Conceptualising graduated approach guidance: A review of local authorities' resources and development of a reflective framework

Abstract

Local authority-authored graduated approach guidance fulfils an important role in supporting schools to make provision for pupils with special educational needs. In the absence of a national framework, the content of guidance documents varies between local authorities. Understanding how graduated approach guidances are constructed can help identify best practice, but research about what the documents should contain is scarce. This review examines how graduated approach guidance is conceptualised across English local authorities using a two-phase process (analysis of documents to detail key themes and produce a framework to evaluate guidances, and applying this framework to a representative sample of English local authority guidances). Findings are presented under the nine framework sections. The wide range of graduated approach conceptualisations have led to calls for a uniform strategy to meet the needs of learners with special educational needs and disabilities, to avoid provision being ‘bolted on’. Implications for policy and practice and future research opportunities are considered.