In my experience, ensuring that the “pupil voice” is heard can be tricky when you’re working with students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Sometimes there are immediate barriers, such as difficulties with language and communication, which can make it challenging to unpick what is working well and what needs to change. But even if a pupil doesn’t have language needs, it can still be hard for them to process and report back on their own lived experiences within the 10 minutes that have been allocated to their pupil voice session.
One way to get around this problem is to develop an “inclusion action team”. This is a group of pupils that meets regularly to discuss topics of interest linked to neurodiversity and inclusive practice.
When I established one of these teams at my last school, it was one of the most impactful things I have ever done as a Sendco.
So, what were the ingredients that made it a success?
1. Inclusive membership
I didn’t want to target only SEND children, as this felt exclusive. Instead, I introduced the new group as “a space for children who are neurodiverse, who have a neurodiverse member of their family or who are simply interested in learning more about neurodiversity”.
The result was a group that was predominantly made up of children with SEND and the siblings of children with SEND. Group members were given badges to wear that read “Diversity is a fact, inclusion is an act”, to make them feel they were part of something. Staff members who were in the group also wore the badges, making sure these were always visible.
2. Make it empowering
The first activity I asked the children to undertake was to draw a picture of the most inclusive school they could think of. This started off a rich conversation about what inclusion meant, how inclusive our school was and how we could improve it.
From the children’s pictures and ideas, we were able to make a plan of activities to work on over the year. They were keen to make break times more inclusive. For instance, they suggested installing a “buddy bench” (a dedicated seat in the playground where a child can go if they want someone to talk to) and a tuck shop, so that all children could have access to a snack.
To make the latter a reality, we visited a local primary school that already had a tuck shop, visited a supermarket to plan out our snacks and figure out how to break even, applied to the parents’ and teachers’ association for funding for the trolley, and opened up the tuck shop on site to great success.
The ability to effect change, and link this to inclusive practice, gave the group confidence and helped members to feel ownership in the first few terms.
3. Promote understanding
Underpinning the work of the inclusion action team was a focus on understanding inclusion and neurodiversity.
The children worked on assemblies to educate their peers about aspects of neurodiversity. The topics were chosen by the children, and often provided an opportunity for them to share their personal experiences, such as what it’s like to have a sibling with ADHD.
They would often undertake research at home and be keen to share what they had found out. When their findings led them to negative aspects of a condition, we would discuss this and also look at the positives in order to provide a balanced view.
The children were keen to meet with neurodiverse adults, so we invited guest speakers to visit us and talk about what it was like for them growing up as neurodiverse. We also asked them to offer the children advice, with a focus on positivity and practicality.
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4. Build engagement
For pupils who were finding school life hard and were often disengaged, our sessions were a chance to engage positively with an activity at school. They were able to talk about what they found tricky, in a safe space, and to explore topics of personal interest to them.
For example, the group discussed the question: “Should all children have access to fidget toys?” Following this, they decided they would like to trial an approach where all classes had access to fidget toys for any child to use.
A request letter was written for donations from parents, the donations were sorted into packs and the fidget toy trial went ahead. The group then reported back on the pros and cons of fidget toy use in class, and we discussed what a whole-school approach needed to look like.
Slowly, the group became more and more involved in the running of the school. When I was set to move on to a new role, they took part in the interview process for the new Sendco, meeting with candidates and asking them questions. They also met our school improvement partner and were able to talk to her about inclusion at school and what they had achieved.
Over time, the reputation of the inclusion action team grew, and I often had pupils ask to join. It became a support group, a safe space, a place to learn, a place to belong.
I have recently left my primary setting and moved into the secondary sector, where I am hopeful that the same model will work just as well.
Leyla Gambell is a Sendco based in Kent
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