The six-week SEND review: what to look at first
Prepare an agreed six-week SEND review in England: check support delivered, access, comparable evidence and pupil and parent views before deciding the next step.
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SEND article stream
SEND practice and leadership articles
Practical SEND guidance for SENCos and school leaders, covering provision, review evidence, pupil voice, records and statutory processes in England.
Use this collection to strengthen day-to-day SEND practice without losing the professional judgement, pupil voice and statutory context behind each decision. The guides focus on evidence that staff can inspect, challenge and act on.
Published guidance
SEND articles
39 articles
Dyslexia in school: evidence, myths and what SENCos should track
Build a dyslexia support record in England: connect reading evidence, classroom adjustments, intervention delivery and pupil views before the next review.
Read articleWhat three weeks of attendance data can reveal
Review three weeks of school attendance data by session, weekday and cohort, then test signals against prior-year evidence and pupil context.
Read articleWho belongs on the SEND monitoring list?
Use an evidence-led decision record to decide who belongs on a school SEND monitoring list, when SEN Support is needed and when another route fits.
Read articleThe SENCo's first-day checklist for the autumn term
Use five SENCo first-day checks for new starters, live support, medication, absence and owned actions when the autumn term opens in England.
Read articleHow to spot attendance risk before persistent absence begins
Spot emerging attendance concerns before a pupil crosses the persistent absence threshold, using a human-reviewed change card for schools in England.
Read articleUsing AI with pupil records: a SENCo's due-diligence checklist
Use eight checks before putting pupil records into AI: test purpose, minimisation, suppliers, retention, access, transparency and human review.
Read articleHow to review a DPIA for SEND technology
Review a DPIA for SEND software by tracing purpose, pupil data, processors, access, retention, AI use, mitigations and accountable approval.
Read articleHow to analyse SEND equality without reducing pupils to labels
Analyse SEND equality data across attendance, behaviour and attainment while keeping denominators, missingness, context, privacy and human review visible.
Read articleHow to audit reasonable adjustments in schools
Use this reasonable-adjustments audit for schools in England to connect barriers, agreed steps, classroom use, pupil voice, evidence and review.
Read articleHow to write a governor SEND report that leads to questions worth asking
Write a SEND report to governors that connects cohort, provision, outcomes, attendance and behaviour, then turns evidence gaps into owned questions.
Read articleAccessibility plan or SEN information report: what is the difference?
Compare a school accessibility plan with an SEN information report in England, including purpose, content, review cycles, ownership and evidence.
Read articleWhat a useful SEN information report should contain
Check that an England school's SEN information report covers statutory content, actual provision, review evidence, family voice and the complaints route.
Read articleWhen should a school stop an intervention?
Decide when to stop, step down, adapt or continue a school intervention using delivery, response, transfer, pupil views and opportunity cost in England.
Read articleHow to review intervention impact without pretending every graph is progress
Measure SEND intervention impact using baseline, delivered dosage, attendance, transfer and outcome evidence, without overstating what a graph proves.
Read articleEntry and exit criteria for school interventions: a practical guide
Set practical intervention entry and exit criteria in England. Use baseline, eligibility, delivery, attendance and review evidence to decide next steps.
Read articleHow to spot duplicated or contradictory SEND provision
Audit SEND provision across plans, EHC plans and intervention timetables in England. Find duplication, contradictions, ownership gaps and review actions.
Read articleDo TA timetables match pupil need or merely historical furniture?
Audit teaching assistant deployment for SEND in England: connect pupil need, lesson context, teacher access, delivery, independence and outcomes.
Read articleHow many intervention places can your school really deliver?
Calculate realistic SEND intervention capacity from staff, rooms, timetables and pupil need, then test whether planned places are actually delivered.
Read articleHow to build a costed provision map that supports decisions
Build a costed provision map for SEND in England: calculate staff time, dosage, group costs and pupil coverage, then use it to support review decisions.
Read articleHow to gather parent contributions before an annual review
A practical England guide to gathering parent contributions before an EHCP annual review, with accessible prompts, follow-up steps and evidence limits.
Read articleSEND record retention and transfer: the practical basics
A practical SEND record retention and transfer guide for schools in England, with a retention matrix, secure handover workflow and audit checklist.
Read articleHow to map Section F provision to what is actually delivered
Use this practical EHCP Section F provision mapping audit to connect each plan line to staffing, timetable, delivery evidence and review action in England.
Read articleWhat counts as evidence in Assess, Plan, Do, Review?
A practical guide for SENCos in England to evidence Assess, Plan, Do, Review: starting point, provision delivery, pupil response and next decisions.
Read articleWhat belongs in an EHC needs assessment evidence file?
Use this EHC needs assessment evidence checklist for schools in England to organise pupil voice, progress, provision, attendance and advice securely.
Read articleEHCP annual review deadlines: a practical countdown for schools
Use this practical EHCP annual review deadline countdown for schools in England, from meeting notice and advice to reports, decisions and amendments.
Read articleConnected pupil data: what it means in practice
A practical guide to connected pupil data for schools in England: link SEND, attendance, behaviour, attainment and health without losing context.
Read articleThe case against the enormous SENCo spreadsheet
A practical SEND tracking spreadsheet alternative for SENCos in England: link register, provision, attendance and review evidence without losing control.
Read articleAutumn school census: the SEND checks to complete first
Five SEND checks for England's autumn school census: reconcile N, E and K, verify on-roll pupils, assign corrections and review the COLLECT return.
Read articleProvision maps at year end: what to archive, carry forward or stop
A practical provision map end-of-year review for SENCos in England: decide what to archive, carry forward, adapt or stop using evidence.
Read articleHow to find plans with missing or implausible review dates
A practical SEND review dates audit for SENCos in England, covering missing, overdue and implausible plan dates, EHC annual reviews and next actions.
Read articleSeven pupil-data checks before rolling records into September
A seven-step pupil data quality checklist for schools in England, covering identity, classes, SEND, contacts, attendance, transfers and ownership.
Read articleHow to clean your SEND register without deleting the story
A practical guide for SENCos in England to correct current SEND records, preserve useful history, archive plans and make safe deletion decisions.
Read articleSeven SEND guidance documents to reread this summer
Seven current SEND guidance documents for SENCos in England, with a practical summer reading plan linking duties to records, actions and September checks.
Read articleWhat pupil voice should tell you before transition
A practical England guide to gathering pupil voice before SEND transition and turning views about communication, adjustments and worries into named actions.
Read articleYour year-end SEND register audit: 12 checks before rollover
A practical 12-check SEND register audit checklist for SENCos in England, covering status, plan currency, reviews, provision and secure rollover.
Read articleHow to show the impact of SEND provision in an end-of-year report
A practical SEND provision impact report guide for SENCos in England, linking delivery, cost, attendance and outcome evidence to clear next actions.
Read articleHow to create a one-page SEND pupil briefing for September
A one-page SEND pupil briefing template for SENCos in England, covering strengths, pupil voice, adjustments, health boundaries and September review.
Read articleThe SENCo end-of-year checklist: what to review before everyone disappears
A practical SENCo end-of-year checklist covering plans, provision, attendance, safe handovers, open actions and priorities for September in England.
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