Improving SEN Support in Educational Settings Brian Lamb OBE NatSIP Associate Visiting Prof SEND Derby

What has been happening at SEN support?

SEN Number at School Support 2007-2017 Going down or needs not identified?

Context 4 Years into the reforms Shift to a focus on SEN support category-ECHP plans in place and working well (DfE) CoP-every teacher a teacher of SEN-how to achive? Cuts in specialist SI support services accelerating? NDCS research suggests support being cut by £4 million this year Service reviews accelerating and HNB under pressure due to funding reforms Role of schools - commissioned provision is going to be crucial for children at SEN support How are children with Sensory Impairment fairing and what needs to be done to improve outcomes further?

Context-Deaf Children total number of deaf children in England is 45,631. This is up from 41,261 in 2015/16 and amounts to an 11% increase over the past year. (May be partly due to better recording) (CRIDE 2017) 78% of school-aged deaf children attend mainstream schools (where there is no specialist provision), 6% attend mainstream schools with resource provisions (CRIDE 2017) The numbers of teachers of the deaf has been reduced by 14% in the past seven years, at the same time as a 31% increase in the number of children requiring support (CRIDE 2017). Deaf children were performing better than most other SEND groups achieving 5 A*-C GCSEs, including in English and Maths on a mainly upward trend in recent years. However new measure, Attainment 8, figures show that on average deaf children underachieve by over a whole grade per subject compared to children with no identified SEN.

Implications (my Cassandra moment) Numbers of children up Numbers of teachers down Numbers of TA’s down Amount of funding for SI support services overall on a downward trend? More restrictive HNB funding means less flexibility in LA funding in the future-greater distinction between statutory and non statutory provision

“We are like sailors who must rebuild their ship on the open sea, never able to dismantle it in dry-dock and reconstruct it” Otto Neurath

The Solution? Schools commissioning key to children getting the support they need in the future Schools need supporting in identifying needs and meeting them-a greater challenge for SI Schools’ mainstream teachers being more aware of SI in the classroom what they know and don’t know Where they go for support and the role of SI support Services How is this going to happen?

What Parents Think Confidence in the capacity of schools to support SEN is dropping nationally. Parent Carer Forums have recorded a dip in confidence in school settings for SEN support with only 2% of forums very confident and 35% moderately confident with confidence falling from the previous survey (Contact 2017). OFSTED also noted that “A large proportion of parents in the local areas inspected lacked confidence in the ability of mainstream schools to meet their child’s needs.” (OFTSED 2017) Challenge-how to ensure this does not happen and parents retain confidence in SEN Support in Schools?

Schools and Parents “An important predictor of parent involvement is parents’ perceptions of their child’s school and the schools’ approachability” (Epstein 2007).

The Solution? Schools commissioning key to children getting the support they need in the future Schools need supporting in identifying needs and meeting them-a greater challenge for SI Schools’ mainstream teachers being more aware of SI in the classroom what they know and don’t know Where they go for support and the role of SI support Services How is this going to happen?

What Parents can expect at SEN Support Stage Clear Identification of children's needs (6.19 Where progress continues to be less than expected the class or subject teacher, working with the SENCO, should assess whether the child has SEN.) High Quality Teaching (6.37 High quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN.) Parents Informed (6.43 parents must be formally informed that special educational provision is being made.) Assessment is made-graduated response to meet the child's learning needs (6.45-6.56 Assess, Plan, Do, Review) Specialist Support Provided where needed e.g. teacher of the deaf, autism support, speech and language support (6.58 Where a pupil continues to make less than expected progress, despite evidence-based support and interventions that are matched to the pupil’s area of need, the school should consider involving specialists)

A different approach Explore Active Listening Review Agree Targets/ Next steps Identify Priorities

Assess, Plan, Do, Review-A whole school approach Engage parent External support Wider support/specialist expertise Engage parent e Engage parent Whilst the main legal duties on schools will not change; the way they will be met will change. The reforms aim to bring about a culture change by placing classroom and subject teachers at the heart of the new SEN Support system, with parents or carers fully involved in decisions about their support and what they want to achieve. Classroom and subject teachers work together with the SENCO, drawing in specialist expertise to remove barriers to learning and put in place effective provision in the form of a four part cycle of assessment, planning, action and review (the graduated approach). The Teacher’s Standards 2012, make it clear that it is every teacher’s responsibility to “adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils”. The SEN Code of Practice echoes this point, as it states that “teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, even where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff”. SENCO Fundamental role for support services c Class/subject teacher Child or young Persons with SEN Class/subject teacher SENCO Wider support/specialist expertise Plan Do Engage parent

SEN Information Report This must include; the kinds of special educational needs that are provided for policies for identifying children and young people with SEN and assessing their needs, including the name and contact details of the SENCO (mainstream schools) arrangements for consulting parents of children with SEN and involving them in their child’s education arrangements for consulting young people with SEN and involving them in their education arrangements for assessing and reviewing children and young people’s progress towards outcomes, including the opportunities available to work with parents and young people as part of this assessment and review arrangements for supporting children and young people in moving between phases of education and in preparing for adulthood. As young people prepare for adulthood outcomes should reflect their ambitions, which could include higher education, employment, independent living and participation in society the approach to teaching children and young people with SEN

SEN Information Report how adaptations are made to the curriculum and the learning environment of children and young people with SEN the expertise and training of staff to support children and young people with SEN, including how specialist expertise will be secured evaluating the effectiveness of the provision made for children and young people with SEN how children and young people with SEN are enabled to engage in activities available with children and young people in the school who do not have SEN support for improving emotional and social development. This should include extra pastoral support arrangements for listening to the views of children and young people with SEN and measures to prevent bullying how the school involves other bodies, including health and social care bodies, local authority support services and voluntary sector organisations, in meeting children and young people’s SEN and supporting their families the kinds of special educational needs that are provided for How parents can make complaints

OFSTED Comments-positive East Sussex. Parents of children with sensory impairment report prompt and accurate identification of their children’s needs. Greenwich. High-quality support from Greenwich services specialising in HI, VI and autistic spectrum disorders is consistently described as being of high quality by education settings and parents. Halton. The work of visual impairment services, audiology, teachers of the deaf and school nurses are strengths of the local area. The quality of the support and provision that these services offer makes a positive difference to children and young people. Middlesbrough. There is a strong and effective multi-agency approach to assessing and meeting the needs of children and young people who have a hearing or visual impairment at the schools with an additionally resourced provision. Pupils at these schools spoke to inspectors about how the specialist support they receive is helping them to learn well and make progress.

OFSTED Comments-Positive Leeds. Parents and young people describe the benefits of school-based resourced provision. Children and young people access specialist support, including support provided by health services, while being included in all aspects of school life with other children. For example, in a resourced provision for deaf and hearing impaired children, deaf children learn about deaf culture that defines aspects of their lives that they have in common with other deaf people, while being included with their hearing peers. Telford and Wrekin. The assessments of children’s and young people’s visual and hearing impairments are timely and effective in meeting the needs of children and young people.

OFSTED and Specialist Support Services enhanced the capacity of schools and settings ability to meet the needs of CYP with SI That there was a strong commitment to high expectations and aspirations for CYP with SEND Helped ensure good relationships with CYP and parents Ensured strong and effective working relationships with health and social care Ensured strong practice in identifying and meetings needs in early years. NatSIP review of OFSTED Reports

Support Schools should be able to rely on specialist support from LA services Schools can commission support directly from their SEN budget The Government has funded a consortium of charities led by NASEN to support schools regionally in providing a SEND Review Guide and follow from expert partners including the main SEN areas

What else should services for CYP with SI be doing? Improving Educational Access Demonstrating Outcomes. SI support services will need to demonstrate the specific ways in which the access and educational needs of children and young people are being met, and what outcomes are being delivered due to the provided additional support. Specific SI support. Developing further specific packages of support for SENCOs, mainstream teachers and support staff. Role of Specialist Teacher for SI requires SI services to look carefully and consider the deployment of specialist teacher teams and their role within any particular arrangements. Service Models: Specialist SI support services cannot assume previous organisational models of delivering the service will continue in the future. Adapting to new ways of providing support, working across professional boundaries and structures, perhaps in partnership with other services, needs to be explored and considered.

What else should SI services be doing Working with Academies and Special Schools. Further consideration will also need to be given to what can be delivered through a specialist SI service providing support to a number of MATs, or other types of school and colleges, and arrangements commissioned directly by special schools, resource bases or SI services. To do this, specialist services will need a very clear view of what it is that schools and other settings most value about the support that is provided. Early Diagnosis. SI services will need to consider the implications of any work with newly diagnosed children and their families as early intervention has proven benefits but may fall between funding and commissioning arrangements. Who purchases SI Services? SI services will have to consider working across LA and CCG boundaries and there are already some examples of this. SI service models for the future will also need to consider what can be delivered through special schools either within an LA boundary or across a number of LA and CCG boundaries if regional commissioning becomes more established. See new NatSIP Commissioning Guide and Workbook for more suggestions https://www.natsip.org.uk/3506-new-publication-commissioning-guide-and-workbook-for-sensory-impairment-services