Guides
One-page profile template
The three person-centred headings, worked wording for each, and the difference between a profile and a passport.
What it is
One side of A4, written with the pupil
A one-page profile is a short person-centred summary of who a pupil is, what matters to them, and how adults can support them well. It came out of person-centred planning practice in social care and is now used widely across UK schools, at transition points, in annual reviews, and as the front page of an EHCP or SEN support plan.
It has no statutory status. It is not required by the SEND Code of Practice, and it does not carry targets, provision, or a review cycle. Its value is that a new adult can read it in under a minute and treat the pupil as a person rather than a diagnosis.
The template
Three headings, and the wording that works
Every credible version of the one-page profile uses these three headings or a close paraphrase. What separates a useful profile from a decorative one is the specificity of the writing, so each heading below shows wording that works and wording that doesn't.
What people appreciate about me
Written by others about the pupil, in the third person. Strengths, not compliance.
Works: Ella notices when someone is left out and goes and sits with them. She is the first to volunteer to look after the class guinea pig.
Doesn't: Ella is a lovely girl who tries hard.
What's important to me
The pupil's own words, first person. What matters to them, not what adults want from them.
Works: I need to know what's happening next. I like having the visual timetable on my desk, not on the wall. My friend Amir usually sits next to me and that helps.
Doesn't: Ella likes routine and gets anxious with change.
How best to support me
Concrete, actionable, and specific enough that a supply teacher could act on it today.
Works: Give me a two-minute warning before we change activity. If I put my head down, don't ask me questions — leave it five minutes and I'll come back on my own.
Doesn't: Be patient and give Ella time to process.
Common failures
Four ways profiles stop being useful
Written about the pupil, not with them. If the "what's important to me" section is in the third person, it isn't a person-centred profile — it's a staff note with a photo on it.
Deficit framing. A profile that lists what a pupil can't do duplicates the plan and undermines the point. Needs belong on the SEN support plan; strengths and preferences belong here.
Too general to act on. "Be patient" is not a strategy. "Give a two-minute warning before transitions" is.
Never updated. Profiles written in Year 3 and still in circulation in Year 6 actively mislead. Date it, and review it at every transition.
How it fits
Profile, passport, plan
A one-page profile describes the person. A pupil passport is the practical handover — needs, triggers, strategies, who to call — written for the adult picking up the class. A SEN support plan carries the outcomes, the provision, and the review cycle, and is the document that has to stand up under scrutiny.
Plenty of schools merge the first two into one document, and that's fine, provided the pupil's own voice isn't quietly edited out in the process. See SEN support plan vs pupil passport for the full comparison.
Want the fillable, printable version?
Our pupil passport template fills in the browser and prints to one page. No sign-up.
Open the pupil passport template →Common questions
Frequently asked
What are the three headings on a one-page profile?
What people appreciate about me, what's important to me, and how best to support me. The wording varies between local authorities, but those three questions are the person-centred core and every recognised version maps onto them.
Is a one-page profile the same as a pupil passport?
No. A one-page profile is person-centred and written in the pupil's voice — it describes the person. A pupil passport is a practical handover document for staff, usually including needs, triggers and strategies. Many schools merge them; it works as long as the pupil's voice survives the merge.
Does a one-page profile replace a SEN support plan?
No. A profile has no targets, no review cycle and no provision detail. It sits alongside a SEN support plan or EHCP, not instead of one.
Who writes it?
The pupil, with support. An adult-authored profile written about a child rather than with them is the single most common failure, and it is obvious to read.
How often should it be updated?
At least annually, and always at transition — new class, new key stage, new school. A profile listing a strategy that stopped working two years ago is worse than no profile.
Related: the SEND register and provision mapping.