The graduated approach is the four-stage cycle of assess, plan, do, review (APDR) that colleges and training providers use to find and meet learners’ additional needs, and it is what Ofsted’s inspectors look for when they grade inclusion in further education and skills. It comes from the special educational needs and disability (SEND) Code of Practice, statutory guidance that colleges must have regard to. This guide is written for further education (FE) colleges and apprenticeship providers, not schools.
What is APDR?
APDR stands for assess, plan, do, review: the four stages of the graduated approach, where each review informs the next round of assessment and planning. It is a cycle, not a one-off: the SEND Code describes a cyclical approach, so support can be adjusted where necessary.
What does assess, plan, do, review mean?
Assess, plan, do, review means assessing each learner’s needs, agreeing a plan with them, delivering the adjustments in sessions, then reviewing whether the support works and deciding what happens next. In a college or training provider, each stage has its own record and its own owner.
| Stage | What it means in a college or training provider | What is recorded | Who does it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assess | Start by assessing every learner at enrolment or induction, not only those who declare a need. The result is a starting point for a conversation, never a diagnosis. See how to identify learning needs. | The outcome, the potential barriers to discuss and the learner’s own account | Learning support coordinator, with the learner |
| Plan | Support begins by drafting a plan the learner agrees. The learner may decline: that is a valid, recorded choice, not a failure. See how to write a learning support plan. | The barrier, each adjustment and why, who delivers it, and the review date | Learning support coordinator or a trained tutor, with the learner |
| Do | Tutors and assessors make the agreed adjustments in sessions, in the flow of learning, not as an add-on. Read more on delivering and reviewing support and inclusive practices in education. | What was delivered, the learner’s response and the impact | Tutor, skills coach or assessor |
| Review | On a set cadence, check whether the support is working and decide to continue, adapt, reduce or close it. | The decision and the reason for it | Progress coach or learning support coordinator, with the tutor and the learner |
What is the Ofsted graduated approach?
The Ofsted graduated approach is not a separate Ofsted method. It is the SEND Code of Practice’s cycle of assess, plan, do, review, which Ofsted’s FE and skills inspection toolkit expects every provider to use well, with staff trained to implement it.
At expected standard, the toolkit (v2.0, for use from September 2026) puts it in Ofsted’s own words:
Leaders take an appropriate ‘graduated’ approach (a continuous cycle of ‘assess, plan, do and review’ that helps learners and apprentices to receive an appropriate level of support), which generally meets learners’ and apprentices’ needs well. Staff receive suitable training and support to implement this approach.
At strong standard, leaders go further, reviewing and adapting support systematically, and the toolkit adds: “Leaders consistently identify when additional learning support is no longer required or can be reduced, so learners and apprentices are well prepared to become more independent and to move on to the next stage of their learning and employment.”
Inclusion is now its own graded evaluation area in FE and skills inspections, with five grades: see the inclusion grades, side by side.
Where the graduated approach comes from
The graduated approach comes from the SEND Code of Practice (2015), statutory guidance on special educational needs from birth to 25. For colleges, chapter 7 sets out the cycle:
Colleges should take a cyclical approach to assessing need, planning and providing support, and reviewing and evaluating that support so that it can be adjusted where necessary. They should involve the student and, particularly for those aged 16 to 18, their parents, closely at all stages of the cycle, planning around the individual, and they should ensure that staff have the skills to do this effectively.
The names “graduated approach” and “assess, plan, do, review” come from the Code’s early years and schools chapters (paragraphs 5.38 and 6.44); chapter 7 describes the same cycle without either name.
FE colleges, sixth form colleges, 16 to 19 academies and approved independent specialist colleges must have regard to the Code (paragraph 7.3). Independent training providers (ITPs) are not on that list, but Ofsted’s toolkit expects the graduated approach of every FE and skills provider it inspects.
What changed is the accountability: inclusion is now graded as its own area. The method did not change.
How often should support be reviewed?
Review support on a set cadence, and decide each time whether to continue, adapt, reduce or close it. For apprenticeship learning support in 2026 to 2027, learning support guidance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) puts the first review one month after the adjustments start, and the apprenticeship funding rules then set reviews at least every three calendar months (paragraph 44.5): see setting the review dates.
What the funding rules require of a support plan
Under the apprenticeship funding rules and DWP’s learning support guidance for 2026 to 2027, the apprentice agrees the plan before any claim, in writing as DWP’s guidance asks, and the delivery and reviews behind each claim are evidenced. Good records are evidence of good practice, and funding is the provider’s own claim: see what the funding rules ask of the plan and how learning support funding works.
Running the cycle across a whole cohort
Run the graduated approach across a whole cohort by assessing every learner at enrolment, letting non-specialists draft plans the learner agrees, training the staff in the room to deliver adjustments, and sending specialists where they are needed. Leaders keep it consistent across teams through leadership oversight of the cycle.
Start with everyone, not only learners who declare a need. Approximately 1 in 3 learners we assess in FE and apprenticeships may have a cognitive barrier that warrants support, and some of them may have a barrier that self-declaration misses (Cognassist assessment data). Each flag is a potential barrier for a tutor’s judgement, not a diagnosis. Educationwise, a national training provider, sets every apprentice up to take the cognitive assessment at enrolment.
For us it was always every learner. Maths and English initial assessments are mandatory, and when we first started in 21/22, we wanted all learners to have the same opportunities.
Then train the people who already teach. Ofsted’s expected standard looks for staff trained and supported to implement the approach, and how to support SEND students in the classroom covers the everyday adjustments. Educationwise trained its functional skills tutors to give individual support:
We upskilled our functional skills tutors into a dual role we call learner inclusion support tutors. They’ve got more dedicated time to spend with the learners, to really individualise support based on their needs and their barriers.
Its learner inclusion support tutors work with each learner’s main tutor, recording evidence each month and formally reviewing support at least every three months.
When to step support down
Step support down when a review shows an adjustment is no longer needed: record the decision and, on apprenticeship learning support, stop claiming from that date (the apprenticeship funding rules 2026 to 2027, paragraph 44.5.1). The point is the learner’s independence, the purpose Ofsted’s strong standard gives it.
By Cognassist’s count of 499 Ofsted reports on FE and skills providers published from 12 January to 29 October 2026, inspectors praised support reviewed and adapted in 284, wrote that support was given but its impact not reviewed in 74, and recorded support never stepped down in 26.
Educationwise was graded strong standard for inclusion by Ofsted (inspected July 2026). Inspectors wrote: “They review the support they provide critically and adjust this over time to ensure that it remains impactful or can be removed” (Ofsted inspection report, The Educationwise Academy, July 2026).
The learner decides whether to carry on, and can come back to support:
At any point throughout their journey, they have an option to opt out, we refer to it as learner support graduation. All learners have an opportunity to opt back in at any point.
Check your practice with the Ofsted inclusion checklist to see how your reviews and step-down decisions compare with what inspectors ask.
A worked example: one apprentice’s cycle
This example is illustrative: one apprentice’s learning support from enrolment to step-down, on the 2026 to 2027 timings.
| When | Stage | What happens | What is recorded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enrolment | Assess | The apprentice takes the cognitive assessment alongside their initial assessments and gives their own account. The result is a starting point, never a diagnosis. | The outcome and the potential barriers to discuss |
| Before any claim | Plan | The apprentice agrees the plan in writing, or declines support. | The agreed plan, or the choice to decline |
| First month | Do | Tutors and assessors deliver the agreed adjustments in sessions. | What was delivered each month, the apprentice’s response and the impact |
| One month after the adjustments start | Review | The first review: are the adjustments working? Continue, adapt, reduce or close. | The decision and the reason for it |
| At least every three calendar months | Review | Confirm the adjustments are still necessary and effective. This can be combined with the progress review, with evidence of both. | The decision, and evidence of both reviews |
| When the need has passed | Step down | A review finds the adjustment is no longer needed. Support stops, and so do claims, from that date. | The decision and its date |
The timings follow the apprenticeship funding rules (paragraphs 44.5, 44.5.1 and 102.3) and DWP’s learning support guidance (the plan agreed in writing; the first review one month after the adjustments start) for 2026 to 2027. Learning support claims apply only where the support costs money and is additional to everyday teaching. Where a need is stable because of a permanent disability, the funding rules allow a light-touch review.
