Guidance on preparing a costed provision map
September 2016
The aim of this guidance is to support schools and academies to prepare an accurate and detailed costed provision map for a child or young person with special educational needs or a disability (SEND). It is intended to supplement the guidance document: Identification and Assessment of Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities age 5 to 19 in schools. June 2014.
What is a costed provision map?
A costed provision map is a document which details the additional support provided to a child or young person with SEND and the financial cost of this support. It is a tool to assist schools with planning to meet the needs of pupils with SEND and it can also be used to evaluate the impact of provision for the pupil. The document may be helpful to schools if asked to demonstrate the value for money of the provision for parents / carers or for the purposes of external scrutiny.
When and why will I need a costed provision map?
A costed provision map may be useful in the situations mentioned above.
In addition, for schools, it is an essential element of a submission to the local authority for an education, health and care needs assessment.
The decision to start an EHC needs assessment is made from a consideration of the evidence available about the child / young person’s special educational needs, including consideration of the school’s ability to meet the child / young person’s needs from its element 2 funding of £6,000 per child per year. A costed provision map is an essential tool for providing evidence of spending on the child / young person.
If a decision is made at the end of the EHC needs assessment process to issue an EHC plan, the costed provision map is also important in helping to determine the amount of funding from the high needs block (element 3).
How do I organise a costed provision map?
There is a standard format ‘Individual costed provision map- template’ which can be found on the Ask Ollie website.
The ‘map’ is a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and there is information at the top of the page to assist with its completion.
What can I include on the costed provision map?
Your costed provision map should only include provision which is ‘additional to’ and ‘different from’ that which is available for all pupils.
If relevant, the following items could be included:
1. Additional 1:1 support / provision in place, in hours and minutes per week over 38 weeks. The local authority funds teaching assistant support at level 2.
2. Additional small group support / provision for the pupil, in hours and minutes per week over 38 weeks. The support per pupil will be a proportion of the total cost. For example, support for 1 child in a group of 3 should be shown as one third of the cost.
3. Any educational resources purchased specifically for the pupil.
4. Specialist support from a professional, for example a specialist teacher, in hours and minutes per week over 38 weeks, using actual costs.
5. Additional support at lunchtime.
What can’t be included on the costed provision map?
‘General’ provision which benefits all pupils should not be included as this is funded from a different source. More specifically, the following items cannot be included:
1. Resources which are used with the whole class.
2. Universal services for the benefit of all pupils, for example, SENCO time.
3. Financial support for trips and outings.
4. Time for staff to plan and prepare lessons and resources.
5. Time for staff to attend meetings about the child / young person.
6. Adaptations to buildings.
7. Furniture.
What time period should be covered by a costed provision map?
This should cover the current term and the previous two terms.
Use of a timetable
If in-class support is being used, a costed provision map should be accompanied by a timetable to indicate where this takes place.