  We have undertaken SED modeling of discs around low mass T Tauri stars in
order to delineate regions of the infrared two colour plane (K - [8] versus K -
[24]) that correspond to discs in different evolutionary stages. This provides
a ready tool for classifying the nature of star-disc systems based on infrared
photometry. In particular we demonstrate the distinct loci followed by discs
that undergo `uniform draining' (reduction in surface density by a spatially
uniform factor) from those that clear from the inside out. We draw attention to
the absence of objects on this `draining locus' in those star forming regions
where the 24um sensitivity would permit their detection, as compared with the
~20 objects in these regions with colours suggestive of inner holes. We thus
conclude that discs predominantly clear from the inside out. We also apply our
classification of the infrared two colour plane to stars of spectral type M3-M5
in the IC 348 cluster and show that some of its members (dubbed `weak excess'
sources by Muzerolle et al 2010) that had previously been assumed to be in a
state of clearing are instead likely to be optically thick discs in which the
dust is well settled towards the mid-plane. Nevertheless, there are many discs
in a state of partial clearing in IC 348, with their abundance (relative to the
total population of disc bearing stars) being around four times higher than for
comparable stars in Taurus. However, the number of partially cleared discs
relative to the total number of late type stars is similarly low in both
regions (10 and 20 % respectively). We therefore conclude that IC 348
represents a more evolved version of the Taurus population (with more of its
discs being highly settled or partially cleared) but that the timescale for
clearing is similarly short (a few times 10^5 years) in both cases.
