When high-quality teaching, adaptation, and Tier 1 and Tier 2 support have been tried and are still not enough, schools are left with a difficult but necessary question: what do you do next when a child cannot access or attend the mainstream classroom in a meaningful way? This is the point at which personalisation becomes essential, and where the Engagement Model provides a clear, statutory framework for understanding progress beyond the traditional curriculum.
Personalisation
Personalisation is about designing learning around the individual pupil – not forcing pupils to fit into a pre-set curriculum box. It becomes essential where standard or adapted approaches no longer enable meaningful progress. For many pupils with high levels of SEND, especially those working well below age-related expectations and not yet engaged in subject-specific study, the usual route of national curriculum objectives simply isn’t appropriate.
Personalisation means identifying what is meaningful for that pupil, aligning provision with their strengths, interests and developmental priorities, and structuring learning in a way that is genuinely accessible and purposeful.
The Engagement Model
This is where the Engagement Model fits. The Engagement Model is a statutory assessment tool in England for pupils who are working below the level of the national curriculum and are not engaged in subject-specific study. It provides a framework for understanding and capturing progress where traditional subject-based outcomes aren’t relevant or appropriate. Rather than measuring attainment in English, maths or science, it focuses on how a pupil engages with learning through five key areas: exploration, realisation, anticipation, persistence and initiation. This allows teachers and support staff to assess progress meaningfully and personalise provision in a structured, objective way.
The statutory nature of the Engagement Model means that for pupils at Key Stage 2 who are working below the standard of the national curriculum and not engaged in subject-specific study, schools must use it to assess their progress and set attainment targets. At Key Stage 1 it remains statutory for setting attainment targets, and while end-of-KS1 assessment is no longer compulsory overall, the Engagement Model still holds statutory force for pupils not yet engaged in curriculum areas. This requirement is set out in the Department for Education’s guidance on the Engagement Model, which schools use to meet their legal duties around assessment for these learners.
You can read the official guidance here:
▶️ The Engagement Model – GOV.UK
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-engagement-model/the-engagement-model
What the Engagement Model means in practice
Because the Engagement Model focuses on engagement, it supports personalised learning rather than subject milestones. For pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), or those with complex barriers to accessing typical classroom tasks, such as SEMH needs, progress may not be linear or visible through traditional outcomes. The Engagement Model captures progress in ways that matter – how a pupil interacts with people, materials and their environment; how they persist with activities; how they anticipate what comes next; and how they begin to initiate actions of their own.
In a personalised approach, these observations feed directly into planning. Learning goals are not arbitrary academic targets but meaningful steps that reflect each pupil’s unique profile and likely pathways towards further independence and engagement. Good personalisation doesn’t abandon ambition. It sets ambitious, relevant targets that respect where pupils are now and where they can realistically grow.
By combining personalisation with the statutory framework of the Engagement Model, schools can ensure that even pupils who are not yet accessing subject-specific study are seen, understood and supported to make progress that really matters.
Find out more:
For a much more in depth look at The Engagement model, please see my webinar and accompanying resources, designed to provide everything you need to get up and running with provision and assessment of The Engagement Model in your setting. This is also available as part of my SEND Support On Demand package.
If you have students who need a personalised pathway, you may need to apply for more funding for their EHCP (or apply for one if it hasn’t already been initiated). Please see my webinars for further support with this.
Thanks for reading!
Lynn