NatSIP Associate/Scrutiner Visiting Professor Derby University The contribution of SI specialists into the ‘whole school SEND’ approach. How can it work effectively? Brian Lamb NatSIP Associate/Scrutiner Visiting Professor Derby University

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.

Context-Vision Impairment The number newly registered each year as blind or partially sighted over a 30 year period to 2011 has doubled (NatSIP 2017) 2,570 more children being supported by SI services than in 2015 (RNIB 2017) one in five local authorities has reduced vision impairment service support in the previous 12 months (RNIB 2017) 2,062 TAs supporting pupils with VI, which is 700 fewer than recorded in 2015 (RNIB 2017) Pupils with VI as their primary SEN were the highest attaining of all the SEN groups at GCSE Two thirds of children who have a VI are educated in mainstream schools-January 2016 there were a total of 16,701 pupils in state funded mainstream schools and special schools in England with VI as their primary (main) or secondary special need

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?

SEN Contract Model for Schools

NatSIP Response

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

It’s not going to be like this but only if we act first!