The Graduated Approach Explained (Assess-Plan-Do-Review)

When a child is struggling in school, the support they get should not depend on luck, staff memory, or whether someone happens to have time that week. Instead, schools in England are expected to use a structured method to identify needs early, plan support carefully, put it in place consistently, and review whether it is actually helping. That method is the graduated approach, often described as Assess-Plan-Do-Review.

On paper, it sounds simple. In real life, it can feel messy. Parents may hear “we’ll monitor”, “we’ve tried interventions”, or “we don’t think they meet the threshold”, yet nothing changes. Teaching assistants may be delivering support without clear targets, while teachers are trying to balance the needs of 30 pupils. Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) may be coordinating dozens of plans while chasing external advice. Meanwhile, the child is still struggling to access learning, manage transitions, communicate needs, or cope with anxiety.

This guide is designed to make the graduated approach practical. It breaks down what each stage should look like in everyday school routines, what evidence matters, and how to document impact clearly, especially if you later need to show that SEN Support has been tried and reviewed as part of an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) request. You will also find examples of good practice, common mistakes, and a template checklist you can use in meetings.

For reference, the statutory guidance that explains the graduated approach sits within the SEND Code of Practice (0-25) on the government website, which many families and school staff keep bookmarked as the official baseline: SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years.

The Graduated Approach in SEND 

The graduated approach is the core method schools use under SEN Support in England. It is ‘graduated’ because support should increase or change in response to evidence. In other words, you start with a clear understanding of the child’s needs and the barriers they face, you plan targeted support, you deliver it consistently, and you review its impact. If it helps, great – you refine and continue. If it does not help, you adjust, increase support, seek specialist input, or consider whether the child may need an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment.

In real schools, the graduated approach should prevent two common problems:

• Waiting for failure. Children should not have to fall far behind or reach crisis point before support becomes structured.
• Random acts of intervention. Support should not be a collection of unconnected actions that cannot be evaluated.

A working graduated approach feels steady and predictable. Adults know what they are doing and why. The child experiences consistent support, not a rotating set of ideas. Parents receive updates that refer to evidence, not general impressions. And reviews lead to decisions, not delays.

A helpful way to explain it to families and staff is:

• Assess: Understand the need and the barrier.
• Plan: Agree outcomes and choose support intentionally.
• Do: Deliver support consistently and record what happens.
• Review: Check impact using evidence and decide next steps.

If any of those stages are missing, the cycle becomes weak. For example, if a school is ‘doing’ interventions without a proper assess and plan stage, it can feel busy but still achieve little. Likewise, if a school plans support but does not record what was delivered, it becomes hard to review fairly.

Assess-Plan-Do-Review Meaning

Although the four words are simple, they mean something specific in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) practice. The aim is not to create more paperwork. The aim is to create a clear line from need to action to impact.

Assess

Assess means gathering a rounded picture of the child’s strengths, needs and barriers. It includes academic evidence, classroom observations, behaviour patterns, and the child’s wellbeing. It also includes parent views and, where appropriate, the child’s voice.

Assess should answer:

• What is the child finding difficult, in practical terms?
• When does it happen, and when does it not happen?
• What seems to trigger it, and what seems to help?
• What is the impact on learning, behaviour, attendance and wellbeing?
• What do we already know from data, observations and previous support?

Plan

Plan means agreeing specific outcomes, support strategies, and who will do what by when. It should be written clearly enough that a new staff member could follow it without guessing.

Plan should answer:

• What outcomes are we aiming for over the next review period?
• What support will we put in place, and how often?
• What adjustments will be made in the classroom environment and teaching approach?
• Who is responsible for delivering each part?
• How will we measure impact, and when will we review?

Do

Do means delivering what was planned, consistently, with good communication between staff. It is the ‘implementation’ stage, not just the ‘good intention’ stage.

Do should answer:

• Is the planned support happening as described?
• Are staff delivering it consistently across lessons and days?
• Is the child responding as expected, and are there early signs of impact?

Review

Review means evaluating whether support worked, using evidence, and deciding what to do next. It is not a meeting where everyone says, “We’ll keep going and see”. It should lead to a decision.

Review should answer:

• Did we meet the outcomes? How do we know?
• What changed for the child, and what stayed the same?
• Which parts of support were delivered consistently?
• What should we stop, start or change?
• Do we need specialist advice or a higher level of support?

Schools often describe this as ‘APDR’, and many will have templates. Templates can help, but only if the content is specific and evidence-led.

What ‘Assess’ Should Include in Schools

Assess is the stage where schools can save months of time later. A strong assessment phase prevents vague plans and endless trial-and-error. It also builds the evidence base that families often need if they later request an EHC needs assessment.

A good Assess stage includes four types of information:

1) Attainment and progress evidence

This is not about judging the child. It is about identifying patterns.

• Teacher assessments and tracking data.
• Reading, spelling and comprehension measures (where relevant).
• Writing samples over time.
• Maths snapshots, not just test scores.
• Rate of progress compared to the child’s own baseline.

What matters most is not one score. It is the pattern across time and contexts. A child who fluctuates due to anxiety, sensory overload, or attention differences may show ‘spiky’ profiles that standard tracking can miss unless schools look closely.

2) Classroom functioning evidence

This is often where the most meaningful information sits.

• Attention and listening in different lesson types.
• Understanding of instructions (single-step vs multi-step).
• Ability to start tasks independently.
• Processing time and response latency.
• Peer interaction and group work engagement.
• Sensory triggers (noise, movement, crowded spaces).
• Transition points (arrival, breaktime, moving rooms).

This evidence is usually best gathered through structured observations rather than informal impressions.

3) Wellbeing, behaviour and participation evidence

Behaviour is communication. Escalation often signals unmet needs or poor fit between environment and child.

• Behaviour logs that note antecedents and context.
• Emotional regulation patterns and triggers.
• Attendance and late arrivals, including patterns by day or lesson.
• Reports of anxiety, shutdowns, or school refusal.
• Pastoral notes, if used.

If behaviour is escalating, the Assess stage should include a clear hypothesis about why. Otherwise, schools risk responding only with sanctions, which may make the problem worse.

4) Voice of parents and the child

Parents often see the ‘after-school fallout’ that schools miss. Children may mask all day and melt down at home. That is still relevant evidence.

• Parent observations about sleep, anxiety and recovery time.
• What the child says is hard, and what helps.
• The child’s own preferences, fears and strengths.
• Any relevant history (medical, developmental, early years).

A strong school will treat parent input as data, not as opinion. That does not mean agreeing with everything automatically. It means taking it seriously and integrating it into assessment.

If families want an official starting point for how SEN Support should work, they can refer to the government’s overview: Support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

SEND Assessments: Screening and Observations

Schools use a mix of screening tools, assessments and observations. These are not all formal diagnoses. Most are ways to clarify what support might help.

Below are common categories, with practical examples of what they can tell you.

Screening tools

Screening helps identify possible areas of need. It is not a diagnosis.

• Phonics and decoding checks to see if reading difficulties are skill-based or processing-based.
• Spelling and writing screening for patterns like working memory load or fine motor fatigue.
• Language screening for vocabulary, sentence structure, understanding of questions, and narrative skills.
• Maths screening for number sense, calculation fluency, or language-based misunderstanding.
• Attention and executive function checklists (used cautiously, as they can be subjective).

Screening is useful when it leads to action. It becomes less useful if it is done, filed, and never discussed again.

Classroom observations

Observations can be powerful because they show what happens in real time. However, they need to be structured.

Good observations often record:

• What the task demand was.
• How instructions were given (verbal, written, visual).
• How long the pupil took to begin.
• What prompts were needed.
• When the pupil disengaged, and what happened just before.
• Which strategies improved engagement.
• How the pupil coped with change or uncertainty.

Short, repeated observations across different lessons are often more informative than one long observation in a single context.

Work sampling

Comparing work across time and subjects can show:

• Consistency of skills.
• The effect of fatigue and time of day.
• Whether difficulties are linked to language demands or content demands.
• The difference between independent work and supported work.

External professional advice

Where available, external advice can clarify needs and specify support.

• Educational psychology advice can connect learning profile to provision.
• Speech and language therapy advice can identify specific language targets and strategies.
• Occupational therapy advice can clarify sensory regulation and fine motor needs.

Families often look for trustworthy, practical explanations of these roles. 

A key point: assessments should lead to a plan. If assessment is being used only to delay action, it is not serving the child.

What a Good SEND Plan Looks Like

In many schools, the ‘Plan’ stage becomes a SEN Support plan, a pupil passport, or an individual plan. The label does not matter as much as the quality.

A good plan is:

• Specific: It describes what will happen, not what might happen.
• Prioritised: It focuses on the biggest barriers first.
• Joined up: Classroom strategies and interventions align.
• Measurable: It includes how impact will be checked.
• Shared: Everyone working with the child can access it and understands it.
• Time-bound: It has a review date and a clear review method.

A practical plan usually includes:

Needs profile in everyday language

Not ‘autism’ alone. Instead:

• “Finds multi-step instructions hard, especially when delivered verbally.”
• “Becomes distressed in noisy transitions and may freeze or run.”
• “Needs extra processing time to answer questions.”
• “Struggles to organise written ideas and tires quickly when writing.”

Outcomes

Outcomes describe the change you want to see. They should be meaningful for the child’s access and wellbeing.

• “Will independently start a task within 2 minutes using a visual checklist in 4 out of 5 lessons.”
• “Will ask for help using a help card rather than leaving the room, on 4 out of 5 occasions.”
• “Will read and understand a short paragraph and answer literal questions with scaffolded support.”

Provision and strategies

This is where many plans become too vague. Provision should include:

• What will be done
• Who will do it
• How often
• For how long
• In what context

For example, “Use visual supports” becomes:

• “A now-next board and a first-then card will be used during transitions and task changes, with a 2-minute warning given each time.”

How impact will be measured

Impact measurement does not need to be complex. It just needs to be agreed.

• A simple tally chart for task initiation.
• A short weekly behaviour frequency chart.
• A reading fluency snapshot every two weeks.
• Work samples compared at review.

Review date and responsibility

A plan without a review date is a wish list. A plan without named responsibilities is a risk.

A helpful external reference for families and staff who want plain-English SEND guidance is Contact’s education resources, which explain processes and preparation for meetings.

SMART Targets for SEND Support

Targets are meant to make support actionable. However, targets can also become meaningless if they are too broad or if there are too many.

SMART targets are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

Here are practical examples that work well in real schools.

Example 1: Task initiation

Not helpful:

• “Improve independence.”

SMART:

• “Using a visual checklist, X will begin independent work within 2 minutes of instruction in 4 out of 5 observed lessons, reviewed after 6 weeks.”

Example 2: Emotional regulation and safe access

Not helpful:

• “Reduce meltdowns.”

SMART:

• “When overwhelmed, X will use a taught ‘break’ card to access a 3-minute calm break space, returning to learning with a check-in, in 4 out of 5 incidents, reviewed after 4 weeks.”

Example 3: Communication

Not helpful:

• “Improve communication skills.”

SMART:

• “During group work, X will contribute at least one idea using sentence starters on 3 out of 5 opportunities, tracked weekly and reviewed after 8 weeks.”

Example 4: Reading fluency

Not helpful:

• “Improve reading.”

SMART:

• “X will increase correct words per minute in a decodable text by 10% from baseline, measured fortnightly, reviewed after 6 weeks.”

A practical rule: 2 to 4 targets is often enough. If a plan has 12 targets, staff usually cannot deliver it consistently, and the child may feel constantly ‘worked on’.

Targets should also match the child’s biggest barriers. For some pupils, wellbeing and attendance come before academic acceleration. For others, unlocking literacy may reduce behaviour because frustration decreases.

What Interventions Count as ‘Do’

The ‘Do’ stage includes interventions, classroom strategies, and adjustments that are delivered as agreed in the plan. It also includes staff communication and consistency. In practice, Do is where the graduated approach either becomes real or stays theoretical.

Interventions that can count as ‘Do’ include:

• Small group phonics catch-up delivered 3 times per week.
• Precision teaching for a specific skill.
• Pre-teaching key vocabulary before a topic.
• Social communication group with structured curriculum.
• Emotional literacy sessions with clear outcomes.
• Fine motor programme and pencil grip adaptations.
• Structured mentoring with measurable goals.
• Sensory regulation programme with scheduled breaks.

However, ‘intervention’ should not mean ‘any activity with a TA’. It should be:

• Targeted to an assessed need.
• Delivered consistently.
• Reviewed for impact.
• Adjusted if not working.

A key point that helps staff teams: the class teacher remains responsible for progress, even if a Teaching Assistant (TA) delivers an intervention. Effective ‘Do’ requires teachers and TAs to share quick feedback loops, so interventions align with classroom learning rather than becoming isolated.

In everyday school systems, good Do practice includes:

• Timetabled interventions with clear session records.
• Brief notes on engagement and response, not just attendance.
• Staff consistency across days and lessons.
• A plan for what happens when the child is dysregulated, so adults respond the same way.

Reasonable Adjustments vs Interventions

This distinction matters because reasonable adjustments are a legal duty for disabled pupils, while interventions are a school choice within SEN Support. Both can be essential, and they often overlap, but they serve different purposes.

Reasonable adjustments

These remove barriers so a child can access learning and school life. They are woven into everyday teaching and routines.

Examples:

• Visual timetable and clear routines.
• Reduced sensory load seating.
• Movement breaks built into class expectations.
• Alternative ways to record work, like typing or voice-to-text
• Clear chunked instructions and success criteria.
• Advance warning of changes.
• Rest breaks or reduced written output where fatigue is significant.

For disability rights context, many people refer to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Interventions

These are targeted pieces of support designed to build a skill or address a specific need. They are often time-limited and evaluated for impact.

Examples:

• A structured spelling programme.
• A targeted language intervention.
• A social skills curriculum delivered weekly.
• A motor skills programme.

A common mistake is over-relying on interventions while leaving classroom barriers untouched. If the classroom remains overwhelming or unclear, the child may not be able to use the skills from interventions in real lessons. For many pupils, adjustments create the conditions for interventions to work.

A practical question for meetings is:

• “What is being adjusted in the classroom day to day, and what is being taught or practised through intervention?”

Both should be visible in the plan.

Reviewing SEND Support: What to Record

Review is the stage that turns effort into learning. Without recording, reviews become opinions. With recording, reviews become decisions.

What you record does not need to be complicated, but it does need to be consistent and aligned to outcomes.

Here is what is worth recording in most cases:

1) Delivery records

These show whether support actually happened.

• Session dates and duration for interventions.
• Notes on whether the planned strategy was used in class.
• Any missed sessions and why (staff absence, trips, timetable changes).

This matters because if a plan is not working, you need to know whether it failed because the strategy was wrong or because it was not delivered consistently.

2) Outcome tracking

Choose a simple measure for each outcome.

• Task initiation: Tally of lessons started independently.
• Regulation: Number of times break card used successfully.
• Reading: Correct words per minute or comprehension question accuracy.
• Writing: Number of sentences written independently with scaffold.
• Attendance: Attendance percentage and pattern notes.

3) Qualitative notes that explain the numbers

Short, factual notes can add meaning.

• “Needed adult prompt when classroom was noisy.”
• “Completed task when given visual checklist, struggled when only verbal instructions.”
• “Became distressed after unexpected room change.”

4) Pupil and parent voice

This is often overlooked, yet it explains impact.

• “Feels calmer when allowed to enter 2 minutes early.”
• “More exhausted after days with PE and assembly.”
• “Reports headaches during noisy lunch hall.”

5) Work samples or snapshots

A few dated examples can show change better than a long description.

A good review meeting usually ends with one of three decisions:

• Continue and refine (because impact is positive).
• Change approach (because impact is limited).
• Escalate (because need appears beyond SEN Support).

If the decision is always ‘continue’, and nothing changes term after term, that is a sign the graduated approach is not functioning properly.

For parents who want support to prepare for meetings and keep evidence organised, SENDIASS guidance can be useful, as SENDIASS services are designed to offer impartial information.

SENCO Role in Assess-Plan-Do-Review

The SENCO’s role is often misunderstood. SENCOs are crucial, but they are not meant to carry SEND alone. In a healthy system, the SENCO coordinates, assures quality, and supports staff, while teachers remain responsible for learning and classroom provision.

In the graduated approach, a SENCO typically:

In Assess

• Coordinates assessment information from staff and data systems.
• Supports structured observations and analysis of barriers.
• Liaises with parents to capture family views.
• Initiates referrals or gathers advice from external professionals when needed.

In Plan

• Ensures plans include specific outcomes and provision.
• Advises on appropriate strategies and interventions.
• Helps staff write targets that are measurable and relevant.
• Ensures the plan is shared with staff who need it.

In Do

• Supports staff to deliver provision consistently.
• Arranges training or coaching when needed.
• Monitors whether interventions are happening as planned.
• Helps troubleshoot when support is not landing well.

In Review

• Leads or coordinates review meetings.
• Ensures evidence is used, not just impressions.
• Updates plans and decides next steps.
• Supports escalation decisions, including whether to request an EHC needs assessment.

The SENCO’s influence is often strongest when they have active support from senior leadership. When SEND is treated as a whole-school responsibility, plans are more consistent and reviews are more honest.

The TA’s Role in the Graduated Approach

Teaching Assistants often hold the most detailed, moment-by-moment knowledge of what helps a child cope and learn. Their observations are valuable data. Yet TAs can also be placed in difficult positions when expectations are unclear.

In a strong graduated approach, the TA role is clear and respected.

In Assess

TAs can contribute:

• Observation notes about triggers, strengths and successful strategies.
• Patterns across lessons, times of day and social contexts.
• Insight into how the child responds to different prompts.

A practical TA contribution is a short weekly observation log focused on agreed areas, like transitions or task initiation.

In Plan

TAs should be included, because they often deliver interventions and implement strategies. They can help answer:

• What is realistic in a busy classroom?
• Which strategies have already shown promise?
• How can we make this plan consistent across staff?

In Do

TAs often deliver:

• Planned interventions.
• In-class scaffolding.
• Regulation support.
• Communication supports.

However, it is important that TA support does not unintentionally reduce independence. Good TA practice includes:

• Prompt fading, so the child becomes more independent.
• Supporting access without doing tasks for the child.
• Encouraging peer interaction rather than adult dependency.
• Sharing feedback with the class teacher regularly.

In Review

TAs can provide the evidence that turns reviews into decisions:

• Session notes and delivery records.
• What worked and what did not.
• Signs of improvement or signs of struggle.
• Practical suggestions for adjusting support.

A key point for staff wellbeing: TAs need time to share information and coordinate with teachers. Without that, Do and Review become disjointed, and the system blames individuals instead of improving structures.

Parent Involvement in SEND Reviews

Parents are not ‘extra’. Parent involvement is built into the idea of person-centred support. In practice, parents often provide the most important information about impact beyond the classroom, such as exhaustion, anxiety, sleep changes, and school refusal patterns.

Good parent involvement looks like:

• Parents are invited early, not informed late.
• Plans are shared in advance, not presented cold at the meeting.
• Meetings include specific evidence, not vague reassurance.
• Parents are asked for what they observe at home.
• Parents are given clear next steps and dates.

If you are a parent, a practical approach before a review meeting is to prepare a short one-page summary:

• What your child finds hardest right now.
• What you have noticed changing, better or worse.
• What seems to trigger difficulties.
• What helps at home.
• Your priority outcomes for the next period.

This keeps discussions focused and helps avoid meetings drifting into generalities.

Parents can also ask for a simple communication agreement, for example:

• A weekly email with two bullet points: what went well, what was hard.
• A home-school book used for specific tracking only.
• A half-termly check-in call.

The best communication is often small and consistent. Large, infrequent updates can become stressful and reactive.

For practical parent support and guides on working with schools, Contact’s SEND support resources are widely used.

Evidence for an EHCP Request

When families consider requesting an EHC needs assessment, one of the biggest questions is: “What evidence do we need to show SEN Support is not enough?”

The strongest evidence usually shows three things:

1. Clear needs and impact
2. Targeted support that was actually delivered
3. Limited progress despite cycles of review

Here are evidence categories that often help.

SEN Support documentation

• SEN Support plans or individual plans over time.
• Review notes showing outcomes and whether they were met.
• Provision maps showing what support was provided and how often.

School data and records

• Attainment and progress trends.
• Reading and spelling measures over time.
• Attendance patterns and any part-time timetable details.
• Behaviour records with context.
• Pastoral logs relating to anxiety or emotional distress.

Professional input

• Reports or advice from educational psychology (if available).
• Speech and language therapy advice.
• Occupational therapy advice.
• Paediatric or medical letters where relevant.
• Mental health service letters where relevant.

Real-life impact evidence

• Parent logs of anxiety, meltdowns, or school refusal patterns.
• Child’s voice if appropriate.
• Work samples showing difficulty despite support.

A key point: you do not need to prove the school did everything perfectly. You need to show the child’s needs require provision beyond what can reasonably be provided under SEN Support.

If you want a practical explanation of requesting assessment and what local authorities consider, many families use the guidance on EHC needs assessments.

A simple way to summarise evidence in a request is:

• “This is the need.”
• “This is what has been tried, with dates and frequency.”
• “This is the impact, with evidence.”
• “This is what remains inaccessible.”
• “Therefore, an EHC needs assessment is needed.”

When this is written calmly and supported by attachments, it is often clearer and more persuasive than long narratives.

Common Mistakes in the Graduated Approach

Even well-intentioned schools can fall into patterns that weaken the graduated approach. Recognising these mistakes helps parents and staff address them early.

Mistake 1: Skipping Assess

If a school jumps straight to an intervention without understanding the barrier, support can miss the mark. For example, repeated handwriting interventions may fail if the core barrier is sensory discomfort or motor planning, not effort.

What to do instead:

• Ask for structured observations and baseline measures before choosing interventions.

Mistake 2: Vague plans

Plans that say “support as needed” or “regular check-ins” sound supportive but are not measurable.

What to do instead:

• Ask for frequency, duration, group size, and responsible staff roles.

Mistake 3: Too many targets

A plan with too many targets becomes unmanageable and makes review unclear.

What to do instead:

• Prioritise 2 to 4 outcomes that address the biggest barriers.

Mistake 4: Interventions without classroom adjustments

If interventions happen outside class but the classroom remains overwhelming or unclear, progress may not generalise.

What to do instead:

• Ensure the plan includes day-to-day adjustments and staff consistency.

Mistake 5: Reviews that do not use evidence

Reviews that rely on impressions can lead to endless continuation without change.

What to do instead:

• Agree simple measures at Plan stage and bring them to the Review meeting.

Mistake 6: Poor recording of what was delivered

If no one records delivery, it becomes impossible to judge impact fairly.

What to do instead:

• Use short session logs and provision records that take minutes, not hours.

Mistake 7: Blaming the child instead of adjusting the environment

When behaviour escalates, the response can become punitive rather than supportive.

What to do instead:

• Use behaviour as information and adjust triggers, transitions and communication supports.

Mistake 8: Lack of shared understanding across staff

A child may have great support in one class and struggle in another because adults respond differently.

What to do instead:

• Use consistent scripts, visual supports, and a shared plan accessible to all relevant staff.

These mistakes are common because schools are busy. The goal is not blame. The goal is to tighten the cycle so support becomes effective.

Assess-Plan-Do-Review Template Checklist

Below is a practical checklist you can use as a meeting tool. It works well for parents, TAs, teachers and SENCOs because it focuses on the essentials.

Assess checklist

• Needs described in everyday terms, not just labels.
• Strengths and motivators noted.
• Baseline measures recorded for key areas (academic or functional).
• Structured observations completed in more than one context.
• Parent views recorded, including home impact.
• Pupil views included where appropriate.
• Relevant history and previous support summarised.
• Clear hypothesis about barriers (what is making learning hard).

Plan checklist

• 2 to 4 priority outcomes agreed.
• Outcomes are SMART and relevant to access and wellbeing.
• Classroom adjustments are listed clearly.
• Interventions specified with frequency, duration, and staff role.
• Resources and training needs identified.
• Success criteria agreed for each outcome.
• Method of measuring impact agreed.
• Review date set and recorded.
• Plan shared with all staff who support the child.

Do checklist

• Support delivered as planned, with a simple record.
• Staff use consistent strategies and prompts.
• Child has predictable routines and adjustments.
• Teacher and TA communicate regularly about what is working.
• Any missed sessions are recorded and rescheduled where possible.
• Early concerns are addressed quickly, not saved for the review meeting.

Review checklist

• Evidence brought to the meeting (data, logs, work samples).
• Progress checked against each outcome.
• Delivery checked (did the support happen as planned?).
• Decisions made: continue, change, escalate.
• Next outcomes and provision agreed, not left vague.
• Parent and pupil views captured again.
• Written notes shared after the meeting.
• If progress is limited, specialist advice and next steps discussed, including whether to request an EHC needs assessment.

Quick ‘red flags’ checklist

If you hear these repeatedly, the cycle may not be working:

• “We’ll keep an eye on it.”
• “Let’s give it another term.”
• “We’re doing interventions but we don’t know if they’re working.”
• “We don’t have records of how often support happened.”
• “Targets are the same as last time.”
• “Support depends on which staff member is on.”

When red flags appear, the quickest fix is usually to tighten Plan detail and improve Do recording, so Review becomes meaningful.

For families looking for letter templates and structured next steps, the IPSEA resources and templates can help organise communication.

Conclusion

The graduated approach, Assess-Plan-Do-Review, is meant to make SEND support early, targeted, evidence-based and responsive. When it works, children get the right help sooner, staff feel clearer about what to do, and parents are not left guessing whether support is happening. When it does not work, the system often feels like repeated meetings with little change, rising frustration, and growing risk of behaviour escalation, anxiety and school avoidance.

The most effective way to strengthen the cycle is not to add more paperwork. It is to sharpen the essentials: assess barriers clearly, plan support with specific outcomes and quantified provision, deliver it consistently with simple recording, and review using evidence that leads to real decisions. That same evidence trail also becomes crucial if you later need to show SEN Support has been tried and evaluated as part of an EHCP request.

If you are a parent, TA, teacher or SENCO, a good next step is to use the template checklist in your next review meeting. Ask for clarity, dates and measures. When support is clear and reviewable, it becomes far more likely to improve outcomes for the child in front of you.