How do we track progress for pupils on SEN Support?

Run the cycle, and write it down as you go

Track progress through the graduated assess, plan, do, review cycle: agree clear outcomes with the pupil and parents, review impact at least termly, record what's working, and feed each review into the next cycle. This is the mechanism the SEND Code of Practice 2015 sets out for every pupil on SEN Support (paragraphs 6.44-6.56), and it works whether or not the child has a clinical diagnosis. A pupil is on SEN Support because they have identified needs that call for provision additional to, or different from, the usual differentiated curriculum.

Start each cycle by agreeing a small number of clear, specific outcomes with the pupil and their parents, and noting the baseline you are measuring from. The Code expects you to talk to parents about progress towards those outcomes and to meet them at least three times a year (paragraph 6.65), which in practice anchors a termly review rhythm.

What "tracking" actually has to capture

Most guidance stops at "review at least termly". The part it leaves out is what a defensible record has to hold. Attainment data on its own is not enough. For each cycle, keep a record of three things:

• The outcomes agreed with the pupil and parents, and the baseline you started from.
• The provision actually delivered - the specific intervention, who ran it, how often, and for how long.
• An evidenced judgement of impact against those outcomes - did the child progress, stand still, or fall further behind despite the support.

This dual record - reviewing progress and evaluating how effective the provision was - is not optional. Schools have to publish their arrangements for assessing and reviewing the progress of pupils with SEN, and how they evaluate the effectiveness of their provision, in the SEN information report (Schedule 1 of the SEND Regulations 2014, the duty to publish set out in regulation 51).

Why the way you track now is the application later

When a pupil keeps falling behind despite purposeful cycles of support, that same paper trail becomes the evidence a council weighs in an EHC needs assessment request. It shows you set outcomes, delivered relevant provision, and the child still did not make expected progress. Schools that record only attainment, and not the provision and impact, find they have to reconstruct months of evidence under pressure. Track it properly from the first cycle and the request writes itself.

One reform to keep an eye on: the 2026 Schools White Paper Every child achieving and thriving proposes a statutory Individual Support Plan for every child with SEND, which would formalise this planning and review practice. It is out for consultation, with no changes before September 2030, so the current cycle and the duties above stand for now.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.