UNIT 7: Key Ingredients of an Individual Education Plan (IEP) Explained

UNIT 7: Special Needs and Inclusive Education 


Now that you have reflected on the questions about IEPs, here is some more information to help you to answer them well:
Key questions
 1
What is an Individual Education Plan (IEP)?
An IEP is a personalised learning support plan which is put together to support a learner with a Special Educational Need, It gives a clear view of the learner’s strengths and needs and the ways that teachers can support the learner with Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities in the classroom, around the school and with their learning.
 2

What is the key objective of an IEP?
The IEP should: (1) identify and meet all of the learner’s needs that result from the SEN and/or disability; (2) enable the learner to be involved in, and make good progress in, the CBC; (3) meet each of the learner's other educational needs that may need to be supported and (4) provide practical strategies for all teachers to use with the learner, consistently, to enable the learner to make good progress.
 3
Who needs one, and why?
Learners with a confirmed Special Educational Need and/or disability should have an IEP. The IEP will help the learner, parents/caregivers, teachers and the SEN specialists in the school to ensure that s/he makes good progress.
 4
Who is responsible for creating and managing an IEP?
Ideally, the IEP should be written, and managed, by the person at school who is closest to the learner and their learning and who has overall leadership of the SEN provision. The information in the IEP will come from a range of people such as the SEN specialist,/coordinator in school, the Director of Studies, the Head Teacher, the learner’s class teacher, the parents/caregivers and the learner him/herself too, if appropriate. One person in the school should be overall responsible for maintaining the SEN data and this will include a folder of IEPs which will be confidentially maintained.
 5
When do we need to create an IEP?
As soon as a learner has been identified as having a SEN and/or disability, the team led by the SEN coordinator should start working on the IEP to identify the learner’s gaps and ways to support the learner effectively, to set goals, to monitor progress against targets and to inform/ involve the parents and the learner in the IEP’s development.
 6
Who are the main stakeholders and users of an IEP?
The learner is the key stakeholder here! There should be a team working closely together to develop the IEP, who are all stakeholders. All teachers who teach and interact with the learner are stakeholders and sometimes outside organisations will also have to be involved and so they will be stakeholders too.
 7

How can we identify learners' specific SEN needs to then be able to plan their IEP? 
As teachers spend time and interact with their learners a lot during the school day, they are best placed to identify a learner who may be struggling in their learning in one way or another. Ideally, the class teacher who is close to the learner should be able to refer their concerns to the school leadership and the specialist in SEN, who can then observe, diagnose and support the learner, his/her teachers and parents/carers by creating the IEP and setting appropriate goals for learning to continue.
 8
Following an official / professional assessment by a SEND coordinator,  how can the team best plan the learner’s priority needs 🡪 the strategies to use to help 🡪 and set targets for this learner to work towards?

This is the most challenging aspect in developing an effective IEP. Once an analysis of the SEN has been made (by a trained specialist), the team should discuss and agree on 2-3 priorities for the learner. With each priority, they should also agree together on targets to set the learner to track his/her progress, which strategies would best help, and what the 'progress’ will look like in reality. 

It is good to set SMART targets for the learner - these are targets which are SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, RELEVANT AND TIMED -  as this helps everyone to see progress and to feel positive about the learner’s learning and development.
 9
Is an IEP a document that never changes or a ‘live’ document that can be updated and changed?

The IEP is a ‘live’ document and so the goals and plans need to be updated – they are not fixed, as you want your learners to make progress and move forward. The IEP may need to be updated on a termly or (bi)-annual basis,  and especially when the learner is moving from one class to the next.
 10
How often do we need to review a learner’s IEP?
The IEP needs to be reviewed and updated regularly, with new goals/targets and strategies added.  There is no fixed time frame for reviewing an IEP – it will be individual to the learner, and dependent on progress. A termly review or a twice-annual review may be the best.  The key point is that reviews must take place, with clear evidence provided on the learner’s progress or of any issues that may be developing or appearing. After discussions on positive aspects of progress and any challenges, the team can plan the next steps and make a new version of the IEP which can be shared with all stakeholders.
 11

Who should be involved in reviewing and updating the IEP?
The learner is the most important stakeholder of course, but, as discussed previously, there should be a whole team working closely together, comprising the learner, family, teachers and specialists. The IEP will be tracked continually by the Special Educational Needs teacher, if there is one at your school, or by the school leader who has overall responsibility for Special Educational Needs in your school.

So, the most important  ideas to keep in mind related to IEPs are:

  •  The school leaders and SEN specialist(s) should produce and share quality Individual Education Plans with all teachers who work with the learner
  • The IEP must provide reliable information on the learner’s strengths
  • The IEP must focus on the specific needs of the learner and provide strategies to support and guide all teachers who teach and interact with the learner
  • The IEP must be tracked continuously and updated once per term.


Last modified: Monday, 9 October 2023, 4:24 PM