Identification of need and inclusive provision

The Inclusion and SEND team has produced tools to improve support for mainstream educational settings in managing their provision for children with additional needs.

The tools are:

• An identification of needs descriptors in educational settings (INDES) framework of standardised terms breaking down the broad areas of SEND into seven specific sections which describe need
• An inclusion and provision self-evaluation framework (IPSEF) that settings can use to evaluate their provision to support inclusive practice and to demonstrate their compliance against the Ofsted framework, legal requirements, and Norfolk County Council's Provision Expected at SEN Support, known as PEaSS. It is intended to effectively be a 'one-stop tool' for settings to evaluate themselves.
• Graduated Provision Mapping guidance and template.  Settings can use this to capture their SEND provision, and associated costs, at a Universal, Targeted and enhanced level.  This allows a setting to ensure that provision is in place to meet the profile of needs identified in their setting.

Information and guidance

Core tools and guidance

• INDES/IPSEF Document Upload
• Implementing the INDES and IPSEF tools (opens new window) (Video)
• INDES self-serve learning module
• INDES Implementation Guide (PDF, 1 MB)
• INDES complete web form (Word doc, 66 KB)
• INDES complete web form (PDF, 341 KB) - also Handout 1 in the INDES IPSEF Staff Meeting resources and handouts list below
• INDES descriptors - tabular format (PDF, 270 KB) - also Handout 2 in the INDES IPSEF Staff Meeting resources and handouts list below
   
• IPSEF self-serve learning module
• IPSEF Implementation Guide (PDF, 1 MB)
• IPSEF complete web form (PDF, 295 KB)
   
• Graduated Provision Mapping self-serve learning module
• Graduated provision mapping walkthrough
• Whole school graduated provision map (Excel doc, 100 KB)

Supporting tools and guidance

• INDES guide to complete SLCN section (PDF, 148 KB) - also Handout 3 in the INDES IPSEF Staff Meeting resources and handouts list below
• INDES IPSEF parent / carer communication (PDF, 284 KB)
• INDES data collation tool (Excel doc, 332 KB) (optional)
• IPSEF action planning tool (Word doc, 210 KB) (optional)
• IPSEF report for provision (Excel doc, 415 KB) (optional)
• Inclusion in a Nutshell - Primary (Excel doc, 927 KB) (optional)
• Inclusion in a Nutshell - Secondary (Excel doc, 890 KB) (optional)
• INDES IPSEF Staff meeting resources and handouts:
  • Introduction Staff Meeting template (Powerpoint, 1 MB)
  • Handout 1 Complete INDES web form - Please see INDES complete web form (PDF) above
  • Handout 2 INDES descriptors table - Please see INDES descriptors - tabular format above
  • Handout 3 INDES guide to complete SLCN section - Please see INDES guide to complete SLCN section above
  • Handout 4 Shared Example: Polly (PDF, 182 KB)
  • Handout 5 Completed INDES descriptors table shared example: Polly (PDF, 467 KB)
  • Handout 6 Shared example: Jake (PDF, 181 KB)
  • Handout 7 Completed INDES descriptors table shared example: Jake (PDF, 470 KB)
  • Handout 8 PEaSS document: To ensure you have the most up to date version, download the Provision Expected at SEN Support (PEaSS) guidance 
  • Handout 9 PEaSS posters: These are currently not able to be hosted on our website due to accessibility criteria. We are working to address this. For the time being, the posters can be accessed via our Inclusion and SEND Learning Network Sharepoint site. If you do not currently have access to the SharePoint site, request access by emailing: [email protected].

INDES are a framework of standardised terms, co-produced and facilitated by the Inclusion and SEND team, breaking down the broad areas of SEND into seven specific sections which describe need:

• Physical disability (including physical and neurological impairment, medical, independence and sensory)
• Deafness
• Visual impairment
• Speech and language
• Social communication and interaction
• Social, emotional and mental health
• Learning and cognition difficulties (including behaviour for learning)

When identifying a child or young person's needs as part of the assess, plan, do, review process (SEND Code of Practice, 2015), professionals use statements within the above that best describe presentation of need from typically developing to complex. Inclusion and SEND have produced an INDES implementation guide (PDF, 1 MB) to support settings in its use.

Go to the INDES web form.

An INDES data collation tool (Excel doc, 332 KB) has been created to aid settings to collate information about a cohort of children and young people from a variety of sources before completing a web form.

See also the INDES guide to complete SLCN section (PDF, 148 KB), a table showing the four different factors considered within the speech language and communication needs (SLCN) descriptors.

The benefits for education settings:

The use of INDES means educational settings and all other SEND professionals in Norfolk use a common language and terms of reference which give an "at-a-glance" high context presentation of need.

This helps to quickly and clearly identify a child's needs so provision, Element 3 funding and services can be put in place more swiftly and all professionals have a clear view of the profile of need. The INDES also aid communications with parents and carers, and provide detail to aid census returns.

INDES also support education, health and care plan (EHCP) referrals and reviews for children and young people and can be used to support phase transfer or transitions as well as document a child's progress over time.

The benefits of INDES for county council:

Educational settings should use the INDES alongside the Inclusion and Provision SEF (IPSEF) so we can create a reliable and high-quality standardised set of data to help us:

• Better plan the deployment of our services
• Make effective and efficient budgetary decisions
• Identify gaps in our services and in setting provision
• Correctly contrast and compare areas
• More quickly process funding requests to support educational settings
• Help us measure our impact

It is recommended that INDES be reviewed at least annually for each child or young person with SEND on an educational setting's roll. The best time for this to take place is at review stages for those with EHCPs or on SEN Support lists at the discretion of education settings in agreement with children and their families.

Moderation:

We would recommend that education settings conduct their own internal and external moderation to ensure consistency across an organisation, trust or cluster. The Inclusion and SEND team will conduct moderation exercises throughout an academic year through an INDES Moderation Panel (IMP).

The INDES moderation panel is made up of professionals from education settings and NCC SEND and Inclusion teams. Please see the INDES Implementation guide (PDF, 1 MB) for further detail regarding the INDES Moderation Panel.

Expressions of interest in joining the moderation panel will be considered - please contact the Inclusion and SEND team via the [email protected] mailbox.

IPSEF is a framework that settings can use to evaluate their provision to support inclusive practice and to demonstrate their compliance against the Ofsted framework, legal requirements, and Norfolk County Council's Provision Expected at SEN Support (PEaSS). It is intended to effectively be a 'one-stop tool' for settings to evaluate themselves. Inclusion and SEND have produced an IPSEF implementation guide (PDF, 1 MB) to support settings in its use.

Go to the IPSEF web form.

An optional IPSEF report for provision (Excel doc, 415 KB) has been created to provide settings with one page reports for each IPSEF section, and compare IPSEF results across a number of settings. Settings can also use the optional IPSEF action planning tool (Word doc, 210 KB) to record key actions they have identified when completing the IPSEF.

The IPSEF focuses on:

• Culture and ethos
• Provision
• Independence

The benefits for education settings:

The IPSEF will inform your planning for the new financial and academic years and can be used to measure improvement progress from year to year. It will help you to make effective, efficient budgetary decisions and will reduce workload as educational settings can capture all required performance in one place.

The benefits for county council:

The IPSEF creates a methodology the council can use to understand an educational setting's inclusion and SEND context. This can be specific to an individual, or aggregated data can enable the review of multiple settings.

Educational settings should use the IPSEF alongside the Identification of needs descriptors in educational settings so we can create a reliable and high-quality standard set of data to help us:

• Better plan the deployment of our services
• Make effective and efficient budgetary decisions
• Identify gaps in our services and in settings provision
• Correctly contrast and compare areas
• More quickly process funding requests to support educational settings
• Help us measure our impact

It is recommended that education settings complete an IPSEF once a year, and that the IPSEF is an integral part of a their cycle of self-evaluation and development planning. Settings are encouraged to conduct their own external moderation to ensure consistency within a trust or cluster. The Inclusion and SEND team will co-ordinate IPSEF Peer Reviews which provide an opportunity for SEND professionals in a local area to share good practice, successes and areas of development identified through the IPSEF. For further information on IPSEF Peer Reviews, please see the IPSEF Implementation Guide.

Schools and trusts have the flexibility to develop their own internal specialist provisions within mainstream environments to support the increasing complexity of pupil needs. While these provisions are not formally designated by the local authority, they play a crucial role in promoting inclusive education.

In Norfolk, we refer to these as "Enhanced SEND Provisions", though individual schools and trusts may use different terminology to describe their approach.

ESPs are school run, teacher-led interventions rather than registered SEN provisions and therefore are separate to the extended family of countywide Specialist Resource Base (SRBs) provisions and Specialist Hubs of Inclusive Practice (SHIPS).  Places in an ESP form part of the school published admission number (PAN).

They are small group classes (preferably led by a teacher) which aim to provide tailored support through an adapted but still ambitious curriculum for a specific cohort of children. This will support them to thrive in their mainstream setting and/or transition back into mainstream classes where appropriate for them.

They are funded as part of a setting's Element 3 allocation and are a more efficient use of existing Element 3 funding.

Enhanced SEND Provision Toolkit

During the 2024-2025 academic year, Norfolk SEND advisers worked in partnership with 23 mainstream schools to pilot the development of Enhanced SEND Provisions (ESPs). This collaboration explored how ESPs could be designed and delivered within mainstream settings to support pupils with increasingly complex needs.

Through this collaborative work, more than 470 children received targeted support, with 90 successfully transitioning back into mainstream classrooms. This piece of work provided valuable insight into what makes ESPs effective, sustainable, and inclusive.

We've used this learning to develop an ESP toolkit which you'll find available on this website. Schools running or developing ESPs will be supported through their Team Around the School (TAS), alongside the opportunity to engage with an ESP network and CPD events.

The toolkit consists of: 

• Operational Guide: This details best practice around establishing, maintaining, adapting and closing ESPs. It includes case studies, examples of assessment tools and proformas to capture data.
  Enhanced SEND Provisions (ESP) Guide (PDF, 1 MB)
• Self-Evaluation Framework: Developed in conjunction with Natalie Packer et al and should be used alongside IPSEF, GPM and SDP. 
  ESP Self Evaluation Framework (Word doc, 196 KB)
• Termly Review of ESP for SENDCo and Lead Teachers. 
  Termly review of ESP for SENDCo & Lead Teachers (Word doc, 107 KB)

If you're interested in developing an ESP in your school, please review the guidance and tools on this webpage, and discuss at your next Team Around the School meeting.

ESP Network

We're pleased to offer half-termly networking opportunities designed around the areas schools have identified as most in need of support. This Network offer includes six sessions spread across the academic year, with flexible access—settings are welcome to attend as many meetings as they find useful. Full details, including session dates and booking information, will be available on the Norfolk Services for Schools website under the  Training & Events section.

The NHS Children and Young People's Health Service is developing a new digital Early Needs and Support Mapping Tool to help ensure that children and young people (CYP) in Norfolk and Waveney receive the right support at the right time.  This work is being developed through the System Collaborative programme, with children and young people, families and professionals collaborating, ensuring the tool is informed by lived experience and professional expertise. It aligns with the national SEND Reform, emphasising earlier identification of need, clearer information for families, and more consistent pathways of support.

The proposal for the digital tool, which will be hosted on the Just One Norfolk website, will support earlier identification of strengths and needs, match children's needs with the right support, and enable quicker, more flexible access to support.  A first version will be available by April 2027 and will continue to evolve, with ongoing testing with CYP and families to ensure the tool is safe, effective and user‑friendly. It is not intended to replace any existing practice.

Expectations for identification of need in schools

INDES (Identification of Needs in Educational Settings) remains the required approach for all CYP in your setting who have additional needs, including those who join mid-phase. Please continue to complete the INDES webform, using it alongside existing tools such as the Graduated Provision Map (GPM) and the Inclusion and Provision Self-Evaluation Framework (IPSEF).

Using these tools together will help ensure identification of needs—both for individual CYP and across cohorts—is accurate, holistic and consistent. Information gathered should be used to plan effective provision, monitor progress and review support in line with statutory expectations. Collectively, these tools provide a robust framework for understanding your school's profile of need and ensuring provision remains well targeted and effective.