SENDCOs

You aren't required to have a provision map, but the SEND Code of Practice (see paragraph 6.76) suggests them to help you keep an overview of programmes and interventions for different groups of pupils.

Why use a provision map?

Think of your special educational needs (SEN) provision map as a tool that can help you:

• Develop provision that meets the needs of your pupils
• Evaluate the impact of your provision on pupil progress
• Identify patterns of need, and areas for staff development
• Decide which interventions are worth carrying out (whether the time and resource invested are worth the outcome) 

It does this by showing you, at a glance:

• What interventions are taking place in your school
• The evidence base you have for running those interventions
• The time and resource invested in an intervention
• How effective those interventions are
• Your provision map should set out any provision that is additional to or different from your differentiated curriculum.
• The SENCO should be using the provision map to monitor the level of interventions and make strategic decisions about SEN provision.
• In some schools, the responsibility for using and maintaining the provision map sits squarely on the shoulders of the SENCO, and other members of staff rarely engage with it. It's worth challenging this assumption in your school, so your SEN provision is as effective as possible.