitioners and representatives from Education, Health and Social Care.
Kirklees has produced a My Support Plan template (this will open in a new window).