How to write measurable IEP targets (Scotland)

"Ava will develop her social skills." It is a fair aim, but at the end of term nobody can say whether it has happened. This guide covers what Education Scotland's guidance asks of IEP targets, and how to write targets you can review with the learner and their family.

First, what kind of guidance this is

• An IEP is non-statutory. Education Scotland describes an Individual Educational Programme as "a non-statutory document", used "when whole-class or group planning does not meet individual needs".
• The statutory plan is the CSP. The same guidance calls a Co-ordinated Support Plan "the only statutory education planning document", and says an IEP, whether it stands alone or sits within a Child's Plan or ASL plan, "is not a statutory educational plan".
• There is no national template. "There is not one nationally agreed format or template for an IEP." Whatever format your local authority uses, the guidance says it should contain the same information.
• The family is involved. "The child or young person and their family must be involved in the development of an IEP."

So what follows is good practice from national guidance: practice guidance, not statute.

What a measurable target says

Education Scotland's guidance says a measurable target (it uses "outcome" and "target" together) "should state what is going to be different or better for the child or young person" and "state how we are going to know that it has been achieved".

It lists what measurable targets should be:

• related to overarching needs "such as Independence, social skills, regulation or communication"
• relevant to the learner's development and identified needs
• "Adding value to what is already in place and building on past outcomes"
• measurable either qualitatively or quantitatively: its examples are a measurable increase in attendance, or a child communicating that they are happier, more relaxed or less anxious
• "Realistically attainable in specified timescale"

Who, how and what

Each target should come with details of "who, how and what will be used to support the child or young person to achieve each outcome", including:

• the learner's and their parents' or carers' role, as appropriate
• the approaches or adaptations that are new or different to what is already happening
• what will be explicitly taught, tried or evaluated
• how it will be measured

Review dates

The guidance sets two review rhythms, with the dates noted in the plan:

• long-term outcomes, "to be reviewed at least once a year"
• short-term outcomes, working towards them, "to be reviewed at least termly"

An accessible version

"There should be an accessible version, age and stage appropriate, of the outcomes (targets) for the child or young person to refer to and evaluate themselves." The guidance gives a first-person example: "I will be able to use my symbolised task lists to organise my resources at the start of known tasks throughout my week, with less support from an adult, over the next term."

It also notes that if the wording is "discussed, understood and agreed with the learner and their parent/carer, they are more likely to engage and take ownership" of the targets.

Before and after

All learners below are fictional, and the numbers are illustrative: set yours from the learner's own starting point.

Ava, P5, social interaction

Before: Ava will develop her social skills.

After: By the end of term, Ava will join a small-group game at break with one or two classmates, with her pupil support assistant nearby, on at least 3 of 5 days a week, up from 1 day a week now. Her pupil support assistant will note it each break, and it will be reviewed at the end of term.

For Ava: I will play a game with one or two friends at break, with an adult nearby.

Callum, S1, organisation

Before: Callum will be more organised.

After: By the February review, Callum will use his visual checklist to have the right books and equipment for each lesson, with no more than one adult prompt, in 4 of the 5 lessons his guidance teacher checks each Friday. In September he managed about 1 in 5.

For Callum: I will use my checklist to bring the right things to each lesson.

Isla, P2, regulation

Before: Isla will manage her emotions better.

After: By the end of term, when Isla feels upset in class, she will show her feelings card to an adult and choose one of her three calming activities, on at least 4 of 5 occasions recorded by her class teacher, up from about 1 in 5 now. Isla will also say, using her smiley-face scale, how calm she feels afterwards.

For Isla: When I feel upset, I will show my card and pick a calm-down choice.

Isla's last sentence is a qualitative measure, which the guidance allows alongside a count.

Common traps

• Support written as a target. "Isla will have a daily check-in" describes what staff do. The target is what will be different for Isla.
• No starting point. "4 of 5" means little if nobody recorded where the learner started. The guidance asks targets to build on past outcomes.
• Too much for one term. A target should be realistic in its timescale. The guidance notes that talking it through with the learner can stop a target "being overwhelming and seemingly unachievable".
• Needs class planning could meet. An IEP is "only for the aspects that cannot be planned for within educational group or class planning".

Questions staff ask

Is an IEP a legal requirement in Scotland?

No. Education Scotland describes it as non-statutory. The only statutory education planning document is a Co-ordinated Support Plan, for children and young people who meet the legal criteria for one.

How often should IEP targets be reviewed?

Short-term targets at least termly, and long-term targets at least once a year, with the dates noted.

Do IEP targets need their own document?

Not necessarily. The guidance says "IEP outcomes or targets may be part of a Child's Plan or similar planning document. In a small number of cases, an IEP can be a standalone document."

A short checklist

• The target says what will be different or better for the learner.
• It says how you will know it has been achieved, as a count or in what the learner shows or tells you.
• The starting point is recorded.
• It is realistic in its timescale, and has a date.
• It says who supports the learner, how, and what will be taught or adapted.
• The learner's and family's part has been agreed with them.
• Short-term targets are reviewed at least termly, and long-term targets at least once a year.
• There is an accessible version, age and stage appropriate.
• The need could not be met through class or group planning alone.

Sendix's guided IEP review checks each target against this guidance, asks the questions that would close each gap, and suggests measurable wording built only from what the plan says, leaving gaps for staff and the family to agree.