The issuing of the new special educational needs and disability (SEND) Code of Practice in 2014 brought great hope. It elevated the status of SEND within schools throughout England and Wales, and boldly proclaimed that “all teachers are teachers of pupils with special educational needs”.
Three years on, it has become apparent that just because an official document says something is so, it does not necessarily make it so. Teachers cannot be expected to become experts in SEND provision overnight.
One of the greatest challenges in providing for SEND has been the shift away from the mentality that the responsibility of students with additional needs lies primarily with the SEND department. In a short space of time, teachers have had to become knowledgeable on a wide range of special educational needs. These include: social communication difficulties, learning difficulties, sensory impairments, mental health issues, physical disabilities…I could go on.
Time, or rather lack of it, is another consideration. Cuts to funding - the current nemesis of state-sector educationalists - dictates how much time and how many resources can be invested in SEND provision. Without a strong SEND department to effectively identify additional needs, to support students with their learning, and to guide and train teaching staff, the delivery of high-quality teaching to all pupils is just not possible.
Teachers may feel unsure how best to teach students with identified or potential additional needs.
And a disconnect can occur between frontline teaching staff and the SEND coordinator. Sendcos may appear to teachers to inhabit an ivory tower of educational theory and endless acronyms. They may feel frustrated that when they approach their school’s Sendco with a concern about a child, that this does not automatically and magically resolve the issue.
Equally, Sendcos may feel that all their good advice and carefully crafted IEPs (individual education plans - Sendcos love an acronym) or pupil passports result in minimal tangible change in the classroom.
So what measures could be taken to address these issues?
For high-quality teaching to take place in a truly inclusive fashion, the senior leadership team (SLT) need to make SEND provision a priority. Ideally, the Sendco should either be on the SLT or represented by a member of the SLT, who can act as an advocate for students with additional needs. It is important that this person meets regularly with the Sendco and the SEND department, and undertakes regular, relevant training.
It is essential that the profile of the SEND department is raised within the school and that regular slots are dedicated to SEND at whole-school meetings, including those all-important September inset days, when everyone is full of good intentions for the new year ahead. Simple things like updating teachers on the code of SEND practice, going through criteria for identifying students with possible additional needs, introducing the new cohort of students with SEND or explaining what all the endless acronyms mean, could prove very helpful. It is important that teachers know who the SEND department are, what they look like and how to contact them.
When high-quality SEND provision is in place, there are likely to be fewer behavioural incidents, and fewer stressed-out teachers and teaching assistants as a result.
It is worth the school investing in SEND provision by ensuring that time is dedicated to regular training slots, as well as giving teachers (particularly heads of year and form tutors) the opportunity to attend essential meetings, such as annual reviews.
It is important that the Sendco puts clear structures in place, and regularly and effectively communicates with the teaching staff. This can be achieved in a simple fashion, using both new and old technologies.
At the start of each academic year, Sendcos can ensure that all members of teaching staff - including part-time teachers and cover supervisors - are issued with the SEND register, which should ideally include a brief overview of some of the support strategies that can be implemented. New members of teaching staff should be made aware of how to locate IEPs on a shared drive, for example, or through whichever information-management system the school uses. Some schools may print out all IEPs, but this incurs a cost, and there is a risk that they may be misplaced and that confidential information is inadvertently shared.
Do not underestimate the usefulness of an old-fashioned noticeboard in the staffroom (away from the prying eyes of students). Hard copies of the SEND register, intervention lists detailing the names of the students who will be out of lessons, as well as the names of students with exam access arrangements, can all be shared in this fashion.
Clear systems should be put in place for identifying students with potential additional needs. It is important that this is adhered to, so that there is a clear record of strategies tried, alongside their outcomes.
Another piece of a paperwork is unlikely to be a welcome addition to a busy teacher’s workload. But a SEND referral form can be kept simple and to just one side of A4.
The alternative is that busy teachers can be tempted to offload all their concerns about a given student as soon as they glimpse the Sendco in the staffroom, corridor, canteen or even the bathroom (this has happened to me on more than one occasion). Unfortunately, Sendcos are not superhuman and can easily forget information that is not formally written down. It also means there is no record of what strategies have been tried or what assessments have taken place.
The Sendco should ideally carry out audits of what training may be required by the teaching staff.
Sometimes a need is obvious, for example, if a new student is starting the school with complex needs, or if there are a significant number of students in the school with dyslexia or autism spectrum disorder. To avoid teachers feeling like they are starring in Groundhog Day by receiving the same tired training over and over again, it is important for the Sendco to actually find out what might be useful.
It is crucial that training is relevant, useful, and that teachers take away something practical from the session. Overly theoretical training sessions should be avoided, although that is not to dismiss the importance of research-based evidence in supporting certain strategies, or in explaining medical or developmental conditions.
At the very least, teachers need to know which of their students are on the SEND register and have read their IEPs (as well as any updates that are issued throughout the academic year). Seating plans should reflect the teachers’ knowledge of their students’ needs and, of course, as teachers get to know their students and the dynamics of the class, there will also need to be a willingness to modify these plans.
As mentioned earlier, the new SEND code of practice places teachers at the heart of SEND provision. It can understandably be intimidating for teachers to feel that they need to be experts in all areas of SEND, and it is essential that they are reassured that they are not alone. Teachers need to demonstrate a willingness to seek the support and advice that they may require; this may be directly through the SEND department or in collaboration with other teaching colleagues. Arranging to observe others or to be observed can be a very useful and simple training tool.
It is helpful when teaching staff share significant dates with the SEND department, such as key assessment points and trips away, as this assists the SEND department in being able to support students with additional needs to the best of their ability.
Teachers and the Sendco must strive to communicate and collaborate as effectively as possible if they are to have the greatest, positive effect on the learning of all students, not just those with identified additional needs, because if the SEND provision is right, then the chances are, everything else will fall into place.
Gemma Corby is a Sendco at a school in Norfolk. She tweets @SENDGems
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