Taken from: Author: Talking Point
Last Updated : 31-MAR-2004
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Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
What is an Individual Education Plan?
An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a tool used by schools for planning, teaching and reviewing pupils receiving Early Years Action/School Action, Early Years Action Plus/School Action Plus and for those with a statement of special educational need.
What are Individual Education Plans used for?
The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (DfES, 2001) is clear that an Individual Education Plan should only record provision which is ‘additional to' or ‘different from' the differentiated curriculum plan, which is in place for all children. The differentiated curriculum plan is the teacher's daily or weekly short term planning which includes differentiated learning objectives and a variety of activities to ensure access for all children in a class.
What are Individual Education Plans not designed for?
- IEPs are not plans to differentiate the whole curriculum
- IEPs are not handouts merely describing useful strategies to help pupils access the curriculum.
It is essential that all staff working with the pupil have clear information about a pupil's particular needs in terms of access to the curriculum and guidance on strategies to support the pupil but this is not the purpose of the IEP. This information may be included as ‘extra' information on the IEP or could be communicated to staff in another form.
Ideas on strategies and ideas to supplement IEPs for pupils with speech, language and communication needs.
For a pupil with speech, language and communication needs the following type of information may be necessary:
- Positioning in class –this may vary according to individual pupils
- Ensure you have the pupil's attention before starting to talk. Use the child's name and check they are looking at you.
- When asking questions the pupil may need extra time to respond – give them time.
- Visual support will help when introducing new concepts or vocabulary – this could take the form of real objects, clear pictures, photographs or video.
This helps staff to consider how they will ensure the child has full access to the curriculum when they are planning lessons.
Lots of ideas on useful strategies can be accessed through Adapting the Environment and Supporting underlying skills on this website.
What information should the Individual Education Plan include?
Three or four individual targets designed to address the pupil's current priority needs / The IEP is designed to address the child's current priority needs. Therefore setting too many targets at one time is not sensible. Remember that the child will still be receiving the full curriculum and the IEP should only record the targets that are different from or additional to those in place for the rest of the group or class. The SEN Code of Practice states that, ‘The IEP should be crisply written' and the SEN Toolkit, Section 5: Managing Individual Education Plans suggests that, ‘Teachers should generally aim to include SMART targets. ( Specific Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound). The targets should reflect ‘what you want to see happening' for the child. It is helpful to precede targets with a phrase like: ‘J will be able to . . .' The strategies should link to the targets and should reflect ‘how you are going to get there'.The teaching strategies to be used / It is important to consider what specific teaching strategies will be used since the pupil will have failed to make adequate progress despite having been taught as part of a group or whole class. The suggestion is that the pupil will need something different in order to make progress.
The ‘additional to' or ‘different from' provision to be put in place. / This is an essential part of the IEP. The school should be providing something ‘additional to' or ‘different from' the provision made for the majority of pupils. Schools should be using the resources within their school budgets for SEN to put this in place.
When the plan is to be reviewed / IEPs should be continually kept ‘under review' and the success of all IEPs should be evaluated at least twice per year. For children in early education settings or with particular needs, IEPs may need to reviewed termly or even more frequently. Setting a date for review when an IEP is set up makes it far more likely that this review will happen. All those involved, including parents, can ensure the date for review is recorded in individual diaries.
Success and/or exit criteria / Success criteria mean that targets set have been achieved and new targets need to be set.
Exit criteria mean that not only have the targets been achieved but that an IEP may no longer be required.
If targets are ‘specific, measurable and time bound' it is unlikely that additional success or exit criteria will need to be recorded.
Outcomes / Outcomes will be recorded when the IEP is reviewed and will be based upon an assessment of progress and achievement towards meeting the original targets set.
How can schools manage IEPs when significant numbers of pupils have special educational needs?
Many schools have been overwhelmed by large numbers of IEPs. In these situations, IEPs are not ‘live' planning documents; they may only be referred to when they are written and when they are reviewed.
The SEN Toolkit, Section 5: Managing Individual Education Plans encourages schools to be flexible and innovative in their approach to individual planning for pupils with SEN. Suggestions include using short term class curriculum planning as the vehicle for achieving the individual targets and also the use of Group Education Plans for some children. This guidance is further developed in the DfES publication, The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, Including all children in the literacy hour and daily mathematics lesson. This guidance includes a helpful flowchart to support schools in deciding whether a child with special educational needs requires an IEP for literacy and/or mathematics. It also includes examples of curriculum plans which have been annotated to address the individual needs of pupils with SEN.
Many schools are developing School Provision Maps which record all the ‘additional to' and ‘different provision' within the school. Individual targets are set and these are attached to a provision map which highlights the ‘special provision' the child is receiving. Full details of Provision Maps can be found in Special Educational Needs and School Improvement. Practical Strategies for Raising Standards by Jean Gross and Angela White, David Fulton Publishers, 2003. Click here for a link to .
The most important thing to remember about IEPs is that it how the pupil is helped through ‘additional to' and ‘different from' provision that is important not the way in which the school writes it down!