Map each current Section F provision line without rewriting it. Preserve the exact requirement, then record who should deliver it, how often, for how long, in what setting, and with what expertise.
Add the planned timetable, actual delivery evidence, any variance, the pupil's access and the next review action.
The map should reveal whether provision happened as specified; it must not quietly turn a legal plan into whatever was easiest to timetable.
This guide is for schools in England. It is accurate on 31 July 2026 and is not legal advice.
Why this audit matters before September
Section F contains the special educational provision required by the child or young person. Regulation 12 of the SEND Regulations 2014 requires that provision to be set out in a separately identified section.
The Section F table following paragraph 9.69 of the SEND Code of Practice says provision must be detailed and specific. It should normally be quantified by type, hours, frequency and expertise.
Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places the duty to secure the specified special educational provision on the local authority that maintains the EHC plan.
Schools commonly organise and deliver much of that provision. Their operational record therefore needs to distinguish the requirement, the planned arrangement and what actually happened.
A new timetable is not evidence that last term's provision was delivered. It is merely evidence that rectangles remain popular with spreadsheets.
The 2026 SEND reform consultation proposes future changes, but the Department for Education says current duties, rights and funding routes remain in place until new legislation comes into force.
No official development published in the previous 72 hours changed the current Section F framework.
Use one delivery line for each Section F requirement
Start from the final current plan, not an old draft, annual review recommendation or working copy. Give each distinct provision requirement its own line so gaps cannot hide inside a long paragraph.
| Audit field | What to record | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Exact requirement | Verbatim Section F wording and plan version | What must be secured? |
| Specification | Type, frequency, duration, group size, setting and expertise | What does the plan actually require? |
| Purpose | Linked Section B need and Section E outcome | Why is this provision there? |
| Delivery plan | Named role, timetable slot, location, cover and start date | How will the school make it happen? |
| Actual delivery | Session, adjustment or specialist record with meaningful variance | What happened, not merely what was planned? |
| Access and response | Pupil voice, participation, barriers and relevant outcome evidence | Could the pupil access it, and what should be reviewed? |
| Action | Repair, clarify, escalate or review, with owner and date | Who acts next, and by when? |
Build the map in five passes
1. Freeze the source
Record the final plan date and keep the source available under appropriate access controls. If several versions exist, resolve which plan is current before auditing delivery.
Copy the Section F wording verbatim. Add a plain-language working note only in a separate field, so interpretation never replaces the legal source.
2. Split and test the specification
Split combined paragraphs into distinct requirements. Check each line for provision type, frequency, duration, group size, location, equipment and staff expertise where the plan specifies them.
Flag vague wording rather than filling the gap with an invented number. Ask the local authority for clarification or use the review process where the plan may need amendment.
3. Map the operational arrangement
Name the role responsible, not only an individual who may leave. Add the timetable, room, resources, start date, cover arrangement and person who checks delivery.
Test capacity before term starts. If the total specified hours exceed the available trained time, record the shortfall and escalate it. Arithmetic is often the least tactful member of the meeting.
4. Record actual delivery proportionately
Use the smallest record that can show whether provision occurred as specified. For sessions, capture date, duration, staff role, attendance and a useful exception or adaptation.
For classroom adjustments or continuous support, use agreed samples, observations or checks. Do not force every form of provision into a session register merely because the register already has columns.
Preserve cancelled, shortened, substituted and missed provision as variance. Do not mark a planned slot as delivered automatically.
5. Review the gap and assign action
Compare specified, planned and delivered provision at an agreed rhythm. Separate a recording gap from a delivery gap, and separate both from a concern about the provision's fit or effectiveness.
Give every material gap an owner, action and date. Where specified provision cannot be secured, raise it promptly with school leadership, the maintaining local authority and the family through the appropriate route.
Do not amend Section F inside the provision map
A school's delivery record may add operational detail, but it cannot reduce, substitute or delete specified provision. A different activity is not equivalent merely because its cost or duration looks similar.
Where need, outcomes or provision should change, use the statutory review and amendment process. Keep the existing requirement visible until the local authority issues an amended final plan.
Record temporary disruption honestly and agree the immediate response. The map should support resolution, not become a retrospective machine for making every box appear green.
The connected-data view
Consider a fictional composite pupil whose Section F requires three weekly small-group communication sessions, delivered by a trained member of staff in a low-distraction space.
The timetable shows all sessions planned. Delivery records show that four of twelve occurred because of staff cover. Attendance data shows the pupil was present for ten of the planned sessions.
Pupil voice adds that the replacement room was noisy and difficult to use. The first professional question is therefore about securing and making the specified provision accessible, not whether the pupil has failed to benefit.
The action is to protect trained staffing and an appropriate room, record the shortfall, involve the family, and escalate the unresolved delivery gap. Review outcome evidence only after delivery context is visible.
These records do not prove why progress changed, whether every missed session is legally equivalent, or what remedy is required. They make the gap and the next professional questions traceable.
What the data cannot prove
A complete delivery record does not prove that provision was high quality, accessible or effective. A missed record does not prove that support did not occur.
Attendance, staffing and outcome patterns do not establish causation. They should prompt checks with staff, the pupil, parents and relevant professionals.
A provision map cannot determine legal compliance, amend an EHC plan or replace advice on an individual dispute. It can make the evidence needed for responsible action easier to see.
How Student Radar supports the workflow
In Student Radar, an uploaded EHCP can present extracted Section F lines as drafts for SENCo confirmation. Confirmed provision can then be added to the Provision Map.
The source wording remains available, while staffing, hours and costs can be reviewed beside the provision record. Pre-filled cost information is marked for human review rather than treated as settled fact.
Where a line is delivered as a defined, time-limited intervention, the Intervention Planner can hold its timetable, attendance, delivery notes and review date.
Not every Section F requirement is an intervention. Student Radar keeps the professional confirmation and review boundary visible; it does not rewrite the plan or decide whether provision is lawful or effective.
Next actions for the SENCo
- Choose the final current EHC plan and freeze its version date.
- Give each distinct Section F requirement its own audit line.
- Compare specification with staffing, timetable and available capacity.
- Agree proportionate evidence for actual delivery and meaningful variance.
- Sample delivery with the pupil, family and relevant staff.
- Assign and escalate gaps without rewriting the plan.
- Set a September check and the next formal review point.
Use the provision-map review guide for wider year-end decisions, and the SEND provision impact guide when preparing the leadership view.
To see the connected workflow with your own process, request a focused Student Radar walkthrough.
Sources and further reading
- SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years, Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care, statutory guidance dated January 2015; GOV.UK page updated 12 September 2024.
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 42, UK Parliament, 2014; live text checked 31 July 2026.
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, regulation 12, UK Parliament, 2014; live text checked 31 July 2026.
- SEND: guide for schools and alternative provision settings, Department for Education, published 1 September 2014.
- SEN and disabilities: guidance for school governing boards, Department for Education, updated 3 February 2025.
- SEND reform: putting children and young people first, Department for Education, published 23 February 2026 and updated 27 April 2026.