Accessibility and Ordinarily Available Provision
Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP) can be defined as the provision made for children whose special educational needs can be met from the resources generally available to the school or setting. This will apply to all children without an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), but children with an EHCP will also benefit from this type of provision in addition to the provision written in their plan.
Schools and education settings should consider Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP) in the context of their responsibility to operate a graduated approach to assessing, planning, reviewing and providing for the majority of pupils’ needs in their settings.
The SEND Code of Practice, 2015 links high quality teaching with ordinarily available provision:
“…higher quality teaching ordinarily available to the whole class is likely to mean that fewer pupils will require such support.” (para 6.15) This guide highlights a range of support and expectations that schools / settings can ordinarily provide for a child or young person, without the need for additional support from an Education Health and Care Plan.
Special Education Needs and Disabilities OAP Toolkit
Cambridgeshire County Council have co-produced a SEND Ordinarily Available Provision Toolkit. This is a resource created for schools but can also be used by parents and professionals.
Funding for Special Education Needs and Disabilities OAP
The SEND Code of Practice 2015 “6.96 Schools have an amount identified within their overall budget, called the notional SEN budget. This is not a ring-fenced amount, and it is for the school to provide high quality appropriate support from the whole of its budget. 6.97 It is for schools, as part of their normal budget planning, to determine their approach to using their resources to support the progress of pupils with SEN. The SENCO, headteacher and governing body or proprietor should establish a clear picture of the resources that are available to the school. They should consider their strategic approach to meeting SEN in the context of the total resources available, including any resources targeted at particular groups, such as the pupil premium.
Further information about Expectations of schools and colleges can be found here (Link NEEDED)
SEND service have a number of teams that provide support and training to schools. Further information can be found here SEND Services 0-25 - Learn Together (cambslearntogether.co.uk)