A provision map is a document setting out the SEN support a school provides that is additional to or different from its usual curriculum. The SEND Code of Practice 2015 recommends one, but it is not legally required. The Code calls provision maps an efficient way of showing all the provision the school makes which is additional to and different from the curriculum (para 6.76), and a way for SENCOs to keep an overview of the interventions used with different groups of pupils.
Recommended, not required
This is the line most guidance blurs, so it is worth saying plainly. A provision map is the school's own internal planning and management tool. It is not a statutory document, and it is not a legal entitlement for an individual child the way an EHCP is. The Code is issued under section 77 of the Children and Families Act 2014, so schools must have regard to it, but it suggests provision maps rather than mandating them. A pupil does not need a diagnosis, and does not need an EHCP, to appear on one. Provision mapping applies to any pupil on SEN Support, the stage before an EHCP.
How to create one
Build the map around the graduated approach, the assess, plan, do, review cycle the Code sets out at para 6.44. In practice that is four steps:
- Assess. Gather what you know about each pupil's needs from attainment data, teacher and parent views, and any specialist reports.
- Plan and map. Set the provision against assessed need in three tiers: high-quality teaching for the whole class, group interventions, and individual support.
- Do. Cost and resource each line, name the staff who deliver it, and put it in place.
- Review. Check the impact on progress, ideally every half term, and adjust what is not working.
Most schools keep two views. A whole-school provision map lists every intervention across year groups, which is the strategic view the Code points to at para 6.77: it lets you match provision to assessed need across the school and evaluate its impact on progress. An individual provision map zooms in on one pupil, showing the specific support they receive, by whom and how often.
What a provision map is not
A provision map is not a substitute for an EHCP, and it is not the same as a one-page profile, which is a short pupil-voice summary rather than a record of provision. It is also worth keeping a watch on the direction of travel. The 2026 Schools White Paper and the Education for All Bill have floated a statutory Individual Support Plan for every child with SEND. That proposal is still in consultation, and the government has signalled no changes before September 2030, so as the law stands today provision maps remain good practice, not a duty. For the review side of the cycle, see how to track progress for pupils on SEN support.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.