Definition
A provision map is the school's record of the SEND interventions and provision in place for individuals, groups, and year groups. It is used to plan, monitor, and evidence the impact of support, and is the working document the SENCO maintains under the graduated approach (SEND Code of Practice 6.76).
In context for parents
Key checkpoints
- Provision map is the school's record of SEND interventions and provision for individuals, groups, and year groups.
- SEND Code of Practice 6.76 names provision mapping as the standard way schools manage and review SEN Support.
- Tracks interventions, frequency, who delivers, costing against notional SEN budget, and impact.
- Parents have a UK GDPR / Data Protection Act 2018 subject access right to the child's own row.
- Strong provision map evidence is one of the most useful documents in an EHC needs assessment request.
The provision map is the school-side accounting tool for SEND. Each child on the SEND register appears, with their named interventions, frequency, who delivers, cost (often roughly costed against the school's notional SEN budget), and impact measurement. At year-group level it shows clusters ("all Year 4 receiving daily phonics intervention", "small-group SaLT for nine pupils") that help the SENCO see where need is concentrating and where intervention capacity is going.
A well-run provision map is one of the most useful documents in any EHC needs assessment request. It evidences the graduated approach: what was tried, for how long, by whom, with what cost, and with what outcome. The SEND Code (6.76) names provision mapping as the standard way schools manage and review the impact of SEN Support, and OFSTED inspections frequently ask to see one.
What parents are entitled to see. The Information Commissioner's Office has confirmed in published guidance that a parent has a Subject Access Request right under UK GDPR / Data Protection Act 2018 to copies of all personal data the school holds about their child, which includes the part of the provision map relating to that child. The school does not have to share the whole provision map (which contains other children's data); they must share the child's own row plus any other relevant information.
What a parent should ask:
- Is my child on the provision map?
- What is recorded under each cycle?
- What is the costed intervention and is it being delivered?
- What has the impact assessment shown over the last three cycles?
Related terms
The terms parents most often see alongside Provision Map.
Individual Education Plan(IEP)
A non-statutory written plan that sets out a child's SEND targets, the support being put in place, and how progress will be measured. Largely replaced by provision maps and one-page profiles in many schools.
SEN Support
The graduated approach used by schools to support children with SEND who do not have an EHCP. SEN Support follows an assess-plan-do-review cycle.
Special Educational Needs Coordinator(SENCO)
The qualified teacher in a school responsible for the day-to-day operation of the SEND policy, coordinating provision, and liaising with parents and outside professionals.
Where parents ask about this
Parents usually find this page before requesting an EHC needs assessment (when school evidence is needed), or when challenging a SEN Support placement that does not appear to be delivering anything different from quality-first teaching. Searches include "provision map example school", "request provision map subject access", and "SEN Support no provision". A Beaakon SENCO can audit your child's provision map, identify whether the graduated approach is being delivered with fidelity, and write the school report that supports an EHC needs assessment request.
References
The primary legislation, statutory guidance, research, and clinical tools this page draws on.
- SEND Code of Practice (DfE / DoH 2015), paragraph 6.76
- UK General Data Protection Regulation / Data Protection Act 2018: subject access
- Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): UK GDPR guidance for schools
- Education Endowment Foundation: SEND in mainstream schools (2021)
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 36