Assess, plan, do and review (APDR)

For many children and young people teaching adaptations and reasonable adjustments can be enough to enable them to be successful within the classroom and thrive within wider school life. 

For others, school staff may identify, following quality first teaching and adaptations in the classroom, that there are indicators of social communication needs which may require more targeted support.  Indicators include:

• The adjustments made through quality first teaching have not resulted in adequate progress.
• The child or young person’s social communication and emotional regulation skills are below age-related expectation and there is evidence of an increasing gap between them and their peers.
• The development of the child or young person’s social communication and emotional regulation skills is a barrier to developmental progress.
• Parents have raised concerns regarding the presentation of the child or young person in other contexts despite difficulties not being apparent in school.

At this stage the class teacher would discuss their concerns with the school SENCo for further advice and with parent carers. It is at this stage that a child or young person’s needs may be identified as a special education need that requires support at a stage called SEN Support. 

Here support is given using a graduated approach to meeting needs and involve cycles of assess/ plan/ do and review, which targets a child or young person’s needs in order to support them in making accelerated progress. This can include learning strategies to help them with their social communication skills and in social situations.