The term ‘ordinarily available provision’ (OAP) comes from the SEND Code of Practice and refers to the support that mainstream settings should be able to provide for a child through their agreed funding and resource arrangements. 

A child or young person has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision. Ordinarily Available Provision falls into the ‘universal’ offer as special educational provisions are made ‘ordinarily available’ by Early Years Providers. 

For some children their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities will be provided for through high quality, differentiated teaching. Non-statutory guidance Birth to five Matters and DfE Development Matters detail universal inclusive practice. Early Years providers should read the OAP document in the context of their responsibility to operate a Graduated Approach to assessing, planning for, providing for, and reviewing most children’s needs in their setting. 

Early identification and early intervention of SEND is vital to prevent escalation of needs. The OAP document will support you to ensure children get the right support at the right time. The Ordinarily Available Provision describes a wide range of activities, opportunities and approaches that are offered as basic good practice to meet a range of additional needs without the need for formal diagnosis or specialist support. 

This OAP document cannot describe every intervention or strategy but indicates the type of arrangement that should be typically available. Ordinarily Available Provision is not about treating everyone the same, but it is about making adaptations and small changes, so all children get the same opportunities. For details of services and support please visit Waltham Forest Council SEND Local Offer.

Below you will find a digital version of our Ordinarily Available Provision toolkit, as well as the appendices.