Individual Education Plans (IEPs)

How to develop an individual education plan

Student support groups are responsible for developing an IEP. Refer to the Student Support Groups policy for information about the composition of support groups.

Students supported under individualised disability funding programs including the Program for Students with Disability and Disability Inclusion, and students living in out-of home-care will already have a student support group (SSG).

Personalised learning and support

Individual education planning uses the four-stages personalised learning and support process.

Personalised learning and support is a framework that supports students with additional learning and support needs. The IEP template on the Resources tab can assist the Student Support Group in developing the plan.

1. Assess: identify strengths, barriers to learning and current skill levels

During this stage, the Student Support Group uses a strength-based approach to identify how the student learns by focusing on what they do well. This information shapes the development of the IEP.

In this stage:

• identify the student’s strengths, interests and any challenges or barriers to learning. For example, English as an additional language, refugee status, experiential, cultural, linguistic and social background
• include information about the student to support their education needs, such as results of any formal/informal assessments in literacy, numeracy or social-emotional assessments, recommendations from allied health professionals, data or classroom observations
• think about the student’s current entry level skills
• ask the student what helps them to learn. Student voice allows students to engage and take part in their own learning. It also contributes to building leadership, confidence and other skills that ensure student wellbeing.

2. Plan: create long-term and short-term goals

During the planning stage, it’s important get input from the student, their parent/carers and relevant teaching and support professionals.

In this stage:

• work with the SSG to develop long-term and short-term goals
• seek advice from others where relevant, for example education support staff and allied health professionals
• review the student’s learning environment
• monitor agreed actions and give an update at the next review meeting.

Long-term goals

Long-term goals (for example, longer than a school term) are specific statements describing the expected behaviour or skill to be achieved within an agreed timeline, for example, by the end of the school year.

Short-term goals

Short-term goals identify the sub-skills that are required for a student to achieve a long-term goal. Short-term goals specify what should be achieved within a certain timeframe, from a week through to a month or a term. It is highly recommended that short-term goals are SMART (specific, measurable, agreed, relevant and time-bound). Where schools have established a student support group (SSG) for a student, the student’s short-term goals can be reviewed at each SSG meeting (refer to Student Support Groups).

When creating long-term and short-term goals, refer to the Victorian Curriculum.

3. Teach: implement teaching strategies, adjustments and supports

During this stage, teaching strategies and adjustments are put into place in responsive teaching and learning environments. These, along with the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can be used to address the student’s learning needs and goals.

Teaching strategies, adjustments and supports should include details of how to:

• teach the skill
• provide multi and varied opportunities to practice the skill
• reinforce the skill
• include other members of the SSG to target the skill.

4. Monitor and Evaluate: monitor and review the effectiveness of the approach

During this stage, the IEP is monitored and evaluated so that it is responsive to the changing needs and educational progress of the student.

An IEP should be reviewed according to the timeline agreed on by the SSG. It’s recommended to review an IEP once a term.

In this stage:

• think about what is working or not working well
• determine if the teaching strategies, adjustments and supports provided have been effective and whether the student’s goals have been achieved
• make educational decisions based on the information to determine if:
  • the goals should be modified
  • taught in different ways or changed
  • whether current teaching strategies, adjustments and supports should continue, or if they need to be revised or replaced.