A Checklist For Effective
A Checklist For Effective
A Checklist For Effective
‘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
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?
(Based on the original checklist provided by the National Literacy Strategy, 2007)
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