Whole school approaches and strategies

• Differentiation or personalisation of task and teaching style to ensure the development of literacy, numeracy, of learners.
• Arrangements to support the use and delivery of approaches and materials for learners with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) which may include multi-sensory teaching strategies, a focus on phonological awareness and motor skills programme.
• Correct and consistent use of scaffolding for learning across the curriculum.
• Short-term, time-limited, targeted and evidence based interventions (Using graduated response).
• Effective use of recommended adaptive resources for individual learning eg, overlays, pencil grips, coloured paper, tinted screens.
• Use of specialised IT equipment to implement specific recommended programmes and applications to support learning. 
• Staff are regularly trained and up-skilled in supporting learners with general and specific learning difficulties across all key stages.

Reasonable adjustments and quality first teaching strategies

Identified barrier and/or need

Provision and/or strategies: approaches, adjustments and specific interventions expected to be made by settings according to the ages and stages of the learners

Difficulties with learning:

Such as despite appropriate differentiation, making less than expected progress over time across the curriculum and/or working below age related expectations

• Adjustment, modification and differentiation of the curriculum, for identified areas of need to enable the learner to fully access the curriculum.
• To identify the area of need for the young learner, using relevant assessment tools and classroom observations.
• To set and review specific achievable SMART targets with the young person, shared with all teaching staff, parents and carers.
• Meta-cognition approaches: learning to learn eg, by trying to understand the learner’s difficulty and asking them what helps.
• Instructions broken into manageable chunks and given in sequence, using simplified language when needed.
• Use of a visual planner to support the organisation of written work.
• Visual cues and prompts use to ensure learner is engaged in active listening and looking and is ready to learn.
• To ensure the teacher has a strong awareness of additional processing needs for some learners to engage and respond.
• Pre-teaching: eg, provision of a teacher or teaching assistant to help prepare the learner for the new subject specific vocabulary.
• Explicit explanation of success criteria for learning.
• Provision of reasonable adjustments should be appropriate to the child’s learning needs and not their chronological age. Modified tracking and assessment tools should reflect the level of differentiation and resources needed.
• Simple changes eg, font, coloured paper, line spacing, lighting, overlays, adaptation, and technology.
• Ensure teaching staff can present relevant and recent evidence of strategies used in differentiation as part of QFT.

Generalised learning difficulties such as difficulties across the curriculum but with some areas of strength. Learners with an uneven profile of skills and attainment

• Adjustment, modification and differentiation of the curriculum, for identified areas of need to enable the learner to fully access the curriculum.
• Meta-cognition approaches: learning to learn eg, by trying to understand the learner’s difficulty and asking them what helps (learner’s voice).
• Consistent planning and tracking of all additional support accessible to all teaching adults, and used in conjunction with learning at home.
• Evidence based interventions to develop skills eg, spelling, handwriting, literacy, numeracy.
• Active learning, concrete, pictorial and pragmatic approach to learning through effective interventions, focusing on the individual’s strengths to overcome barriers to learning.
• Intervention will work on SMART targets that give the learner the required tools to be included in learning alongside their peers in the classroom.
• Emphasis on activities designed to develop skills which will support them to become independent learners.
• Prioritising support to manage self-esteem by celebrating individual’s strengths, successes and develop resilience.
• Use of structured resources such as precision teaching methods to target specific learning goals. For example Toe by Toe, Nessy, adaptive IT resources, Lexia, Word Shark.
• Ensure teaching staff can present relevant and recent evidence of strategies used during structured interventions both within class and on an individual basis.

Specific learning difficulties affecting one or more aspect of learning, eg, literacy, numeracy difficulties or specific language impairment

For all areas of need any provision or support should be provided in line with the needs of the learner and is not dependant on any formal diagnosis

• Ensure the voices of learner, parent or carer are included in all stages of planning
• Inclusive teaching practice, with a balance of specific learning programmes and group work with peers
• Potential investigation to identify learning needs by external professionals
• Ensure teaching staff can present relevant and recent evidence of reviewed interventions to support referrals to external agencies 
• Staff will have been informed of what strategies or approaches to use in line with advice from external assessments or consultation. This may include using adaptive teaching resources or making modifications to their learning environment.
• Staff will have received thorough training to ensure they have both the skills and resources to implement specialist programmes of support