Skip to content ↓

What are the different types of support available for children and young people with SEND?

All students at Daventry Hill School have identified needs and provision though their Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which states provision required to support children and young people with SEND:
  • The EHCP includes:
    • Description of the child / young person (parent views, child’s voice and professional assessment)
    • Targets and recommendations from all professionals involved
    • What and hw the support should be used.
    • What strategies must be put in place.

This will include access to universal services (available to all students), targeted services (for identified groups) or specialist services (for individuals).


Universal Provision - Class teacher input, via excellent targeted classroom teaching (Quality First Teaching)

For your child this would mean:

  • The teacher has the highest possible expectations for all students in their class.
  • All teaching is built on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
  • Different ways of teaching are in place to encourage your child to be fully involved in the learning process. This may involve access to more practical learning opportunities.
  • Specific strategies (suggested by specifically trained professionals) are in place to support your child to learn.
  • Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided if your child has a gap or gaps in their understanding/learning. Extra support, if required, is then made available through targeted support within the curriculum or in addition.

Specific group work

Intervention which may be:

  • Run in the classroom or a group room.
  • Run by a teacher or a teaching assistant (TA).

Targeted Provision - groups run by a therapist such as Speech and Language Therapy in conjunction with school staff

Children’s needs change over time and if it is identified by the class teacher, in conjunction with a member of the leadership team, that extra specialist support is required, a referral to that specialist will be made. This may be from:

  • Local Authority central services, such as physiotherapy, ASD Support Team, or Sensory Service (for students with a hearing or visual need).
  • Outside agencies such as the Education Psychology.

What could happen:

  • You may be asked to give your permission for the school to refer your child to a specialist professional, e.g. a Speech and Language Therapist or Educational Psychologist. This will help the school and you, as parents, to understand your child’s particular needs better and be able to support them more effectively in school.
  • A specialist professional will work with your child to make recommendations as to the best ways to support learning.

Specialist Provision

This type of support is available for students whose learning needs are so severe, and complex that they require support that can only be delivered by a professional with specific training.

This is usually provided via an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This means your child will have been identified by professionals as needing a particularly high level of individual or small-group teaching.

This type of support is available for children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through Quality First Teaching and intervention groups.

Your child will also need specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from:

  • NHS professionals; Speech and Language / Occupational / Physiotherapy.
  • Local Authority central services such as the ASD Support Team, Behaviour Support or Sensory Service (for students with a hearing or visual need).
  • Outside agencies such as the Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) Service.

For your child this would mean

  • Specific programmes developed by the therapist, which will be delivered in class or in some cases outside the classroom (in the case of teaching a new skill or specific physiotherapy exercises).
  • Targets and recommendations from professionals involved.
  • An outline of the amount of additional support your child will receive.
  • The strategies that must be put in place.
  • Long- and short-term goals.