In Bromley, we want every child and young person to thrive in their education, whatever their needs. That’s why schools and settings follow something called the Graduated Approach, a step-by-step way of making sure children with emerging needs as well as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) get the right support at the right time.
What is the Graduated Approach?
It’s a three-stage process used by schools and early years settings to support children with SEND. It starts with everyday classroom support and can lead to more tailored help if needed.
Stage 1: Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP)
This is the support that all children should receive in school, whether or not they have SEND. It includes:
- High-quality teaching
- Reasonable adjustments (like seating arrangements or extra movement breaks)
- Targeted help (such as using visual aids or noise-cancelling headphones)
These are things schools do every day to help children learn and feel included. You might hear teachers talk about inclusive practice, that’s what this is.
Examples in Bromley include:
- Access to a quiet space
- Use of a time-out card
- Movement breaks during lessons
- Carefully chosen seating in class
Stage 2: SEN support
If your child needs more help than what’s ordinarily available, the school will move to SEN Support. This involves a cycle called:
Assess - Plan - Do - Review
Here’s what that means:
- Assess: Teachers and the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) look closely at your child’s needs.
- Plan: Together with you, they decide what support to put in place.
- Do: The support is delivered; this could be small group work, specialist resources, or extra adult help.
- Review: Everyone checks how well the support is working and what to do next.
This cycle can happen more than once and is tailored to your child’s progress. You’ll be involved at every step.
Stage 3: Education, Health and Care plans (EHC plans, often referred to as EHCP)
Most children’s needs are met through the first two stages. But if your child needs more specialist support, they might need an EHCP.
An EHCP is a legal document that sets out:
- Your child’s needs
- The support they must receive
- Long-term outcomes for their education, health and care
To get an EHCP, the local authority carries out an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment. You, your child’s school, and other professionals will be involved in this process.
Who to speak to
When you know what education setting your child or young person will be going to you should speak to the head teacher or the SENCO about your child’s or young person's needs. This will help the education setting decide how to best support your child or young person to give them the best possible start to their education.
What is a SENCO and how can they help
A Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) is a staff member who’s responsible for making sure children and young people with extra needs receive the help they need. They are your point of contact. They support with:
- the identification of children and young people with special educational needs
- resources to help with individual needs
- speaking with parents to make sure their children and young people are receiving the right help for them
- speaking with providers outside of school, for example educational psychologists
A SENCO’s goal is to develop ways of overcoming barriers to your child's or young person's learning.
Find advice on how to speak to your SENCO on Scope's website.
How to prepare for a conversation with your education setting
It can help to write down a list of things you have noticed to speak to your education setting about.
This could include:
- what makes you think your child or young person has special educational needs
- what people working with your child or young person have noticed
- find out what you can do to help
- what the education setting can do to help
- any difficulties your child or young person experiences outside of their education setting
There is useful guidance on how to communicate with education settings on the Information, Advice and Support Service (IASS) webpage.