Practical resources

A checklist for effective

targeted intervention
A valuable exercise to complete in your school or setting with both teaching and support staff

In using this tool with your teaching and support

staff you may find there are differing perspectives
that need further examination and which may
indicate a development need for SEND for
your setting. Following this exercise, any areas
highlighted as a potential barrier to targeted
intervention being effective can be discussed
and solutions sought at a whole-school level.
It is important that the context of difficulties
and needs is taken into account so that we do
not automatically assume the problem lies with
the young person. Sometimes interventions can
involve adapting environments or social contexts
and do not involve the young person directly.
When a young person is directly involved it is
important that their views about the need for a
change are a central consideration, particularly difficulty or need? Identify the barriers to
when we may be planning to do things learning. This should draw on:
differently. Interventions are more likely to be u 
the teacher’s assessment and experience of
successful if there are willing participants! the pupil – information on pupil progress,
attainment and behaviour
A solution-focused approach u the individual’s development in comparison

‘What
When additional or special educational needs are with their peers
identified it is important to consider their origin as u the views and experience of parents
this will impact on whether an intervention is likely u the child’s own views
to be successful. The importance of the continual u if relevant, advice from external support needs to be
graduated approach and the effectiveness of the
‘assess’ aspect of the cycle need to be thoroughly
services.
Tools to enable teachers to dig a little deeper to in place
for the
tested when considering whether an intervention accurately assess pupil need may include:
which is ‘additional to or different from’ is u standardised tests
necessary to put in place. For example, if a child
is having difficulty learning to read this may be
due to a number of reasons, so a range of factors
u criterion-referenced assessments checklists
u profiling tools, for example for behaviour,
speech, language and communication needs
change
needs to be considered.
If we consider the ‘assess, plan, do, review’
u observation schedules and prompt sheets
u questionnaires for parents
to happen?’
cycle of the graduated approach, when deciding u questionnaires for pupils
what intervention is needed we should be u screening assessments, for example dyslexia
providing answers to the following questions. u specialist assessments from, for example, a
By doing so we can be confident in securing the speech and language therapist.
most appropriate action borne out of a sound For higher levels of need, schools should
evidence base which should ensure effectiveness have arrangements in place to draw on more
in the intervention and support we put in place. specialised assessments from external agencies
and professionals.
Assess
In identifying a child as needing SEN support Plan
the class or subject teacher, working with the uE  xplore intention to change – is the young
SENCO, should establish a clear analysis of the person/family aware of the need? Do they
pupil’s needs. What are the needs that aren’t want it to change?
being met? What do we want to be different? u Explore ability to change – what needs to be
What is impacting on and maintaining the in place for the change to happen?

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Practical resources

All of these factors can have a major impact on

the effectiveness of an intervention and should be
taken into account during the ‘review’ stage.
u Are all the physical resources needed
available? Is time available to prepare them?
Is there somewhere to store them?
u If an intervention is occurring beyond the
classroom, is there a process for sharing
information about the intervention and
pupil progress with the class teacher? This
is important so that classroom practice can
support the pupil in the areas being addressed.
u Where an intervention involves supporting an
individual or group with their work, is there an
u Reflect, reframe and reconstruct the profile of awareness of the research into the impact of
need (don’t stop doing this!). having support?
u How have pupils been selected for the
intervention? Do the objectives of the intervention Review
match with the pupils’ identified needs? uR  eview the process – has the goal been
u How is the intervention impact going to be achieved? Is further intervention needed?
evaluated? Gathering information for the u Will monitoring over time (how long?) be
‘review’ needs to start before the intervention necessary? Who will do this and what are the
begins. arrangements for this?
u If planning a group intervention, do all pupils u Evaluating and reviewing seek to assess the
have needs that can be met by the same impact of a defined project. There are two
intervention? This does not necessarily mean clear purposes of evaluating an intervention:
the same needs, for example where social – To measure individual pupil progress (or lack
and emotional skills are being targeted it is of it), enabling you to plan the next steps.
often useful to have a group in which some – To decide if the intervention is useful and
participants are skilled in areas where others should be used again.
have difficulties, to enable sharing of strategies. Reviewing is important as it enables you to
u Does the person who is delivering the monitor individual pupils’ progress and make
intervention have the necessary skills, knowledge informed decisions about the following issues:
and understanding? Are they familiar/confident u Whether an intervention is effective – is it

with the content and format of the materials and having a positive impact on pupil outcomes?
approaches to be used? If there are training u 
What factors made the intervention effective?
needs, who will be able to provide this training – u 
Could any changes be made to make an
will it come from within or outside school? intervention more effective? For example, is the
u Is there a dedicated space where the intervention lead person confident in their skills? Is there
can take place? Is this within or outside the a need for staff training? Did pupils enjoy the
classroom? intervention? Did pupils think there was a point
u Are all those involved in the intervention aware to them doing the intervention?
of what it is and why it is happening (including u Should you continue with an intervention or
the pupils)? repeat an intervention with another group?
u 
Is an intervention cost effective – could similar
Do improvements have been made with no
u F acilitate changes – put an intervention in place intervention or another intervention?
based on hypotheses about need. Deliver the
goods! Aiming for success
u Evaluate the change – measure the impact of the The graduated approach to identifying, supporting
intervention. What can the pupil do now that and meeting SEN is a systemic thinking and
they could not before the intervention occurred? informed action approach where the consideration
u Is there a method for recording/being aware of: of individual and contextual factors requires a
– the number of ‘sessions’ that actually happen high level of reflective practice and precise action,
– individual pupil attendance which teachers should be able to provide. The
– pupils’ attitudes towards the ‘sessions’ and success of this approach is determined by the
comments they make about the intervention and desire and requirement to place the child and
themselves family at the centre of the approach – this ensures
– the confidence of the adult in being able to full sign-up and should lead to successful and
deliver the intervention and having beliefs effective interventions that improve outcomes for
about its usefulness. the pupils you are supporting.

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MANAGEMENT IN SCHOOL COMMENTS

Is care taken that the intervention is not used as a substitute for properly differentiated quality-first teaching (QFT)?
How do we know this?

Do the effective features of the intervention feed back into QFT, so that QFT continually improves?

Are the right children targeted, identified through data and careful tracking of progress? What evidence do we have to
support this?

Are there clear entry and exit criteria for the intervention? Are we applying criteria consistently?

Is regular review of children’s progress incorporated as an intrinsic part of the programme? Is the teacher leading on
intervention and reviews with support of the SENCO? Does the teacher feel confident in their understanding of what the
intervention is aiming to achieve and how we will know when we have achieved outcomes?

Are children involved, so that they understand the purpose and intended outcomes of the intervention? Are the views of
children incorporated at each stage of the assess, plan, do, review process?

Are parents/carers involved, both in the decision that their child will take part and in knowing how they can support at
home what their child is learning through the intervention? How do we engage parents to become active supporters of
their children’s learning?

Is the intervention time-limited? Do we keep to time limits? Are the limits reasonable and do they require adjusting up
or down?

Has there been good training for the person delivering the intervention? Can staff reliably lead on interventions?

Is there ongoing support and training for the person delivering the intervention? Is the teacher aware of this and how do
we keep teachers informed?

Is the quality of the teaching monitored regularly? How often and by whom?

Has there been good training for the class/subject(s) teacher involved? How and when did this take place and what was
the whole-school expectation for all staff and those who may need additional guidance or support?

Is there joint planning between the class/subject teacher(s) and the person delivering the intervention? Does the class
teacher know what the child is learning and how to support this in everyday teaching?

Do the class/subject teacher(s) and the person delivering the intervention have time to meet to review children’s
progress? Are there adequate resources and time for this?

Is the impact of the intervention on the group of children who have received it evaluated systematically using measures
of progress – both short term (at the end of the intervention), and long term by monitoring outcomes in National
Curriculum tests, optional tests, etc?

Is the use of the intervention reviewed regularly in the light of this evaluation, to identify whether it should continue to
be run?

Is the use of the intervention reviewed regularly in the light of data on the profile of need in the school?

PEDAGOGY

Does the intervention include strategies to enable children to identify their own learning targets and to monitor their own
progress? Are the outcomes of the intervention reviewed by the children? How are their views collated and how do they
impact on the overall effectiveness of the intervention?

Is the intervention helping them become more independent learners?

(Based on the original checklist provided by the National Literacy Strategy, 2007)
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