📈 Making the Graduated Response Less Bureaucratic

Practical tools to streamline the graduated approach without drowning in paperwork

👋 Welcome to SEMH Education

I post weekly strategies and insights for professionals supporting children with social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) needs.

I’m Kieran, a former teacher and current Education Officer. Each week, I share evidence-informed tools, practical advice, and real-world reflections to help you create safer, more inclusive learning environments.

📌 In this post: Making the graduated approach more meaningful.

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The Graduated Approach: Working Smarter, Not Writing More

✍️ “It feels like I’m writing essays instead of teaching.”

That’s how a SENCO described the graduated approach to me recently. What should be a structured cycle of “assess, plan, do, review” often becomes an exhausting paperwork treadmill, endless pro formas, meeting minutes, and intervention grids that staff complete late at night.

Here’s the irony: the SEND Code of Practice (2014) never asked for bureaucracy. It asked for a responsive process where staff notice needs, adapt provision, and regularly review outcomes with families and pupils at the centre.

Somewhere along the way, the focus shifted from supporting children to feeding systems.

This post is about reclaiming the graduated approach by helping you think differently about the paperwork you’re already required to complete.

What’s Included in This Post

🔍 The 3-Question Paperwork Audit: A simple framework to evaluate any SEND document before you complete it.

💡 Practical Tips by Document Type: Specific strategies for assessments, interventions, and reviews that save time and increase impact.

🔄 The Mindset Shift: Reframing paperwork from compliance to child-focused practice.

📋 Real Case Study: See a 6-page intervention plan transformed into a focused half-page note

🛠️ Free Download: The Paperwork Sense-Check Flowchart: A one-page visual tool you can print and use every time you’re asked to complete SEND paperwork