Differentiation
A teacher adjusting how something is taught so more of the class can access it — different materials, different output, more time. It is ordinary good teaching, not additional provision, and it should not require a diagnosis.
Why differentiation matters.
This is worth knowing because of what it is often used to avoid. A school that says it is "differentiating" is describing something every teacher does for every class. It is not, on its own, evidence that your child's assessed needs are being met.
The follow-up question is what is different about your child's Tuesday compared with the child sitting next to them. If nobody can answer it concretely, differentiation is being used as a word rather than a practice.
Questions that get a real answer
- What specifically is different for my child in a maths lesson?
- Who decided that, and is it written down anywhere?
- What happens when a supply teacher takes the class?
Ask these of anyone, including us. What you are listening for is not the right answer — it is whether the answer is specific enough to be wrong.
Terms that usually turn up alongside it.
Dyscalculia
A specific difficulty with number — quantity, place value, recalling facts, estimating. It sits alongside
GlossaryDysgraphia
A specific difficulty with the physical and organisational act of writing — letter formation, spacing, speed
GlossaryDyspraxia
Difficulty planning and carrying out coordinated movement — not weakness, but the sequencing of an action.
Send it to us and we'll translate it.
Any report, from any provider, including ones we have nothing to do with. We will tell you in plain English what it says, what it recommends, and which parts are actually supported by the evidence in it. No charge, and it does not make you a client.