2:19. Effective management, disciplinary and pastoral arrangements and policies in schools can help prevent some special educational needs arising, and minimise others.  Differentiation of class work within a common curriculum framework will help the school to meet the learning needs of all children.  Schools should not automatically assume that children's learning difficulties always result solely or even mainly from problems within the child.  The school's practices can make a difference - for good or ill.  The governing body, head teacher and SEN coordinator should be alert to any particular patterns in the school's identification and registration of children's special educational needs or parents' expressions of concern and should examine the school's general practices and policies in the light of any such patterns.

The five-stage model

2:20. To give specific help to children who have special educational needs, schools should adopt a staged response.  This approach recognises that there is a continuum of special educational needs and, where necessary, brings increasing specialist expertise to bear on the difficulties that a child may be experiencing.

2:21. This Code sets out a five-stage model - see paragraph 1:4.  Responsibility for pupils within stages 1-3 lies with the school, although the LEA will be closely involved at stage 3. The LEA and the school share responsibility at stages 4 and 5.

2:22. Some schools and LEAs may adopt different models, for example a four-stage approach, with the school taking responsibility for stages 1 and 2, the LEA and the school sharing responsibility at stages 3 and 4. It is not essential that there should be five stages.  It is important, however, that there should be differentiation between the stages, which should aim to match the action taken on behalf of a child to his or her needs.

2:23. The majority of children will not pass through all three school-based stages of assessment and provision.  In many cases action taken at one stage will mean that the child will not have to move on to the next.  Only for those children whose progress continues to cause concern at any one stage will the school need to move to the next stage.  A relatively large proportion of children may be helped by the stage 1 procedures.  Smaller proportions may be at stages 2 or 3.  A very small number of children may fail to progress even with support at stage 3.  For such children the school should consider referral to the LEA with a view to a statutory assessment: information on the child's learning difficulty and the special educational provision made by the school, assisted by external agencies, up to and including stage 3, will form an important part of the evidence to be considered by the LEA in deciding whether to make a statutory assessment at stage 4.

2:24. These stages will not usually be steps on the way to statutory assessment.  Nor are they hurdles to be crossed before a statutory assessment can be made.  They are means of helping schools and parents decide what special educational provision is necessary and to match that provision to the child's needs.  It is for the school, consulting parents, to decide what stage is suitable for a child.  If a child's needs require action at stage 2 or 3, even if no action has previously been taken at stage 1, then action should be taken at stage 2 or 3.