I have become convinced that, like so many of the educational certainties of the past (silent reading after lunch, story time at the end of the day, afternoon playtimes), differentiation is no longer universally understood.

It has been caught in a trap of multiple worksheets and layered targets, diluted lesson content and lowered expectations, and is in danger of being thrown out.

It’s not only misunderstanding that is causing the desertion. Teachers have found themselves in the rather unenviable position of attempting to square the circle of competing needs and student learning versus teacher wellbeing. Unsurprisingly, some have decided to call time on the concept. A half-functioning teacher is not a good teacher, after all.

But let’s be clear, adapting teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils isn’t a choice, it’s a duty. What’s more, it’s the law, in the form of the SEND Code of Practice.

I think a big part of the problem is defining differentiation. Saying anything universal about education is always a challenge; you have to go on only a few school visits that cross geographical areas, phases and sectors to see that. There’s nothing more likely to get primary teachers’ backs up than secondary teachers making grand declarations, and vice versa.

‘A shared understanding’

But coming to a shared understanding of what differentiation means has got to be the way forward. We need to move away from the assumption that differentiation means three groups, setting and adult support - each with worksheets - and start thinking hard about what it is we do when we teach groups of wildly different children.

We prepare an environment in which children can learn. We think about displays and layout and behaviour. We plan for who sits where. We make sure everyone can hear our voices and see our PowerPoints or read our writing.

When we are met by a sea of blank faces, we change our explanations, we add pictures and symbols, we adjust our questioning as we go along. We mix up the peer-peer partnerships, the groups and the individual work.

There are lessons when we ask for silence and lessons when we want contributions from all. We design a curriculum that is relevant to our context and interesting to our students.

We use every moment to find out what they know and about them. It isn’t the individualised worksheet or planning that makes for personalised learning, but the individualised knowledge of the child.

Nancy Gedge is a consultant teacher for the Driver Youth Trust, which works with schools and teachers on SEND. She is the Tes SEND specialist, and author of Inclusion for Primary School Teachers