Guides
Guides for SENCos and inclusion leads
Practical, jargon-light explanations of the documents, processes, and evidence habits that SEND work runs on. Written for the people actually doing the work, not the people writing the policy.
EHCP
What is an EHCP? A complete guide
What an EHCP is, who qualifies, how the 20-week assessment process works, what sits in each section, and how it differs from SEN Support.
EHCP
EHCP outcomes: examples and how to write them
Worked Section E outcomes across communication, cognition, SEMH and physical needs — with the phrasing that survives annual review and the phrasing that doesn't.
Statutory framework
What is the SEND Code of Practice?
The statutory guidance behind every SEND decision in England, its core principles, and what it actually requires of schools.
Process
The graduated response: assess, plan, do, review
The cycle underneath every SEND decision, explained step by step, with the mistakes that most commonly break it.
Provision & funding
What is provision mapping? A complete guide
What a provision map actually is, a worked example row, how to cost it for EHCP top-up funding, and why spreadsheets stop being enough.
Records & compliance
The SEND register: who goes on it and what to record
Who belongs on the register, a copyable column structure, how it reconciles with the census and provision map, and when pupils come off it.
Records & compliance
Managing SEND pupil data: retention, access and SARs
How long to keep SEND records, who in school may see what, how to handle a subject access request, what transfers when a pupil leaves, and where spreadsheets fail.
Plans & documentation
SEN support plan vs pupil passport
How the two documents differ, when each is right, and what the SEND Code of Practice actually requires you to record.
Plans & documentation
One-page profile template: structure and wording
The three person-centred headings, worked strong and weak wording for each, and how a profile differs from a passport or a plan.
Terminology
IEP vs SEN support plan: is there still a difference?
"IEP" is technically outdated in England, but still used everywhere. Here's the real history and why the substance matters more than the label.
Areas of need
What is SEMH?
Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs explained, how they present in the classroom, and how to tell SEMH from a behaviour choice.
For parents
Access arrangements: a guide for parents
What exam access arrangements actually are, how schools decide who qualifies, and why raising concerns early matters.
Attendance & moves
Reduced timetables and managed moves
What each is meant to be, why neither should be indefinite, how both differ from exclusion, and the documentation that keeps them defensible.
AI & safety
AI for SENCos: a plain-English guide
Where AI genuinely helps SEND work, what to never put into a general chatbot, DfE alignment, and a 5-question checklist for choosing a tool.
Comparisons
Evaluating OMNIA against your current tools?
Feature-by-feature comparisons and migration guidance for schools switching from spreadsheets or existing SEND platforms.
More guides in progress. Something you'd like us to cover? Tell us.