Alternative Provision Is Full Of Traumatised Children – A New Practice Is Needed

Taking into account past experiences and focusing on young people as individuals can have a comparable effect to having trained therapists on staff. Sarah Gillette’s trust is taking a trauma informed approach to supporting students’ social and emotional wellbeing.

primary aged children playing — Less trauma for children

Contextualising trauma

To discuss trauma in this context is to discuss the creation of an environment where children feel safe at school, where their experiences are taken into account, and where they know that they will be supported, understood and heard.

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      string(1865) "networksf. Delegates attending the workshops felt strongly that an increased strategic responsibility and corporate accountability for CYP entering, within and leaving the youth justice system would support securing better outcomes for a group of young people with significant complex needs (where, in the majority of cases, SEN conflates with structural socio-economic disadvantage and health and well-being issues). Other ConsiderationsDelegates at the national series of workshops, in every area of the country, expressed in a variety of different ways what they are describing as a worrying and disturbing “flooding of the tributaries” leading to the youth justice system.A number of contributing factors were described:Rising rates of permanent exclusion from schools and academies, at Key Stage 2 as well as Key Stage 3, with many of these young people struggling to gain quick access to mainstream education (a powerful protective factor to entering the youth justice system)Inadequate “alternative provision”, both within mainstream settings and in PRUs/APs (part-time timetables resulting in some young people becoming vulnerable to criminalisation; no basic skills (literacy and numeracy, life skills) provision that in many cases would meet the most significant educational needs of these CYPs; illegal exclusion practice, etc.)Coerced home education appears to be used more significantly, as the “only option” to families with CYP close to permanent exclusion. Many of these parents and families are hard pressed themselves, and in no way equipped to “home educate”.It is saddening to note that this situation is affirmed in the voice of young people with special education needs who are in the youth justice system.Marius Frank, former head teacher and  Director of Materials at Achievement for All."
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Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties

Caught in the Youth Justice System!

16 Oct 2017

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Behaviour

Developing Resilience with Emotion Coaching

4 Dec 2018

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Leadership

Bridging The Gap: Giving Adopted Children An Equal Chance In School

9 Jul 2018

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      string(5772) "A primary school in an urban area of the north west of England with 350 pupils identified the need to improve attendance, parental engagement and resilience for disadvantaged pupils. The majority of pupils at the school are from White British heritage. A small minority of pupils speak English as an additional language. The percentage of pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium is 24%. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is 15%. Four of the pupils have an EHC Plan. Pupil numbers have increased in recent years and the school admits a number of pupils during the school year. ApproachAs a school, it chose to focus on the use of adults in the classroom to support independent learning and resilience, the impact of middle leaders on curriculum and learning and use of structured conversations* to improve parental engagement and wider outcomes for pupils.A target group of 24 children were identified in years 1–5 for one of the following reasons, although the majority were also eligible for pupil premium funding: Below age-related attainmentBelow expected progress from starting points (this includes some pupils with good attainment who had the potential to make accelerated progress)Limited parental engagement with school. Through a needs analysis, the school identified the following broad areas of focus to bring about the changes they wanted: Leadership for inclusionProvision to close the gapParental engagement Developing behaviours for attendanceLearning and well-beingEffective use of pupil premiumMaximising the impact of teaching assistantsMiddle leadership development Using effective feedback*Structured conversations (used in Achievement for All programmes) between teachers, parents and their child provide a platform for parents to engage in the learning process. They have an opportunity to discuss their child’s aspirations and interests and contribute to setting targets for their child. Parents feel valued, teachers say they get to know the children better (their learning needs and interests) and children say they like the interest their parents show in their school work.ImpactLeadership for inclusion: Over the year, school leaders sustained a focus on the aspirations, access and achievement of all pupils with SEND or vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils. A culture of distributed, inclusive and effective provision for disadvantaged pupils was consolidated across the school.Teaching and learning:TA training on maximising the use of extra adults in the classroom, questioning and fostering independence has promoted best practice with all adults working with disadvantaged children across the school. All TAs accessed this training and development; in practice it has been evident in learning walks. Exploring feedback is an ongoing conversation between teachers, as the school adapts its policy to maximise its impact on learning. Middle leaders have undertaken audits of teaching and learning in their subject areas and are implementing their findings to ensure consistency and progression of skills across the school in all curriculum areas. Pupil premium funding continues to be used to support learning within the classroom. A detailed analysis of barriers for disadvantaged pupils has resulted in more focused use of pupil premium funding. Parental engagement: 100% of parents of those children chosen to be part of the trial, engaged in their initial structured conversation, with the majority also engaging in follow up conversations. Overall engagement in Year 1 was 92%. The structured conversations increased teachers’ awareness of barriers to achievement, access and aspiration. Areas for partnership work with parents focused, in Key Stage One, on maths, social and emotional skills, basic skills and home routines; in Key Stage Two, the focus moved towards reading, writing, maths and attitudes towards learning. Clear evidence of increased parental engagement can be seen where explicit actions were agreed upon during structured conversations and parents clearly saw their role in furthering their child’s achievements. This included making time to read with their child, working with designated school staff to improve social and emotional wellbeing and encouraging children to be more resilient, both socially and academically. Pupil attitude to learning: Pupils across the school now show good attitudes to learning whilst in school. In the target cohort there is evidence of improved attitude to learning at home. This includes reading at home with parents/carers, working on a particular area at home, as discussed during structured conversations, and increased awareness of the need for resilience. Wider outcomes: Pupil premium funding continues to be used to provide wider opportunities for eligible children. Opportunities include educational visits (including residential), swimming lessons and visits by professionals from different curriculum areas with a focus on raising aspirations. Attendance at after school clubs is now more closely monitored. In Autumn 2018, 58% of the target cohort attended after school clubs compared to 42% of pupil premium children.Emotional intelligence: (Self-protective strategies, emotional self-management strategies, increased self-esteem, confidence in making choices)Designated staff within the school have worked with many of the target children and received training in using the BOXALL profile to aid assessment and management of emotional/social barriers which"
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Special Needs

It’s Time for a New Approach to Battling Underachievement

20 Sep 2019

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      string(5808) "Following on from the theoretical presentation of the graduated response in the last issue, this case study show how one primary school is putting it into practice.As you read and reflect on it consider:Use this case study to ask: How do I put the graduated response into practice?Could I do it better?The Graduated Response at Berry Hill Primary School, Gloucestershire At Berry Hill Primary, our SEND policy states that ‘we value the contribution that every child makes and we are committed to offering an inclusive curriculum to ensure the best possible progress for all of our pupils whatever their needs and abilities.’ So, what does this look like in reality and how is the Graduated Pathway implemented in our school?Set in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, Berry Hill Primary has 182 children, nearly 20 per cent of which receive free school meals. 16 per cent are on the SEND register with 3.6 per cent having an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP), which is slightly above the national average. We are very committed to the value of family and this is central to learning and development. Everybody in the school works hard to foster genuine and active partnerships with families and our local community. The values of creating ‘successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens’ underpins provision and is embodied in the behaviour of pupils and attitudes to school. As a school community, we aim for each of our children to leave us having made excellent progress in all areas of their learning.At the core of Special Educational provision is high quality teaching, which takes high priority at Berry Hill. All teachers ensure that their teaching is both personalised and differentiated so that all children can access the learning in their classroom. Strategies are put in place so that children can build their learning independence and confidence. For example, personalised spelling/word mats, practical equipment in Maths and clearly labelled resources which can be freely accessed in lessons.At the beginning of each academic year all of the children in school, regardless of whether or not they have an identified SEN, complete a ‘My Profile’ sheet. For us, the voice of the child is fundamental and we value the importance of children being able to share what matters to them, what they want to be able to do and the things that help and don’t help them to learn and achieve. The ‘My Profile’ has had many benefits, including sharing with parents/carers how their child works best, which could help them better support at home. There was a particular case where a parent was worried about their child and the ‘My Profile’ proved a useful tool to share with them and allay their concerns. In addition to this, it is good for addressing any safeguarding concerns. If class teachers have any worries about what a child has written, they will share this with either the Head or myself. This can then be followed up, often with the Family Support Worker, who will complete some appropriate one-to-one work with the child. This team approach is a key factor in the early identification and addressing of individual needs.Progress of our children is looked at in a holistic manner so as well as looking at academic progress (particularly English and Maths), the social, emotional and mental wellbeing of our children is considered too. We are aware of the significant link between the emotional wellbeing of children and the other areas of their lives, including academic achievement and their relationships with friends and family.  We are very proud to have recently achieved our Mental Health Champion Award from Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning, which is recognition of the high-quality provision that supports the mental health and wellbeing of our school community. If there are concerns about progress, these are shared with parents and interventions within school are put into place. Pre-teaching, particularly in Maths, has proved successful in closing gaps and building children’s confidence. Other evidence-based interventions are used and children’s progress is closely monitored along with their attendance, and having a conversation with their parents/carers helps build links between home and school. Often, this conversation reveals information that may not have been otherwise known but which can have an impact on the child’s progress, e.g. a family change or a medical reason. In addition to this, it can also be established whether this may be a short-term issue or an underlying SEN. By doing this, we feel that parents/carers are able to better support their child at home as they have a clearer awareness and knowledge of how they can do this. For example, if a child is showing dyslexic tendencies, we can provide coloured reading overlays or if there are maths skills that need to be practised, suitable websites and/or worksheets are given to them. We can also advise mindfulness techniques and signpost to other services as well through our Family Support Worker, who is very knowledgeable about what is available locally. At this stage we may also involve the use of external professionals. We have very experienced staff who are very dedicated and passionate about what they do but we also realise we don’t have all the answers or solutions so we use the expertise of others. By putting in this early help, it means that issues are dealt with before they escalate further. For example, we use counselling services for children who are struggling with social and/or"
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Childfile

Child File - The Graduated Response: making it effective in an early years setting - Part 2

17 Apr 2018

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