Guidance for Individual Educational Programmes: About Individual Educational Programmes
An Individual Educational Programme (IEP) is a non-statutory document. It is used to plan specific aspects of education for a child or young person who needs some element of their curriculum to be individualised beyond the universal level of Additional Support Needs (ASN) planning already in place.
The child or young person and their family must be involved in the development of an IEP. This is a legislative entitlement and duty.
Outcomes within an IEP can relate to any aspect of a child or young person’s identified need that bridge across the totality of the curriculum These can include outcomes suggested by the child or young person’s themselves, their parents/carers or other agencies which can be supported by the school.
On its own, an IEP is not a curriculum planner for a child or young person who has one; it is only for the aspects that cannot be planned for within educational group or class planning. Wherever possible, differentiation and reasonable adaptions to enable access to curricular subjects should be evident within group or class planning.
An individualised curricular pathway or plan can sit alongside ASL planning at any level as part of the teacher’s group/class planning.
IEP outcomes may already be, or can be, incorporating into the ASL planning already in place and reviewed in line with statutory duties.
In all cases, it is the way in which an IEP is used, rather than the format of the document itself, that is key to the effective delivery, impact and measurable outcomes for children and young people.
What an IEP is for
Universal planning should meet the needs of most children and young people. The class teacher will plan to meet the needs of all children and young people at a whole-class or group level. This includes universal ASL planning.
Universal support starts with the ethos, climate and relationships within every learning environment. All practitioners must take a child-centred approach to planning. This promotes and supports wellbeing, inclusion equality and fairness.
An IEP is a non-statutory document used when whole-class or group planning does not meet individual needs. Practitioners should develop the IEP with the child or young person and their family. This collaborative approach fulfils legislative duties and entitlements. It also enables everyone to identify and review agreed targets and outcomes together.
Assess the child or young person’s needs to establish an IEP. This may be part of a staged intervention process. Only consider an IEP when universal planning cannot meet a specific need. This may include:
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wellbeing and emotional support
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adapted learning and teaching supports and strategies that need personalisation
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use of personalised technological support
IEP outcomes or targets may be part of a Child’s Plan or similar planning document. In a small number of cases, an IEP can be a standalone document. The child or young person should be able to access IEP outcomes and targets in an accessible format.
