One page profiles

At SEND training at the weekend we learned about ‘one page profiles’, originally developed by a Helen Sanderson. They are profiles of a child or adult that contain positive information about them.

One page profiles do not contain a list of doctors (the medical model of disability), names and addresses of people, general information or an introduction to the person or a list of their likes and dislikes. One page profiles are person-centred and used to share information about the child / adult, for example –
• How they are likely to manage in new situations
• What they want new people they meet to know about them
• A summary of their positive characteristics
• What positive contributions the child / adult can make

They might be used as a starting point for the person’s records or to give to a new teacher. A one page profile can be written for different times in a child’s life or detail different ways to support the child. For example, it can cover a transition to another setting, a part of the day the child finds tricky.

A one page profile can be written for a disabled or non-disabled child or adult to share their story – it does not mention the disability (if the child has SEND). A one page profile can also be written about you to share with parents when they visit – everyone in the provision can have a one page profile to ensure it is inclusive. Why not get the children writing their own one page profiles and helping you to write yours?

A one page profile covers 3 main questions –
1. What other people like and admire about the child / adult
2. What makes the child / adult happy and is most important to them
3. How the child / adult likes to supported

There are some examples of one page profiles and some inspiring stories here - https://onepageprofiles.wordpress.com

There are more examples on this website – One Page Profiles

There is guidance about how to write a one page profile including ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ examples here - onepageprofiles