The SEND Review: How inclusive is your school?

Supporting parents and carers to engage in their child’s learning is an important part of providing a rounded education for children. This Child File develops your thinking around parent engagement, and through the reflection at the end, it helps you to consider your current practice in this area and how you could do it better.

In light of the current SEND Review announced by the government, it is worth considering the effectiveness of your provision and the opportunities you provide for all pupils.

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      string(381) "... school?Have the governing body clearly outlined the responsibilities of the SENCoand ensured that they have appropriate training?Is the governing body aware of the school’s strengths and weaknesses inrelation to SEN?Does the governing body ensure that the school is an inclusive school?The effectiveness of the school ..."
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      string(5845) "school to assess pupils, identify issues and allocateresources?Is ‘assessment for learning’ used in classrooms to support SEN pupils?Are lessons differentiated to support pupils with SEN?Are intervention programmes and one-to-one support applied appropriately?Are a range of teaching styles used to match pupils’ needs?The extent to which the curriculummeets pupils’ needs including,where relevant, throughpartnershipsHow has the curriculum been adapted to meet the needs of pupils?Does it motivate and interest learners?Is it planned with SEN pupils in mind?Can all pupils access the curriculum?Does the school work effectively with other schools (including special schools)to provide full curriculum entitlement for pupils with SEN and disabilities?The effectiveness of care, guidanceand supportAre SEN pupils provided with a welcoming learning environment?How are SEN pupils supported when transferring between schools? How isinformation transferred?How are SEN pupils supported when changing year groups within the school?Does the school support vulnerable pupils by working with other agenciesand identifying barriers to learning?How does the school address barriers to learning?What are the attendance patterns of pupils with SEN? Are there any particularissues? Child FileLeadership and management The effectiveness of leadershipand management in embeddingambition and driving improvementHow does leadership in the school ensure that expectations for SEN pupils aresufficiently high?How does leadership ensure that SEN pupils have challenging targets, thattheir progress is tracked and that they are helped to achieve them?How does leadership of SEN monitor provision throughout the school ensurethat standards of teaching and learning are high for SEN pupils?How is SEN provision championed in the school? Does it have a high priorityon school improvement plans?How effectives are leadership and management in securing outcomes for SENpupils?The effectiveness of the governingbodyDoes the SEN governor challenge the school in respect of SEN provision?Do the governing body monitor SEN provision within the school?Have the governing body clearly outlined the responsibilities of the SENCoand ensured that they have appropriate training?Is the governing body aware of the school’s strengths and weaknesses inrelation to SEN?Does the governing body ensure that the school is an inclusive school?The effectiveness of the school’sengagement with parents andcarersHow effective is the school’s communication with the parents of pupils withSEN?Does the SEN department listen to and act upon the views of parents?Are parents of SEN pupils encouraged and enabled to work with the school tosupport their children?The effectiveness of partnerships inpromoting learning and well-beingHow effectively does the school work with external agencies to meet theneeds of pupils with SEN?To what extent does the school’s extended services provision meet the needsof SEN pupils?How effectively does the school work with others schools, including specialschools, to support pupils with SEN?How effectively does the schoolpromote equal opportunities andtackle discrimination?Are the needs of children with SEN promoted equally alongside other groupswithin the school?Are children’s SEN needs recognised and addressed without stereotyping?Are EAL needs clearly distinguished from SEN needs?The effectiveness of safeguardingprovisionAre SEN pupils free from harassment and bullying?Are SEN pupils given the information they need to keep safe?Are SEN staff vigilant for child protection issues in relation to SEN pupils?Are all safeguarding checks in place for members of staff and visitors workingwith SEN pupils?How effectively does the schooldeploy resources to achieve valuefor money?How effectively are SEN staff deployed?How is specific funding for pupils with special needs and/or disabilitiesdeployed?How well are resources and materials used to support the needs of SEN pupils?The quality of learning for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and their progressWhen completing this part of the SEF, schools should take account of (in relation to SEND pupils):Trends over the past three yearsAreas of performance significantly below/above the national averagePupils’ current performanceAttainment of different groups – including those on school action, school action plus and those with statementsPupils who have SEND and belong to another group such as FSM, EAL■■■■■Child FileCHILD FILE 4.4■The Children,Schools andFamilies BillThis is a brief summary of the key points SENCos should be aware of:New curriculumFollowing from the Rose review of the primary curriculum,the CSF Bill lays the legal foundation for the newcurriculum. It also makes PSHE compulsory in Key Stagesthree and four, including sex and relationships education.(Parents can still withdraw under-15s from these lessons.)Parent powerThere is continued and increased emphasis on the roleof parents and schools’ accountability towards them.The Bill heralds parent and pupil guarantees and thestrengthening of the home-school agreement. Theopportunities for parents to complain have also beenextended – they can now take complaints to the LocalGovernment Ombudsman.Local authorities will be expected to issue annualparental satisfaction surveys. These are aimed at secondaryschools, but they will be introduced in primary schools too.SENTo emphasise the profile of SEN during inspections, theBill requires a subsection to be inserted into the 2005 Actemphasising the role of Ofsted in"
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Special Needs

Child File 4 - Auditing and evaluating SEN provision

24 Feb 2010

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      string(357) "... minimum qualifications needed for further education or training; instead they repeat the same learning with a post 16 provider. Ofsted is quite clear, in their review of SEND in 2010, that education providers which achieved the best outcomes for their pupils/students with SEND had high aspirations for their learning ..."
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      string(5748) "think about it as wider than academic learning. We should have a whole-school approach to pupil wellbeing for every child (remember the snakes and ladders analogy – you can go up and you can also go down in terms of social mobility).  Pupils need to be able to manage what is happening in their lives. They need to be able to relate what’s happening in home and school.  As a school, we need to focus on transitions from school to school or, more importantly from year group to year group, to understand what progress every child has made, to understand what support means in terms of peer to peer and engagement of those children in wider activities. If a child is not included in one year of their education, there is a significant possibility that this will continue into the next.Ultimately, we need to enable children and young people to feel that they belong – that they belong in the school and that they belong in a learning environment. Irrespective of where they started in terms of their learning journey, they need to know that they can succeed, and a big part of this is building in parent and carer engagement.  Out of school enrichment activities and reading at home play a key part. We know that achievement in life will be increased if there is pre-school engagement between parents and teachers, enrichment activities that are wider than reading and wider than learning at home. All of these will increase attainment.Inclusion means inclusion – middle attainersThere is a danger that we focus entirely on one group when we talk about social mobility. Actually, what we should be doing is focusing on everyone, as the following demonstrates this includes middle attainers, often the ‘forgotten group’.   Middle attainers on SEN support can be a forgotten group in schools; with teachers focusing on stretching the most able and raising the bar for the lowest achieving 20%, those in the middle with additional needs fail to make expected progress. At a national level, the profile of those on SEN support shows the three most common additional needs as moderate learning difficulties (27%), speech, language and communication needs (21%) and social and emotional and mental health issues (17%); additional needs are likely to overlap within these categories.Those on SEN Support are also more likely to come from socio- economic disadvantage than their peers without an identified SEN and are less likely to move out of this category during their schooling. But it does not have to be like this. An inclusive approach with frequent and rigorous interrogation of pupil data improves both progress and attainment for children and young people on SEN Support. This is of particular importance for those whose prior attainment is somewhere in the middle. If they fail to make the expected progress by KS2, they start secondary school behind and are less likely to ‘catch up’ by KS4. At 16 they move on and may not have the skills needed to gain employment or the minimum qualifications needed for further education or training; instead they repeat the same learning with a post 16 provider. Ofsted is quite clear, in their review of SEND in 2010, that education providers which achieved the best outcomes for their pupils/students with SEND had high aspirations for their learning and focused on enabling them to become as independent as possible; this has not changed today. Getting the best outcomes for those in the middle attaining bracket on SEN support means school leaders and teachers asking questions about their progress and attainment: what challenges do they face in learning? What challenges do they face in accessing learning? Where are the gaps? Comparisons can be made with pupils/students with similar prior attainment, using national, local and school level data sets. Middle attainers should have support to progress from the middle.Parent carer engagement – supporting your child’s learningWe must ask a question of parents or carers: How can they encourage learning at home?    An academic colleague, Charles Desforges, a Professor of Education, has looked at the difference it makes if parents and carers are involved in their child’s learning. His research shows that a parent has a greater impact on a 7-year-old child’s learning than school does. Parents and carers reading to their child has a significant impact. Listening to their child read has an even greater impact. And supporting their child as they learn to read has an even greater impact still. What are the most important things parents and carers can do at home to ensure that their child is engaged in learning?First of all, parents and carers need to talk and listen to their children, making time to talk and engage as well as reading to children or listening to them read. Parents and carers are encouraged to have fun, not just with literacy, but also with maths, and to discuss what happened at school that day, without accepting a simple ’it was fine’ as an answer.  But parents and carers also have to get involved with homework with the child – not doing it for the child but encouraging homework in lots of different ways.  This would involve creating a space where children can work and making this as exciting and stimulating as possible. Making sure that children have the right equipment, keeping to a schedule for ‘work’ and praising and rewarding in a balanced way helps.  In addition, working alongside children and taking them to exciting places – many of these are free"
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Inclusion

Every Child Included

20 Jun 2017

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      string(360) "... need a policy rethink.”Identifying the core of the problemIt is possible that outdated policies are contributing to these difficulties. Excellent provision for pupils with SEND generally relies on a number of aspects of school life combining to create an inclusive environment. At first glance, the above examples relate to ..."
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      string(5765) "SENCos are the multi-taskers of the education workforce. Due to changes in legislation1, the SENCo, or special educational needs coordinator, is now responsible for ensuring that the whole school works effectively towards inclusive practice. Many SENCos have, or are currently undertaking, the mandatory National Award for SENCos—a 60-credit, Master’s level, postgraduate certificate in leading and managing special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision—which includes understanding how to undertake and evaluate research, develop and scrutinise school policy, support colleagues, assess attainment and listen to the needs of pupils in collaboration with parents or carers.While this level of responsibility is huge, it means that a SENCo can consider how solutions to common challenges may, in fact, lie in whole-school policies and structures. Consider these three fictional yet commonplace scenarios.Mr. Alcott, a secondary maths teacher, keeps insisting that Jamal, a pupil with SEND, should not be in his maths class. He says that the pupil is working at a different level to the others and cannot access the curriculum.Mrs. Simpkins says that Charlie never completes her homework. She has sent notes home and given Charlie sanctions, but the problem is getting worse. She knows that Charlie has literacy difficulties and says she always makes sure that the homework is within her reading ability.Learnwell School has a high number of internal and fixed exclusions, with a high percentage of these being pupils with special educational needs. The SENCo is worried about both upcoming Ofsted inspections and the impact of missed curriculum areas on vulnerable pupils on the SEND register.“So where should a SENCo start? He or she will have an idea about core areas in which the school might need a policy rethink.”Identifying the core of the problemIt is possible that outdated policies are contributing to these difficulties. Excellent provision for pupils with SEND generally relies on a number of aspects of school life combining to create an inclusive environment. At first glance, the above examples relate to one core policy area, but on closer inspection, the solution may require a look at several.For example, the SENCo might look at the policy on high quality teaching and learning to support Mr. Alcott, the homework policy to support Mrs. Simpkins, and the behaviour policy to support Learnwell School. However, the policies on pupil voice, assessment and identification of pupils with SEND, teacher support and professional development, parental engagement, bullying, safeguarding and looked-after children might all play a part in the solution of the above problems.So where should a SENCo start? He or she will have an idea about core areas in which the school might need a policy rethink. Sometimes, one area of development may have a classic ‘knock-on effect’ on a wide number of other challenging areas. Considering the redeployment of teaching assistants (TAs) and learning support staff provides a good example.The Education Endowment Fund asks the following questions to help schools evaluate the impact of support staff:1.Have you identified the activities where TAs can support learning, rather than simply managing tasks?2. Have you provided support and training for teachers and TAs so that they understand how to work together       effectively?3. How will you ensure that teachers do not reduce their support or input to the pupils supported by TAs?4. Have you considered how you will evaluate the impact of how you deploy your TAs?2 A review of policy in this area might lead to a change in contract—perhaps to allow support staff time to contribute to lesson planning, in order to best support differentiation for pupils with SEN in the class. Perhaps support staff could have designated time to spend with the teacher before lessons to understand the key lesson objectives, plus specific targets for individual children. Training for support staff on rich questioning to develop spoken language, encourage thinking, or support more independent learning might also be highly beneficial.Developing teacher practiceA policy-driven, whole-school focus on TAs might prove very helpful to Mr. Alcott in delivering maths lessons that are accessible to Jamal. On the other hand, perhaps the focus might need to be on support for Mr. Alcott to deliver more differentiated lessons, or set better targets for and with Jamal. This might mean a look at the way continuing professional development and learning takes place in school. The Institute of Education worked with 100 teaching schools to identify six key themes for great professional practice:1.Think about the pupils’ needs and the impact you want to have. 2.Help colleagues to think seriously and differently about their practice.3.Provide opportunities for colleagues to engage in deep collaborative learning.4.Ensure access to knowledge and skills from inside and outside.5.Use collaborative enquiry to stimulate professional learning—but not as a quick fix. 6.Facilitate the practicalities to encourage a learning culture, including making sure that senior leaders provide necessary conditions for effective professional development to take place—for example, time and resources to facilitate an open classroom culture.3 The SENCo would need to present a compelling case to the senior leadership team to ensure such a strong whole-school focus. However, the above study suggests that the resources required are ultimately cost effective in the longer"
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ADHD

Exploring SENCo dilemmas

28 Oct 2016

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      string(5807) "feeling overwhelmed.Some autistic children may lack organisation and planning skills, which can affect their ability to manage the school day. They may also need longer to process information and can find it difficult to understand the tasks they are given. The educator Jules Daulby advises teachers to be aware of this, and to be very direct and specific when asking a student to do something, avoid open-ended choices and look for signs that a student is becoming overwhelmed (9).Schools must recognise that autistic children often have communication difficulties, struggle with social interaction and can find it hard to make friends. This unfortunately makes them particularly vulnerable to bullying. 34% of autistic children say that the worst thing about being at school is being picked on (10). For children on the autism spectrum, school can be a very socially isolating environment. Bullying can lead to an increase in anxiety, and to school refusal – the very reverse of inclusion.Trying to cope with all of these challenges can lead to anxiety, distressed and challenging behaviour, and meltdowns. Alternatively, autistic students may unconsciously mask the stress and anxiety they are feeling at school and only let this out when they’re at home. Their parents can be the only ones who see just how tough things are for them.What schools can and should doAn inquiry into autism and the education system carried out in 2017 by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA) found that school is often a very difficult and isolating experience for children and young people on the autism spectrum (11). Members of the APPGA heard directly from young people about some of the things they would like schools to do differently. These include:· Tackling bullying more effectivelyProviding safe and quiet spaces that are always available when neededMaking sure that teaching assistants are available to help in the classroomUnderstanding that ‘meltdowns’ are caused by particular situationsHelping students manage relationships with their classmates.Creating a better sensory environmentWhile every child is different, sensory overload can be a particular challenge for autistic children in the classroom. People on the autism spectrum are often highly over or under sensitive to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours and can struggle to concentrate in traditional school environments (12). It could be the classroom’s bright lights, echoing and busy corridors, the sudden noises of a printer or old radiator. For some, it can be distracting; for others it can be completely overwhelming and even physically painful. On top of this, there are often too few quiet places where they can retreat when they are overloaded.Children may struggle to focus on their work while their environment is distracting. Inclusive schools have taken steps to simplify the classroom environment, reduce sound, and offer quiet spaces or initiatives such as noise-reduction headphones.Providing training for school staffAt the National Autistic Society we strongly believe that every teacher, every school leader and every member of school support staff should receive autism training. This will help them understand the challenges autistic children may face, why they may behave in particular ways and why they may struggle with their surroundings or to pay attention to the task they have been given. It will also help school staff know how to support their students. Making sure that schools as a whole have practices that are autism-friendly is vital in ensuring that children on the autism spectrum can access an education.The key to becoming genuinely inclusive is wanting to do it. Attending school does not have to be a daily struggle for children: it is not an inevitable fact of being autistic. Schools that are welcoming to children on the autism spectrum, with staff who understand them, an environment that is adapted to their needs and a culture of acceptance and kindness, can transform children’s experience and outcomes. With the right support, school can become a positive environment and a place where every child is able to succeed.For more information about autism, including support and strategies to help in school, visit: autism.org.uk.Catriona Moore is Policy Officer at the National Autistic Society. The National Autistic Society runs a School Exclusions Service that offers specialist advice and information to parents of children who have been excluded from school or are at risk of exclusion and advice for schools on strategies to promote inclusion.References1 Villegas T (4 December 2019), ‘An inclusionist’s manifesto’, Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism.2 Department for Education (25 July 2019), ‘Permanent and fixed period exclusions in England 2017 to 2018’.3 Cutting A (12 July 2019), ‘Timpson review of school exclusions’, Network Autism.4 Department for Education (May 2019), ‘Timpson review of school exclusion’.5 Department for Education (4 July 2019), ‘Special educational needs in England: January 2019’.6 https://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/media-centre/position-statements/education-and-inclusion.aspx7 Department for Education/Department of Health (January 2015), ‘Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0-25 years’, p20. 8 https://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/media-centre/position-statements/education-and-inclusion.aspx9 Daulby, J. (28 January 2020), ‘SEND with Daulby: unseen teaching tweaks that make all the difference’, Special Needs Jungle.10 National Autistic Society (2011),"
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Autism

Preventing Exclusions For Children On The Autism Spectrum

10 Aug 2020