ABSTRACT
Parents often have a very good knowledge of their child's strengths, interests and needs. This information can influence the success of special educational provision and should be used in the planning process. Small group support can take place in a number of locations, such as in the classroom, a resource base, around the school or locality. A special educational needs support teacher might decide to conduct an assessment of a child's special educational needs outside the classroom, without consulting the class teacher or the child's parents. The sharing of responsibilities stage attempts to merge roles even further. The joint-provision stage should flow on naturally from the informative stage, during which each member of the team responded to the collective information about the child's needs in their own way. The introductory stage in the development of a shared responsibility is often overlooked.
